Thank you… We have verified your cold call hard sell tactics and will never be using your services… Have a nice day

On Sunday October 9th my service provider site5. Was dealing with a Denial of service attack (DoS) attack on their Vancouver hosting location. As always they were on top of it.  So I tweeted that my website would be down and so would the website of the home based business I run 32spokes web design. Being that it was the Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend, it just gave me more of an excuse to watch the Winnipeg Jets in their first NHL game in 15 years. I wasn’t really doing any work, I was just fiddling around with something.

Once we were back up I tweeted that it was a DoS and we were back up and running. Hey great job site5! I like the hosting plan I have and it works for what I need at the moment. No more no less.

Monday rolled around and I got a phone call in the morning from California of which I didn’t answer (it is a holiday after all). In the afternoon they called again. The number was the same. I answered it just to keep the phone from ringing all bloody day.

Versign: Hi it’s Salesman from Verisign I see you had some problems with your website over the weekend can we talk about how we can help?

Me: Nope I am very happy with my hosting provider and don’t need any other services at the moment. You do know it is a holiday in Canada?

Versign: Oh I am sorry about that. Can I set up a call to talk later?

Me: Nope

Versign: Can I just give you my contact information.

Me: I know who you are your a big company, I’ll call you if I need anything. (patients wearing thin)

Versign: Just let me give you my contact information and maybe…

Me: Your really not getting this… No thank you good bye. Maybe you should check your calendar before cold calling next time.

Versign: No reason to get rude I am just asking…

An hour later…

Cell phone rings. I don’t answer I am doing the lunch dishes.

Answering machine message:

“Hi this is Salesman#2 from Verisign, I see you had a DoS attack on your website this weekend. Maybe we can set aside 10 minutes to talk about how we can provide a solution so your website is protected…”

Twenty minutes after the cell phone call:

Business line rings again: (now I am just pissed)

Versign: “Hi this is Salesman#2 from Verisign I see you had some issues with your website and I was wondering if we could set aside some time to talk about how…”

Me: Seriously? I am not interested stop calling me on a holiday weekend! Goodbye!

Versign: Oh umm…

Me: ‘click’

Seriously this is not how to do a effective marketing campaign. I understand that the hard sell works with some people. But I have never liked it and walk away from any company who employes it as fast as possible. I’d rather to figure whether I want to work with the other company  myself and it is usually comes down to excellent customer service and a good long track record. I had heard of VeriSign before they are a large SSL certificate company. But not taking no for an answer and calling multiple times a day makes me question your intention. They noticed my tweet, but didn’t reply to my tweet. They found my number on my website, but didn’t send a email. Both methods of contact would have got me just as quickly. But they wanted to do a cold call because it’s then harder to say no to.

The calling on the holiday monday was just more an annoyance then anything. But gave me in the impression that the company hadn’t done it’s homework before trying to sell me something…

The things I like about the companies I deal with is that they prove I should be their customer through the service they provide. Not because they told me they are great at what they do or I had to deal with them or I was going to be in trouble if I didn’t use them.

Did this interaction ruin my day? No, but this type of sell is happening far more often. This post is just to show what impression a company like verisign leaves me with after they try contact me. They did more pushing me away then attracting me any service they were offering.  When I switched hosting providers more then a year ago. I went looking for a company that had a good track record and didn’t try to sell me something I didn’t need or want. This is process of which I choose all the companies I choose to deal with.

Postscript >> All of this from one tweet on a sunday afternoon? Ya got me as to why I was targeted as a customer…

Thanks to Rebecca Mrs. 604 for writing this article on putting Sechelt back on the map.

I was first told about this Google Map mishap at WordCamp last week. Local web designer Robert Dall explained that over the last few years members of the community have tried pretty much everything to get their town listed. These efforts include hundreds of people reporting the issue to Google, tweeting about it @GoogleMaps on Twitter, and the Mayor of Sechelt, Darren Inkster, has even written an official letter to Google – all to no avail.

You can help out the cause by tweeting  @GoogleMaps with the tag #PutSecheltOnTheMap And hopefully we can get Sechelt, BC put back where it belongs.

Sechelt is actually located where the black arrow is pointing.

If you haven’t already guessed I am talking about the Queen of Surrey and our tragic relationship with BC Ferries.

The beauty of the trip is often over shadowed by the second class citizen I feel from the Ferry Corp.

First the Facts

Queen of Surrey using a C-Class ferry which can carry some 362 cars and over 1,500 passengers. The Surrey is Cowichan Class and was put into service in 1981 It and the Queen of Oak Bay were the last two of the C-Class build in North Vancouver. Other then some help over the summer from the Queen of Coquitlam it is the only boat the runs on route 3 which travels between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay. The ship provides bi-hourly service, with a route of 9.7 nautical miles taking approximately 40 minutes to making the crossing.

Some History

The Sunshine Coast has been serviced by ferries since it’s inception as a community. With a number of vessels making the route. One vessel of particular note was the Sunshine Coast Queen nicknamed Suzy Q. After the Suzy Q was retired in 1976 the coast was serviced by two double ended Ferries that would travel back and fourth. A decision was made in the early 80′s to switch to one larger C Class ferry that was larger faster and could handle all of the traffic. But the trade off was it would only run every two hours.

And from what I can recall (I was quite young at the time) Their was a lot of grumbling and discontent that the frequency of ferry service was decreasing. But BC Ferries vowed that this would be cheaper to operate with the same amount of traffic.

Other improvements were included a new ramp for loading the 3rd car deck at the Langdale terminal and a new gantry at Horseshoe Bay to allow walk on passengers to board directly on to the passenger area of the vessel. Both of these decreased loading time of the vessel.

The Langdale Terminal also got a new parking lot, drop off area, coffee shop and bus stop along with a new layout at the Langdale Terminal to adjust for increasing capacity.

Langdale Ferry Terminal

The Black sheep of the Mainland Routes

Their was always trade offs in this smaller route. For example we don’t have traffic that the island routes do. But we also don’t have the weather storm delays or volume delays of the island routes either. The Howe Sound route is claimer then crossing the Strait of Georgia and when other sailing were canceled ours was still running. So when I was a kid I would always see these huge line ups for the Nanaimo route and be glad it wasn’t our route.

But and it is a big but… like a little brother or sister we always got the discards from the larger route. When the ferry was refit we were the last to get it, They would take our boat give it a refit and then it would sail the Nanaimo route. We always grumbled about this but other then a nicer boat for better for worse it still relatively decent service.

Coast not the secret it use to be

Queen of Surrey

Once I was a teenager the coast had it’s own transit bus and their was something called the commuter who would work in Vancouver and travel by ferry to the Coast. A lot of people said it was more enjoyable then being stuck in a traffic jam. But with that came added traffic to the coast and the ferry. These commuters would leave for the 6:20am ferry arriving for work at 8:30am in Vancouver and then return on the 5:30pm ferry getting you back into Sechelt around 7:00pm. And a lot of people start to do this. Living in Gibsons was a lot easier then further up the coast. But I knew people in Halfmoon Bay who would do this 4 to 5 days a week. Again this only worked when the ferry ran on time and for more or less it did. But commuting via ferry was never for me. I don’t think it ever will be.

The Summer hit the coast and all hands are on deck for the busy season, And much like the rest of the coast you can feel the increased traffic and to give BC Ferries some credit service has certainly increased during the summer months adding another C class vessel.

But it is here that lies the problem in my opinion

With every two hour service and a crossing time of forty minutes. You only have 10 minutes on either side to load/unload and leave for the other side. But this only works when the boat is 2/3rds full. The time it takes to stuff the boat will always leave the boat running late. (You can usually see this on the Saturday 8:20 ferry) But the boat can usually catch up on the next run. But with the summer traffic being what it is. They have has additional sailing to keep the traffic smooth.

Problem number one: We have enough traffic to constantly make only one ferry late and but not enough to need a second ferry of duplicate size and capacity. (eg. Queen of Coquitlam or variation of that)

Problem number two: We only have one big boat, their is no robustness or scalability to any issue we might have. So for example a dock problem = delays, 50 extra cars? = delays, Anything out of the ordinary traffic = Delays.  And unlike years gone past it is getting increasing hard to keep this demanding schedule.

Problem number three: When the Queen of Surrey was in dry dock for most of the summer as it had broken down a number of time in the early summer the Queen of Coquitlam took over and it couldn’t keep pace with the schedule and yet is the same class and size of boat with a slightly different layout and been put into service 5 years previous. The only thing I can see from this is that if the Queen of Surrey can barely keep up with the demanding schedule it is beyond the scope of a boat five years older.

Problem number four: Except for the MV Skeena Queen and MV Island Sky who have dedicated routes.  Every other mid-sized ferry was build before the 1980′s with high maintenance cost and antiquated technology on the boats.

I don’t doubt BC Ferries has known this for years and I don’t doubt the complexity of the problem with a route that is constantly changing in traffic capacity. But this current setup just isn’t working and it is troubling. It is hitting the core customers now and it has a huge trickle down effect. Like the coastal transit system which tries so hard to meeting the ferries and even alter it’s schedule to co-ordinate with the ferries.

I am not going to comment on some of the surely staff you find (notice I said some), the expensive food and the really horrible coffee. Because at the end of the day I just really want the ferry to run on a manageable schedule that is robust enough to deal with heaver traffic demands when needed.

I wouldn’t have spent the entire morning writing this post if I felt this was a useless pursuit and nothing could be done. But that is biggest concern I have, is that this little route isn’t little anymore and makes quite the profit for the ferries and yet I still feel like a second class citizen who’s opinions don’t matter in the eyes of the Ferry corp.

Follow up

When I tried to contact BC Ferries, both the 1-800 number and the head office. I was put on hold, told their phones couldn’t transfer. The person you need to talk to is on lunch and will call you back. So far nothing…

I found the West Coast Express Civilized

Back in my newspaper journalism days all my transportation was done via car, even in Yellowknife where I lived without a personal vehicle for almost three years. If I wanted to get anywhere it was via car.

Since leaving the profession. Selling the car and purchasing the best commuting bike in the entire world. I have always tried to find different and alternative means of transportation that provide less stress and more enjoyment to my day.

This summer I took my nephew to Stanley Park and in the process we rode the SkyTrain, a trolley bus, a diesel bus and for the first time The West Coast Express (WCE).

For my four year old nephew transit is more a special treat then anything else.  But for me it wasn’t anything more then the status quo of Vancouver living.

After a fun filled day we jumped on board the WCE. Experiencing avenue of transit except the SeaBus that day. I can certainly say the WCE was by far the most civilized relaxing and enjoyable mode of transportation I have ridden. It was quiet comfortable and efficient.

Typical seats found on the West Coast Express

Why aren’t we doing more of this?

I have taken the Greyhound to Chilliwack, BC on a number occasions and found, comparatively speaking, the Greyhound was about as enjoyable as fingernails on a chalkboard. It’s noisy, confined by traffic and the depots are off the beaten path of the highway.

I am sure the daily train travel would have it’s drawbacks, but with the wide seats, air conditioning, power plugs and tables for the laptop I have been left with one lasting feeling from the experience.

It just felt civilized.

The Social Networking Site Facebook

I love you, ever since I joined your service a couple years ago. I have been able to reconnect with friends from Sydney, AZ to Yellowknife, NWT.

But Facebook we really need to talk… Your not Twitter, Nor do I want to be Twitter. See Facebook I joined your service to share my life with a close 200 friends, and I really try keeping up with all of them. Honestly, I have a personal twitter account, but I am not sure what to do with it because I already use this site, and that site, to voice my public views.

And, yes, before you privacy experts get your shirt in a knot. I know the privacy on Facebook is a basic one. And anyone with some savvy hacking skills could potentially see, copy, change any of my info on your site, and I am OK with that. I know the risk of what I post and have read more then one story about employees getting fired for posting stuff on Facebook. I also prefer to keep my business life and social life separate, so if I haven’t accepted your friend request. Isn’t not you it’s me. . .

Lets just call my Facebook friends an extended family for want of a better word. I’d be OK with telling them stuff I wouldn’t be comfortable tell a complete stranger, which quite frankly resembles the entire Internet.

If I did want to publicly rant and rave then I have half a dozen different services at my disposal, or I’d just make all of my post public. but I didn’t join Facebook to do that. Nor is Facebook something I want to use that for. I like Facebook for being Facebook it was the reason I joined and the reason I continue to log in each day.

Hope you had a great Christmas and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

regards

Robert

“I believe all of these community review sites and user-generated content site is all about transparency.” ~ Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

And while this will be the last double post between the two blogs, I felt it was important issue to cover. 

Also, to show the nature of change on the internet. Most of the traffic the coffee blog received was from Twitter. It also had a huge bump in subscription from Twitter because of this. 

Hopefully all this controversy will subside and I can return to blogging, photography, web design watching the Canucks in the playoffs and swimming with the club.

But I here is story about How I got banned from the social rating system Yelp.

Critical Mass stops at Granville Bridge no problem here

When I first moved back to Vancouver I  heard about critical mass and thought it was a great idea and while there has been a little bit of controversy over the years you just can’t stop 1,000+ people who want to ride down the city streets. I finally afforded a bike last fall and I took it to an awesome mass bike ride that end on the drive. The drivers seem to know what was going on and were more or less co-habiting with the biking masses of Vancouver and wow what a great way to see the city. A nice leisurely pace, a few hills and beautiful weather.

While we had a brutal spring, I was really looking for a nice relaxing ride through the city.

I had a few issues with this last ride. Frist there seemed to be a number of angry drivers who want 1,000 bicyclists to just stop what they were doing, not really that easy, hence the name critical mass.

Nice View Conflicted Feelings

Also while being a corker on the Robson St. hill, heading westbound a woman wanted me to stop the entire parade so she could cross the street… She fully supported the movement but yet couldn’t wait the five minutes for bikes to pass. She was horribly inconvenienced and getting quite agitated while this was a movement she fully supported?

On the other hand I always liked the mantra we’re not blocking traffic we are traffic. Hey drivers, don’t get annoyed with our so-called protest if you can’t share the road, but blocking the Lions Gate Bridge in both directions to smoke a bowl really didn’t sit well with me either. ‘Cuz regardless of whether your bike or a car blocking a main bridge for a 1/2 hour just isn’t cool regardless of who or what you are.

If any Critical Mass feels the need to block the Lions Gate Bridge I will not be part of it.

In Conclusion

So drivers remember we only do this once a month for a couple of hours on a Friday night and it is actually a very liberating thing and you should try it out.

Critical Mass is intended to be a celebration, not an opportunity to cause trouble. Those who want to try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be confrontational with motorists are missing the point. Remember we’re not blocking traffic we are traffic. I am sure we can all enjoy this amazing city together…

See you at the next mass