Dear Paul,

I want to thank you for the cordial invitation and opportunity to join Insight’s “cool new INSIGHT REWARDS program.” In the letter, you thanked me for my business. Let me assure you, the honor is mine. Your service was outstanding and efficient when we moved from an apartment to a house. Even though I gave you an entire month’s warning, it only took an additional two weeks after we moved to get the service operational.

I want to thank you for the 6 week period during the hottest part of the summer when sync would drop daily from around from around 11:00am-5:00pm. I want to thank your service people who first insisted that the problem was inside the house while I repeatedly said that I believe the problem was at the pole. I want to thank you for the time that I had to take off work ‘to be home’ for work that was done solely on the pole.

I want to thank your customer support person who said, “if Internet matters this much to you, why don’t you subscribe to business services.” I responded by saying ”...what if I’m not a business, and all that I’m asking for is reliable Internet service?” I want to thank you for your massive phone system hierarchy, waiting on hold for over an hour and talking to 5 people just to get a simple question answered. It has definitely enriched my life.

I want to thank you for when I was promised that I would receive reimbursement for the unavailability of service. Empty promises are the epitome of good business practice. I want to thank you for when I called your service department regarding your letter to ask “what additional savings are available …with Insight Rewards,” spending 40 minutes on the phone, asked to be transferred to “a supervisor” and only to find out that the supervisor on shift was a voicemail box. I left a voicemail; and you guessed it, my phone call was not returned. Thank you for not interrupting my life, it means so much.

Lastly, I would like to thank you again for enrolling me into Insight Rewards. I especially look forward to the “benefit” of having a price increase of “just $4.95 per month.” I would hate to think what to think my price increase would be if I wasn’t part of the “rewards program.” It might be $9.95, or even $14.95. I am so lucky, and you should be commended.

Paul, let me be frank. You work for a monopoly. No, not the Parker Brother’s game, but a government regulated monopoly. Your only viable broadband competition is DSL and Satellite service. DSL would be a fine alternative if I had a land-line. Sorry, I’m one of those who have moved into the 21st century and rely only on cell phones and the Internet for communication. Satellite would be fine too, but it much slower and potentially less reliable. Broadband over cell networks look promising, but there are bandwidth issues. As a regulated monopoly and public company you have certain responsibilities.

Customers should be treated with utmost respect. If you feel that it is necessary to raise the price of services or let my “promotional offer” end, that’s perfectly fine, just don’t try to spin it as though you are doing me a favor. Contrary to what you may believe, your users are not idiots. Here’s a new concept, treat your broadband customers with the same urgency as you do cable TV. With the emergence of IPTV, Joost, video podcasts, the Internet is our entertainment future. Your TV business will soon be obsolete. Be honest, and keep your promises, that’s all I ask.

Sincerely,

Your average customer.

P.S. How would you like to have me as a cable TV customer? It’s easy, offer your channels a la carte. I don’t consider glorified infomercials (i.e. QVC, Home Shopping Network) quality content.