The price, idiot, what's the price???

I'm looking to get broadband. I look at groovy ads in the magazines, how the guy with broadband finishes the download first, calls the girl and they go out, while the not-so-smart guy with dial-up is still downloading and is thus staying home. Groovy.

I punch in the URL. Neat flash intro there!

"Our company is committed to..." ok, skip

"We are the first company to implement a nationwide..." skip

"Click here to view our coverage of the country..."

"Click here for more company info..." eek, pdf loading, go back

"What broadband can do for you..." skip

"With more than 1 petabit/second optical cable over 30000 km..."

How. Much. Does. It. Cost???!!!!

How many dollars.
Per month.

That's *all* I want to know.

F-ing idiots.

Alex
Monday, July 12, 2004

Good stuff Alex! Hoping I'll catch the full act at one of the comedy clubs. Seriously, it' s great schtick - I totally relate.

Dennis Atkins
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

They want you to call them so they can get their array of underpaid, high pressure telemarketers to manipulate the cash out of your wallet before you hang up the phone.

I am not, nor ever have been Dennis 'cumguzzler' Atkins
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Dennis,

It sounds like you are in denial.  Remember, the truth shall set you free.

If you don't learn to accept yourself as you are, you're gonna end up livin' IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER.

Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

zzzzzzzz.






(He's dead - remember?)

The Real Matt Foley
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

zzzzzz

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

There's a pretty simple rule of thumb from the real world that usually applies here.

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

That said, I've often encountered similar Web sites, and they drive me nuts too.

John C.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Aaargh, just realized you were talking about broadband access, which is a near-commodity product, not some obscure enterprise multi-tier yada yada.

Ctrl-Z my last post, please.

John C.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

"the guy with broadband finishes the download first"

The girl might appreciate his broadband, but not the fact that he finishes first.

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

MATT FOLEY LIVES!!

Long live Matt Foley
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

At this rate Joel on Software will probably end up with a Slashdor style Karma system soon.

Matthew Lock
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

What do you get if you remove all humor from Slashdot?

This place.

Billy Joel on Software
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Humour, without the 'u' looks like some kind of medical condition.

Simon Lucy
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Even better is my ISP - Wanadoo. You need to have Javascript enabled before you can get into their web site, then of course all the obligatory popups start jumping up everywhere.

Pault
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

I read a recent article by Jakob Neilsen about website  redesign - in it he says the number one thing people want on a business web site is prices - and it is a huge mistake when companies don't publish prices on line.

Ken Ray
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

I just bought some cables from a company that was a couple bucks more than the next site mainly for the fact that they showed me the shipping charges right after I added the items to my basket.  Before giving them any personal info, they told me the final cost to me.

The other site wanted me to fill out a form before it would tell me the shipping charges.  I've done those sites before then got hit with something like $15 shipping charge for a $5 (lightweight) item.

Yukon
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

I hate those places which refuse to tell you the price. When I deal with a website, or a company, I want to be able to make the decision whether to proceed. I don't want to get 6 years of high pressure salesreps trying to sell me a $200k product when the budget is $500.

Peter
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

I tried to find out the price for Toad, the oracle interface. I know there is a semi-free version, but hey, the company I work for can afford to pay a couple of bucks. The web site doesn't mention a price. When I called them on the phone, the guy wanted to know who, what, where, when, how, and why before he could give me a price. I eventually got an estimate of $1k for a single copy. Guess what, I'm still using the free version.

MilesArcher
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

All this B.S. is intended to provide differentiation between all but identical products.

Likewise the cell phone and airline industries.

dot for this one
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

"All this B.S. is intended to provide differentiation between all but identical products"

Oddly enough, "we respect you, we believe that we provide value for money, here's the information so you can make your own decision" would provide amazing "differentiation" and make all sorts of people want to deal with that company, instead of the ones hiding behind a vast cloud of marketing.

Nah, that'll never happen. (At least partly because I suspect they know they're not providing real value in the first place.)

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

  Recent Topics

  Fog Creek Home