Trying to cancel MozyPro - part 4 of 6

Second email sent to my "Account Manager" asking that she confirm my account is now cancelled.

Trying to cancel MozyPro - part 3 of 6

Well it's now Tuesday and I've not yet heard nothing back from the "please close my account" email I sent to my Mozy "Account Manager" sent on Saturday. Also, I forgot to mention, when I sent her the email, I Cc'ed "support@mozy.com". That Cc resulted in the following bounce message from invalidsupportrequest@mozy.com:

> You have emailed an unmonitored mailbox. For technical assistance with a
>
> Mozy product, please visit our Support Portal.
>
>      United States: http://mozy.com/support
>      France: http://mozy.fr/support
>      Germany: http://mozy.de/support
>      Ireland: http://mozy.ie/support
>      United Kingdom: http://mozy.co.uk/support
>
> All other countries may access the Mozy Support Portal in English at
> http://mozy.com/support
>
> Thank you,
> Mozy

Trying to cancel MozyPro - part 2 of 6

OK, had a quick conversation with the support guy. He located my account from my email address and had to inform me that, "This is the kind of account that I cannot cancel here. It has to be done by a sales representative and unfortunately they're not here at the weekend."

I mentioned that I had already mailed someone (the person who had called me recently) and requested cancellation. When I asked if that would be sufficient he said it would. So let's wait until next week and we'll see.

Just before he answered the call and I began documenting stuff on this blog, I had found something official-looking about canceling MozyPro (as opposed to the personal Mozy). It's here and the crucial part is this:

To permanently close the account, you must open a case with support...

It then goes on to explain how to open such a case. But that therefore appears to contradict the reassurance I just got from the phone guy about how my email to the sales gal would be sufficient.

And then, this just in. I just received an email from Mozy Support telling me that "Your recent Support case #00220118 regarding "Cancel account" has been closed....". Now call me Mr Picky but if that's referring to my phone call then it's not remotely closed.

The email also requested, "Because we value your feedback, I would like to invite you to take our short Customer Satisfaction Survey...". Hmm. I wonder how that's going to go for them.

More as I hear it.

Trying to cancel MozyPro - part 1 of 6

We've been using MozPro for backups for a few years ago. But in fact we haven't actually made use of it, so I've decided to cancel and stop paying the $70-odd a month. Apparently this is easier said than done.

First I logon to our account and look for the usual suspects, "My Account", "Billing" and so on. But none of those have the desired button or link to "Cancel My Account".

Next, I go to their help system and try searching there. I search for "delete account" and "cancel account", but nothing useful appears.

OK, so it's already vaguely worrying, but let's check Google. I search for the same kinds of things but while I don't turn up anything actually telling me how to cancel, I find several posts on forums describing the very problem I'm having. For example here, and here. Now in fact I do find a couple of items describing a method for closing the account. For example here. The problem is, those instructions don't seem to apply to my account. They talk about selecting something called "My Profile" but no such thing exists on my account. Then I realize that those are instructions for Mozy, and not explicitly for MozyPro. Apparently there's a difference. Or something.

Then I realize, hang on, if I'm MozyPro then I'm paying and in which case surely there must be some kind of superior support line I could call. I did receive some recent emails from an account manager "checking on our needs" so maybe there's something there. Sure enough, I find a 24x7 support line and a support code I can use.

So, I'm on that line now. Have been for ... <checking>...13:57 minutes. Ah, someone has just answered!

Cost is not my only concern

[This just after a phone call to my allegedly North American payroll provider who it turns out has a support center in Mauritius.]

To everyone running customer support lines, please take heed. I am willing to spend more money in order to speak to someone who:

1. Speaks English natively, or at very least very fluently
2. In an accent I can understand clearly[1]
3. On a phone line, and from a location, that doesn't result in their voice being distorted

In many things, you get what you pay for, and I'd like to pay for better. Please take my money and give me what I'm looking for.

[1] I accept that this probably disqualifies me and other Glaswegians. AhvNaeProblemWiThat.

Contrarianism

When I was younger, if there was significant disagreement between two book reviewers, either one or both had to be wrong. There was no room for opinion. These days though, I find it fascinating to look at Amazon reviews and see five star gushes on the one hand, and one star death sentences on the other. How can the same book look so different to different people? It's, as I say, fascinating. And so when I offer opinions on two things -- an author, and a podcaster -- know that others may take the opposite view.

First, Seth Godin. I don't get him, or the fuss. About a year ago I read his "The Dip". I cannot fathom why anyone would see it as anything more than the following statement:

When the going gets tough you should push through; except when you shouldn't.

And now I've just finished reading "Linchpin". Ostensibly about what makes people indispensable, it looked like a useful addition to my list of readings about how to build a world class team. But to be honest, I have no idea what it was about. At least I could give a single sentence review of "The Dip". But "Linchpin" is just ... I mean, it's full of ... it's kinda like .... Shrug. Honest to god, it conveyed pretty much zero meaning to me.

And then there's Merlin Mann. Known primarily for his 43folders website, here I'm talking only about his "Back To Work" podcast. I just forced myself to listen to the entire first episode. To begin with it was actually to hear what he had to say. I tapped my fingers impatiently, waiting for the core content to begin: a minute or two, or five. Ten. Half an hour. By the time I got to 45 minutes I was just hanging on in disbelief to confirm that there never was any substantial content. And there wasn't -- not a thing. If BBC Radio 4's "In Our Time" is a laser, then "Back To Work" is a blob of cold porridge in an old sock. No, it makes no sense to me either.

Now I don't know Merlin or Seth. But the vibe I picked up (it's all I picked up) from the "Linchpin" is that Godin is a very nice man. And I have no reason to believe that Mann is any different. So I have nothing against either of them. But they either both are full of hot air, or they are speaking a language I don't yet understand. For the sake of humanity and civility, I'm going to conclude the latter. But anyone else had the same experience?

Shiny shiny

I am very very busy.
My time is valuable.
I will not look into using Julien's newly-announced org-contacts

I will not look into using Julien's newly-announced org-contacts

I will not look into using Julien's newly-announced org-contacts

I will not ...