This comic (quote verbatim from Etisalat’s VP) was inspired by Etisalat’s recent denial that it’s Blackberry ‘patch’ was not spyware… this, after the fact that local media The National, Gulf News; international media BBC, Financial Times and Blackberry themselves have slammed the update as spyware. If all this is news to you, a recap of the entire issue can be found on Fake Plastic Souks
Here’s the issue… Etisalat still thinks it’s Dubai circa 1990, where the golden rule in the book was ‘Deny everything and it will go away’. Not anymore. Two decades later, everything you say can and will be used against you by local media (who have the freedom to critise), by social networking (who, irrespective of being proxy blocked, will find a way to critise you) and by your very own customers.
While I may not be a Blackberry subscriber, I sympathise and fume along with every Etisalat Blackberry owner out there. We’ve had to put up with a lot of crap from Etisalat over the years from excessive prices, rubbish customer service, drops in performance… but to outright lie to your customers, in the face of hard evidence, is a first and will probably be the last for Etisalat.
Domestically, Etisalat will lose customers. du have a great Blackberry offer at the moment which makes switching a no brainer. I’m not sure how many of the 145,000 subscribers will switch but if you are an frustrated Etisalat customer, it’s time to stop complaining and hit them where it hurts… revenue. Internationally, Etisalat’s reputation is in tatters. This issue will come back to haunt them in every new expansion, tieup or link with global partners.
Well done Etisalat, in a span on two weeks you’ve successfully managed to rip the last remaining thread you had holding your customers… trust.