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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| Re: Obvious Result said by ptrowski  :I will bet that will not happen at all. I don't understand why they would need to hire so many people. VOIP is just a function of bandwidth, so I can understand taking a lot of one time charges for equipment and such, but things like tech support can easily be contracted out to other companies.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
 ·VOIPo
| Re: Obvious Result said by pnh102 :said by ptrowski :I will bet that will not happen at all. I don't understand why they would need to hire so many people. VOIP is just a function of bandwidth, so I can understand taking a lot of one time charges for equipment and such, but things like tech support can easily be contracted out to other companies. I guess that's why Brendan is running the company and you are not. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: Obvious Result said by NY Tel :said by pnh102 :said by ptrowski :I will bet that will not happen at all. I don't understand why they would need to hire so many people. VOIP is just a function of bandwidth, so I can understand taking a lot of one time charges for equipment and such, but things like tech support can easily be contracted out to other companies. I guess that's why Brendan is running the company and you are not. So in other words, you don't know why they need so many people either.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
| Re: Obvious Result lol, right place at the right time for him. How we each would individually run the company might vary greatly.
I for one am a believer in process and documentation, something I think a lot of companies (small voips) lack. They fly by the seat of their pants till they fail.
Not being an insider in Clifton Park, I don't know what I don't know so my pithy comment was really meant to say that Brendan is in that position, how he got there or what he chose to do in life obviously worked for him. So he gets to decide and you and I don't irrespective of our opinions. 
So the argument could be made that his outlook on customer service works and yours (or mine) might not. | |
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DaSneaky1D
one wall to block them all
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-29
The Lou
·Charter Pipeline
| They need people there so when people like YOU call, you'll have one less thing to complain about.
Yeah, he could contract out to another company for support calls, but they'll have to be trained to read the script, and won't have any direct access to really assist you...then you'll complain about that.
Go have some coffee and breath in the fresh air of the real world.
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:: my trivial ramblings :: | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: Obvious Result said by DaSneaky1D :They need people there so when people like YOU call, you'll have one less thing to complain about. I don't complain, I just cancel
But be that as it may, I simply don't believe that bad tech support will by itself doom a company. We just have so many counter-examples that disprove that belief.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
| | | | | | | fldiver
Premium
join:1999-12-27
Jacksonville, FL | As an American IT Specialist (yes we still exist) I applaud Viatalk's efforts to hire within our own borders. They have my business for some time to come.
-Dan | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| said by pnh102 :said by ptrowski :I will bet that will not happen at all. I don't understand why they would need to hire so many people. VOIP is just a function of bandwidth, so I can understand taking a lot of one time charges for equipment and such, but things like tech support can easily be contracted out to other companies. If it can easily be contracted out to other companies...I guess that would mean that someone would have to still be hired to provide the service. It doesn't matter if ViaTalk signs the paycheck or if Outsourced Company Inc. signs it. ViaTalk just choses to do it in house.
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Go Colts | |
| | | | | guppy_fish
Premium
join:2003-12-09
Lakeland, FL
 ·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | I'm not exactly a fanboy of Viatalk ( read my review of the service ) but as the ptrowski says, they aren't going supernova  anytime soon.
Viatalk has their heart in the right place, for the users I just hope they get a handle on there service issues, which have been on-going for over a year. The Influx of SR customers will fatten the bottom line for at least a year or two. | |
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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
| 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.
--
"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
| Re: Obvious Result 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 | Re: Obvious Result Because they charge too much -coughcast- | |
| | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20 | 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
| Re: Obvious Result 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. | |
| | | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Obvious Result 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
| 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.
--
"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
| Re: Obvious Result 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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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
| 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.
--
"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
1 edit | Re: Obvious Result 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. | |
| | | | | boober321
join:2003-07-15
Milwaukee, WI
·ViaTalk
1 edit | Re: Obvious Result 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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Sean
join:2004-01-23
Ottawa
·Bell Sympatico
| 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
| Re: Obvious Result 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
| Re: Obvious Result 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 | Re: Obvious Result 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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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | Not me, but I'm M-M so if they do, they do. | |
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rudnicke
Premium
join:2004-10-23
Rantoul, IL | That's the sole reason why I'm weary of dumping Vonage for ViaTalk. They just seem like they are headed the same way as SunRocket. | |
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RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY
| said by pnh102 : quote:
We've more than doubled our staff size to date ... The results of these new hires should start showing soon.
I love these statements that sound good but provide no real info. Saying that you have doubled your staff size sounds good but is meaningless without the number that it represents. Increasing your staff from one person to two (for example) for example qualifies as "doubling" but is pure hype/spin-control. I am not saying that he is lying or anything but whenever I read a statement of this type which leaves out vital info (such as the number of employees in this case) a Red Flag goes up and my Bovine Excrement detector gets triggered (even when this is not an appropriate reaction). | |
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JammerMan79
Premium,VIP
join:2004-05-13
Prince George, BC
| The reason why those companies are still in business is because they haven't always had crappy service. They're BIG companies and have "history" with many customers...
Starting a new company and having crappy service is completely different.
I'm not saying that either is good ... that's just the way it is.
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I may work for, but do not necessarily represent the views and beliefs of TELUS Communications. | |
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laserjobs
Premium
join:2004-05-02
Las Vegas, NV
·Cox HSI
| Re: no love for net2phone? Could be that the CEO of Net2Phone has not come to the forum and put themselves out to answer any questions. Would you read the article before sunshine pumping for some podunk VoIP provider.
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Vote for Ron Paul in the Republican Primaries | |
| Techie714
join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA
·ViaTalk
| Viatalk Steps Up It's nice to hear from the CEO and for him to talk in the DSLR forums. I'm a new customer to Viatalk & though things have been very slow for me. I have not had any issues at all. In fact yesterday I received my notice that the porting paper work was received & the process is moving along fine.
BTW: I'm a former SR customer & my SR service is still up & running. | |
| 
ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA | > Are the new staff residents of the Conterminous US? | |
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PaulHikeS2
join:2003-03-06
Merrimack, NH
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: > said by ninjatutle :Are the new staff residents of the Conterminous US? You made me look up a word. I was trying so hard not to learn anything today.
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Jay: What the @#$% is the internet??? | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| said by ninjatutle :Are the new staff residents of the Conterminous US? Sorry. I believe none of them fit that criteria. When I called earlier today someone with a distinctive Hawaiian voice answered. I was later transferred to someone who sounded Alaskan. I wish a company wouldn't hire foreigners.
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Go Colts | |
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ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA | Re: > You actually got through? I called and was #50 the prompt said. I quit and couldnt find out.
I'm going to call back to see if I could hear waves in the background or hear the sounds of Alaska, dead silence. | |
| 
RMKyote
join:2000-12-21
Beverly Hills, CA
·Qwest.net
·ViaTalk
| Major Problems before the SunRocket Demise. What now . . . . VT was having serious and continuous problems before the SunRocket collapse. So what can we expect now that they have a ton of new customers that will undoubtedly have problems? And what has been done about "Eric" the over zealous and attitude filled CSR? Hopefully now with more CSR's the chance of getting Eric will be less. A lot less.
It's great to see Brendan in the forums to answer questions, but he hasn't addressed the really important ones. Nor made his presence known in forums that are discussing the more prevalent problems.
The influx of SR customers may give VT a financial boost for the time being, but that does not address the problems that come with their product. And from what has been happening the latest round of problems have just surfaced. That tells me someone is tinkering where they shouldn't. I had features put on my line that I did not ask for that killed the line and after I found out on my own and had them removed there were residual problems. Then system wide problems start happening. What are we to expect now that they are addressing an influx of new customers? Hopefully, more people to experience the problems and add to the chorus.
Brendan. What is being done to address the increasing overall lack of quality at VT? | |
| |
See 7 replies to this post | |
sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online
| VT, eh. I tried them for a bit when it looked like Vonage might go tits up.
In theory, it looked good - nice features, decent enough "control panel", but the quality sucked. I tried various servers on their side and found that all of them had enough packet loss (graphed for a week with smokeping from a datacenter my dsl line is served out of) to affect call quality.
It seemed a bit odd to me that they run their own datacenter for web hosting, but put all their VoIP servers out at random ghetto locations with questionable connectivity. Support was no help, so I cancelled. | |
| shashinka
join:2000-09-16
West Boylston, MA
| voicestick i2telecom issues It took me 2 weeks to receive my telephone adapter. i made calls with their softphone and the quality was lower then my sunrocket line (beefy computer and line). Customer service never called me even though I left them messages and their supervisor said he would call me back. I left several messages via email also that took forever.
I hope once this dies down service quality restores. | |
| 
phattieg
join:2001-04-29
Winter Park, FL
 ·Verizon Wireless B..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| It doesn't surprise me... ViaTalk now has a customer base that they did not have time to prepair for. As a direct result, of course they will have issues answering the phone and trouble tickets. What do you expect. It cost alot more money than one thinks to answer the phones, and repair tickets, so why would a company, who is trying to save you money, hire more people than necessary to fix it. Of course they can hire outsourcers, but you have to train them, and that can take anywhere between 1 week to 1 month, depending on the complexity of their duties. SOMEONE has to be there to port your phone numbers. I'd expect this to be resolved soon, but could care less in the first place because I am not a customer of ViaTalk. It is so stupid to even make an article about this situation, considering the fact that SunRocket went belly up with such short notice. How can you EXPECT a certain level of service when you doubled your overall customer net gain? How about this, wait 2 months, THEN tell us they suck badly in that area. Reporting this so soon does nothing but stur up rumors, frustrate the folks they have that are answering the phones, and overall makes life harder for their company. I'm sure they aren't the only ones slammed by this situation. Naturally they are making number porting a priority to retain new connects.
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SIPPhone/Gizmo # 17476200648 / PIMPNET Chatline / Ran by Asterisk & Slackware 10.1. | |
| | 
what
@rr.com | Re: It doesn't surprise me... who is via talk... will they fold like sun rocket....... | |
| | | mep
join:2001-04-14
Warrington, PA | Re: It doesn't surprise me... Maybe you should do a little research and you'll answer your own question. | |
| ljbristow
join:2005-08-15
Studio City, CA
|  ViaTalk Issues & The Stan Shih SMile Curve & Growing Success
What I can do, (and my background is in IT for automotive retail), is point out to a "big wig" company that their actions, money, and responses have been followed by putting their money, actions, and support where their mouth is. I won't say they are perfect and that there are not some customers with negative experiences or relationships with Toyota Corp, but they are few. The reason I mention the Stan Shih Smile Chart is it lacks the 3rd dimension of the customer involvement through all components indicated. Although the company may perceive value in a new product they decide to develop, if the customer doesn't share in seeing the same value (either reducing custs or increasing sales in a measurable manner etc., the product will not succeed. Toyota has included its customers, employees at all levels front line to top management, etc. for changing and/or building a company of whom all can be proud (as well as satisfy its owners whether public or private). Toyota has succeeded to the point that they will even beat there own projections of being in the top 3 US car companies by 2010 to probably being so this year and perhaps # 1 by 2010 in the US. No, I do not and have never worked for Toyota, but sure wish more companies would adopt their customer-centric processes to grow their companies' success in ways that all can be proud. I would wish it were a US company, but it is not. Regardless, it is a great company anyway.
Josh B
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| zeyyxe
join:2004-08-19
Terre Haute, IN
| ...but, but, but... what about...??? WOW! I can see why you smart guys dont understand hiring more employees. Imagine the online installs. Someone has to ask, "Have you received the Linksys phone adapter in the mail?"...Is your computer plugged in?...Is your monitor plugged in and attached to your computer?...anyway, you get the idea. If you have 10 people running your company, is doubling it to 20 such an increase, if your sales tripled overnight? I am just saying, let's keep things in perspective, and hope that a company that provides reasonably priced telephone service proves their superior excellence in customer service. | |
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ViaTalk CEO Addresses SunRocket Influx
Obvious Result
