Yeah, well ...

Post #351,724 by drook 12/7/11 4:39:29 PM Reply	Yeah, well ... Because of the cost to get (close to) nationwide coverage, we don't have many players. Instead of competing on features, they compete on how much they can fuck their customers without them switching. -- Drew
Post #351,726 by pwhysall 12/7/11 4:46:14 PM Reply	Re: Yeah, well ... Is buying sim-free and then just grabbing a sim-only contract not an option?
Post #351,728 by folkert 12/7/11 4:55:11 PM Reply	Nope. Not here. A SIM card just means you can swap phones easier here. Non-phone included contracts are crazy. Non-contract phones are even more crazy... Least crazy is Phone included on contract plans.
Post #351,734 by pwhysall 12/7/11 5:16:26 PM Reply	That's fucked /UP/
Post #351,736 by folkert 12/7/11 5:57:16 PM Reply	Yes it is.
Post #351,737 by Another Scott 12/7/11 6:02:38 PM Reply	Wait until you hear the ones about health insurance...
Post #351,740 by folkert 12/7/11 8:27:31 PM 12/7/11 8:29:04 PM Reply	Don't get me started... My Ear surgery total cost before "insurance company negotiations" was over $65,000. After negotiations... just about $37,000. I still ended up having to pay $5,000 for my High Deductible... plus 20% after that, PLUS my monthly premium is $2278 for the family (reimbursed from the company). SO... this year, Molly had a second nasal surgery for about $15,000 pre-negotiated fee. $5,000 for her deductible plus 20% of left over $10,000. Molly == $5,000 + $2,000 == $7,000 Greg == $5,000 + $6,400 == $11,400 Karen == $3,700 (not reached $5,000 this year) == $3,700 Monthly Premiums == $2,278 x 12 == $27,336 My total health care costs, for my employer and myself == $49,436 That doesn't include Medications. Which for Molly was $2,700 this year (for Psycho-psychotic meds) and for me my Diabetic meds and "supplies" was $970. Schweet... and people wonder why health care is my hot button! And they (Aetna) are still cheaping out on things like medications. Refusing to cover cough syrup and an inhaled steroid for my bronchitis... costing me more money. Another year like this, being the 2nd in a row as last year Karen had multiple ER visits and Gall Bladder Removal Surgery, finally when they figured it out. Molly had her first Nasal surgery last year (and) Molly had a "non-covered procedure" last year for $12,000, still paying off Mom and Dad for that)... and I'll have to file bankruptcy if we get a third one. Edited by folkert Dec. 7, 2011, 08:29:04 PM EST Expand All History
Post #351,741 by Another Scott 12/7/11 8:36:05 PM Reply	Yikes. :-(
Post #356,135 by folkert 4/4/12 10:27:49 PM Reply	Karen is going in for... Uterine Bleeding and thickening of the Endometrium. She is not post-menopausal. Ultrasound picked up some "heavier spots" Feck me... This already is costing $1800 for the Ultrasound and the pre-screening and a biopsy. Looks to be about $3500 for the tests and biopsy of the "spots"... Great. Bankruptcy here I come.
Post #356,136 by Another Scott 4/4/12 10:38:13 PM Reply	Hang in there. Best of luck to her.
Post #356,145 by folkert 4/5/12 9:31:43 AM Reply	I'm not able to concentrate... at the moment. I'm more worried about what Aetna will block paying for than anything else right now.
Post #356,147 by boxley 4/5/12 9:37:05 AM Reply	Man, hope this crap eases up for you Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 55 years. meep
Post #356,217 by mmoffitt 4/6/12 2:03:16 PM Reply	^What he said, man. That is rough.
Post #356,233 by folkert 4/6/12 10:36:03 PM Reply	Well... at this point... She is bleeding enough to saturate 8 "overnight" pads a day, plus running down her legs at any given point. We might be visiting the Emergency Room this weekend, if it doesn't slow down at all. Got new meds yesterday... slowed it down about 1/4.
Post #356,236 by Another Scott 4/7/12 12:00:24 AM Reply	Don't put off getting her checked out. The symptoms sound similar to what my mom went through. http://en.wikipedia..../Uterine_fibroids It was a long time ago, but hysterectomy was the treatment in her case. Hang in there, and best wishes. Cheers, Scott.
Post #356,259 by folkert 4/7/12 6:43:22 PM Reply	Its slowed down... thankfully. Its down to about 2 a day now. Plus the urgency isn't there now. Tuesday can't come soon enough.
Post #356,158 by crazy 4/5/12 10:48:37 AM Reply	And of course I just sent that email asking for time Don't worry about it, it'll sit.
Post #356,162 by folkert 4/5/12 12:24:19 PM Reply	I already replied.
Post #351,742 by malraux 12/7/11 9:02:14 PM Reply	Those premiums are insane How big is your company? Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #351,744 by folkert 12/7/11 11:37:08 PM Reply	SMALL. We are down to 11 people now. $2,278 is the cost for here in Michigan, which is about $200 more per employee than in all other states. That is the entire benefits package, including dental and life insurance... but the bulk of the $2,278 (about $2,125) is for health coverage. (putting on my speculation goggles) If things keep going the way they are, we are probably going to drop one or two more in the next couple of months. Perhaps 3 total in the next year. (taking off my speculation goggles) This economy is killing our customers and through them, us. Many of our large customers have been downsizing a lot as well. Some of our small customers have just withered away. Not a lot of new small customers coming and staying due to the complexity of actually DOING daily batching, caseload, "wealth" forecasting, bulk e-mail management and other things, we are PCI compliant and that makes people and passwords very cumbersome, since its required to be at least a certain length and have certain characteristics but not others. We do complete backups and don't lose data even when the customer deletes large section of the data and files. We have a routine for maintenance and how its handled. We do scanning, internally and externally (required by PCI). We have a really DEEP API feature set that includes things NONE of our competitors even comes close to offering. Small customers want it all to just be, without the work... but all the features. Hey Data, support and direction has to come from somewhere... its not going to come from Magical Unicorn Farts and just be there! We don't drink or offer Kool-aid, we stand on our merits and core values... its hurting us to be morally and ethically upright. Many of our customers wanted us to be a "non-profit" so we became one, being owned by a foundation, its not helping, in fact some (of the very same ones) now see it as a hindrance. Also, many competitors are in their 5th re-write from the ground up using different technologies... our stuff is fast, it works awesomely, has depth. We just don't tell people what they want to hear, so they'll buy and then fail to deliver. We tell them straight out of the gate, our stuff rocks, when the upfront work is done. There are other things that really hit us hard, people being in different Cities around the US and Canada. Labor Compliance is difficult. Taxes and staying abreast of changes pertinent to us are difficult in 6 States plus a Province in Canada. Its just getting to the point where its tough being SaaS and SaaS only. Many organizations, we are finding want a PACKAGE Deal, with full marketing, fulfillment, direct mail, printing and publishing, electronic marketing (FB, Twitter, analytics, SEO, Web hosting, Easy button, etc...) , data management and reporting, product development, events direction and many other pieces, all in one place. Ahh... heck, I don't know. NOTICE to certain persons here, you know whom you are: Please just keep a lid on this... no need to mention this to the 5 or more friends we have in common.
Post #351,750 by scoenye 12/8/11 8:02:25 AM Reply	Yikes indeed Similar plan, but at least our deductible is only 2500/head.
Post #351,738 by static 12/7/11 7:04:21 PM Reply	That's why I haven't weighed in. Aussie providers have both the ACMA and the Ombudsman breathing down their necks if they get too customer-hostile. And both of those have teeth. And we went GSM earlier than the US so sneaky tricks don't happen much. Basically, no-one wants to be the first to screw the customer down. SIM-only contracts are easy to get here and it's even okay to buy import phones - the carriers don't like it, but they aren't allowed to complain. My current phone is a HTC Desire, subsidised by Telstra. Prior to that I had a HTC Hero bought outright and retail. Because of the latter market, contract phones Down Unda are only lightly customised. AFAIK there's nothing my Desire can't do that HTC originally provided. Wade. Static Scribblings http://staticsan.blogspot.com/
Post #351,739 by folkert 12/7/11 8:11:38 PM Reply	They do that to get... The people that don't like contracts. Mainly though they do that because of the people that have bad credit and can't get a contract and are able to get them both ways. No Contract == Month to Month which is typically 20-30% more expensive No Contract == non-subsidized Phone, which is big bucks at full retail. For instance, my DroidX at full retail was $549. Month to Month "access fee" $10/month. Monthly average minutes/text/dataplan for a smartphone from Verizon is about $70/month plus surcharges and tax... etc. AT&T is no better, Sprint just introduced one price month to month but I don't recall the price... dunno about the rest. Except some carriers/specialist phone sellers like "Boost" caters to those that can't get contracts... they have plans starting at $40/month, period, including unlimited minutes/text/data... but man the phone sucks and its not a smart-phone. Get a real smartphone and the prices go up quite a bit. The cost is still based on your credit score, though... which means extra dollars for those not able to get a contract in the first place!
Post #351,746 by pwhysall 12/8/11 3:12:24 AM Reply	Re: They do that to get... Compare and contrast: I just finished with a 1-month rolling sim-only contract with 3 (www.three.co.uk). I'd bought the HTC 7 Mozart for £350ish off Amazon, signed up with 3. 100 minutes, 3000 texts, 1GB data. £10/mo. Can tether, etc. You guys really do get done up the arse with no lube, don't you?
Post #351,748 by Another Scott 12/8/11 7:25:15 AM Reply	It's the Magic of the Marketplace! :-/
Post #351,727 by folkert 12/7/11 4:53:11 PM Reply	Yes... VERY MUCH SO! Hell Internet Service Providers take bundling to a whole new level recently... charging you more if you don't have one of the "services"... With Comcast (Xfinity), if you don't have Voice (Voip phone) or Internet ar basic cable... the costs are $7-9 each, more per month. Huh, how much does Comcast Voice cost??? $14-$18 a month more. I still ain't gonna have it. I guess they figure people always have Cable and Internet, so why not force them to get Voice... feh.
Post #351,749 by scoenye 12/8/11 7:57:52 AM Reply	And worse service Try to get internet only and Comcast will only give you 4 Mb/s instead of the 6 you get with cable (for about ~95% of the bundle price.)
Post #351,775 by Bman 12/8/11 1:21:15 PM Reply	sorry for you who are stuck with Comcast (Xfinity) Comcast (Xfinity) just SUCKS I pay $336.00 a month for fios and for that I get cable (like 500 channels 100 in HD) Internet 50 MB up and down Phone VOIP ( with more then I now what to do with) HD mult room DVR + HD box and router with wifi and add my Cell phone (450 talk, 250 text, 2GB Internet) MIFI with 5GB Internet "Pictures are better then words because some words are big and hard to understand" Peter Griffin (Family Guy)

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