Being Peter Kim

Who "must die" now?

The title is borrowed, of course, from Bob Garfield's ongoing digital hatefest of Comcast, complete with its own Facebook group.  But rather than singling any telecom provider out, I think things are in bad shape all around.  Check this out.

Last week, I had Comcast TV and Verizon FIOS (internet, phone) installed.  Comcast was quick, in and out in a couple hours.  But with Verizon, after a few hours of installation, it turns out that the fiber on my street isn't hooked up to the main line at the cross street.  Upon further investigation, the installer discovered that my entire TOWN isn't hooked up to the network.  Oops.

So I called Comcast and they came back out in a couple days, set up phone and internet.  No problem.  Then I discovered, working out of a home office, I'm hogging the phone line like a stormy adolescent middle-schooler.  (Well, actually like me as a stormy adolescent middle-schooler, today's stormy adolescent middle-schoolers use text messaging and IM.  We've got Forrester data on that somewhere.)

So I call Verizon to request a good old-fashioned copper line installation.  Which would help if the power goes out, because with cable, the phone goes dead (same with FIOS, but they provide a battery backup - smart).  But there's a problem - Verizon can't handle a "downgrade" given the fiber already connected to the house, which is actually about as useful as a buried underground clothesline.  So reluctantly, they tell me to get a second Comcast line.

Great.  Online, I see I can get a new line for $10 without voicemail, call forwarding, and all sorts of modern conveniences - I just need POTS, works for me.  The Comcast rep tells me that the $10 line is fine, but I'll have to pay for long distance.  Well, what's long distance?  For starters, "Boston is long distance."  (What?  I live 14 miles away from the center of the city.)  Also, "toll-free numbers are long distance."  (What?  Since when did toll-free not mean free?)  Yeah, "I'm seeing people having to pay for those calls more and more."  OK whatever - give me the $20 deal and add your gold star to the upsell board for today, I just need a 2nd phone line.  I called back the next day, downgraded to the $10 and told Comcast that they needed to give this crazy phone rep a geography lesson, who lives in the Boston area but seems to have the education of Miss South Carolina.

Using Garfield's parlance, is there any company that "must die" in this situation?

In my opinion, it is what it is. Everything works now and I've got a blog post out of it.  Time to move on and get back to work.

Verizon Wireless and strange BREW

I have a friend who just can't get competent help from Verizon Wireless.  See, for the past couple of months she has been receiving strange SMS messages to her phone that consist of a bunch of code, prefaced by the word "BREW."

Now she's pretty sure on why she's getting these; about a year ago, she was upgrading phones (new every two!) and test drove a LG VX9800.  It was fun playing with "Get It Now" for a day or two, until you realize that the video is too small and slow to provide a good experience.  So she kept the same number and swapped it for a more practical Treo.

But for the past two months she has been getting BREW SMS messages at all times of day and night, some days 20 or more.  It's pretty clear that these BREW alerts are related to the old phone - they mention VX9800 amongst the gobbeldygook along with a site name like "Accuweather" or "Fox Sports" and apparent subject lines like "Doctors say Everett impr" and "VZW Fox Sports."

But Verizon's customer service can't seem to figure out how to stop the messages.
- She's been in two stores where techs said they'd fix everything in 20 minutes.  No clue.
- Been on the phone three times with tech support.  No help.
- Sent to 3rd party alert provider.  No idea.
- Checked settings online.  Nothing there.

The solutions offered have ranged from "change your phone number" to "just ignore and delete them."  Verizon will not block spam, even when it's their own.  That's about 5+ hours of life wasted with tech support that had no clue.  They can't even connect the dots on the "Get It Now" part of the equation!

At this point, she is ready to terminate the contract and switch carriers.  If she's going to switch numbers, why stay with a network that can't help you?

This is a known, but uncommon problem.  Anyone else experience this?  Have a solution?

Three strikes for Comcast Triple Play

My Comcast service is out at home.  I am a triple play subscriber.  This means:

1. No TV (not a big deal)
2. No internet access (a hassle)
3. No telephone (potentially a big deal)

Here's the transcript of my chat session.  A quick summary:  "Oh hai.  Can't help.  Here's some spam.  Ok bye."

user Peter_ has entered room
P:  My comcast service is down - no internet access, phone calls, or tv.  When will it be fixed?

analyst Eric has entered room
E:  Hello Peter_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Eric. Please give me one moment to review your information.
E:  I am very sorry to learn about the difficulties that you have experienced.  I will be happy to assist you in resolving them.
E:  One moment please while I see if there is trouble in your area.
E:  I apologize for the inconvenience. There is an outage in the area. Our technicians are currently working to resolve the problem. At this time we do not have an estimated time of repair.

E:  Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
P:  No.

E:  Thank you for contacting Comcast. If you need assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us through Live Chat or E-mail (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Thank you again for choosing Comcast we appreciate your business.  To visit our local support page including links to contact us via Email, as well as  many downloadable forms,and FAQ pages, please visit:  http://www.comcast.com/nesupport/

Did you know that Comcast offers its customers a variety of free benefits?  These include McAfee Antivirus, Firewall and Privacy software as well the Comcast tool bar that lets you take Comcast.net with you while you surf, and the Desktop Doctor to help you restore lost settings...plus much more, please visit http://www.comcast.net/downloads/ to see all of the extras that we provide.

E:  Get tips from the FBI on how to protect your family online and watch an overview of the McAfee security suite! Please join us for “Online Safety for the Connected Family”, a free live webinar, September 12th, 2007 at 8pm. A live question and answer session will follow the presentation. Visit www.comcast.com/getconnected for more details and to register!

Don’t forget Comcast offers its customers many free benefits McAfee Antivirus, Firewall and Privacy software as well the Comcast tool bar that lets you take Comcast.net with you while you surf, and the Desktop Doctor to help you restore lost settings...plus much more, visit http://www.comcast.net/downloads/ to see all of the extras!

Thank you very much for contacting Comcast electronic support.

If you require additional assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us again; we appreciate your business!
To visit our local download page please visit:  http://www.comcast.com/nesupport/

Analyst has closed chat and left the room
analyst Eric has left room

Update: Thomas and Friends recall

  I've been recalled 
  Originally uploaded by Pete Kim.

About five weeks ago, toy manufacturer RC2 announced a recall of Thomas and Friends parts - mostly painted red.  It took me a couple of weeks to find and send our James #5 back; yesterday I got this email.

Pretty good customer service, especially for a B2B2C company that you'd never buy directly from.  Not good"in the sense of "above and beyond," but rather from the sense of unexpected timely communication.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "recalls@rc2corp.com"
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 4:12:41 PM
Subject: Wooden Vehicle Recall

We wanted to let you know that we received the items you have returned to RC2 Corporation in response to our voluntary recall. Please be assured that we are working diligently to replace your product in a timely manner. In the meantime, if you need to contact us regarding your replacement, please use reference number xxxxxx.

The trust you have placed in the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway brand is very important to us. We want you to know that we fully understand and share your concerns and are dedicated to safeguarding that trust. Since our recall announcement a few weeks ago, we've focused on three primary objectives:

1. Recovery of products subject to the recall
2. Determination of what happened
3. Thorough review of our processes and procedures to prevent it from happening again and to assure consumers that our products are safe.

We are making progress on all three objectives, and we deeply appreciate your patience and loyalty during this time.

Regards,
Consumer Service
RC2 Corporation
---------------------------------------

IBM lost records: Part 2

OK, so it was nice of IBM to send a letter to former employees as a heads up and offer a year of credit monitoring service.

But does it change your opinion if you know that:
- they sent the letter seven weeks after mainstream media reported on it?
- they sent letters to other former employees weeks before you?
- the tapes were not stolen or lost, but fell off a truck?

IBM loses employee records: Is ignorance bliss?

A friend of mine got a letter this week from IBM, where he worked over a decade ago.  The letter reads:

"We are writing because of an incident that has resulted in the loss of information relating to your IBM employment, and we wanted to inform you about what happened and explain steps IBM is taking to help protect you.

Recently data tapes were lost while being transported by a vendor.  Those tapes contained primarily archival IBM employment-related information, including Social Security numbers.  After a thorough investigation...we have concluded the tape loss was inadvertent and not associated with theft or any other unlawful activity."

The letter goes on to explain that no one has reported identity theft and the tapes can't be read by a personal computer.  But the Q&A gives more details; namely that the tapes were lost on February 23, 2007 and they not only have SSNs but also birthdays, contact information, and work history.

IBM has also included a year of free credit monitoring, just in case.

So:  it's bad that the tapes were lost.  It's good that they didn't wait a year like TJX to identify the problem and alert consumers.  But in this case, does ignorance = bliss?  I'm not a PR/crisis management type; this was certainly a proactive move by IBM.  However, another strategy would be to have a quick response prepared in case signs of trouble pop up (e.g. using brand monitoring tools).

Any thoughts on what IBM's "right" move would be in this situation?

UPDATE:  See this Consumerist post about the GAO and data breach notification...

JetBlue makes good on its promise

JetBlue said they'd compensate passengers by March 15th.

And they did. (see pic at left)

The long road to rebuilding trust continues...

JetBlue's apology: the P.S.

JetBlue sent out an apology via email yesterday.  It wasn't just sent to passengers impacted by the weather/operations snafu - it went out to all TrueBlue members.

The apology was already published on the JetBlue website, along with Neeleman's video.  But the email contains a postscript (i.e. P.S.) message that you can't see anywhere else:

P.S. We pledge to keep you informed with more details about the implementation of our improved recovery plans in the coming weeks. There is no need to reply to this email about compensation inquiries. We will be contacting you directly by March 15.

In other words, "don't call us, we'll call you."  Implied:  "trust us."  A tough thing to do, especially if you experienced things first hand last week/end.  Take a bit of sincerity off of the apology, IMO - hopefully they'll deliver within the next three weeks.

My JetBlue fiasco: epilogue

Late Friday, JetBlue's phone lines were back up and running.  The website still insisted that my flight had departed the day before, so I had to call in for a refund.  The agent was courteous and clearly instructed to not speak very much about what had happened the day before in New York.  I had my flight refunded, but nothing past that despite this quote from CEO David Neelman:

"I think the best thing we can do is say we're sorry and give them their money back, and give them a free ticket and then kind of plead with them to come and fly again"  CNN, 2/16/07

No apology or free ticket for me - the phone agent indicated that my situation had to have been much worse.  The kicker: a colleague got back to SF that night - on American.

Everyone flies for a reason - mine was for a speech worth thousands of dollars in revenue for my company.  Others were traveling for business as well.  Some were going on vacation.  Some were going to see family.  The worst part about the situation wasn't the anger and frustration - it was seeing the people who were just exhausted, given no recourse or support - they were the ones who - left hopeless - just broke down crying.

JetBlue's weather fiasco: my story

I posted last night as I was sitting in Boston's Logan Airport, waiting for a flight to San Jose.  As passengers piled up in the gate area when flight after flight was delayed, JetBlue's JFK woes were broadcast on CNN Airport Network.

At first, everything seemed fine.  The weather was bright and clear outside, no need to worry.  Then my 3:55 pm departure was pushed out 15 minutes.  Which became an hour.  Then a couple of hours.  I went and had dinner.  Then sat in the gate, watching as travelers grew increasingly nervous with each announcement.

Unlike a typical Thursday, the airport was filled with families trying to get a head start on their vacation, as public schools are on holiday next week.  Frustrated parents.  A young engineer who wants to make her 10 am meeting in Mountain View.  An MBA student on the eve of his interview with one of the most prestigious VC's in the world.  A Brit who declares, "This was my first time flying JetBlue - I'm never flying this airline again."

Finally, after more time spent waiting then would have been spent in the air, the flight's cancelled.  The gate agent announces, "Sorry, most flights are full through the end of next week.  You can pick up your luggage downstairs."  A message on jetblue.com states, "most flights after 5 pm have been cancelled in order to set us up for a better operating day tomorrow."  So I went home.

I'd expect that my ticket would be refunded in full.  But according to JetBlue, my flight actually departed yesterday (see pic)!  I called 1-800-JETBLUE a few times to see if I could get this squared away, but a recorded message states, "due to extremely high call volume, we can't take your call...Goodbye."

So what happened?  The weather.  Which exposed caused breakdowns in JetBlue's equipment, policies and procedures, and service channels.  It's difficult enough to build a great brand under clear skies - let's see how B6 handles this figurative storm - because they've failed dismally at handling the literal one.

Rave: Hotel Pulitzer, Amsterdam

Just a quick rave from me for the staff at the Hotel Pulitzer in Amsterdam.  The hotel is nice and it's the people that deliver a great experience.

First of all, they let me check in at 9 am.  I was fully expecting to store my bags and walk around town grundgy for five or six hours.

I asked for a rollaway bed to accommodate some additional family members; they upgraded me to a suite.

A plate of Dutch fruit was waiting for after returning from dinner, in addition to welcome gifts for the kids.  (They accept dogs, too - next time they're coming with.)

And this is all in less than 24 hours.  I can hardly remember the last time I stayed at a hotel where the staff wasn't just courteous, but actually took extra steps to deliver a great experience.  Probably not since my wedding/honeymoon...

Delta Air Lines. Customer service. Abysmal.

OK, so Delta is bankrupt.  Does that explain why its customer service is so abysmal?  I'm trying to book some flights this week.  I have old credits to apply and I call up to make sure I can apply them + get a child fare (can't be booked online).  Good news:  I can [supposedly] apply the credits online.  Bad news:  there aren't any child fares available in this particular market (Louisville - Boston).  OK fine, I'll book everything online.  Oh, and if I have any problems, the agent tells me to call the online support number at 888-750-3284.

I log on to delta.com.  Find flights, apply credits, everything's going fine.  Then - "System Unavailable."  OK.  I clear my cache and cookies, try this again.  Same result.  Try it again, this time with IE 6 instead of Firefox.  Same result.  So I call the online support number.

Delta:  [ring ring] [immediately goes to hold musak]
(a few minutes pass)
Delta:  Hello, what are you calling about?
Me:  Hi, I'm trying to book a flight on delta dot com.
Delta:  Hello - there's a problem with your phone line.  Are you there?
Me:  Hello, I'm trying to book a flight on delta dot com and having some problems.
Delta:  OK.  Are you trying to go online with internet explorer or your internet service provider?
Me:  [confused] Excuse me?
Delta:  Some internet service providers are incompatible with delta.com.
Me:  Really?  I'm pretty sure my ISP is compatible.
Delta:  How are you logging on to the internet?
Me:  I'm using a cable modem and Comcast internet service.
Delta:  OK, well what you need to do is find a button called "start" and then look for a menu option called "programs"...
Me:  Are you serious?
[this goes on for a couple more minutes - and then I had to hang up.]

I tried to book online the next morning - same problem, system still unavailable.  So I called Delta again - this time I got Bombay on the line (last time it was Pune).  Delta charges $10 more for booking a ticket over the phone instead of online.

Me:  Well, the online system was broken and given that I had no choice but to book over the phone, I'd like a $10 discount.
Delta:  I'm sorry, I told you at the beginning of the call that there is a $10 service fee.  There's nothing I can do.
[on top of the $50 rebooking fee]

This is what happens when your customer service department blindly follows operating procedures instead of trying to understand the customer perspective.  By the way: the e-Credit functionality doesn't work, either.  So why put it on your site?