Shorters still slinging do-do I gues they are still trying to pick up cheap shares before nexr divi. F-em I'm putting in sell orders at $12.
Telemarketer backlash sends Norwalk company to front doors [The Hour, Norwalk, Conn.]
Fri Mar 02 18:31:53 2018 EDT
March 02--It's a gorgeous late afternoon in July and the drinks are cold, the rib eyes are grilling and the family is gathered on the patio. As a telephone rings to intrude on the scene with yet another telemarketing call, a nicely attired stranger strides up the walkway, tablet in hand.
Short of a front gate or "no solicitors" sign posted in clear view, you may have no say in that scenario.
With "do-not-call" requests and call-blocking technology now mainstream, Norwalk-based Crius Energy is turning to door-to-door sales in an effort to maintain what has been an impressive growth trajectory over the past decade, enrolling customers for electricity or natural gas service under brands like Viridian and Public Power as an alternative to utilities like Eversource and Avangrid.
In the past, Crius had boosted its subscriber count largely through the telemarketing efforts of thousands of independent, home-based agents who earn commissions, also signing up customers through acquisitions and partnerships with companies like Comcast.
But with a deepening backlash against telemarketers and newer tricks like calls "spoofing" neighborhood numbers, Crius began experimenting in the second half of 2017 with door-to-door sales in eight states. It is expanding that campaign this spring to three more.
"As we are well aware over the years, telemarketing has become extremely more difficult," said Kevin McMinn, Crius executive vice president of mass market energy, during a Jan. 30 conference with Crius investors. "You have the do-not-calls, you have cellphone (blocking) and so forth. ... When we started looking at door to door, we realized we could reach customers that nobody was reaching today -- if you targeted them properly."
Profit potential
versus vigilance
Crius is dispatching its agents into affluent neighborhoods, saying the early returns show a better success rate than in areas where lower-income families live.
Even factoring in travel costs and the time required to canvass a neighborhood, McMinn said Crius' early results from door-to-door marketing are producing better profit margins than agents have achieved over the phone. Wealthier households are more willing to consider purchasing a "premium" plan, he stated, such as those sold by Viridian that embed into rates investments in certificates for the procurement of renewable energy, a perk for green-conscious customers.
Earlier this month, Crius agreed to an $18.5 million settlement with plaintiffs nationally who claimed they were overcharged by Viridian, with Crius including in the agreement a denial of any wrongful billing practices.
Though it's still a prominent tool for youth fundraisers and those running for office, door-to-door canvassing has faded over the years on the commercial front. No shortage of homeowners regard visits as an intrusion in their home life, and officials are quick to warn for vigilance against scam artists or people casing properties with criminal intent.
Each spring, the Better Business Bureau of Connecticut issues a warning for homeowners to be wary of marketers knocking on doors, to the extent of advising people the best way to avoid being victimized is to avoid answering the door at all. The state's utilities Avangrid and Eversource warn regularly of impostors going door to door marketing services under their names. And in August, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Commission fined Palmco Power $5 million for violating consumer protections during a telemarketing campaign that included home visits, one of several state authorities to probe the firm's actions.
Identifying the outliers
Still, door-to-door sales remain broadly protected under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, with homeowners having the recourse of posting signs barring solicitors from their properties. For a half-century, Connecticut has had a home solicitation law on the books designed to protect consumers after the point of sale by giving them a window to cancel the purchase of any product or service upon further reflection for a full refund.
Connecticut lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully over the years to broaden consumer protections to include requiring criminal background checks of door-to-door salespeople, and requiring them to secure permission in advance of showing up on the porch.
In the case of Crius, agents do not sign customers to contracts in that first meet and greet, which the company describes as a pressure-free introduction, though its agents attempt to secure an email for follow-up. Crius is compensating its canvassers not by the number of customers they sign up, but in the amount of revenue a customer generates over time, saying that can provide a major incentive for agents.
Crius told investors it is vetting its door-to-door agents carefully, including ongoing background checks, and intensified training that includes a period in which they shadow a veteran door-to-door agent. The company is surveying customers visited by Crius agents; and the company is covertly observing agents via the pretense of pairing them with an individual acting as a newbie, but who is really a manager observing how the agent handles the house call.
"I know every agent -- who they sold (to), what they sold, where they sold it, what happened with that customer, what their survey scores were, what the rescission rate was, what the renewal churn rate is related to those agents' sales," McMinn said. "I can go back to the agent and say, 'hey, you're an outlier here.'"
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
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