Sarah Lacy Visiting Des Moines This Weekend

Sarah Lacy will be coming to Des Moines this weekend for a book signing / reading event at East Village Books. Sarah’s book (admittedly haven’t read it but will be picking up a copy from EVB Saturday) is called “Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good“. It is about “the rebirth of silicon valley and the rise of web 2.0″…

“Everyone has heard the story of the Internet Bubble. Beginning with Netscape’s blockbuster IPO in 1996, billions of dollars flowed into Internet startups, and companies with no revenues and shaky business plans earned sky-high valuations on Wall Street. It was the era of paper millionaires, $800 office chairs, and Super Bowl ads for dotcoms that no one had ever heard of. Then in 2000 the Bubble burst, with the Nasdaq losing 75% of its value and hundreds of companies closing up shop. It was all written off to “irrational exuberance,” and everyone moved on. Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good is the story of the entrepreneurs who never gave up on the Internet dream.”

RSVP here…

Juice Interview with Sarah Lacy

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AT&T FAIL

Boy, AT&T… you are really blowing it… Looks like I’m not the only one…

at&t and customers finally on the same page: We hate you, you hate us (awesome title)

The kicker for me though is the arrogance that Apple and at&t show to their loyal customers

AT&T Fails to Provide Service, Holds $750 Deposit Hostage for Two Months

AT&T demanded a $750 deposit from Richard before selling him an iPhone, but couldn’t provide service because they improperly entered his address. Richard spent hours at the AT&T store trying to fix the mistake before deciding to cut his losses and recover the deposit. AT&T promised to refund his money in 7-10 days. That was two months ago. Why the hold-up? AT&T can’t issue the refund because they don’t have Richard’s proper address.

ATT Is Broken

Oh, and that whole thing about getting to keep my current voice plan, they won’t do it. I am bait-and-switched into either a) walking out without iPhones or b) signing up for a $15/month more expensive voice plan.

Why I Hate Salespeople: AT&T Pisses Me Off

Long story short, as of 9pm last night, several local Apple stores still reported having 16g iPhones in stock. I could’ve had one yesterday, or I certainly could have had one today. Instead, I have to wait for an *INDETERMINABLE* amount of time for AT&T to get the phone shipped out to one specific store. That could be a week, that could be two weeks, that could be a month, that could be two months - that could be as long as it takes, and I can’t back out of the deal.

So, here I am… really pissed off at AT&T’s idea of customer service, and REALLY pissed off at myself.

Apple ATT Lie About iPhone 3G Pricing

What a crock.

If you are not an ATT customer, the iPhone 3G is $199

If you are an existing iPhone user, the iPhone 3G is $199

If you are an Amish Farmer, the iPhone is $199

BUT …. IF YOU ARE A LOYAL ATT CUSTOMER FOR YEARS AND WANT AN IPHONE 3G, the Price is $399.

The Dead Zone: AT&T’s iPhone 3G Coverage Woes

Pumped about those blazing-fast 3G Internet speeds?

Hope you don’t live in beautiful Bozeman, Montana; Burlington, Vermont; or Des Moines, Iowa…

AT&T, I’m Buying An iPhone…But You SUCK!!!

Here’s where it all went wrong…She gets on the phone with AT&T and they said my phone was not active. She said Ma’am. I’m watching text messages come over his phone that you say is not active. It’s an iPhone…how could it not be active. It says Twitter on his screen right now…She then looked at me and asked, What’s twitter?
This is where I think…twitter is that thing I’m going to use to tell the whole freaking world that AT&T sucks right now.

Disgruntled with AT&T

Current AT&T customers, who are not current iPhone users are not eligible for the reduced priced iPhone until their contract expires. I am getting penalized and not able to spend my money on a product I want because it has only been a year since I signed my first AT&T contract.

Just recovering from AT&T Hell..

AT&T someone should be fired for the terrible communication about corporate discounts. Now you have a customer who has to sign back up for his corporate discount and wait another six weeks! This is completely nuts! If it wasn’t for Apple stepping up to the plate AT&T you would have completely lost me as a customer.

Shaming AT&T

If I want the iPhone, I’ll have to pay $200 to break my service contract, which would basically put the cost of the phone at $400.

AT&T iPhone Activation Idiocracy

Because I’ve been such a loyal AT&T customer all these years, I won’t qualify for a fully-subsidized upgrade until October. I could pay an extra $200 to upgrade now, but I cannot justify $200 for not waiting 3 months for a new phone. This is because sometime last February, I got a Cingular 3125 because at that time, my old Motorola’s battery was so terrible at holding a charge that the battery would drain if I used it while it was plugged in. Long story short, I can’t upgrade for awhile unless I want to pay a $200 premium.

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Not Cool, AT&T… Not Cool!

So I have been an AT&T customer for four years now. I pay $95/mo for my unlimited data and messaging plan along with my voice plan. I’ve always paid my bill on time. I’ve never called customer support and I’ve been in the store once when I initially signed up - four years ago. Sounds like the perfect customer, right?

Well yesterday I went into my local store to get the new iPhone… After I was told they did not have any and they could reserve one for me he asked if I was eligible for an upgrade. I had read all the coverage of the AT&T “Upgrade” regulations and had thought this included anyone with an existing data plan. Unfortunately this is not the case… my contract does not expire until November and therefore I can either a) pay the retail price now or b) wait until November.

I don’t get it. Here I am wanting to renew my contract EARLY by signing up for an additional two year contract. I am going to give you $300 for a new phone (when I got my Blackjack for $0.01). Why would you tell me no … explicitly sending away a very loyal customer who has spent $4560 for your lackluster services for the last four years and wants more? A customer who has stood by you reassuring potential customers that the service is good? A customer who constantly makes excuses for your lack of innovation, network coverage, and prices?

How does this business model work? What other business would deliberately turn down customers with credit card in hand?

I just don’t get it AT&T… And its very possible you just lost the perfect customer and a loyal evangelist… Shame on you.

UPDATE: I started a new meme here, on Twitter, and on FriendFeed… What would you to your clients / customers if you treated them like AT&T does theirs?

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Coworker Word-of-Mouth Strongly Influences Purchases

Here is a study from Marketing Charts (an awesome site if you are into marketing trends with pictures)…

Americans in the workforce have a significant impact on their coworkers’ consumer shopping behaviors - 96% say they regularly or occasionally give shopping advice to their peers, according to (pdf) a recent WorkPlace Media survey conducted by BIGResearch.

Moreover, nearly 93% indicate that they seek similar advice from their coworkers before making purchases.

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What The F**K Is Social Media?

Awesome slide deck from Marta Kagan describing Social Media and it’s impact on business.

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