Did you guys change your redirect page very much? I changed it in two ways. I made the reasons and fixes line up and make sense (because removing a virus would never update their account) and added the IP address at the bottom so I can simply add their new computer/router/etc to their account without having them go through Windows.
Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” --- Winston Churchill On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 6:52 PM, Mark Nash - Lists <markl...@uwol.net>wrote: > One thing that is saving us alot of time is dealing with delinquent > accounts. > > Used to take about a couple hours each month to actually shut off CPEs for > non-payment. Then each would have to call in, arrange for payment or make > a > credit card payment over the phone, bitch at the agent on the phone, etc. > > Now, with the combination of the Billing Server/BMU/Customer Portal, that > activity has dropped to next-to-nothing. BMU redirects the "Delinquent" > user's browser to a "delinquent" page and offers to connect them to the > Customer Portal on the billing server. Customers can now re-activate > themselves with their credit card, and don't have to go through the > embarrassment of talking with someone at our office, and we don't have to > deal with them either. And to boot, Powercode v9 now can automatically > charge a "Reconnect Fee" to turn service back on. > > With shutoffs happening more rapidly and automatically, people are getting > used to it and paying us more regularly. The usual suspects that seem to > always be late are learning, too. It used to be that we could turn them > back on until their "check came in the mail". Now we say, "I'm sorry, the > system won't let you back on until I clear the late portion of the > account". > That's kinda true, too, because you can manually change the customer's > status from "Delinquent" to "Active", and it will let them back on. Until > 3am the next morning when the routine hits again to change the account BACK > to "Delinquent". Poof! > > This "having to deal MORE with the people who AREN'T paying on time" used > to > really irk me. Now, with this system in place, I make about $250/mo from > reconnect fees. Hardly have to deal with them at all, and money is coming > in much more efficiently. > > BTW... Higher-end business clients have a HUGE grace period before they > turn > to "Delinquent". Didn't want those guys getting shut off just because the > A/P clerk took a few days off and got behind on paying the bill! > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Josh Luthman" <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> > To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> > Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 3:39 PM > Subject: Re: [WISPA] Powercode WAS: Overage thresholds and penalties > > > Not sure if it deletes the account. I doubt it and hope it doesn't, > though. > > On 4/30/10, Mark Nash - Lists <markl...@uwol.net> wrote: > > OK, but at least, if the account was actually CREATED in Powercode, it is > > accounted for in the billing program and cleaned up (removed) when the > > account is set to "Not Active"? > > > > That's a huge step in the right direction for cleaning up email accounts. > > > > Since there's no cross-reference now, I have no way of knowing who owns > > hundreds of our email addresses. You get people putting in email > accounts > > without a first & last name that identifies the Powercode customer, and > > email addresses like just2d...@whatever.com. > > > > Currently, I just have a policy of removing accounts that have not been > > accessed in any way within the last 6 months (deleted about 120 the other > > day). We pay 3rd party host for email, and we give some away and take in > > about $1k/mo for hosted email. So cleaning up unused accounts for our > > "provided-free" domains saves us $$. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Josh Luthman" <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> > > To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> > > Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 2:46 PM > > Subject: Re: [WISPA] Powercode WAS: Overage thresholds and penalties > > > > > > I see what you're getting at. I don't think the two tie together but > > I've not looked at it that way. I made sure the account existed, > > that's all. We don't chargew for email. > > > > On 4/30/10, Mark Nash - Lists <markl...@uwol.net> wrote: > >> Does it actually count up the number of email addresses you have and put > >> those on a billing line item, or account for them as part of a package? > >> > >> For instance... Customer is given 5 email addresses as a monthly service > >> within their package called "Wireless Internet Service". Then we sell > >> them > >> 10 more "Email accounts" for a total of 15... Does Powercode bill from > >> those > >> email addresses? Are the actual email addresses tied to the "Package" > or > >> "Monthly Service"? Or are they just managed? > >> > >> Do my questions make sense to you? > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: "Josh Luthman" <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> > >> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> > >> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 2:24 PM > >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Powercode WAS: Overage thresholds and penalties > >> > >> > >> That one VERY SMALL and ANNOYING bit...perfect. > >> > >> Email address is managed inside an account so you know who's it is > >> (you can look an account up by it for example). Simply fill out the > >> form and his submit. You can change their password for them if they > >> forget it, too. > >> > >> On 4/30/10, Mark Nash - Lists <markl...@uwol.net> wrote: > >>> Hey, I'm not using email integration. > >>> > >>> How's that working for you (the "changepassword on log in to new Gmail > >>> accounts" issue aside)? > >>> > >>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>> From: "Josh Luthman" <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> > >>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> > >>> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 2:09 PM > >>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Powercode WAS: Overage thresholds and penalties > >>> > >>> > >>> I agree it's overall positive but for the life of me I can't get them > >>> to add changepassword on log in to new Gmail accounts. > >>> > >>> Such a tiny thing and I keep mentioning it, but it's the "I'll have to > >>> ask ______" who has to ask someone else. > >>> > >>> On 4/30/10, Mark Nash - Lists <markl...@uwol.net> wrote: > >>>> It's been love-hate. > >>>> > >>>> We've actually been using it since January 2008, for billing and > >>>> scheduling, > >>>> tracking leads, etc. We purchased the Imagestream Rebel router to > work > >>>> as > >>>> the Bandwidth Manager Unit (BMU) later that year, but never put it > into > >>>> place. This was primarily because we didn't trust Powercode tech > >>>> support > >>>> to > >>>> help us when we had a problem with it. > >>>> > >>>> Things were dicey & sketchy with Powercode for awhile. We think the > >>>> tide > >>>> has turned with the company, being bought out by Bertram Wireless. We > >>>> like > >>>> better what's going on with them now, and we have upgraded to their > >>>> version > >>>> 9 with a substantial increase in monthly cost. We did this because we > >>>> wanted the bandwidth management integrated with our billing platform, > >>>> so > >>>> that a low-cost customer service agent could pretty much help a > >>>> customer > >>>> with whatever their needs were. We felt that it was time to "make or > >>>> break" > >>>> with Powercode, or switch to another platform (painful but maybe > >>>> necessary). > >>>> > >>>> Powercode, the company, has been working well with us to resolve our > >>>> problems. They seem to care about having our business more than they > >>>> used > >>>> to, as they are responding to us and addressing our concerns. In > fact, > >>>> the > >>>> other day, I requested a new feature...seemed like a simple one but > >>>> most > >>>> times feature requests fall on deaf ears. Powercode has built-in > >>>> troubleshooting utilities like ping-flood (web-interfaced billing > >>>> server > >>>> initiates the command and the BMU runs it and reports back the results > >>>> to > >>>> the billing server then back to your web browser). Well, I wanted > >>>> those > >>>> results to be logged in the customer account (PC has EXTENSIVE > >>>> logging). > >>>> A > >>>> week later, that feature was released on an update. Now, whenever any > >>>> customer service agent runs a troubleshooting utility in Powercode, it > >>>> is > >>>> logged on the customer account and stored forever. So, we immediately > >>>> began > >>>> having our installers running their tests from within Powercode before > >>>> they > >>>> leave the install. Now we have 3 tests logged for initial performance > >>>> of > >>>> the connection. Anyway... pretty good turn-around on my request. > >>>> > >>>> I was at a turning point a few months ago, sending out an email to > >>>> everyone > >>>> to begin searching for a new OSS because we weren't 100% on our > >>>> features. > >>>> Being 100% on features, I felt, will save us about .5 FTE. If we > >>>> aren't > >>>> there, and are paying the high price of v9 Powercode...not worth it. > >>>> > >>>> They're working with us and I hope to be 100% in a week or so. Their > >>>> new > >>>> pricing has good economy of scale, too...affordable from day > >>>> one...expensive > >>>> in numbers but advanced features will save you people time at this > >>>> point. > >>>> > >>>> All-in-all, still I think it has been a positive adventure with > >>>> Powercode. > >>>> I'm glad the product has a better managed company behind it now. > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>>> From: "Mark Dueck" <m...@netking.bz> > >>>> To: <wireless@wispa.org> > >>>> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 12:50 PM > >>>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Overage thresholds and penalties > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>> How is your experience with Powercode? I once considered putting in > >>>>> Powercode, but it looked to be a little used product, so decided > >>>>> against > >>>>> it. > >>>>> > >>>>> On 04/30/2010 10:24 AM, Mark Nash - Lists wrote: > >>>>>> We use Powercode to shape bandwidth and to track bandwidth usage, > and > >>>>>> when > >>>>>> the customer goes over the limit, they are throttled down very hard, > >>>>>> like > >>>>>> 64k. Powercode has a Customer Portal feature that lets them login > >>>>>> and > >>>>>> check > >>>>>> their usage any time they want. Also, they can set up daily emails > >>>>>> from > >>>>>> their Portal so that they can get an email each day about their > >>>>>> monthly > >>>>>> usage. We have about 20 customers that do this. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> Took us a while to get the Powercode system to work, and it's still > >>>>>> not > >>>>>> 100%, but I would say that putting in these usage thresholds and > >>>>>> tracking > >>>>>> has helped us identify who our heavy users are and to deal with them > >>>>>> appropriately. Doing this has generated about $500/mo in additional > >>>>>> revenue > >>>>>> as customers move up to higher speed packages with higher monthly > >>>>>> limits. > >>>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >>>>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>>> > >>>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >>>>> > >>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >>>>> > >>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >>>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >>>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>> > >>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >>>> > >>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >>>> > >>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >>> -- > >>> Josh Luthman > >>> Office: 937-552-2340 > >>> Direct: 937-552-2343 > >>> 1100 Wayne St > >>> Suite 1337 > >>> Troy, OH 45373 > >>> > >>> “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to > >>> continue that counts.” > >>> --- Winston Churchill > >>> > >>> > >>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >>> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> > >>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >>> > >>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >>> > >>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >>> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >>> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> > >>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >>> > >>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >>> > >>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >>> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Josh Luthman > >> Office: 937-552-2340 > >> Direct: 937-552-2343 > >> 1100 Wayne St > >> Suite 1337 > >> Troy, OH 45373 > >> > >> “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to > >> continue that counts.” > >> --- Winston Churchill > >> > >> > >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> > >> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >> > >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >> > >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! > >> http://signup.wispa.org/ > >> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> > >> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >> > >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >> > >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >> > > > > > > -- > > Josh Luthman > > Office: 937-552-2340 > > Direct: 937-552-2343 > > 1100 Wayne St > > Suite 1337 > > Troy, OH 45373 > > > > “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to > > continue that counts.” > > --- Winston Churchill > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > -- > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 > Direct: 937-552-2343 > 1100 Wayne St > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to > continue that counts.” > --- Winston Churchill > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
