KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
 ·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to pnh102
Re: Obvious Result
said by pnh102  :Who else thinks ViaTalk will be out of business by the end of this year? Not I. If your business is growing so fast you realize you need to double your staff that's not a sign of going out of business.
It's also nice to see a company that realizes it's having customer service issues and then INCREASES staff to improve it. These days most companies seem to think they can "cut costs" by stripping away employees and that customer service won't suffer if they "crack down" and "make their employees do their jobs."
Yeah, making 1 person do the work of three really improves customer service.... Not. One of my favorites are the overworked call centers that either give you a recorded message saying they are too busy to take your call, call back later and hang up on you, or the ones where they ask you to leave a message and you'll get a return call--- which never happens.
Fastest way to lose business is skimp on customer service so you can't even meet basic needs. Funny how management never sees this.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by KrK :Fastest way to lose business is skimp on customer service so you can't even meet basic needs. Funny how management never sees this. If this is true then why are there so many companies with piss-poor customer service still in business?
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | Because they charge too much -coughcast- |
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laserjobs
Premium
join:2004-05-02
Las Vegas, NV
·Cox HSI
| reply to KrK
You are right about customer service. Most CEOs don't understand where the value is in a company. Maybe they shoud teach this curve in MBA programs.
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Vote for Ron Paul in the Republican Primaries |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
1 edit | said by laserjobs :You are right about customer service. Most CEOs don't understand where the value is in a company. Maybe they shoud teach this curve in MBA programs. Again though, if this curve was correct, then just about every company in business today would have stellar customer service. However, we all know that this is not true. That means that customer service is not going to be the deciding factor for most people.
And on another note, many companies have been done in by shoddy manufacturing.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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boober321
join:2003-07-15
Milwaukee, WI
 ·ViaTalk
1 edit | How about the obvious... lack of competition. Phone and internet services rarely have much competition. Usually a person may have two or maybe three choices, many have but one. This specifically is why so many are against these sweeping franchise reform bills passing across the country. With no real competition (and no, the new laws won't do much to remedy that- except maybe in the richest portions of the areas served) the only way to mandate customer service is through the government- just like other utility companies like gas, electric and water... |
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fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20 | reply to pnh102
You make it sound SOOO simple... it's not, really. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by fiberguy :You make it sound SOOO simple... it's not, really. It is that simple, really. Companies like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Best Buy and such all provide mediocre to bad customer service, but they manage to stay afloat. These counterexamples provide indisputable and irrefutable proof that bad customer service does not kill a company.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Yup! You got it!! Give this man a CEO's job! 
Seriously.. are you serious with this? What do all of these companies have in common?
Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft all have monopolies basically. Also, not everyone has bad experienced with these companies. As much as I loath AT&T, I've spoke with people that are satisfied with "the new at&t" and some people are happy with Comcast and so on.. so it's objectionable.
Take into account Dell, HP, and Best Buy, and that's a a matter of opinion. I've never had anything but good service from Dell & Best Buy.. HP? Again, even though I don't buy from them or have a need to deal with them, many people certainly are satisfied with them. I've never had a problem with customer service.. however, just because it's not Apple doesn't mean that people aren't loyal to their product.
So yes.. it's not that simple...
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :If this is true then why are there so many companies with piss-poor customer service still in business? Touche.
Maybe I should qualify my remark by adding "businesses in a competitive market". Some of the proof of a business with a lack of competition is the fact they can get away with piss-poor customer service long-term because the consumer has few choices and has to put up with a lot of crap...
Obviously, ViaTalk has a lot of competition, so therefore, they need to make sure they have at least decent support or they will lose customers in droves.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :It is that simple, really. Companies like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Best Buy and such all provide mediocre to bad customer service, but they manage to stay afloat. These counterexamples provide indisputable and irrefutable proof that bad customer service does not kill a company. Actually, I have no problems with customer support at Best Buy. I've heard people have had problems with things like computer repair, or with contracts not being honored but since I don't use those services it's been ok. Also, in my experience in fixing people's computers for them, I've gotten decent support via the websites of Dell and HP. However... the other companies you mention are examples of large entities with huge market share and lack of significant competition, and therefore they can get away with a lot of crap.... If Best Buy pisses you off, you could go to CompUSA or Sears or Fry's Electronics, etc. If MS pisses you off... well... I guess you could start learning Linux.... if you get my drift.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) |
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RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY
| said by KrK :said by pnh102 :If Best Buy pisses you off, you could go to CompUSA or Sears or Fry's Electronics, etc. CompUSA has imploded and closed most of their stores so unless there is still one near you, they are not an alternative to Best Buy. |
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Sean
join:2004-01-23
Ottawa
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :said by laserjobs :You are right about customer service. Most CEOs don't understand where the value is in a company. Maybe they shoud teach this curve in MBA programs. Again though, if this curve was correct, then just about every company in business today would have stellar customer service. However, we all know that this is not true. That means that customer service is not going to be the deciding factor for most people. And on another note, many companies have been done in by shoddy manufacturing. You missed the point when someone said the companies you're in bed with (AT&T, Comcast, etc) have monopolies. Maybe you can find a way to get your peanut sizez brain to understand what that means. Here's some help:
Monopoly: (economics) a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller; "a monopoly on silver"; "when you have a monopoly you can ask any price you like" |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by Sean :You missed the point when someone said the companies you're in bed with (AT&T, Comcast, etc) have monopolies. Yawn. How is AT&T a monopoly? I can get wireless service from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel or T-Mobile. If I have AT&T phone service, I can replace that with wireless service from any of the aforementioned companies. Depending on where I live, I might even be able to get phone service from a cable company that competes with AT&T.
How is Comcast a monopoly? I can get TV service from at least 2 satellite providers. Depending on where I live, I can get Internet service from DSL providers. Their phone service also competes with offerings from wireless companies as well as the local phone company. Anyone who sees ads for Comcast always sees comparisons between them and the phone company. If Comcast was a monopoly, then why are they competing with anyone else?
said by Sean :Maybe you can find a way to get your peanut sizez brain to understand what that means. You are aware that this website provides a spell check feature, correct? If you want to throw out insults, you might want to make sure your own English is correct first.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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kyler13
Is your fiber grounded?
join:2006-12-12
Arnold, MD
| They are monoplies because they don't 100% overlap with any other competitor (except cellular providers which is another topic altogether). Do you think Comcast cares that much about FIOS TV or U-verse? No, because the market penetration is small for those just-getting-started services. And while they're trying to steal cable customers, cable is trying to steal phone customers. The bottom line is you have telecom and cable companies trying to act like true competitors, but their core strengths are totally different products. As for satellite, with equipment costs, line of sight issues, and spotty MDU availability, it's yet another example of not quite competing. No complete overlap. Get it? |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Sorry. If company A is trying to get customers from company B, then company A competes with company B. It is just that simple.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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