British Gas: aggressive sales tack
July 2nd, 2007 | 
Author: 
I do hate salespeople that lie.
I read a chart of the “best clients” from an agency perspective. At the bottom there was the “Brands in Need of a Direct Makeover” section.
“British Gas: Aggressive sales tack, combined with perceived lack of database marketing finesse, hits utilities giant.” It may not just be their database marketing that needs finessing.
A door to door salesperson knocked on our door for a second time the other day. This was despite a sticker saying we do not buy at the door. He wanted British Gas to also supply the Harrington household electricity.
The pushy salesman said that he wasn’t in fact selling anything and therefore it was alright for him to knock on the door and waste my time. I presume that this means that electricity supplied by British Gas is in fact free.
The net result: I think less of the British Gas brand and would actively consider moving our gas account from them…if I could be bothered.
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Posted in Marketing | 
Tags: branding, British Gas, direct marketing, door to door, impressions, sales
Today I have also encountered a British Gas salesperson. After it was clear that I was not about to get rid of him I decided to go along and waste his time.
After I spent an hour watching the wind blow his paperwork around and cause the sign-up call to be started over again as I realised that his request to claim that I was at my previous address for 3 years may well show a black mark on my credit record, I canceled the transfer before he’d even left the street.
Hopefully I have wasted a good deal of time and money and, if I’m lucky, generated no commission from the conversion.
I am in Bracknell and a guy knocked on my door twice despite having the same sign as yourself.
When I pointed this out, he wanted me to register my details as do not knock. Stuff that.
I work work for British Gas as a field sales adviser. What you dont realise Mr Harrington is that it would in fact work out cheaper with British Gas to have them supply your electricity aswell!
To the field sales adviser from British Gas: What you don’t realise is that a) I don’t buy at the door and b) I don’t buy from rude ignorant liars however good their employer is.
My point really was to highlight the brand damage that can be created by one person after a brand has invested huge amounts of money.
If we only ever based our purchasing decisions on price, the shape of the world would be very different.
I have recently left british gas after a pushy salesman talked me into joining them. My husband promptly switched back. They have phoned several times, we have countless amounts of junk mail through our door and have had 3 salesmen at our door. All companies are trying to push us into signing fixed rate contracts. I am glad that we will soon be getting rid of gas in favour of wood burners and solid fuel stoves. Cheaper and much less hassle from aggressive energy companies.
To Anonymous 30/07/07
from reading the comment it was obviously easier for you to be small minded and weak willed in wasting the advisors time for an hour and feeling smug with yourself,than it was to be a man say”No thankyou” and the advisor would have moved on.
Hope your proud of yourself,as they say what goes around comes around.It might just happen to you one day and some airhead wastes your time