blog.shrub

I got some junk mail recently advertising the Web 2.0 Expo.

I called O’Reilly. They removed me from their list. I wanted to find out how they got my name.
Customer service put me through to the conference publicist.
The conference publicist put me through to conference marketing.
Conference marketing sent me to CMP database marketing.
CMP’s director of audience development removed me from CMP’s list.
CMP database marketing told me they got my name and address from…Wired.
This absolutely needs to be opt-in, not opt-out.

Bad Wired. No cookie.

I emailed the director of the California DMV to see why new license plates take so long to arrive. Let’s see if he writes back:

From: Paul Schreiber
Subject: DMV’s great (and terrible) efficiency
Date: September 27, 2006 9:09:18 am PDT
To: George Valverde <gvalverde@dmv.ca.gov>
Security: Signed

George,

A few years ago, I moved to California from Canada. My impression of the DMV was that it had always been a punch line to a joke or a sight gag on _The Simpsons_.

I was glad to find out I was wrong. :)

After a few initial hiccups (”convenience fee?”) I’ve been consistently impressed with the online license renewal and vehicle registration renewal. The site works in any browser, takes two minutes, is free, and is pretty much foolproof. And the best part: you get everything in the mail two days later. Well done!

This, naturally, leads me to question the extended delays associated my other interaction with the DMV: buying a new car.

In many jurisdictions, including Ontario, Canada, where I grew up, you get the plates from the dealer when you drive the car off the lot. In California, you get them mailed to you. It’s a bit strange to me, but perfectly reasonable. What’s not reasonable is that this process takes 4-6 weeks.

I tried to think of explanations, but could come up with none:
* a shortage of license plates (unlikely, these aren’t just-in-time parts, but can be stockpiled)
* slow processing time or lack of staff (unlikely, since you turn things around in 3 days)
* USPS (they’re not _that_ slow)

So: why _does_ this take so long? And is anything going to be done to change it?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Paul Schreiber

shad 96c / uw cs 2001
/ mac activist / fumbler / eda / headliner / navy-souper
fan of / sophie b. / steve poltz / habs / bills / 49ers /

“Luck is the residue of design.” — Branch Rickey

My sister likes to talk on the phone. A lot. And Cingular charges use $85 for a family plan where we share 1250 minutes. And 35 cents/minute for extra minutes. Highway robbery! With T-Mobile, we could get 1500 minutes each with two $50 individual plans. Great, I thought.

However, T-Mobile doesn’t work in my house. Still. I figured three years was plenty of time for them to fix the holes in their network. I figured wrong.

In Sunnyvale, the middle of Silicon Valley, finding good cell phone coverage is harder than you think. So it’s T-Mobile for my sister and I get to stay with Cingular (GSM 800 gets them reception in my house).

First stop is the T-Mobile store on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. I tell the sales rep I want to sign up for a plan (pass the credit check and such) here in California, and have my sister pick up the phone at a NYC store. No can do, the guy says. If you want the phone in NY, you’ll have to ship it there yourself. I point out to the guy that if I order online, shipping is free.

“What do I get out of it?” he asks me, point-blank.

(more…)

Freakonomics readers get a lesson in price discrimination (or bad customer service):

Interestingly, as I gave a lecture on “Price Discrimination”, using an example of the demand for textbooks (relatively inelastic) vs. novels (relatively elastic), the students pointed out that in our campus textbook store, “Freakonomics” is on sale at the regular price in the textbook section (1st floor) and at a 30% discount in the General Reading Section (2nd floor). Same college. Same store. Same hardback.

nineteen ways to lose a customer:

• accuse them of stealing
• make fun of their names (+7 more)
• hide your product (+9 more)

teli gets shitty customer service from cingular.