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AT&T Phone Home (or Find Your CRM System)

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

My home, that is. I believe you may be in the telephone business and probably could actually call customers! –More on that later. I have enjoyed AT&T U-Verse service and would not discourage anyone from subscribing, but be VERY careful about the billing relationship. Let’s start with some good news. I have no photo or video of anyone sleeping on my couch. I will end with a high note about the lack of any need for that.

Suddenly about noon my AT&T service stopped. I thought there must be some new install in the neighborhood or some minor network issue. I had dial tone on my phone so I figured there was not some catastrophic problem. Since I rarely use it to make calls, I did not even try—that might have been a clue! All of a sudden it hit me. The threatening letters to disconnect service were to be effective about this time of the month. I had not been concerned since we had paid online within the last two weeks after some considerable confusion previously about arranging for U-Verse to be paid. I would say we have been getting threatening letters since the service was installed 7 months ago, so what was another.

But with the realization that those threatening letters could have been fulfilled, I looked up the last threatening letter and yes, it threatened that service could be discontinued, so just maybe I better call to see if this may be what happened. Well of course that was it!

AT&T has every reason to believe I am a deadbeat customer so I can certainly see the problem—NOT. Let me check, I have been an AT&T (and predecessors) customer all my life and never had a problem about paying bills. I have had the same phone number for over 30 years, not to mention a second line. I have had DSL service for years. Of course they may not recognize I also have two mobile phones from them. I am definitely a customer who could leave them and not pay at a moment’s notice. And on top of all that, they knew we had previously been having troubles getting the e-payment correct, and I later discover that this is a repeated story of others.

So there I am talking to some poor representative who has to deal with me in a state I don’t wish to be in, and now she doesn’t either. She verifies that my bill is overdue and indeed my service has been shut-off. How could this be we just paid? I was then amazed that in a few seconds she could verify that the e-payment was still incorrectly applied to my old landline account, where she found a surplus of some $230 credit. If she could discover this in less than a minute, do you think that there might be some policy to discover what accounts are being disconnected? Could anyone have discovered that AT&T did have payment but there was a billing confusion? Could it be possible to make a phone call to see if there was a problem we were aware of? Have they heard of email? Instant messaging? Text messaging? Twitter? Oh no, that is Comcast that has learned about Twitter. How about when your competition is using new service tools, that you better discover what that is about?

The final recovery: I did expect that there should be no penalty for restarting service and that was resolved without even a request. My tone of voice made that request unsaid. I was astonished that the incorrect payment could be found immediately. For clarity the origin of this whole mess is that my phone bill is paid in California (where I live) and U-Verse is paid in Illinois, I assume for everyone. I was told that some e-payments could not be arranged to them, which seems hard to believe. This must be a widespread point of confusion for customers.

I am trying to deal with the shock that restoring service could take up to 24 hours. Since this is my life line to the world, I could not imagine that something so simple could be that complicated especially when it took only a minute to discover the payment error. Towards the end of my call I did get a call center incoming call. It was then I realized that AT&T would not want to disrupt the billing of call centers to reach me. ( I blogged previously that I do not answer my legacy phone unless I see a known Caller ID.) While I was ranting to the beleaguered agent about receiving irritating calls while my service was disconnected she hung-up on me. Then MIRACULOUSLY within two minutes my service was restored.

I am supposed to be grateful that this was easily restored—and I am. Maybe I should be impressed that no one fell asleep on my couch, but AT&T this is NO way to run a business. You were supposed to get over being a monopoly long ago. Delivering somewhat state of the art services should be some sort of influence to use technology in the customer relationship part of business. Look at this one angry stupid phone that still has me cranked up. This is not the kind of animated customers a business needs. Thank-you for restoring my service in two minutes—after irritating me for a few hours and making me wonder, is anyone thinking there?

Posted in NextGen Telephony, Social Networking, Tech Life, Telephony | 3,678 Comments »

175 Million Lawyers to Work for Facebook

Friday, February 27th, 2009

They needed to do something. And they needed to do it fast. Only Facebook could seek 175 million opinions, and they are all free. Change that headline. 175 million lawyers working for free to help Facebook arrive at a Terms of Service (TOS) document. I don’t see a problem. This should lead to some great legal advice.

OK, so it could be a bit scary. Hey Facebook, could you like maybe make any references to my old girlfriend go away– and her too, if possible. She was so totally lame, she shouldn’t be allowed on Facebook. 175 million request pouring in. I really hope most don’t arrive after closing time. Maybe they should require all views to be faxed in… –to a single ancient fax machine. Hey dude, where can I find a fax machine? I got an idea for Facebook.

Maybe this is just what you deserve after a sequence of bonehead moves. I dread having a committee come up with a mission statement. What can this do? A well thought out TOS should consider the user community needs and seek a respectful, supportable and conscientious position. That would be great. I am hopeful that this public sausage-making process can address issues of concern. What would be ideal is for Facebook to set a new standard, not for process, but a TOS that can be used for all community services.

As users we routinely check the box, yes I can accept your draconian TOS if you will just let me use your services or whatever is offered. Users don’t really agree with the TOS. The system is broken. Facebook just got caught trying to break it in a most grievous manner. In some sense companies have been at the mercy of legal advice (not the 175 million kind) that may have a basis in protecting the corporation. There just have never been 175 million who are so well connected and dependent on the TOS. Well, every dog has its day, and just maybe 175 million finally with have their day.

175 Million amateur lawyers is indeed a scary thought, but let’s see if Facebook can find a sensible relationship with the user community. Maybe we can get a resulting landmark TOS from this awkward situation. This dog would be pleased and impressed with proof that social networking has the great future I think it does.

Posted in Social Networking, Tech Life | 992 Comments »

Ignorance, Innocence and Greed at Facebook

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Facebook is powered by a huge group of bright young faces, so we might expect some missteps, but they are adding up. We are already aware of malfeasance involved in the founding of Facebook. At some point in Silicon Valley we let bygones be bygones. Continued questionable actions do raise second thoughts.

Facebook could use a supply of towels to keep the youthful group a bit dryer behind the ears A gray hair or two in-house seems highly unlikely to be heeded at this point. One lesson that appears to not be learned at Facebook is the concept of business stakeholders. Customers are often given short shrift in the stakeholder pecking order. Nothing could be a bigger mistake at Facebook.

Every business owes much to customers, but none more than a social networking site. The reason I am a huge fan and bullish on Facebook, and social networking in general, is because of the role of users, the most critical of “customers” in this game. Without us, Facebook is dead. Hello Mark. –Not reduced in value or importance, but dead. I believe it is a self-correcting system. Facebook has shown this with each significant mistake. How many “mistakes” will it take?

Of course you can expect a strong reaction from some when these blunders are caught. Fortunately while most are aghast that Facebook could be out of touch, the proxy outbreak serves to put Facebook back on track. I confess to being a bit tired of the routine. This is NOT rocket science. I offer my free gray-hair advice. Facebook should have an internal mantra and it should be about the most important stakeholder. That is not the stockholder, but your stockholders will not be happy if users are allowed to migrate away from what has been a tsunami of endorsement. I can’t imagine more than ten words and it should be in front of everyone inside.

On this subject I was inspired by a thoughtful commentary on Network World, that bastion of social networking. When critical comments are appearing from far, the reach and importance of the mission should be clear. Don’t screw it up.

Posted in Product, Social Networking, Tech Life | 769 Comments »

More Social Networking on the Road

Friday, January 9th, 2009

For most Californians the road to Las Vegas goes through Barstow. –Well, in today’s world that means it goes around Barstow. Barstow is one of the cities along the iconic Route 66. In the past Barstow must have been like a beacon to those heading west seeking a new life. Still in the high desert, I am sure travelers’ heads started to fill with visions of the Pacific Ocean, Hollywood and the life they were seeking. For me Barstow is a bit of an oasis on the road, a respite from flying low with the hammer down marking off the minutes to Las Vegas. To me Barstow is the Idle Spurs restaurant.

Long before Barstow became a marker to pass by, my path to Las Vegas ran along highway 58. It still does but now a new route 58 joins I-15 will the sole intent of missing Barstow. Before the modernization I found the Idle Spurs as most travelers looking for a break from fast food and hoping for a good meal. You get that and more. I peruse the menu, yet every time I order a house specialty prime rib—I’m a cowboy now.

The Idle Spurs has always seemed to me a mecca of social networking, but, of course I wouldn’t have called it social networking. I really don’t know much about Barstow, but from stopping at the Idle Spurs I know the people there know each other. It is worlds apart from Silicon Valley and far different than the college scene that birthed Facebook. Every time I am there I marvel a bit to myself of the conversations overheard all about connections. I can see the references to high school years in connecting directly, through siblings, relatives and across generations. Years ago I must have thought it a bit quaint, not thinking too much about it.

Today I think about social networking and the social graph. Barstow lives it, breathes it as every small town does. On one hand I am thinking why would anyone here give a rip about social networking in my context? My community is virtual and worldwide, rarely if ever sitting across a table, but with a richness you couldn’t find in this rural town. Where does this virtual world fit in Barstow? What can technology, Web 2,0, social applications do for this seeming pure world? Yet I am just as sure that social networking in my context may be used differently, but can be very meaningful in Barstow. My dinners in Barstow will never be the same now.

Posted in Social Networking, Tech Life | 783 Comments »

Which Phone Technology or Application is Dead Now?

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

It is fun (and seasonal) to close the door on something as dead or being totally over. I have been playing with the concept that your phone is dead. There are two dimensions to this telephony question in my mind, technology and application.

It is great to speculate about some view of VoIP that finds it to be dead. You need to have a very specific view to make such a comment. VoIP, as a technology, is everywhere. That game is over– VoIP wins. As an application you could have a different view. Now all the pretenders, and they are legion, exploiting VoIP claiming to have invented some variation on perpetual motion are lining up to be declared dead. I am more amazed that some are still flourishing by any virtual measure. The search for greater fools to make a graceful exit becomes more difficult in the financial times we are mired in now. The grim reaper is stalking these operations.

From a technology perspective I think it would be hard to declare legacy (digital/analog) telephony dead as well. We would be speechless without it. It is a game that may be over in many ways, but gone it won’t be for some time. –How long has fax been dead? I rest my case.

From an application view I have been considering proclaiming your phone dead, or at least “over.” Almost every mode of communication is more useful, than a legacy phone call, that includes mobile. Of course we still talk, but the category of a “cold call” now includes your friends or almost any call. I find this to be the biggest story in telephony. Who made text so cheap to demand that we use it? Instant messaging and now Twitter variations and any other text mode is more useful. Where are you? How do you feel? What’s on your mind? Who would call to ask how are you? Your mother– we can count on that, of course.

While I am in a bashing mode I am pretty harsh on videoconferencing , but this is very different. I have been too close to videoconferencing since 1995. I was suspicious then and have seen it proclaimed as the next thing for so long, I could be tired of it. We have it integrated all over and that certainly makes it easy finally, but the value is still exaggerated. That is a subject in itself, but an unwelcome interrupting call is no more attractive because of video! Family, lovers and never-ending porn variations have real value. This does not make it a vital dimension of communication, no matter how much you love your mother. (A reference to porn and your mother is not good in the same logical sequence, but you get the idea.)

Posted in NextGen Telephony, Social Networking, Tech Life, Telephony, VoIP | 7,538 Comments »

What’s Up with Skype’s Market (or Marketing)

Monday, July 21st, 2008

It is not a good sign that I am too busy to comment about Skype and the EBay quarterly report. I don’t watch closely but Skype Journal is a great reminder of these events. Skype should be concerned that I am spending time with Facebook instead of Skype. Of course they might not care what I personally am doing but the numbers of developers and applications on Facebook speak for themselves. Skype should be asking if there is a lesson here. There is.

First developers do not need to pay the platform and find a place among favorite sons and big money. While there are always going to be some advantages to dominant participants, Facebook offers a remarkably level playing field. The platform benefits from developer applications and innovation beyond the platform itself. Skype does have the most versatile telephony platform. In my view they barely appreciate it. It is not exploited as well as it could be. Users certainly have little visibility into the benefits of such. (Compare to Facebook where users rule.)

And here is a real fundamental that is missed as far as I can tell. I think the biggest general malaise around Skype is staring us all in the face. I can barely figure out Skype. Now how can an average user approaching Skype know what benefits may accrue, if it is so complicated and obscure that I can’t even explain it easily to such a user? The Skype Journal posting by Jim Courtney correctly wonders, what is the rate of acquiring real users? Why are so many coming but not staying? Duh. Do you suppose something is lost in the translation and users don’t want to spend hours trying to figure how it can help?

For some reason the Skype website (they aren’t the only one) does not want to clearly express all the various user benefits. You have to probe and probe, go to sign-up pages and present various alternatives to see what you might discover. They make a phone company look straightforward. Names of initiatives change, get modified and restructured so that if you knew what something was last year, it’s not quite the same now. I get the best insight on explanations that come periodically on Skype Journal. If Skype Journal has to explain what Skype features are offered this is a very sad state of affairs.

The Skype value proposition is dependent on where you are in the world. Maybe they don’t want that so visible, but so what. If a new visitor cannot figure out what possible value may be delivered to them, or to their friends and family elsewhere, the user moves on. If the unique capabilities of the Skype platform are not exploited, it degrades into just another IP voice option from a visitors view. I think Skype remains largely dependent on word of mouth for one user to introduce others. In the beginning that was very useful. Check the calendar, it’s 2008.

Posted in Skype, Social Networking, Telephony, VoIP | 24 Comments »