Transparency out the window. Do not report failures. It is a sign of weakness. XS4ALL – UPC 1-0.

The difference in the technical transparency of companies and how it effects loyalty is something which a lot of companies still seem to miss. In my daily work I use two e-commerce products, Endeca and ATG. Both of them are a bit obfuscating but one of them overdoes it. This lack of transparency does not help create loyal users.

Another good example is UPC

I use two ISP’s. One ADSL provider: XS4ALL and one cable provider: UPC.
I want as much upload as possible and then cable is the one to go where I live. However UPC has a very very bad reputation and thus I keep XS4ALL as a backup, since XS4ALL has arguably the best service in the Netherlands.

Having two ISP’s has proven to be a wise choice because UPC is going down now and then. What really annoys me is the fact that their technical trouble page is always empty.

This is untrue and a plain lie, because when I call them I get an automatic response that there is a technical problem in the place where I live. How they know where I live when I call with a mobile phone is something I will not pursue right now…

In contrast with XS4ALL which very very seldom has failures, XS4ALL’s site always reports a problem somewhere.
It is a fact that UPC has a lot more infrastructure problems than XS4ALL. However if you look at both sites the opposite seems to be true.

What is up with that? Is UPC still believing that transparency is a bad thing? Reports show that transparency and a willingness to solve a problem creates more loyal customers.