 sadowskiI Am My Own DoppelgangerPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-14
Buffalo, NY
| reply to Anon
Re: Residentail customers are a drain on resources Business customers cost more to support since they require more personal and often on-site attention - they are simply charged more. The fact is MOST residential people NEVER contact customer support unless there is a problem.
In any event, it is the ISPs responsibility to service those residential customers at the contracted price. That is their business responsibility and their legal obligation. You can't say 'well, we aren't making enough dollars off them to support them so to hell with them!' They should never have entered into the business if they weren't prepared to accept their responsibility. It's that simple both legally and ethically.
Addendum:
The only reason MegaPath thinks it can get away with this is because it's cocky due to growth. They think they can do anything now. That is a sure sign of poor and stupid management.
[text was edited by author 2000-11-15 15:16:27] |
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| I totally agree with you. I was one of those customers who waited 3 hours just to open a trouble ticket and another week to get any kind of feedback. It is PhoenixDSL/Megapath's responsibility to provide at least a working DSL line. Infact, that responsibility is stated on the contract when I signed up for PhoenixDSL! It is pure and simple, MegaPath felt they can't make money on residential customers and because of their ignorant attitude, they decided to throw them in the trash and left them to fend from themselves. This behavior is just morally wrong and I hope MegaPath gets punished for their lack of customer care.
The comments about residential customers is totally untrue. Except for those few who know nothing about computers and DSL, most subscribers are very knowlegable. And those who doesn't know where the start button is located are very unlikely to get DSL in the first place because they probably don't even know the technology. In fact, I , a residential customer, tried everything to fix my DSL line myself except digging up the wire or visiting the CO.
So clearly, the fault is at MegaPath and I hope they get punished for their behavior. |
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sadowskiI Am My Own DoppelgangerPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-14
Buffalo, NY | I agree. I've done support for consumers, business, information providers and web designers and developers, and I can tell you that the people who abuse support are the great minority. Most never contact support and often when people do it's because the service has not made a good effort to notify users of certain things including system status.
I have had death threats and threats of other physical harm from angry users, been called every name in the book, etc. etc. but that's expected and are very infrequent. Most people are very grateful for help. I still do some volunteer support. It has its own rewards in some ways (though I wouldn't want to do it for a living).
And so that we can all be clear, you and I and the others are not complaining about the people (they've all been treated me well when I talked to them and with respect) but about the policies and behaviours of the management that has lead to a complete failure to provide an adequate, even minimal, level of support to residential customers of MegaPath. MegaPath knowingly bought us along with the business customers. They are obligated to support us and they are soley to blame if they do not. |
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 JestocostThe Poodle Bites.
join:2000-10-19
Saint Louis, MO | You make the bed, you lie in it . . . I can completely understand the idea that residential customers require more customer support and provide less revenue. It's a lower margin business that I don't think I'd want to be in at this point.
However, I have to take exception to one of the undercurrents that I detect in some of the posts. There seems to be at least the hint of an attitude that says that the residential customers are to blame and should accept that they are not a priority.
While it may be the reality that residential customers are more work than they're worth, the last time I checked no one came to these ISPs or CLECs and forced them to go into the residential business. I would hope that they evaluated the competitive and economic implications of going into the residential market and made a business decision to take on the challenge with its inherent risks and downsides. If things didn't work out as they had planned or hoped, it's hardly reasonable to blame the customer for their problems.
I realize that that may give some of these entrepreneurs more credit than they are due when it comes to business sense. In the words of Super Chicken, however, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred!" |
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Anon | Because you mentioned Super Chicken you get my vote 
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"I said it was impossible, I didn't say I couldn't do it" |
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JestocostThe Poodle Bites.
join:2000-10-19
Saint Louis, MO | Attention Super Chicken Fans Try this on for size:
http://soundamerica.com/sounds/cartoons/Super_Chicken/charge.wav |
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