I think there are a couple IMPORTANT points that did not come clear in Dave's email. First, and BY FAR most importantly (from my perspective and I hope yours) what Dave laid out as a basis for inclusion in the referral program is a significant CHANGE from what it was. We have listened. Jim, call today (or tomorrow since your tomorrow is our today!) and get in! You qualify, you simply need to ask. In fact, don't call. I know you want in. I will tell Peter.
Second, the criteria are guidelines not rules. If you do 63 transactions a month and have 869 names under management and have been our customer for 18 months it should be no problem. If you are the biggest guy in Northern Iowa and it is simply a small market but have a legit business that should be no problem also. Also, remember it is transactions (new, renew, transfer) not just new names. Third, the support and compliance things are observed in the breach. If you have a history of problems or customer complaints then we will not list you or will remove you if you are already listed. We will NOT have mystery shoppers checking your support, nor will we use this as a "soft" criterion to favour bigger resellers. Fourth, we hear you with the "proof of reseller"/"seal of approval" thing. Wheels turning. Last, the referral list, IMHO, will not help with Google as the link is only on the last page of the process, which does not have huge traffic, and which has the company name not "domain names" or something else as the link, so it will only help "Company X" if someone is searching Google for "Company X" other than in a very, very limited sense. Hope this helps. Regards Elliot Noss Tucows inc. 416-538-5494 > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Peter Kiem > Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 3:46 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: Referral List > > > Hi Dave, > > Thanks for taking the time to respond to our concerns. > > > we identified the following elements as the basis for inclusion: > > And lets look at them how they apply to my small business as I am sure > they apply to many of your small resellers. > > > 1. Length of time as a Tucows reseller > > March 2000 > > > 2. Volume of business done with Tucows, including both > > registration activity levels, and that Tucows is the > > reseller�s only supplier for domain names > > Tucows is my only supplier for domain names and certificates with the > exception of Enetica for .au domains and that arrangement was organised > through Tucows anyway. > > > 3. The breadth of products or services that a reseller > > sources from Tucows > > Domain names and certificates. > > > 4. Quality of end user customer support > > Have you EVER asked or tried my level of customer support with my > business since I started with OpenSRS in March 2000? > > > 5. History of policy compliance > > Have you EVER had a compliance problem with my business since I started > with OpenSRS in March 2000? > > > Of these five, the issue coming through in this discussion > > is #2 - the volume of domain activity. We have never used > > OK, I don't see any problems with my eligibilty EXCEPT for #2, the > numbers game. Tell me where I dont meet your criteria except for the > number of registrations I process for you? > > > hard numbers, but I will clarify this as it should help the > > messaging for this program. The threshold for inclusion will > > be either 1) a total of 1,000 domains under management with > > OpenSRS, or 2) 50 to 100 domain transactions per month. As > > OK I have only done US$3000 worth of business through OpenSRS. Not huge > but then not too small an amount! So at this rate I will not get listed > until about 2009? > > > This element does two things. It rewards resellers when they > > reach a specific level by including them in a program not > > available to all resellers. Second, there is a correlation > > between our resellers that focus on this business full time > > (we have many resellers that are in this business as a side > > line or part time) and their level of registration activity. > > No, this helps the large reseller get larger and does NOTHING for the > smaller reseller to get to the magic 1000 domains or 100 per month. > > The domain registrations make a significant portion of my business but > no I am not in the business solely of selling domain names. I use the > domain names to try to get customers for web hosting services so like > ezgoing I keep my prices low. > Does that mean I place a lower priority and are less committed to > OpenSRS because of it? No! I see the domain registrations as a very > important part of my business strategy. > > > As is always the case, there can be exceptions to any threshold. > > If you feel you have a strong presence in a particular market, > > geography being one of many examples, please discuss this with > > your Account Manager. We will look at these on an individual > > basis. If you are unsure who your Account Manager is, email > > us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > How do you justify that according to your resellers page there are only > TWO companies in the whole of Australia that register .com/.net/.org > domains and NONE that register .biz domains? > > It is a slap in the face that you don't even have 5 resellers listed for > Australia in the referrals page in a whole damn COUNTRY when you > evidently have a LOT more. I can understand you wanting to filter it a > bit when you have hundreds listed but TWO? Come on!!! > > > comments. At the same time, I am concerned that little > > recognition has been given in this discussion to what we do > > on a daily basis, to the benefit of every Tucows reseller, > > which is to continue to improve upon the quality and functionality > > of the OpenSRS system and provide excellent customer service and > > support. This remains our focus moving forward. > > As I said in my email last night, don't get me wrong, I think you have > been doing a wonderful job and hope you continue doing it. But myself, > and quite a few other resellers (based from this list and private > emails) think you are taking the wrong approach on the referrals list > matter. > > We feel left out in the cold even though we continue to give our > business through OpenSRS while you pay more attention to your larger > resellers. > > We are not asking for cheaper domains, well at least I'm not :), all we > are asking for is a damn link from Tucows to say they acknowledge the > Tucows <---> reseller business arrangement, to give a customer browing > the OpenSRS site a chance to come and have a look at us as well and > perhaps help us along a bit more so we can put even MORE business > through OpenSRS! > > Help us grow so we can keep OpenSRS growing! > > -- > Regards, > +-----------------------------+---------------------------------+ > | Peter Kiem .^. | E-Mail : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | > | Zordah IT /V\ | Mobile : +61 0414 724 766 | > | IT Consultancy & /( )\ | WWW : www.zordah.net | > | Internet Hosting ^^-^^ | ICQ : "Zordah" 866661 | > +-----------------------------+---------------------------------+ >
