Devices, Media, And The Future Of Everything

Oh, the inhumanity

[Charlie] This year's Forrester Consumer Forum, held last month in Chicago, had the theme of "Humanizing the digital experience" (you can see some of the speeches here; if you're not a Forrester client you just have to register first). I had a lot of time to ponder that theme lately  -- 9 hours and 47 minutes in fact, if you're counting (I was). That's how long I spent on the phone with TimeWarner Cable customer care recently when my Internet service stopped working.

I know I'm not alone -- many of my neighbors were left in the offline cold, jolted back to the age of stone knives and bearskins by the transition from Comcast service to TimeWarner after those two companies bought the assets of Adelphia out of bankruptcy and then swapped systems to consolidate coverage in individual markets.

But this post is not about my particular travails, it's about how tone deaf TimeWarner Cable is across their channels. Here's the short list I compiled in my copious idle time:

• The initial communication. TimeWarner set a date of October 20 for the formal transition of their broadband subscribers, which they communicated . . . wait for it . . . by snail mail. Let's see, we've got a customer base, 100% of whom are not only online but have a high-speed, always on connection. Yep, USPS sounds like the best channel to communicate an urgent message, they probably don't check their email very often.

• The context-free IVR. After my first three selections in the IVR, the system knows: My account number (you can't block caller ID when you call a toll-free number); that I need tech support for my Internet connection; and that I have no connectivity. Given this understanding of my plight, why does the recording repeatedly offer suggestions about how to get answers to questions and solve problems . . . online? I don't think it's smart to use this opportunity to pitch me additional products, but if they insist on it why not use the context of my account to pitch me products that I don't already have, rather than just a blanket pitch?

• The utter disregard for the value of the customer's time. No one likes to be kept on hold, and today it's not necessary. ACD vendors like Avaya and Genesys Technologies offer a feature called "Virtual Hold," which allows the customer to have their call placed in the queue, and then have their call returned when they are first in the queue. This feature turns the frustrating hold interval into time the customer can use for productive ventures, and for the more than three quarters of households equipped with at least one mobile phone, it allows them to go about their business.

• The disconnect between marketing and reality. All of these failures are exacerbated by TimeWarner's current marketing campaign as they take over Comcast and Adelphia service areas -- which touts the customer-centricity of their care and service. Like much marketing, customers are left with the impression that it's so many empty promises rather than a commitment at all levels of the company.

Today's competition between MSOs and telcos has little to do with integrated services or innovation -- it's only about price and the customer experience. TimeWarner is right to promote a customer-focused approach, but they have to actually deliver on it. To do that they should upgrade their IVR logic and features so that their customers invest a minimum of time when problems arise.

What do you think?

When TiVo met cable . . .

[Josh] It's always revealing to see how the theory of devices stands up to what happens in practice.

Yesterday I installed my TiVo Series 3, the new HD box from TiVo. It includes two CableCARD slots, which are designed to eliminate the need for a set-top box, and with it, the complex and flaky cabling that is sometimes are necessary to connect Tivo or other third-party electronics to your cable.

Comcast cable guy #1 showed up yesterday at 1:30 with the two CableCARDs. Installation didn't work right so he called up Comcast cable guy #2, the tech wiz. An hour later cable guy #2 had installed the CableCARDs and gotten them working.

In theory this means that I can now record and watch HDTV shows on my TiVo. And it works great, except for one little thing . . . the CableCARDs won't receive all the channels properly. In particular HBO doesn't work -- when you tune to it you get a screen full of text with lots of ID numbers, generated by the CableCARD, along with a phone number to call (which is, of course, 1-800-COMCAST). Sort of jarring in the middle of the work of art that is the TiVo interface. And when you call, they send various signals down the wire which, at least in my case, don't fix anything.

Now after explaining this to my wife, she asked the obvious question "Who's fault is this, Comcast's or TiVo's?" I opened my mouth to answer but found I had no answer -- and thereby hangs the problem. Comcast doesn't really want you to use somebody else's DVR, so they want to blame the problem on TiVo. And TiVo says they've designed the device properly, the problem must be on the cable side. In reality, the problem is that the conditional access system and all the other communication between devices and the cable head end is complex, and clearly this CableCARD thing isn't quite ready for a device as complex as a TiVo.

What do you think?

Technorati tags: Bernoff, Forrester, TiVo, CableCARD, TiVo Series 3

What Not To Expect At Macworld

[Josh] Here's what you won't see at Macworld: A set-top TiVo killer. Think Secret was talking about it in November. But Apple isn't ready to unveil it yet.

Here's what they ought to do (call it Applevision):

• Start with a Mac Mini. This $495 chassis already delivers an Internet connected device with a DVD drive. All you need is software (and perhaps an HDMI output) to turn it into a killer video product.

• Give it a 10-foot user interface. Apple already pioneered its long-distance interface Front Row with the remote that comes with its latest line of wide-screen iMacs. A remote with an Apple-style scroll-wheel would turn this interface into a powerful video selection tool.
• Download some music and video. iTunes already has NBC and ABC shows and two million songs to boot.  The next plausible step is to add lots more video content and higher resolution – 640 x 480 full-screen to start, instead of iPod sized. AppleVision would be a great viewer for the millions of streaming videos already online, too.
• Show personal photos and video. Apple’s iPhoto, iVideo, and photo display capabilities would make a heck of a nice app for your TV – putting your family vacation on the big screen.
• Connect to portables. The video-enabled iPod is the perfect companion to AppleVision, allowing you to take all your video content with you.
• And the pièce de résistance – digital video recording (DVR). Add a tuner and online program guide and Apple has a TiVo killer – without the monthly service fee.

They also need to add CableCARD compatibility, but that would require revealing their plans to the CableLabs and the whole cable industry -- so it won't be in version 1.0.

But admit it. If Apple built one of these, wouldn't you buy one and throw out your cable box? Thought so.

Cable A La Carte: The Nuclear Option

[Josh] According to the Journal, “Federal regulators are on the verge of suggesting that cable companies could best serve consumers by letting them subscribe to individual channels instead of offering only prepackaged bundles.”

At the risk of sounding like a cable industry stooge, this is the nuclear option for television subscriptions.

If cable channels were a la carte, most people would only pick a few (read Barry Schwartz’ “The Paradox of Choice” for an eloquent description of why.) Few women would choose SpikeTV, almost no men would pick Lifetime. I personally wouldn’t pay for MTV. Putting aside the administrative cost of keeping track of who gets what channels (and cable operators already have trouble with that in a much simpler world), this would significantly reduce the audience for these channels – the woman who doesn’t sign up for ESPN isn’t able to see it, even if she’s got a passing interest the local football team, for example. The cable channels would get hit twice – fewer per subscriber payments, and less ad revenue.

And don’t forget what this means for niche channels. How can a channel like OLN build an audience, or sign a big hockey contract, when most people will have chosen never to see it?

How did we get here? The cable industry has now raised rates to the point where, according to our consumer data, 80% of consumers aren’t satisfied with the price of cable service. The main reason people switch to satellite now is to save money. And among those consumers unsatisfied with cable prices are a few, like Senator John McCain, that can cause big trouble for cable by pushing a la carte.

Like any nuclear option, the move towards a la carte is a threat. Better for cable to take action rather than experience nuclear disaster. This is especially true for Comcast, which has made its success on higher-priced, more comprehensive packages.

It’s time to back down some. Create a wider variety of tiers and packages, instead of just Silver, Gold, and Platinum with/without HBO. (Some of us don’t want whitewall tires on our car just because we asked for the CD player option.) Use the FCC threat to break a few dozen networks out of the “gotta be on the standard tier” contracts that are bloating up our cable bills. There’s a lot of room for more choices without going to a channel-by-channel opt-in. And cable has to make it a lot easier for people to opt in and out of these packages, on the TV screen or online. Do this, and Congress will back off, the networks will survive, and consumers will get marginally happier with the choices in their cable service.

It’s better than the nuclear option.