"Dear Neighbor" via US Mail

[ankh]

I applaud the idea of sending an invitation to try Sonic in the US Mail.
The Dan Gillmor piece from Slate is nice.

Ours arrived today.

Would it cost more to purge the list by removing addresses like ours that are already customers, than to deliver a copy to everybody in the target area (whatever that is)?

[ankh]

P.S., and already, had a phone call from a neighbor down the block asking me whether I really like Sonic, after she'd read the mail. I said yes. The next question was "and does it really only cost $40 a month as it says?"

Uh, no.

I had to pull out our bill to clarify the costs -- the snailmail page is lowballing unfairly. Sorry to see that.

I wish you'd specified what "plus various fees and taxes" adds up to -- and been clearer that it applies to the single line service as well as the dual-line. I hope your phone people are being up front about that, as the required modem fee, plus taxes, adds up to a significant -- and predictable -- increase on the quoted amount, every month.

If you read the blurb literally, it says:
-- the dual-line is "$60 a month plus various fees and taxes"
and
-- the single line is "$40 a month"

Nope -- it should say "$40 a month plus the same [?] additional fees and taxes" and spell them out.

That's not right. You build in a big letdown -- unnecessarily.

Talk to the Marketing Department please. This can't be the intended effect.

Nevertheless -- I made clear my recommendation stands, and it's the tech people who make Sonic what it has been all along and continues to be. Not the cheapest, not the fastest, depends on where you are, but -- reliable and responsive.

[ankh]

and P.P.S. -- okay, is this a fair representation of what Sonic costs for one line Fusion plus voice?

This is edited from my recent invoice, in answer to my neighbor (also in Berkeley) who wanted to know if the $40/month rate was real. They've been paying upwards of $100/month for something really slow, ComCast or ATnT, plus their voice phone -- so Sonic is still a good deal.

But I want to tell her an honest number so she doesn't look at me funny if she does sign up and sees her first bill.

Is it fair to say the base Sonic rate, what the letter called $40/month, is actually about $65/month to Sonic, plus around $15-20/month in taxes and regulatory fees?

This is what I'm considering showing her to clarify the real costs. Is this about right, for a ballpark month?
(I think I can subtract the Fusion IP addres space -- we have and use fixed IPs, she'd get whatever Sonic defaults to -- is there any IP address charge for the default customer setup?

TO SONIC
Fusion Broadband - Single Line 39.95
Fusion IP address space 20.00
Modem Equipment Rental Fee 6.50

PLUS TAXES AND FEES
Voice Federal Subscriber Line Charge Fee 6.50
Voice Federal Universal Service Fund Fee 1.75
Voice California Lifeline Telephone Service 0.65
Voice California Deaf and Disabled 0.06
Voice California High Cost Fund-A Surcharge 0.04
Voice California Teleconnect Fund Surcharge 0.13
Voice California Advanced Services Fund 0.06
Voice California 911 Emergency Surcharge 0.09
Voice Berkeley Utility Users Tax 1.67
Voice California Public Utility Commission 0.02
Voice FCC Interstate Telecom Service 0.03
Property Tax Allotment Surcharge 0.52
Voice Regulatory Recovery Surcharge 0.30
Tax Adjustment - California Lifeline 0.67
Tax Adjustment - California Teleconnect Fund 0.13
Tax Adjustment - FCC Interstate Telecom 0.03
Tax Adjustment - Federal Universal Service 1.81

[Guest]

P.P.P.S.

I miss the long-ago shared connection deal Sonic used to have, and hope something like that comes back again. It was one way of attracting neighbors to try out the service.

In the meantime, how about coming up with a "Hi Neighbor -- Ask Me about Sonic.net: [email protected]"
and arrange each of us some throwaway email we can write in, plant the sign in front of the house (or on a nearby phone pole for some anonymity) usable for a little while so people can try asking "hi, are you my neighbor?"

Some day we'll get enough people signed up on our block or in my area to argue convincingly for fiber.
And after that, we'll get a LOT more ....

[dane]

Thank you for the thoughts and feedback! I will make sure Marketing gets to review the comments.

[virtualmike]

TO SONIC
Fusion Broadband - Single Line 39.95
Fusion IP address space 20.00
Modem Equipment Rental Fee 6.50

Most customers do not pay the Fusion IP address space charge. Does your neighbor really need multiple IP addresses?

[blackmage]

I would also like to point out that neither Comcast nor AT&T advertise their actual costs and most people don't see taxes and fees until they get their first bill. At least Sonic has that information in plain view while you sign up on their website.

[ankh]

virtualmike -- yes, I said my bill is for fixed IP, and that line wouldn't apply for the usual setup.
Point is, I don't know the default setup -- but for any other charges, I'd encourage them to be clear up front.

blackmage -- yes, Sonic's "no worse than" Comcast or ATnT -- that's praising with faint damn, I think.
And having charges on the web is good, yes. My neighbor would inquire by voice phone -- a matter of age and reading comfort -- if she follows up to contact Sonic.

I wanted her to understand that the letter's "$40/month" was, er, understated and the basic cost is somewhere around $60 per month.

I'd hope the people answering the phone know the Marketing people set them up a bomb on the $40 price.

I wanted Marketing to understand that the potential customer's first call shouldn't build in disappointment, to distinguish Sonic from the rest. And make it easier on the phone line staffers, too.

I repeat, I told my neighbor everything _else_ about Sonic is reliable, that was the only caution I had fo rher.

She told me what she considers a comparable issue about disclosing costs -- she almost signed up for Safeway home delivery recently but just didn't trust them to tell her the truth (in a 16 page small print agreement). And lo and behold, quite a few mostly older people got slammed and bit back:
https://www.google.com/search?q=safeway ... ry+lawsuit

I know, that's not even close to Sonic's approach. It's what my neighbor compared it to.

Mistrust and verify seems to be what's needed these days. Sonic's better than that.

Just sayin' -- reality is plenty good, and being real would improve the marketing effort.

Enough from me.

[Guest]

and P.S., a while later -- same elderly neighbor is still thinking hard about switching from Comcast to Sonic but a bit terrified about Comcast's reaction, apparently there are a lot of horror stories out there about Comcast hitting back with extra fees and charges and 'support' calls to people who want to cancel and change over. How much handholding can Sonic support do, for someone who's elderly, sharp enough with regular things, but worried about being beaten up by Comcast?

Maybe Comcast just promotes these rumors itself to scare people, I dunno. It's all second and third hand gossip, but their reputation with older people seems really bad.