For 50 pence per call, subscribers calling EE's customer service centers can buy priority access, which means that when the waiting time becomes too long, the subscriber will be automatically pushed to the front of the queue. EE, the largest mobile operator in United Kingdom, operates under the brands - T-Mobile, Orange and EE and offers a wide range of digital communication services.
Based on the information provided on its website, EE is offering the priority service only for those on the pay monthly and SIM only plans. Calls to EE call centers are capped at 25p for those calling during the standard hours and 50p for those calling after those standard hours. For subscribers who take up the priority answer service, the total call charge on a standard call (during office hours) will still be charged at 50p for one call.
The move by EE caused quite a stir within the user communities with a lot of comments pouring out over the social media and related forums from users and commentators expressing their concern over the additional charges users will be paying for the service. Priority call centers, priority lanes, priority customer service centres and priority lounges have always been a common feature in other service sectors - with banks, airline industries and cinemas, for example, providing consumers faster access to their services (including customer service) if the customer signs up on a 'premium' account (platinum, gold, VIP etc) which usually comes with a certain charge. The move by EE may be the onset of such premium services making their entry to the telecommunications sector, which in the last decade has changed significantly in terms of the services it offers - from homogenised, standard voice service to a myriad of digital communication services that span hundreds of voice, SMS, data and content bundles as well as hundreds of add-on services - creating a fresh need for price-based service differentiation.
