Re: Expectations
From: Michael Jennings (harvest_at_way.invalid)
Date: 03/22/04
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 00:32:24 -0500
"SomewhatAnonymous" <Please@NoSpamWanted.yuk> wrote in message
news:%Gt7c.26924$2d1.22983@newssvr29.news.prodigy.com...
> "Michael Jennings" <harvest@way.invalid> wrote in message
> news:eW1k8K3DEHA.2088@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>> Indicate to your customers that Microsoft might prefer
>> getting money from users for programs, rather than giving users
>> programs for reasons other than for cash. If this were true,
>> Outlook - a component of Office - would be well supported; however
>> Outlook Express - a subfunction of Internet Explorer - would *not*
>> be well supported. If one expected good support, then, one would
>> prefer Outlook over Outlook Express.
>>
>> The frugal OE user, taking advantage of the generosity of the
>> Microsoft corporation, would need to be somewhat self-supporting.
>>
>> http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm
>>
>> Of course, there are customers to whom this will make no sense.
>
> Actually, most of my customers do have some version of Microsoft Office on
> their computers. Speaking about my business computer users, most of them
> use
> Outlook. They need Excel (and sometimes Access), and so they get exposed
> to
> Outlook at work and become familiar with using it for email too. IMO, my
> home computer users might indeed have some version of Office, but it seems
> to me that most of them only use it for Word (decent letter writing
> abilities). For all I know, it might be that home users prefer OE because
> it
> supports both email and newsgroups. Maybe if MS put newsgroup support in
> Office then that home computer user base might increase? It seems true
> that
> in the home market the only reason to have a computer at all is for
> communications purposes in -all- its formats. Letter writing, email,
> newsgroups, voice and video communications. And lately, online buying. The
> integrated products that do that best and easiest are what gets used in
> that
> market (and at least for now, that's Microsoft products - bundled as
> "free",
> or not).
>
> Anyway, in my decades of experience I've not found that the consumer gives
> a
> rat about support - they hate having to themselves try to use or rely on
> support. They instead come to someone like me to fix a malfunctioning
> product. At that point they are already angry with the product
> manufacture.
> I think their attitude is not one of support but one of name branding, and
> name branding is based upon performance expectations as perceived by the
> customer. While it's my job to fix a product if it is fixable, it
> certainly
> does not include being the mouthpiece of a product manufacture and
> explaining what the manufacture expects of them! No, because the customers
> see it as what THEY expect of the manufacture! I can't argue with that!
> They
> pay for it. Not me, and not the manufacture. The customer pays and has
> expectations. Nothing is free, Michael. It's all included in the bottom
> line
> for the price of the item that something "free" is attached to; to not do
> that would not make financial sense. The customers know that! And they
> have
> their expectations. And when it comes to their money they have a good
> memory
> too!
>
You are running a business and must deal with non-theoretical customers.
Microsoft has been giving away their Internet Explorer-Outlook Express
package for years. Since you've been around for years, you know why.
It really has been free - negative cash flow. Now Netscape is gone.
It's OK by me if you feel it would be wrong to indicate to your customers
a reason that makes sense as a probable cause of an evident condition.
I don't mind if you don't steer them to the helpful website link I
furnished.
You would be helping both them and yourself, in my opinion, but if you
disagree, that's ok.
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