[geeks] @home has finally done it...

[David Passmore]

On Sun, Aug 19, 2001 at 04:28:54PM -0400, Kurt Huhn wrote:
> 
> Not everyone can offord to colocate servers - talk about prohibitive costs!
> It's not like I'm trying to provide managed web hosting for a customer base
> of hundreds.  The only user on my systems is me and my wife, and we operate
> one lowly Apache instance to serve pics of the kids for our family to see.

Dozens of companies serve virtual hosts for $9.95 a month. There is also
@Home's own Webspace product which is geared towards exactly what you
describe.

> Don't get me wrong - I don't mind paying for what I get.  This is exactly
> why I'm moving to Speakeasy - even thought it will quadruple the monthly
> charges for internet access.  See my previous emails about what was promised
> to me from @home.  At minimum, I should have gotten an alert that changes
> were being made to the network.  I get regular emails from Exodus (where my
> employers servers are colocated) even if the changes don't directly impact
> that datacenter.  It's simply good customer service.

Exodus is not a consumer service. If you cut off SMTP to a business service
you damn well better be e-mailing your customers.

Managing a business on razor-thin margins is all about managing expenses.
For customer service, it is about managing the number of calls. Send e-mail
to a mass consumer customer base about turning off SMTP-- given that the vast
majority of them don't know what SMTP is-- and you generate thousands of
calls. As cutthroat as it may seem, if you just cut it off and deal with the
few folks it really affects, it generates fewer calls. I don't like the fact
that the tier 1 support didn't know about it any more than you do, though. I
will admit that the tiered support (tier 1 is actually the cable company)
leaves a lot to be desired.

David