27.Jan.2011 Borders Redux – Customer Service?

Here’s my answer from Borders Books.  Please remember that they are sending out the wrong book, and charging money for that service, as you enjoy the pure bliss of their “customer service.”

26.Jan.2011 Borders Books – A Sad New World

I’ve just experienced one of the worst usability fails in my life.  I was willing to give eBooks a shot.  I really was!  I’m not in favor of them and I don’t see a market anytime soon for the Kindles, etc. that are fighting it out in the market.  I’m an older gentleman and I like books.

But I’ll try anything.  Last month a friend gave me a Borders Gift Card, which could be used to order any of millions (apparently) of fresh new eBooks.  I had forgotten about it until I read a small excerpt from Robert Jensen‘s “Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity.”  Had to have this book!

So, off to Borders to test out the hot new technology.  My first discovery was that this book was not available as a download, but could be purchased for $11.95.  So…quickly over to Amazon and purchased used for $3.00.

That being settled, back to Borders to use the card.  Professor Jensen’s latest book was available for download at a price of $13.09.  WoooHoo!  I’ll be reading it while I wait for Amazon.  But first, it seemed likely that I should install the Borders eReader.  And I did.  OK, all set.  Purchased the download and downloaded.

But wait.  This download doesn’t work with the eReader software.  It’s some specific form of wrapped pdf that requires Adobe Digital Editions.  To be fair, Borders warned me that I might need to install this software when I downloaded.  But of course I passed.  I have the Borders eReader installed, right?  That must be the proper software to use when reading a Border’s download.  Right?

So…another install, another “account,” as in “give us your personal details so that we can send you spam every day!”

But that didn’t work.  Something else had installed, called the BN.com Desktop, or some such.  At any rate, I’ve given out my personal information to three different entities in order to install three different softwares, none of which has displayed the downloaded eBook.

Finally I struck on downloading the file again and opening with the Adobe software.  Success!  The software opened with…the right title but the wrong book.  Something called “Dizzying Heights” by Bruce Ducker.  That about did it.  I’m in hell.

OK, sent in comment to “Customer Care.”  More later.

28.Sep.2010 Movie Studio Fail

It’s now been three months since I dropped DirecTV.  I started with them to watch some Rugby.  I had to sign up for a premiun package in order to add the $12 Setanta Sports channel.  It all came to $80 or so.  My wife and I didn’t get into much else;  Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, The Soup on E!.

There were a few shows that we wanted to watch, but they were all on HBO and Showtime.  Not wanting to jack up our costs over $100/month, we started with Deadwood from NetFlix, then Madmen and Lost.  When we realized that we were watching 90% NetFlix in an average month we came to an easy decision:  “What the hell are we paying DirecTV for?”

What we didn’t care about was immediacy.  We didn’t care if we watched the final season of Lost now or later this year.  We’ll see it sooner or later, and that’s good enough for us.  We’re now streaming NetFlix and getting 20 local channels with a cheap digital antenna.  Total cost is $20/month and with the savings we bought a huge (by our standards) TV.

Immediacy is apparently the only thing the Movie Studios have left.  Bloomberg Reports that Studios are considering a “Premium” showing of their latest movies for up to $30.  That’s not $30 for movies now in theatres, that’s $30 for movies that will be released on DVD and BluRay in a month or so.  $30 for the privilege of seeing a movie in transition from theatres to disc.

I’ll grant that the industry is in trouble.  Nobody’s going to theatres and nobody’s buying DVDs or BluRays.  This kind of thinking will only make it worse.  A whole new group of consumers will wake up one day and realize that they can live without the immediate experience.  NewTeeVee has a few thoughts in that direction:

“…the at-home audience already has a wealth of choices at its disposal without having to resort to what amounts to a $30 rental of a film, even in a “recently released” film window. While theoretically the cost of a $30 VOD purchase is lower than the cost of a family of four going to the movies together — especially when one considers the cost of concessions, etc. — that $30 VOD rental will be compared to a $5 VOD rental through the same service. As a result, the amount of potential consumer demand is bound to be limited.”

So…right now I’m feeling good about my choice.  I’m seeing everything I want to see and, because I don’t need to see it right now, I’m paying a reasonable price.  Estimates are the 800,000 folks left the Cables and Satellites last year and didn’t move to something else.  Seems like the beginning of a movement.