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0 pointsrandomdata3y ago0 comments

> I would not characterize me as happy.

It would be irrational to pay for a service you are unhappy with. Perhaps you mean you are are "unhappy" in the same way that one is "unhappy" to have a $5 BigMac over a $50 steak? Which is to say that the BigMac is good for the price, even if not the best food imaginable.

> If I had 20 providers to choose from, somehow I do not think we would have this conversation.

Just about anyone (with reasonable knowhow) can provide you phone support. If there are fewer than 20 people out there willing to do that for you, I'd be flabbergasted. But they won't work for free, and probably not even for cheap. You've no doubt chosen the bargain basement option provided by T-Mobile because you find it balances the best value for the money. It's not great service, but it is cheap service. It's the $5 BigMac, even if you are really craving $50 steak, but don't want to spend $50 on a meal.

> Ever since I was a little boy, there were only a handful of telecoms for some unfathomable reason.

We seem to be flailing around here a lot, but it was made clear to me in the last comment that we're talking about the phone support being paid for. Phone support does not have to work directly for the telecom to interface with the telecom. They can talk to you to find out the problem and then do whatever it takes to get the job done with the carrier afterwards.

How much are you actually willing to pay for that, though? It seems the answer is not much. So why would competition rise up to make no money?

Let's take that further: Why aren't you offering this service to others? Because you realize you won't make any money?

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A4ET8a8uTh03y ago

<< It would be irrational to pay for a service you are unhappy with. Perhaps you mean you are are "unhappy" in the same way that one is "unhappy" to have a $5 BigMac over a $50 steak? Which is to say that the BigMac is good for the price, even if not the best food imaginable.

Hmm. No, but at least now I can understand the perspective you seem to be speaking from, which partially explains the disconnect between how we perceive the world. You seem to think I talk about 'hardware support', whereas I am talking something T-Mobile is taking money for ( and that includes.. you know, connecting my call to people I call, routing text messages and data where they belong and respond to appropriate customer queries ). I would like to point out that 'moving number from one provider to the other' shouldn't even need to qualify as customer service, but onboarding, which the company should be doing everything to make sure is as seamless as possible.

I am "unhappy" because my "choice" in the matter of choosing a provider is limited to 3 major competitors in US. I provide myself with the 'support' you seem to suggest. This is explicitly not what we talked about or even a reasonable interpretation of my original complaint. I am 'unhappy', because I buy Big Mac at McDonalds, but upon purchase I am told to go that other store across the street to complete the purchase. How is that reasonable?

<< it was made clear to me in the last comment that we're talking about the phone support being paid for.

Are we? I am not even being difficult here. How is transferring number from one provider to another count as somehow separate 'phone support' and not just some basic initial setup?

<< Why aren't you offering this service to others?

Because when I sell Big Macs, I do not dare to tell people that pay me to go to the store across the street for self-assembly or help with Big Mac assembly. Like fuck man. I sincerely hope you are trolling me now and I am falling for it, because the alternative is that people have been actually convinced that this is an acceptable state of affairs.

edit:

<< How much are you actually willing to pay for that, though?

I already am. That is the point. I purchased a Big Mac and not separate bun combo with an asterisk stating some assembly required. I do not understand how this is somehow not a clear concept.

edit2: In fact, I got a Big Mac with a contract that includes a phone number to call when I need McDonald's help dealing with that Big Mac.

edit3:

<< even if you are really craving $50 steak, but don't want to spend $50 on a meal.

I feel obligated to ask now. What, exactly, is steak in this analogy?

edit4:

You actually got me riled up. Impressive.

From your perspective, should all customer inquiries be outsourced to social media to save businesses some dough?

randomdataOP3y ago

> From your perspective, should all customer inquiries be outsourced to social media to save businesses some dough?

"Should" requires applying emotion and you cannot participate in a good faith discussion if you bring in emotions.

All we can discuss is what is. If what you are trying to ask is: "Do some businesses only accept inquiries by social media?" I don't know for sure, but expect it happens. I know for certain that there are businesses which do not accept phone calls. There are even more businesses that do not accept inquiries by telegraph. Do any businesses accept inquiries by telegraph?

Like I said, businesses will put the most effort into accommodating the majority of customers where they are found. If that's social media, then social media is where the most effort will be made. Indeed, it stands to reason that a business that is primarily in the business of providing internet service for pocket computers used to access social media will find most of their customers congregating on social media. Other businesses might find that the customers are most likely to come in person. A retirement community might even find that the phone is where the people are. Certainly there is no universal medium here. Each business will be different.

That doesn't mean there won't be some best effort attempts to support customers on the fringes, but there is only so much time in the day and if you lose the customers on the fringes... Oh well? You will never win them all anyway.

A4ET8a8uTh03y ago

<< "Should" requires applying emotion and you cannot participate in a good faith discussion if you bring in emotions.

You are wrong about "should", because the word can and does describe non-emotional states ( not everything is deterministic and requires approximator like should ), but your point about good faith discussion is well taken. In fact, I think I should apologize here. There was no rational reason to be bent out of shape over this. Your argument is solid on the surface assuming what you write is taken at face value.

As a result, I took your advice and took myself away from the keyboard for a little while.

As I considered other things, I realized that you are still not correct despite being instinctively right about the business in general ( it goes where the money is ). You used the example of telegraph and I realized that what is wrong with the argument. Papyrus is older than telegraph and yet it is still used to deliver important messages ( like, say, warrants, summons, complaints ) suggesting it is not a question of age, but of utility. I posit that phone is in the same category as paper, because despite existence of email, telegram, signal, video chats, it has replaced telegraph, but nothing replaced phone yet in terms of barebones connectivity standard(s) that can be used across the globe. Unless we consider mobile phones a different animal, which would not be an unreasonable argument to make.

At end the end of the day, if I need to make a call to the old country and various apps don't work for one reason or another ( not everyone uses - or even can or wants to use - w/e app you use or maybe version is off or multiple other reasons ), calling is the way to go.

<< That doesn't mean there won't be some best effort attempts to support customers on the fringes,

I might accept calling is not default, but calling it a fringe might be mischaracterizing things a tad bit ( unless you have some evidence to prove, calls are indeed a fringe channel ).

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0 pointsrandomdata3y ago0 comments

> I would not characterize me as happy.

> If I had 20 providers to choose from, somehow I do not think we would have this conversation.

> Ever since I was a little boy, there were only a handful of telecoms for some unfathomable reason.

How much are you actually willing to pay for that, though? It seems the answer is not much. So why would competition rise up to make no money?

Let's take that further: Why aren't you offering this service to others? Because you realize you won't make any money?

0 comments

A4ET8a8uTh03y ago

<< it was made clear to me in the last comment that we're talking about the phone support being paid for.

Are we? I am not even being difficult here. How is transferring number from one provider to another count as somehow separate 'phone support' and not just some basic initial setup?

<< Why aren't you offering this service to others?

edit:

<< How much are you actually willing to pay for that, though?

I already am. That is the point. I purchased a Big Mac and not separate bun combo with an asterisk stating some assembly required. I do not understand how this is somehow not a clear concept.

edit2: In fact, I got a Big Mac with a contract that includes a phone number to call when I need McDonald's help dealing with that Big Mac.

edit3:

<< even if you are really craving $50 steak, but don't want to spend $50 on a meal.

I feel obligated to ask now. What, exactly, is steak in this analogy?

edit4:

You actually got me riled up. Impressive.

From your perspective, should all customer inquiries be outsourced to social media to save businesses some dough?

randomdataOP3y ago

> From your perspective, should all customer inquiries be outsourced to social media to save businesses some dough?

"Should" requires applying emotion and you cannot participate in a good faith discussion if you bring in emotions.

A4ET8a8uTh03y ago

<< "Should" requires applying emotion and you cannot participate in a good faith discussion if you bring in emotions.

As a result, I took your advice and took myself away from the keyboard for a little while.

<< That doesn't mean there won't be some best effort attempts to support customers on the fringes,

I might accept calling is not default, but calling it a fringe might be mischaracterizing things a tad bit ( unless you have some evidence to prove, calls are indeed a fringe channel ).

1 more reply

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