When a company you like does something sleazy

March 18, 2008 By

[UPDATE - I just got a call from an un-named GlobeScape employee that tells me this is NOT them. He says it is a company called "Global Escape" and that the callers have such poor English that a lot of people have had the same misunderstanding. I really hope he is right. This didn't feel like something GlobeScape would do. But I would like someone from GlobeScape to officially disavow this.]

You feel sleazy.

I just received a marketing call – from a local company I have supported for years.

The company is GlobeScape. We once shared a wall in an office complex.

Now I don’t know if this was really GlobeScape or if the caller was just trying to scam me.

But either way, it hurts the GlobeScape brand.

I’ve used their CuteFTP Pro product for a very long time, and I even promoted it on Twitter over the last couple of days.

But tonight I was “randomly selected” as a “winner” to “celebrate” GlobeScape’s move to their new building.

I “won” a round trip ticket and two night hotel stay anywhere in the US.

Until I answered the “are you married” question.

I said, “No”. The guy (with poor English) then said, “Mr. Rob, do you have a live in girlfriend or partner?”

Nope, just me and my kids, I explained.

“I’m sorry sir”, he said. “This promotion is only for couples.”

And my “prize” went away. My “randomly” selected name meant nothing.

PLEASE – someone from GlobeScape tell me this wasn’t really you running this. If it was, it is dirty. The only reason you would limit it to couples only is if you are trying to sell me something.

And I am already your customer.

One you can only lose if you are actually involved in this.

Filed Under: Community, Rants, WTF?

When I really think about my cable bill…

March 14, 2008 By

It doesn’t bother me as much.  Sure, just looking at the total is depressing, but then I think about what Time Warner delivers me for my ~$200/month.

I have about 30 HD channels.  I could have more, but I don’t watch Premium Channels – so I don’t pay for them.  I have a bunch of interactive TV stuff – some of it I use often (Start Over is very cool).

I have hundreds of TV channels to choose from.

And that is all very cool.

I also have a digital phone that lets me call anywhere I want to call for a flat fee.  I don’t have to think twice about calling that customer in New York.  It is “free”.  All I can eat for $39.95 a month.

And that is all very cool.

But I also get Road Runner High Speed Internet.  I think I pay $50/month for this.

And Road Runner lets me work from my home.  It lets me consume on average 10 GB a month of content – blogs, music, movies, news, etc.

It also lets me create a lot of content in a lot of ways.  I can blog, upload videos, do podcasts and even talk to my developers overseas all via the Internet.

But mostly Time Warner lets me work from home.  The money I am saving on gas more than pays for my Internet.  And my cable.  And my phone.

So now that TW has all the bugs worked out with my house (in an older neighborhood that required some upgrades) I don’t cringe when looking at my cable bill.

In fact, I have a > $300 CREDIT right now.  Because I am over-paying.  Because I don’t want to underpay.  I don’t want my life-feed to be cut off.

I don’t want to have to go to an office.  It has really been about 7 years since I *had* to go to an office.

So I will continue to bitch if my Time Warner service fails.  But I think I am over bitching about how much it costs me.  When I consider that every dime I make comes through my cable modem, either through a phone call or an Internet connection.

And then I meet the most wonderful people.

So yes – my Time Warner connection is worth every penny I pay.  I wish it cost less.  But I won’t bitch about it any more.

Unless it breaks.

Filed Under: Personal, Time Warner

Comcast Sucks

February 26, 2008 By

Sorry, but they do.  What honest company – what company that had nothing to hide and nothing to fear -would stoop to this level?

I find their actions repulsive.  And I am pleased I live in an area they do not service.

How big are the stakes in the so-called network neutrality debate now raging before Congress and federal regulators?

Consider this: One side in the debate actually went to the trouble of hiring people off the street to pack a Federal Communications Commission meeting yesterday—and effectively keep some of its opponents out of the room.

Broadband giant Comcast—the subject of the F.C.C. hearing on network neutrality at the Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts—acknowledged that it did exactly that.

Comcast F.C.C. Hearing Strategy – Portfolio.com

Filed Under: Rants, WTF?
Newer Posts »
MySQL query error