There are many reasons you may want to terminate the contract with your current business internet provider and engage another one. You could be after better performance, competitive pricing, better customer service, improved reliability, or access to advanced security features.
Whatever your reason is for the switch, you’d want to exercise extra caution regarding the new business internet provider. Not all companies are reliable. Without due diligence, it could be another case of “out of the frying pan into the fire.”
With this in mind, see below a list of red flags to watch out for during the switch.
1. Actual Speeds Differing from Advertised Speeds
Business internet providers usually state the speed of their various internet packages. It’s normal for actual internet speeds to be higher or lower than what is advertised, but it helps to know how much deviation to expect.
Remember, you sign up for a particular speed to handle your workload without any hiccups. So, if you get a lower fiber internet speed than you expected, your work may not progress as smoothly. Moreover, a significant speed deviation from the advertised values means you’re paying for services you don’t use at all.
Ask the potential small business internet provider about the speed deviation to expect. If they’re reluctant to disclose it, or the difference is too much, you’d better try another more reliable company.
2. Undisclosed Upload Speeds
Internet service providers are fond of advertising their download speeds but not revealing their upload speeds. As explained on junotelecoms.co.uk, it’s important to consider both download and upload speeds when researching fibre broadband packages with high-speed connectivity . There are serious implications if the upload speeds are significantly low. It becomes challenging to transmit data from your device to other servers. Thus, business tasks like emailing and video conferencing may significantly slow down.
Some ISPs don’t prioritize strong upload speeds, yet they still market their packages as high-speed internet plans. This might be the reason why they don’t advertise their upload speeds. This is especially true for certain types of connections like wireless internet and satellite internet, which often come with limited upload capabilities. So, make sure you inquire about upload speeds if you realize the ISP hasn’t mentioned it anywhere.
3. Data Caps
Some ISPs are still stuck in older internet solutions technology and have less bandwidth and network capabilities to spread among their customers. Therefore, they set monthly data caps to ensure no one customer gets too much data to the disadvantage of the others.
If you work with such a company, it’s good to know the exact data limits. That’s because, once you hit the limit, you may get into a phase of data throttling for the rest of the month. Here, your speeds are significantly slowed down. If your business demands can’t tolerate such slow speeds, you’d better go for a truly unlimited data package that has no form of soft data limitation whatsoever.
4. Price Increases
In today’s business world, current product prices may not hold after a few months or years due to rising production costs and shifting economic conditions.
But even so, you shouldn’t be caught off guard with such price hikes. Your ISP must make fairly accurate predictions and clearly state when they will increase prices and how frequently they’ll do so. This helps you plan your current and future finances, so you don’t get into unexpected strains.
Take the initiative and ask the company about potential price hikes. Make sure they tell you when and by how much.
5. Hidden Charges
Some ISPs hide behind a low introductory price to lure customers, only for them to unleash undisclosed charges once you sign up. This includes multiple fees, monthly charges, equipment costs, and other one-time fees. These may make the first bill much costly than you’d expected. If you hadn’t planned to spend such an amount of money, it’ll strain your business finances. So, it helps to inquire about every cost detail.
A reliable ISP will disclose all pricing details without hesitation. What you finally get billed won’t be different from the quotation. Avoid companies that are reluctant to tell you what else you’re expected to pay aside from the listed price.
6. Poor Customer Service
As you use the internet from a particular company, you may have to contact them time after time to resolve issues like slow connection speeds, unexpected outages, or billing discrepancies. When you call or text them, you expect them to treat you warmly and find solutions to your problems as swiftly as possible.
However, that might not be the case with all ISPs out there. Some talk roughly to customers without the desired empathy. This may leave you angered and frustrated.
So, evaluate how your chosen business internet provider handles customers. You can deliberately ask questions you already have answers to to gauge their mannerism. If they don’t handle your queries with the professionalism they deserve, there’s no guarantee your relationship will be amicable during your contract period. In this case, it’s better to choose another option.
Conclusion
Switching business internet providers is normal in the course of your operations for the reasons highlighted in this article. But then, you must be careful with the transition so you don’t get disappointed during or after the transition. Take your time to analyze the company in light of the red flags outlined herein. If anything seems just not right, you’d better pause and weigh the options. It’s better to break the initial engagement than to get into a contract you’ll live to regret.
