Login problems yesterday

...prevented posting.  Busy Friday before Christmas should limit things today.

Play-by-play here, should you care.  The fun starts with comment #2.  Otherwise, explanation.

Posted by: Old Grouch in Meta at 15:33:10 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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...and speaking of customer service

Is it possible that one of the cellular companies is finally getting the message?

Dan Hesse, a telecom veteran tapped yesterday to be Sprint Nextel Corp.'s chief executive officer, says his first priority will be to to tackle the customer-service problems and customer defections that have contributed to Sprint's share-price decline...

An internal Sprint document... described the company’s “inferior results” in customer service, pointing out that Sprint resolved 53% or problems on the first call, compared with 71% for Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, even though Sprint has nearly three-times as many care specialists. -- “Sprint Chief Eyes Customer Care,” Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2007 page A3

Elsewhere:

Hesse helped slow profit bleeding at Embarq by closing call centers and creating service packages. In Sprint's case, however, he needs to open more call centers. - Ben Popken (Consumerist)

...or give the folks at the existing ones the power to actually do something.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 18:32:15 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Today's lesson in customer service

Don't mess with a lady who buys her own Harleys. Especially if she owns stock in your company. Especially if she has a weblog.

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 17:41:33 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Clipfile: December 19, 2007

“I still find it hard to believe that the invention of the catapult preceded the invention of the computer...; nothing in human history exceeds the ability of the computer to make its user want to construct a device that hurls heavy objects as far away as possible.” – James Lileks

Posted by: Old Grouch in Clipfile at 03:16:33 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Bluenoses won't rest until everything's blue

The once ubiquitous cupcake, iced to perfection and colorfully sprinkled, may be slowly fading from the school landscape.

As elementary classrooms prepare for holiday parties this week, some schools plan to ban the treat in the steady push to improve nutrition with in schools statewide. -- Chicago Tribune

More like the steady push to squeeze every ounce of joy out of childhood. Just like the Blue Meanies in Yellow Submarine: They won't rest until the whole world is gray and static.

Via Nick, who blames federal law for giving 'em an excuse.

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 02:53:22 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Triticale - obituary and service plans

From Deirdre Dee:

Here is a link to the Chicago Sun Times obit - this & the guest book will remain up for 1 year:

Sun Times obituary and guestbook at legacy.com

The memorial service will be held in Milwaukee where we live somewhere between April-June. If you would like more information I'd prefer that you call (414-342-1767) as my mailbox is a mess right now & I'm afraid of deleting mail.

Both my son & I were able to see Tom & say our goodbyes.

Wee Wifey [email: zosha -#at# - voyager.net]

Thanks, Deirdre, for letting us know.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 02:34:08 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Clipfile: December 18, 2007

“Some people deserve to live in a police state. The ones who want to live in a police state are generally the ones who think they will be the police.” - Bill Quick

Posted by: Old Grouch in Clipfile at 23:52:01 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Can we have an "A-men!" please?

DrewM. at Ace of Spades:

I am glad when [Cleveland] built the new stadium they didn't put a roof on it. I don't know if they didn't have enough money or they wanted to stick it to those wimps in Detroit and Minnesota but this is what football in December should look like.

more...

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 22:21:47 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hey buddy! Business model threatened? Why not...

Get the government to create special privileges for insiders, privileges denied to the hoi polloi:

2) COVERED PERSON- The term `covered person' means a person who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public for a substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person. - HR-2021EH “The Free Flow of Information Act of 2007” as amended

By inserting a few words, the House changed a bill purported to extend the First Amendment into a monopoly protection act that establishes an exclusively privileged class of “paid journalists.”

I wonder who inserted those additions. I wonder about the sources of his/her campaign contributions. I wonder if it all might connect to this. Just wonderin'...

Tully at Stubborn Facts has been following this story: Molesting the First Amendment


Previously: Get the government to do your work for you.
Via: Lots of folks, but probably most recently Bill Quick.

Posted by: Old Grouch in The Press at 19:26:42 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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"If you really can't work for the Man, why not start your own company, if you can?"

Marc Andreessen says the writers' strike is one more factor that will lead to rebuilding the entertainment industry in Silicon Valley's image.

Earlier Marc: Suicide by strike

Via Mickey Kaus, who still doesn't permlink his entries, so I've repeated most of his post below the break... more...

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 16:52:05 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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