Category: Blog

How Sprint PCS Loses Customers

Ever since I hooked up my Vonage phone the amount of time I spend on my cell phone has dropped dramatically. Since 1998 my cell carrier has been Sprint PCS. I like the quality of their service and have never had trouble using my phone during the dozens and dozens of trips I have taken in the past seven years. Since I was not using my cell phone as much as I used to I realized I was just throwing money down the drain, continuing to pay $50+/month for 500 minutes. My last three usage statements show I’ve barely used 200 minutes a month. I figured it was time to call Sprint and change my plan.


Me: Hi, I'd like to change my service plan.
Sprint: Absolutely. I can help you with that.
Me: I've found that I'm not using my phone as much so I'd like to change the plan I have with Sprint.
Sprint: We currently show that you have the $45 Free & Clear Plan. Would you be interested in our new Fair & Flexible Plan? It's $35/month and you get 300 Anytime minutes and each additional 100 minutes costs $5.00.
Me: That sounds good. Are there any fees involved with switching plans?
Sprint: There are no fees but we do require a 2-year contract agreement.
Me: That sounds odd. I've been a Sprint PCS customer for over 7 years. Why are you locking me into a 2-year plan when I've been such a good and loyal customer?
Sprint: I'm sorry sir. I understand where you're coming from but that's our policy.
Me: I understand. I'm not blaming you. You're not responsible for the company's policy. It just seems strange to me that Sprint is treating their best customers like they are brand new and don't have a history with Sprint.
Sprint: I'm sorry sir, but the best I can do is offer you 5% off your monthly bills for the next year, but we still require you re-sign a new 2-year contract with us.
Me: Please let me speak with your supervisor.
[On hold for a while...]
Supervisor: Hello Mr. Barrett. I understand you have asked to speak with me about our company's policy.
Me: Yes, I've found I'm not using my cell phone as much as I used to and would like to change my plan. But the rep I spoke with tells me I am required to agree to a new 2-year contract just to switch plans. I've been a customer with Sprint since 1998. I'm very happy with the quality of the service I get but am not happy at all with the service plan contract. Why are you treating your loyal customers this way?
Supervisor: Yes sir, that is our policy. I understand your complaint but I cannot change our policy. The best I can do is offer you the $35/mo Fair & Flexible Plan with a 1-year contract.
Me: That is not acceptable. I have been a customer with Sprint for over 7 years. I should not be required to sign a new contract just to switch plans.
Supervisor: I'm sorry sir, but we cannot change our policy.
Me: I understand. It's not your fault Sprint treats their loyal customers this way. Unfortunately, I am going to have to cancel my account with Sprint and find a new carrier that has a more fair and flexible (ahem...) service agreement. Goodbye.

So I actually haven’t cancelled my account yet since I am still researching the competition. I need a new phone as well since the Sanyo SCP-5150 I’ve been using for almost 3 years is on its last legs. I’m taking recommendations.

It just floors me that Sprint wouldn’t bend over backwards to keep a loyal customer like myself. I had no intention of cancelling my service with them but their policies are so predatory and unfair that I am going to cancel my service on principle. Companies like that shoudn’t be allowed to be in business.

Update: During my research I came across two very good web sites that help the prospective cell phone buyer figure out which phone best meets their needs. The first is PhoneScoop, a blog-like site that breaks down the phones and carriers based on technology, service plans and features. Their Phone Finder section is pretty intuitive but unless you know exactly which features you want it’s difficult to choose. The second site I found is called MyPhoneFinder from MyRatePlan.com. It presents a very intuitive Flash-based interface that automatically adds/removes phones based on features. I took it for a few spins and I ended up being recommended to buy the Sharp TM150, a 1.1 megapixel cameraphone that is essentially free with a 2-Year T-Mobile contract agreement.

Update 2: A reader sent me a link to this site called SprintUsers.com, which is very beneficial for people who still use Sprint PCS as a carrier.

Update 3: Please read my more recent post about Cell Phone Hell.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at April 27, 2005 02:44 PM

Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite

A few months ago when I was shopping for a new bed and mattress for my new apartment, I learned a fact that startled me. Apparently, a mattress will double it’s weight in its 8-10 year lifespan. While this figure has been disputed by some it’s still clear that a mattress over its lifespan collects all kinds of dirt, dust, dead skin, body fluids and other unmentionables…including the unwanted common bedbug (Cimex Lectularius).

A recent article in the WSJ claims that bedbugs are on the rise again due to the phasing out of pesticides and chemicals that were keeping them at bay. It’s not clear whether the claims in this article are well-researched or whether the journalist is taking liberty with quoted materials, but one thing is certain: it’s not healthy to ignore such a potential problem.

When I moved in with my girlfriend earlier this year, I had to adapt my lifestyle to meet hers, as she is allergic to so many things. Now, the apartment gets cleaned twice a month, whether or not it needs it. The bedsheets and blankets get washed once a week. Clothes (especially workout clothes) are not allowed to fester and grow mold in piles on the bedroom floor. Taking a shower before bed is a good idea. Dust bunnies under the bed are rounded up and disposed of. Food that has been left in the fridge too long (that I would normally eat anyway) gets tossed.

Perhaps these steps are not just for her benefit. Some days I feel like I’m being trained — though I don’t mind. Trained for what? Marriage? Babies? Last week was my 32nd birthday. I wonder what the next step is…

Posted by Cameron Barrett at April 21, 2005 11:51 AM

Tom DeLay Is Absolutely Right

“The time has come that the American people know exactly what their Representatives are doing here in Washington. Are they feeding at the public trough, taking lobbyist-paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special interest groups? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? The people, the American people, have a right to know…I say the best disinfectant is full disclosure, not isolation.”

— Tom DeLay, on the floor of the House of Representatives, November 16, 1995.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at April 21, 2005 01:56 PM

Recent Links From My Bookmarks

When I surf the web every day I often come across articles I want to read but never get around to. Mostly I skim them, bookmark them and intend to finish reading them later. Here are some links from the past few months:

Posted by Cameron Barrett at April 21, 2005 03:23 PM

Introducing Bluefly’s FlyPaper, Fashion Blogging

Flypaper: Stuck on Style

The project I’ve spent the past few weeks on has launched. Bluefly.com, the leading ecommerce company in discount fashion designer clothing approached me in late March with the idea of a fashion blog that combined the concept of blogging with the promotion of the products they sell. The result is a multi-editor blog that tracks the world of fashion design, using sale items, fashion news and smart commentary.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at April 15, 2005 10:15 AM

A Coder in Courierland & Other Links From My Bookmarks

There’s a great article over at Kuro5hin called “A Coder in Courierland” about a programmer who quit his job to become a bike messenger. Good stuff.

If you’re like me, you love fried dough. Whenever I go to an ethnic restaurant in Manhattan I cannot resist ordering the fried dough appetizer. I was pleased to find this Guide to Ethinic Fried Doughs Around the World. Great information!

DemonEater: wtf
DemonEater: ESPN is showing 2003 national jump rope championship
DemonEater: who the hell watches jump rope competiti--- ooh bouncy
- From Bash.org Top 100-200 Quotes

The L.A. Times recently published a 3-part expose called Families in Crisis that takes a look at how America’s middle class is getting squeezed in a lot of ways that would have seemed impossible 10 years ago. I really fear that if America’s housing market collapses and we enter another recession, a large majority of Americans are going to default on their mortgages and we’ll be thrown into economic turmoil that may bring about another Great Depression like we had in the 1930s.

Over at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick sums up my feelings about the Terri Schiavo case down in Florida. I find it astounding that President Bush and Congress have tried to step into a situation where they do not belong. It appears that our Federal government is getting involved for purely superficial reasons. Grandstanding and political posturing are the last things Terri Schiavo needs. But then again, this is the Bush Administration we’re talking about. Typical misguided leadership….

Posted by Cameron Barrett at March 22, 2005 02:23 PM

Hacker Attack Post-Mortem

I’ve been pretty quiet about this for the past 6 weeks, but now that I’ve had time to recover almost everything that I lost I can now confirm that yes, my server did get hacked in early February. It appears that this group of hackers in Brazil who call themselves “SPYKIDS” used the now-commonly known exploit in older versions of awstats. It also appears that they got Russell Beattie and Jeremy Zawodny, both of who are far better sysadmins than I am so that makes me feel better. Looks like they also got Juju.org.

As Russell reports, this group apparently has an M.O. I discovered the mass defacement of every site on my server about 4 hours after it happened. Assuming it was just some mindless script kiddie I replaced each index page of each site with an Under Construction note, planning on restoring everything later in the day. It was terrible timing since that was the same day I was moving apartments from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Later that day I logged into the box and found that they had deleted the entire /log directory to cover their tracks and there was some weird telnet session open, likely a bot connected to an IRC server. Realizing that they had somehow acquired root access I knew the box was beyond repair and shut it down. The next day a friend and I went to the co-lo facility and rebuilt the OS, re-installed all the software and recreated the few accounts needed for the box.

I also learned that it’s very important to run regular backups so that if your box gets compromised again it’s easier to shutdown, rebuild and restore without losing any data. I guess I learned the hard way. I’m fortunate that I don’t host any of my clients’ web sites on my server, so all I have to lose is my development projects, some personal web sites, and a few sites I host for friends.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at March 22, 2005 02:34 PM

The Tracking of Memes

Earlier today I sent an IM to a friend of mine pointing to the Threadless t-shirt that spoofed the infamous goatse picture that is widely known to most people who live and breathe the Internet. I laughed. My friend did not get it. I pointed him to a Google Image search for “goatse” (warning: NSFW!) and he then understood. This led me to think about all of the various sites I visit on a regular basis to gather up-to-the-minute news and emerging memes. Below is a short list:

Feel free to add your own in the coments and I’ll update this list.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at March 22, 2005 03:40 PM

New Addiction

I sometimes get really bored with the beverages coming out of the American food manufacturing industry. I try to avoid the sugar-laden drinks like soda and juices from concentrate, because too much sugar is bad for you. Instead i drink a lot of water, a lot of low-fat milk with Chocolate Malt Ovaltine mix and lately two drinks I found stocked at my local imported-foods grocery store in Brooklyn, both apparently from Poland. The first is something made by Fortuna (a division of Agros Nova) and is an orange-milk mixture that tastes like one of those orange-flavored, ice-cream popsicles but in a liquid form. It’s not too sweet and comes in a one-litre container. The second is a drink from a company called Tymbark and is a lemon/lime mixture with a splash of mint added. From this description you’d think those flavors do not go well together but I recently tried it and it’s fantastic. Bitter, sweet and sour all at the same time. Lastly, Fortuna also makes a blood orange drink that I thought would be a lot like the ones I fell in love with when I vacationed in Malta a few years back, but sadly it’s nowhere near as good as the freshly-squeezed blood orange juice available along most of the Mediterannean coast.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at March 7, 2005 05:17 PM

Podcasting vs. Blogging

Because of my history as one of the pioneers of blogging, I am often asked about the newest kid on the block: podcasting. Podcasting, if you don’t know what it is already, is similar to blogging, but instead of writing your words down, you speak them into a microphone and publish them online as an MP3 for people to download and listen to on their MP3 players.

There are many advocates of podcasting, including some of the people who made blogging what it is today. To lump these two things into the same category is a mistake, as they are very different — both in creation and in final product. Blogs are meant to be read. Podcasts are meant to be listened to. Reading a blog is an active engagement that requires a good deal of focus. It requires concentration and attentiveness to read the written word. This is why people do not read while driving (well, at least those who want to stay alive). Listening to a podcast, however, is a more passive activity. You can safely drive and listen to a podcast at the same time. This fundamental difference between blogging and podcasting is what sets them apart and they should not be confused with each other.

I do not understand the hype around podcasting. To think that millions of people would rather dictate their thoughts and ideas into a microphone instead of writing them down seems a little strange, at least to me. Most people I know have a hard time forming a coherent message while speaking. This is why the majority of the people in this world ar terrible at public speaking. It takes a lot of planning, forethought and practice to be able to speak with enough conviction and power to make your words be as powerful as they are when written. My instinct and experience tells me that most people do not have the skills to do a high-quality podcast. If podcasting takes off, I imagine it will be like most of the rest of the Internet: a small percentage of great content and mountains of complete crap. However, the added barriers of entry into the podcasting world make it even harder for an beginner to get recognized and therefore become successful.

The Tools

Let’s compare podcasting to blogging again, but this time let’s take a look at the tools used. I started blogging in 1997 and way back then there were no blog-specific tools at all. We had to know HTML and how web servers worked. It’s no surprise that most of the early bloggers were Internet geeks who knew how to publish on the web and were doing it as a day job at the same time. Since then, many self-publishing tools have been released and it’s become very easy to publish a blog online. Someone who is a good writer can now publish a fantastic blog without needing to understand the technology behind it. It’s as simple as writing an email and pushing a few buttons on a web page. Podcasting, however, takes much more effort and planning. Not only do you have to spend time writing down what you’re going to say, you have to practice it, play it back, and re-record anything you’ve messed up. You need to know basic audio production skills and have the correct software to edit, cut and splice your recorded audio together. It’s safe to assume most people do not have these skills unless they take the time to learn them or are taught. Simply recording a rambling thought into a microphone and ripping it out to MP3 is a very bad way to do a podcast. Unless you have years of experience fine-tuning your thought processes, you will fail and your podcast will end up sounding a lot like what it actually is: a long, rambling thought that fails to inform, influence and educate. I simply do not see podcasting becoming an important part of the self-publishing world. Sure, I think there will be some successes for those who master the art, but the numbers will be nowhere near those of successful bloggers.

The Barriers to Entry

Podcasting is hard. Not only do you have to have the skills, tools and expertise to put together a production-quality podcast, you also have to have the voice for it. Anyone who has studied radio broadcasting knows this. If you have a weird voice or a strong accent, you will likely not succeed beyond a small audience that can overlook it. People not accustomed to your voice will be forced to stop, rewind and re-listen to what you’re saying. This goes for podcasting while you are sick as well. The last thing your audience wants to listen to is a mediocre rambling thought from someone with a deep southern accent who has a cold.

One of the reasons blogging has become so popular is that today’s search engines favor regularly-updated, opinionated sites that link to source materials. The written nature of blogging leads to increased awareness through search engines. The technology behind blogging allows for deep-linking, easy cut-and-paste quoting of materials. Such search engines do not yet exist for podcasting, though there are some startup companies attempting to index podcasts for this reason. Blogging follows a standard draft/publish process that allows for unlimited editing prior to publication. The same process for podcasting is much more complex, and once again requires that the podcaster have a base set of audio production skills and the software to accomplish it.

Bandwidth. We hear stories all the time about sites being shut down by hosting providers who have hard-limit bandwidth caps. Even a text-based site with a few images can exceed a bandwidth limit if it gets Slashdotted or a couple of the right-wing conservative bloggers start paying attention to it. Podcasting, by its nature, is bandwidth-intensive. A podcast of a short post just a few minutes long is at least several megabytes in size. Even a mere hundred people downloading it adds up very quickly and suddenly podcasting starts to look like a pretty expensive way to get your voice on the web (literally). While bandwidth is becoming increasingly less expensive, I do not anticipate it being as abundant as is needed for podcasting to become as popular and ubiquitous as blogging. Even with companies that provide the tools and bandwidth for hosted podcasting, there are still all of the other issues I mentioned above to overcome.

As exciting as podcasting seems, there are still far too many barriers to entry for it become as big as its loudest advocates anticipate. Still, I wish the podcasting advocates the best of luck. It’s a neat idea, but I have no expectations that it will become a widespread or accepted medium for self-publishers.

Posted by Cameron Barrett at March 3, 2005 01:58 PM