welcome to adpuppet’s blog

five hundred bucks will make you change your mind 



June 24, 2009

A tale of two cable companies

After several days of sleeping on the floor and unsuccessfully relying on scattered Wi-Fi, I'm thrilled to be back on a steady connection - in a new apartment, no less! Though I wasn't completely disconnected from everything (my iPhone keeps email/Twitter withdrawal at bay), there's no imagining how bad a full disconnect would have been. While I agree we all need to "recharge" every now and then, my tolerance for being offline is probably well within 24 hours.

At any rate, I'd like to share some of my encounters with cable companies over the last few days:

Charter Communications (Long Beach, CA)
1. About $30 per month for the first 6 months, then $60 thereafter for a 10Mbps connection.
2. Real-world performance consistently higher than advertised speed (paid for 10Mbps, received up to 11Mbps download speed)
3. Processed my disconnection courteously.
4. Misheard my new address over the phone (Las Angels vs Los Angeles), but called to rectify.
5. Customer service reps trained to make small talk when you walk in their office

Time Warner Cable (Los Angeles, CA)
1. Cheaper rates. $30 per month buys a 7Mbps connection, and is an ongoing rate.
2. Real world performance consistently lower than advertised speed (paid for 7Mbps, receiving only 5.7Mbps download speed)
3. Called me AFTER I CONFIRMED MY ORDER to upsell a bundle that I don't need.
4. Tried to make me feel like an idiot for not falling over the "awesome deal" and all the features that I would be getting for "only" 20 more dollars a month.
5. Install availability was one week after my order date.

Given the choice, which would you pick? Even with cheaper rates on Time Warner's side, I'd switch back to Charter in a heartbeat for the better connection and better service. I'd even go back for a lower-tiered plan. Not to say Charter is perfect (all of these corporations are evil, right?), but sometimes you luck out with a branch office employing respectable human beings, as well as getting close to the advertised "up to" speed. 

This industry sorely needs to stop hiding behind territorial monopolies and learn to live with real competition. That would surely be a victorious day for both the better companies and the customers they serve.

Comments [2]

June 1, 2009

Say it before you name it


 
Wendy's attempt at Daft Punk was a solid effort. The spot had energy, enthusiasm, and a swell PC cast. It was, dare I say, enjoyable.
 
It's a shame they named the product something that makes customers cringe ordering aloud. The spot serves the name just fine, though I wonder what product manager came up with this 4 word, 8 syllable rhyme-happy abomination.

Comments [0]

May 27, 2009

Vendor-client relationship

Too good not to post.


As ridiculous as it may be, it's true that some vendors are willing to bend over backwards for the business. Unfortunately, a handful of these vendors could potentially ruin it for others and clients are often spoiled in this regard.

As a business owner though, I say sticker price is for suckers. 

via AdPulp

Comments [0]

May 20, 2009

Some synonyms...aren't

3 interesting things to share, one common theme. These pairs of words are often interpreted similarly, though they may in fact be quite different: 

1. Seth Godin on luxury vs premium

2. Seth Godin (again) on bravado vs optimism
3. Ev & Biz on profit vs value (skip to about 3:45)

Comments [0]

May 17, 2009

Troopers

Earlier this evening, when I was at the checkout of my local Target, I encountered quite the trooper of an "associate."

When my $5 coupon for my water filters rang up as a $10 discount, she went berserk. I was entirely content to take the cash register's side, but she launched a crusade to deny me that convenience and proceeded to hold up the line until she terrorized the extra $5 out of the machine. While I could've used a small victory, righteousness wasn't on my side. As I was fleeing the store, I thought to myself:

"How much are they paying this woman? Sheesh."

Of course, her behavior was a better reflection of her character and not her paycheck. I think we've all encountered such troopers at one point or another, whether it may have been in retail, corporate, or some other setting. Our relationships with troopers are quite interesting:

For a lot of us, troopers are big-headed showoffs that burden us with unwanted expectations from our superiors. Sometimes we can't help but wish for someone to put them in their place.

Yet as a fellow trooper, our comrades can be powerful forces of inspiration.

And as leaders, we can never have enough troopers in our ranks.

...for all the unpopularity they suffer, troopers remain both extremely dedicated and misunderstood.

(photo credit: deepblue66)

Comments [0]

May 12, 2009

Don't screw up your apology

The screwup in question: KFC's free grilled chicken offer, as featured on Oprah.com. As we've seen with franchised food chains in the past, there were stores not honoring the offer. With these stores come angry customers.

KFC's apology can be seen here:


I can't help but think this might have looked good on paper to the execs, but there were a few points that killed it (not in the Gary Vaynerchuk way) for me.

1. The exec was too happy in his delivery, to the point where it seemed he was very disconnected.  
2. Too much pitch and not enough apology. Don't spew nonsense like America "clearly" loves the great taste of your product if people couldn't even get their hands on it with your coupon. 
3. The remedy did not come until after 30 seconds into the video, which for me screams insincere. 

The YouTube rating and comments speak to KFC's fail, which is being capitalized on by one of their competitors. EPL can teach them a few lessons on sincerity and has the stones to call them out on their shenanigans.

Comments [0]

May 6, 2009

Price DX

It's madness, this gadget world we live in.

Everything's been shrinking for so long now that I can't remember the last time something actually got bigger.

Unfortunately, the price tag for the new Kindle DX is also bigger at $489 (vs the regular Kindle's $359).


image via Geek_Tonic

Comments [0]

April 27, 2009

Save Chuck!

One of my favorite TV shows, Chuck, is on the verge of being cancelled. Since it is 2009, however, we know that people aren't content to accept this kind of news and instead prefer to take matters into their own hands.

Fans pulling stunts to try and convince networks to renew TV shows is nothing new. We saw this when hordes of people sent Mars bars to the networks to save Veronica Mars and cans of nuts for Jericho, but the efforts to save Chuck are the most sensible yet.

It all started with a fan by the name of Wendy, who made the connection between the show and one of its sponsors, Subway. She launched a campaign to get fans to purchase $5 footlong subs the day of the finale (today) to show support for the show. What what better way to do it than to support a sponsor by purchasing actual product?

This move got the attention of Zachary Levi, who plays Chuck on the show. While it is of course in his interests for the show to have another season, he lent his support to the movement very graciously and to the delight of many fans. The videos below show Zachary leading a legion of fans (in the UK, no less) to purchase the sandwiches, and even making a few of them in the process. Even if you're skeptical that this might be an evil corporate PR stunt, I don't believe he could have feigned the humility and genuine appreciation towards all the fans as well as the folks working the Subway. The guy's a real class act. 

You too can show your support with a tasty $5 footlong. Tuning in to the finale tonight at 8pm on NBC would help tremendously as well.



Here's hoping the show sees a third season!

Comments [0]

April 27, 2009

It's all Moot

According to TIME, the world's most influential person of the year isn't Obama or Oprah.


Instead, that title goes to Moot, 21-year-old college student and founder of 4chan.org.

It's like 2006 all over again, when you were TIME's person of the year.


Update: It turns out the results were gamed, though I don't believe that changes the spirit of the results much, if any.

Comments [1]

April 23, 2009

Hurting the brains of shoppers


Comments [0]