iiNet customers have the most to fear from the TPG deal

[silicon_toad2000]

http://www.afr.com/p/technology/iinet_customers_have_the_most_deal_xIFZulsS4DoT6Dl13mETXO

Most famously of course, legal circumstance put the company, and founder Malone in the crosshairs of the world's biggest movie studios. The movie industry tried to make a global example of iiNet in the ongoing fight against internet piracy, and the image of Malone outside the court, ashen-faced with nerves, yet continuing to resist the demands to dob in his users, symbolised everything that iiNet was, and that TPG is not.

TPG was, at the time, one of the ISPs happy to pass on copyright infringement notices to any of its customers deemed to be pilfering content. It’s not like most of them could call up to complain right?

That is because TPG has become a byword among many Australians for paying peanuts and taking your chances. While it has moved in recent times to improve its reputation for "minimal" customer service, it is a long way away from having his aspect of company culture that is so championed at iiNet.

iiNet's website makes great virtue of its achievements in customer service. As with David Thodey-era Telstra the NPS (Net Promoter Score) was touted as one of the most important metrics to evaluate the company. This is the percentage given to measure customer satisfaction, which says a customer is likely to recommend your business to their friends.

iiNet says it leads the market in NPS, with a 60 per cent record score in 2013. Its customers are right to worry about what will happen from here.

In the fast-moving world of internet TV content, iiNet has also left TPG for dead. Just last week the company was able to brag about a deal for quota-free access to the upcoming Australian Netflix offering, while it was previously very active in getting FetchTV up and running.

While it is to be presumed that these deals will roll over to TPG, it is hard to imagine Teoh's company adopting the same attitude to related services, when offering the bare minimum has stood him in such good stead for so long.

Malone had, of course, already stepped away from iiNet, and the $56 million he will pocket for his remaining 4 per cent share is all well deserved. But many Australians will be sad to see his pioneering company disappear.

It has been one of the big startup tech success stories ever in Australia, and Malone deserves to take huge credit for his role in the country's online history.

not happy jan