Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• T-Mobile doesn't know how to treat its customers

  It looks like T-Mobile dropped their data plan from $29.99/mo to $19.99/mo. I originally thought this was related to the new unlimited rate plans and losing the Starbucks account , but it was actually back in September (on my birthday no less). I must have missed it at the time, given that whole wedding thing. And worse, it turns out you have to actually ask for the new rate . After reading Kevin's post, I logged in to My T-Mobile today to adjust my plan. To add insult to injury, check out the options I'm presented with. For the past 5 months, I've been paying $10 more than I should have for this service. T-Mobile should have adjusted this for me automatically (as Kevin said, you can be sure they would if the price went up). At the very least, they could have told me about it via a pamphlet or during the time I spent talking to a T-Mobile representative as I was trying to get my phone unlocked for the honeymoon. They did neither, and were quite happy to let me pay $10 more a... Posted Feb 24 2008, 10:16 AM by Tim with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Rants, Gadgets, Things that bother me, Business, Marketing

• What exactly is an iPhone application?

  Scoble mentions 3 new iPhone apps today from Newsgator, Bloglines, and Google. It's interesting that companies keep saying they are doing "iPhone development", when really these are nothing more than sites skinned to look more natural on the iPhone. The iPhone is the only mobile phone that gets special versions made for it, which is especially curious to me considering one of its big selling points is the full-featured Safari and a better browsing experience in general. My initial take is that these companies are just trying to ride the coattails of the amazing iPhone marketing. Mashable says "NewsGator hasn’t been so hyped in recent months, and all I ever hear about is Google Reader." Is it just an easy press release when you have nothing else interesting to announce? Or do these special versions really make a difference? (I don't have an iPhone... so isn't an entirely rhetorical question). Posted Jul 24 2007, 10:28 PM by Tim with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Rants, Gadgets, Things that amuse me, Marketing, Apple, Programming

• DHL Sucks

  I ordered a package from Amazon and noticed they now have an option for Saturday delivery with Prime. Excellent... What I did not realize at the time is that this ships with DHL. Every single time something has been shipped to me via DHL, something went wrong. Once, a Bluetooth module for my M200 showed up in a padded envelope that was quite literally shredded and missing half of the screws. Last time I had something scheduled for Saturday delivery it just never showed up. And of course, today was no exception. First, I noticed that the package was shipped to Melville, which is about 40 miles from where I live. I called up to find out the status and was assured that, even though the tracking system was not updated, that the package was indeed with the driver. (This was around 2pm EST - the times below are PST). Needless to say, the package never showed up. I just called up irate after waiting all day for a package that never showed up and the customer service rep told me that there was... Posted Mar 03 2007, 05:22 PM by Tim with | with 15 comment(s) Filed under: Rants, Things that bother me, Business, Marketing

• Another ironic Mac commercial

  We already know some of the ads in the Get-A-Mac campaign don't exactly make sense . The latest, "Counselor", seems particularly ironic to me. In the ad, the Mac says that the PC "is a wizard with numbers and dresses like a gentleman". The PC is able to say that the Mac is "better with creative stuff", but quickly qualifies such behavior as "completely juvenile and a waste of time". Wait... I thought Apple was the one running the slander campaign? Speaking of which, Apple and Microsoft really do need some counseling. Some of the 5.5G iPods were released with a virus , which Apple blamed on Microsoft because of its insecure OS. Microsoft, of course, said it was simply Apple's lackluster quality control . Let me just come out and say it - Apple wouldn't stoop to releasing a device that intentionally included a Windows-only security exploit to "prove a point", would they? I mean, sure, they'll have some lawsuits, but pretty effective marketing move... Posted Oct 19 2006, 02:33 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Rants, Security, Gadgets, Web 2.0, Marketing, YouTube, Apple, Advertising

• More innovative advertising in a TiVO world

  Honda previously launched 5-second ads to combat the effects of Tivo . Now Fox is embracing that model , "running a 30-second television spot with just one static image in an effort to reach viewers who fast forward through ads using digital video recorders like TiVos." "Viewers fast-forwarding through the ad would see the image for a few seconds; those watching it normally would hear dialogue from the show in the background." It's good to see media companies thinking creatively here and not simply trying to disable our fast forward button . Posted Oct 11 2006, 04:28 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Innovation, Marketing, Advertising

• Buzzwords say all the wrong things

  As I've written in the past, I'm not a big fan of buzzwords because "they're vague, overbroad, ill-defined, and most of all trivialize what is really going on in the first place." Matt at 37Signals says there might be other reasons to avoid buzzwords . These buzzwords are often a mask. People who use them are covering up their ideas — or the lack thereof. They are overcompensating. They don’t have anything substantial to say so they try to use impressive sounding words instead. But people who abuse buzzwords don’t sound smart. They sound like they are trying to sound smart. Big difference. It's easy to use buzzwords and important-sounding words to gloss over your point when you don't really understand what you're talking about. It's a lot harder to be clear and concise. Aim for the latter. (Speaking of which, I'd recommend Plain Language for Lawyers , even if you're not a lawyer or law student). Posted Oct 10 2006, 12:23 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Personal, Web 2.0, Innovation, Marketing, Blogging, Recommendations

• How Chase lost me as a customer

  I've been a moderately happy Chase customer for about 10 years now. I originally chose them because my father used it, and I was able to open a joint savings account under his checking account to avoid fees back when I was in high school. It was convenient from my parents' house, and it was certainly convenient in NYC. The addition of the Duane Reade ATMs was certainly nice. I say "moderately happy" because, in general, my experience has been pretty ambivalent. I've had a few problems with Customer Service, but nothing major. There was a time where the telemarketers wouldn't stop calling even though I asked to be put on their internal "Do Not Call" list. (The Do Not Call registry wouldn't apply because we have a pre-existing relationship). The calls only stopped after I threatened to take my business elsewhere and make sure that they knew it was this particular CSR who didn't ensure I was on that list. I never got another call. I have two credit... Posted Aug 07 2006, 11:40 AM by Tim with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: Business, Marketing

• Most people pay for advertising, but EA wants to charge for it

  Starting this Friday, EA and ESPN are making a behind-the-scenes preview of Madden NFL 07 available . Rather than give it away, they are planning on selling it on pay-per-view (yes, through your cable provider) and online for $20. In a recent Major Nelson podcast, they justified it because, apparently, it includes strategy and tips from some of the best Madden players out there, including their insight into the new features. (I guess they all have been able to put in countless hours on the new game already?). If it were $1.50 (or even $5.00), I might consider it - but with games that already cost $60, can they really expect us to pay another $20 for this as well? It seems to me that EA would have been better off putting this out there as a free promotional thing to drum up support after their somewhat lackluster first attempt on Xbox 360. (I know, I know, it was a launch title, this year will be better, but still). Then again, maybe they figure Madden is a title that sells itself and doesn't... Posted Aug 03 2006, 02:12 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: XBox 360, Gaming, Marketing, Advertising