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AOL dumps 1300 employees, calls it a success


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AOL dumps 1300 employees, calls it a success
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ghoti
owner for sale by house
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC
 
2006-05-09, 13:42

The way one stoy can be spun in totally different ways never ceases to amaze me. Here's one I thought was particularly interesting.

AOL laying off about 1,300 employees

Quote:
AOL is laying off about 1,300 employees, or 7 percent of its worldwide work force, and is closing its call center in Jacksonville, Fla.

Other cuts will come from call centers in Ogden, Utah, and Tucson, Ariz.

The layoffs announced Tuesday represent the first major cuts since the Time Warner Inc. Internet unit cut about 700 positions last fall.
So let's look at that last sentence again. What is it saying? They "laid off" (what a euphemism!) 2000 people (or about 10% of their workforce) in less than a year. Why make it sound better by saying that it was the first major cut since only a few months ago? It's not like it's been years.

Of course, the best part is this:
Quote:
In addition, he said, AOL has been expanding its online help areas, such that 8 million customers a month now look up information themselves online, compared with 5.5 million who interact with a human by phone, e-mail or online chat.

"They are able to accomplish with a couple of clicks what it used to take them a phone call or two or three to accomplish," Graham said.

As a result, Graham said, call volume has dropped by about 50 percent since 2004.

"That's a remarkable success in terms of customer care," he said. "It requires us to rebalance our work force."
Wow, what a great company! They selflessly educated their customers so they won't need the company anymore! What a success! Of course, the fact that they lost 22% of their subscribers over the last two years can't have anything to do with it.

It looks like in a few years, AOL will have gone the way of Netscape the dodo. And good riddance.
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Banana
is the next Chiquita
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2006-05-09, 13:51

While I'd love to see AOL roast in hell, I'm not sure if it's fair to say that they're laying off because they're losing customers. They may be well telling truth about self-help, and I would think it a good thing. (even accounting for major leakage of subcribers)

But yes, the euphemisms really make them look silly, especially that rebalancing part.

If I were in the charge, I'd like to be honest with my employees- "Here's what we are trying to accomplish here- we want our customers to be self-sufficient and that will help us save money. Therefore we may expect reduced call volume over time." That way, my employees know exactly what to expect and prepare.

However, I doubt those poor suckers knew anything until WHAM! Pink slips galore.
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SKMDC
superkaratemonkeydeathcar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: chicago
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2006-05-09, 13:53

Only by virtue of being buried in Warner has kept them alive this long, and that merger pretty much ruined Time-Warner anyway.

Could they save more money by not sending me their flipping discs every 2 months?

"What's a Canadian farm boy to do?"
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DMBand0026
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2006-05-09, 14:00

I can say that if AOL didn't exist anymore, I would be happier and the world would be a better place. Seriously.

I had so many problems with them in the past. I had to cancel my AOL account 5 separate times before they finally actually did it. It nearly took a legal threat for them to refund the 5 months of service that they charged me for after I canceled the first time. The same things happened to my grandma when she got AOL.

I think AOL realizes they're in trouble, anything less than going under completely has to be considered a resounding success for them.

Come waste your time with me
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Banana
is the next Chiquita
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2006-05-09, 14:20

What I don't get is why they did it in first place. I mean, who seriously thought that screwing customers would get you more and more money in long run?

Either all bigwigs up there are monkeys or 'tards or they slept through their MBA classes and missed out the point that if you invest even a little bit in customers, you got your duplicate services which gives you long term cash flow.

Just don't get it. Not at all.


On an aside, did anyone here thought AOL was good or even great waaayyyy back in old days of 14.4 modem and 1.44 Mb Floppy disks? I recall it being great on my old Mac SE....
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Windowsrookie
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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2006-05-09, 14:42

I have AOL DSL never had one problem. My DSL router broke once, we called them and a man came to our house, replaced our router for FREE. We pay $25 a month for DSL internet and up to 7 email adresses, that work with mail. I also use AIM. I don't have a problem with AOL on a mac, but AOL on a pc es teh suck.


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DMBand0026
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2006-05-09, 15:41

AOL for mac is one of the worst written apps in the history of computers. It is a leech, a resource hog, and a horrible UI nightmare. Using it is akin to stabbing oneself in the genitals over and over with a rusty spoon while simultaneously drinking some sort of noxious substance like hydrochloric acid. AOL and Norton should be friends.

Edit: It's also a rip off. AOL is a bunch of lying suck bags who barely deserve to live in a van down by the river. They take too much of people's hard earned money and give them less than sub par service in return. When people finally realize that the moment they gave AOL their credit card number they essentially bent over and presented and said in a less than sexy voice, "no baby, we don't need lube" than they cancel and AOL says, "just one more minute, I'm almost done!" Than 5 months later, they finally stop, but they won't take back any of the spunk they left all over your "computer."


Screw AOL. You just took several steps down on the food chain for saying something like, "I don't have a problem with AOL on a Mac." You disgust me.

Come waste your time with me
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Windowsrookie
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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2006-05-09, 17:18

I didn't mean the software. With AOL DSL I use safari.
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DMBand0026
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2006-05-09, 17:31

I repeat: Screw AOL.

Stop giving them your or anyone else's money.
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Windowsrookie
Veteran Member
 
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2006-05-09, 17:35

why? We have had zero problems.
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DMBand0026
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2006-05-09, 17:40

Because AOL ranks right behind the devil, Al Sharpton, and Pat Robertson in terms of level of evil, usefulness, and inability to do things correctly. To put it nicely, AOL sucks big floppy donkey dick. Not just AOL the application, but AOL the company as well. Any company who intentionally doesn't cancel their customer's accounts when asked to shouldn't be allowed to exist anymore. Any company who hides charges on bills and than throws them in every 6 months or so so that the user doesn't realize they've been getting charged for things shouldn't be allowed to exist any more. Any company that is as badly managed and has as poor of ethics as AOL shouldn't be allowed to do business with anyone, anywhere.

That is why you should get rid of it. It's a waste of your money and you're only fueling the monster that is AOL. Call up today and try to cancel, I bet you a years worth of DSL that they'll immediately try to sell you there service back and I'd almost be willing to bet another year of DSL that they don't actually cancel your account the first time around.

Come waste your time with me
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turbulentfurball
Right Honourable Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
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2006-05-09, 17:44

Meh. The numerous AOL 'free trial' CDs from he late nineties made good coasters. For this I am thankful. I'd never subscribe though. My ISP gives me double the download speed (4Mbps v 2Mbps) at a lower price. (Only a penny, but a penny saved is a penny earned, as they say)
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