There’s a phrase that came up in this episode that I just can’t get past.
“Normal install confusion.”
If your CSAT scores are slipping and someone on your team says that’s normal, that should immediately raise a red flag.
Confusion should not be part of your onboarding strategy.
On this episode of Bandwidth, we talked about where ISPs quietly drop the ball after the sale. Not because they don’t care. Not because their network isn’t solid. But because they underestimate how much friction lives in the first 30 days of the customer journey.
As a VP of Client Relations, I can tell you this with certainty: the experience after the contract is signed is what determines whether a customer stays, refers, or leaves without saying a word.
Most operators think onboarding begins when the technician shows up.
It doesn’t.
It begins the moment the sale closes.
Does the customer know exactly when the install will happen?
Do they know who is coming to their home?
Have you confirmed they’ll be there?
Are you sending a reminder? A “technician on the way” text?
If not, you are introducing anxiety into the relationship before you’ve even delivered service.
And anxiety does not build loyalty.
Automation plays an important role here. Triggered confirmations, appointment reminders, and clear next steps should not be manual processes. But automation cannot feel robotic. A message that says “Dear Customer” is not a relationship builder.
Precision and personalization can coexist. They should.
Your field technician is not just installing equipment.
They represent your brand in someone’s home.
They are answering questions your sales team may not have covered.
They are setting expectations about billing and support.
They are teaching the customer how to use the equipment.
If that interaction feels rushed, unclear, or transactional, it will overwrite any great sales experience that came before it.
We discussed something important on the episode. If one installer consistently completes jobs faster than everyone else, that might look like efficiency. But if those same installs generate more support calls or second truck rolls within 60 days, you do not have efficiency. You have deferred friction.
If you are not tracking installer-level CSAT, first 30-day tickets, and repeat visits, you are missing the data that tells the real story.
We debated whether support tickets in the first 30 days should be treated as “red alerts.”
Here’s my take.
One ticket is not a crisis. A pattern however, is.
If customers are calling in during week one because they do not understand their bill, that is not a support issue. That is a communication issue.
If multiple customers are confused about how to access their portal, that is not a training issue. That is an onboarding design issue.
Support teams often get blamed for churn. But most churn starts upstream.
If your CSAT drops sharply and someone dismisses it as normal confusion, that is not an acceptable answer. That is an invitation to audit the process.
Re-listen to the calls.
Re-review the install surveys.
Look for trends across technicians, packages, or communication touchpoints.
Sharp data changes are not random.
Customer education needs to meet people where they are.
Some customers want to call and talk it through.
Some want a short video.
Some want a help article they can read at 10:30 at night without speaking to anyone.
Self-serve options are essential, especially with generational differences in how customers prefer to interact. But self-serve cannot exist in a vacuum. You have to tell customers where those resources live during onboarding.
If you build a knowledge base but never reference it in your welcome communications, it might as well not exist.
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was how we defined loyalty.
In retail, customers often consider themselves loyal after three purchases. In broadband, you do not get multiple transactions in the same way. You get one subscription.
So, what reinforces loyalty?
Proactive upgrades.
Network reinvestment.
Improved speeds at the same price.
Better equipment before customers demand it.
And just as important, communicating those improvements clearly.
If you increase speeds and never tell the customer, they may not even notice. Loyalty is strengthened when customers see that you are investing in them without being forced to.
That aligns directly with the heart of this show. Broadband is not just about moving data. It is about building stronger communities and enabling opportunity. But that mission only resonates when the customer experience supports it.
Bandwidth was created to talk about these real operational moments that do not show up in polished case studies. Trust is the differentiator in a commoditized space, and trust is built in the details.
Sales does not own it alone. Neither does install, and neither does support. Onboarding is a cross-functional commitment to clarity.
It is the welcome email that sets expectations. It is the technician who confirms understanding before leaving the driveway.
It is the follow-up survey that invites honest feedback.
It is the support team that treats early calls as insight, not inconvenience.
If you are accepting confusion as normal, you are normalizing churn.
And in today’s environment, that is a cost most ISPs cannot afford.
The full episode goes deeper into this conversation, including our “Love It or Hate It” debate and a scenario around declining CSAT scores. You can read more and access the episode links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube directly in the blog.
If you lead customer experience, support, or operations, I hope this one challenges you to look at your first 30 days with fresh eyes.
The episode is available in the blog post with links out to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the Bandwidth YouTube channel.