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

[Kurt Huhn]

>
> 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.

Perhaps - but then you lose control of your box.  I have yet to find a
provider that gives you the ability to use SMTP, HTTP, and POP3 to do with
what you want.  Again, to drive your point home, you get what you pay for.
@home's webspace product is *sorely* lacking - again, it is geared towards
Joe Websurfer, not someone like me.

>
> 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.

Tier 1 was actually @home in San Diego.  I have no idea where Tier 2 was
located - nor do I care.  All Cox does is route calls to San Diego when they
find out that it's an issue wih your @home service.  They're not qualified
to provide *any* service at the local cable affiliate call center - they
freely admit that.  That's why they *immediately* route the call to San
Diego.  The Cox reps are probably Tier zero if you think about it - sorta
like the receptionist at a lawyers office.

At any rate - If they're having problems with economy of scale - they need
to find a better way to deal with it.  <sigh> Just because something makes
economic sense doesn't make it right or "good".  A former boss once imparted
to me that "A lack of planning on your part, does not create an emergency on
my part".  I have to agree with him.  With every business I've ever been
involved in, the instant a finance or sales person start talking about
economies of scale, I immediately caution them about their assumptions.
Sales projections and assumptions about economy will only get you one
place - in financial trouble and possibly out of business.  However, that is
neither here or there.

All I'm saying, is that @home's customer service and awareness is beginning
to suck elephant testicles.  There was a day when every support call I made
was routed to a geek as passionate about the technology as I was.  That has
given way to a dead end - with my call being answered by someone with a
script or a "solutions book" in front of them.  Years ago it was actually an
@home service rep that pointed me to Monolith Internet Services (now
DHS.org) to get my IP serving websites and email on the cheap.  Another one
pointed me towards Granite Canyon if I wanted a "real dot-com" domain name
for my @home IP.  There was a time when @home was proud to not restrict
incoming ports - and advertised that fact when another cable internet
provider (MediaOne or RoadRunner) started doing it.

Granted, I expect a lot from the people/compaanies I do business with - and
I am not your average user.  For having unfettered access to (and from) the
internet, I would gladly pay Cox at home a premium - but there is no "hobbyist"
or "sysadmin" offering from @home - a grave oversight in my opinion.
Perhaps the architecture doesn't support offerings of that type - others
know more about that than I do.

Whatever - what's done is done and there's nothing I can do about it.  I
think we can all agree on *that* point.

Kurt