The
Cost
Of
Doing
Nothing
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'I just got off the phone with 3 clients
today and decided to completely change the topic I had originally planned for
May. I have done this long enough to
have practically lost my hair (no jokes please), wrestling with providers of
internet, local, long distance, cellular, and hardware service(s). You name them and I’ve fought them all……All
in the attempts to place clients in applications they need versus services they
are sold.
I am convinced that it’s not the individual
representative at fault here but the ridiculous bureaucracies they are forced
to work in, through, and under. Their
billing, collection, and escalation departments are incredulous at best. I know that it’s unfair to generalize but I
must in order to simply illustrate my points.
It takes a strong will as a client to see this process
through. Inevitably, relatively smooth
conversions are followed by billing that borders on a Stephen King horror
story. I have many to tell.
So many clients are inclined to wish that they had never
made the transition (I know your names!).
But fear not….things actually work out!
Many can attest to that. They
have braved the rough waters of telecom conversion and live to tell the story!
It is imperative that we continue to push providers to
deliver the kinds of valued service we assume we’re going to get when we send
in checks every month. I will continue
to push them to do so. When we take on
an account it is with the intention of staying on until all billing and service
issues are resolved. We vow to do just
that!
Sure putting everything back the way it was removes the
inconveniences of getting things the way they’re supposed to be but it is
simply putting a bandaid on a hemorrhage.
Stay the course and insist that providers earn the precious dollar you
spend for their services by delivering the services that their marketing
departments promise! See the article
below!!
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Telcoms
Under
Fire
in
Lansing
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There
was bipartisan criticism of phone companies in Lansing Wednesday. First, State attorney
general Mike Cox issued a press release criticizing the state Public Service
Commission for allowing a Verizon rate hike to go into effect without a
hearing. Cox criticized the Commission for approving the intrastate line charge
without a hearing, without the opportunity to cross-examine Verizon's
witnesses, and without the opportunity to submit expert testimony that would
establish the unreasonableness of Verizon's rates.
Cox
noted that instead of granting a hearing as the Attorney General had requested,
the Commission based its decision, in part, on 5- and 6-year-old cost studies.
Cox said the so-called intrastate end user charge for in-state calls of $3.25 a
month "is one of the reasons that Michigan's
local phone rates exceed the national average by almost 46 percent." The
national average for unlimited local calling is $14.53, yet Verizon's rate with
the EUCL included is $21.21 per month, or $6.68 per month higher than the
national average, according to Cox's comments filed in the case. Cox said he
requested a hearing on the EUCL in a filing on March 13. The Commission never
scheduled one.
Verizon
spokesman John VanWyck said that "we support the commission's decision. We
believe they acted fully within the law at keeping our rate structure within
our costs. The law requires us to set our rates at or above our costs. That
part of the charge is part of the total cost of providing service, and we feel
we have to build that charge into our rate base or we'd be in violation of the
law, if our rates didn't cover our costs."
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Contact Us For Your Free
Telecom Assessment & Strategy Report
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E-mail: consult@totalsolutionsgroup.org
Or call us toll-free at 877.455.3074
Some of our clients:
Lake Michigan
College
Washtenaw Schools
Yeo & Yeo
Midland , Saginaw,
Port Huron Schools
Saginaw Control & Engineering
Saginaw County
9-1-1
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The Total Solutions Group Telecom Assessment & Strategy Advantage: |
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Audits
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Audits
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projects
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Schools
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Special Olympics
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Neighbors
Mission
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of
Ohio
|
Verizon
Mulling
Phone
Line
Sales:
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Verizon Communications may sell some of its traditional phone
lines in two deals that could fetch as much as $8 billion, according to a
report on the Wall Street Journal's Web site on Wednesday.
One deal,
involving packages of access lines in three U.S. states-- Vermont, New
Hampshire and Maine--could be valued at $2 billion to $3 billion, according to
the report, which cites unnamed sources.
Another deal involving lines in Indiana,
Illinois, Ohio and Michigan
could be valued at $4 billion to $5 billion, the report said. The potential sales are part of the company's
strategy to concentrate on its wireless and high-speed Internet businesses,
according to the report. It has launched digital television services over its
high-speed Internet lines in some U.S.
regions including New York and California. Verizon is
also in discussions to buy the 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless that it does
not own from Vodafone Group Plc, sources have told Reuters. A Verizon spokesman
was not immediately reachable. |
Reminder...
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Total Solutions Group offers a $1,000 Referral Payment for leads
that turn into clients!!!!
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The TSG Team |
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Jimmy
E. Greene: CEO
Amy
Suchy: COO
Steve
Harris: VP
Tammy
Kruse: Marketing
Amanda
Archangeli: Audit Specialist
2621
Bay Street
Saginaw, MI
48602
Office: 989-793-8128
Fax:
989-399-2266
Toll Free:
877-455-3074
www.totalsolutionsgroup.org
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