[Asterisk-biz] Re: Truly Unlimited DID's

[Lee Barken]

hi Matt,
  I simply object to the term "screwed".  I don't object at all if I pay
for an "unlimited" soup and salad bar and I only eat one plate.
Restaurants that use the "all you can eat" model have some profitable
customers and some unprofitable customers.  That's how their business
model operates.  I understand your point and I appreciate your ethical
approach that you don't want to take advantage of customers.  I simply
questioned the use of the term "screwed".

Best,
  -Lee



On Fri, 3 Jun 2005, Matthew Simpson wrote:

> > From: Lee Barken <barken at rohan.sdsu.edu>
> >
> > hi Matt,
> >  I understand your concern and subsequent logic regarding unlimited
> > services.  My only comment is that business people take *risks*.
> > Hopefully, the are calculated risks.  When a provider sells an unlimited
> > service, they are assuming the risk that the transaction may be
> > unprofitable.  I don't think anybody is getting "screwed" in this
> > situation.
> 
> You're not getting the point.  Sure you can say that it is the provider 
> taking the risk that they can screw their customer by selling them an 
> unlimited service that costs more than if they bought it metered.  But 
> somebody is STILL GETTING SCREWED [the customer].  Personally I don't like 
> doing business in which I am screwing a customer, even if my "risk" pays off 
> and I end up better off for it.
> 
> > Either the venture is profitable or unprofitable.  It reminds
> > me of companies like AOL or Netzero who offer "unlimited" Internet access.
> > Over time, these companies become very good at estimating the aggregate
> > usage patterns of many thousands of users.
> 
> No, they don't offer "unlimited".  They ADVERTISE unlimited but you'll find 
> that if you leave your connection up 24/7 you'll get bumped off after a 4 
> hour period, and after a while you'll either hit a hard limit, or you'll be 
> forced to upgrade to a higher class of service.  We sell dialup wholesale at 
> TxLink, and everyone last one of our clients that offers "unlimited" to 
> their end-users has a hard-limit set in their backoffice, and most of them 
> have 4 hour session timers [some are generous and give 8].
> 
> > Sure, some customers will use
> > more services and some customers will use less services, but the idea is
> > to price your offer accordly, such that the net result is a profitable
> > enterprise.  If a company does a poor job of estimating and projecting
> > usage patterns, my hope is that they will not feel "screwed", but instead
> > just take some time to review their planning policies and procedures and
> > take appropriate and reasonable corrective actions.
> 
> So it's okay as long as the company makes out okay, you don't care that the 
> consumer is getting screwed in that case?
> 
> >
> > Best,
> >  -Lee
> 
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