A new way to ring the Salvation Army bells

We've all heard the "bell ringers" of the Salvation Army near the entrance to stores hoping to draw attention to the red kettle in need of donations. This year, however, I was really impressed to learn of a new method they're using to obtain donations -- in the form of a $5.00 instant donation you can make just by using your cell phone and texting the word "ARMY" to shortcode 90999.

I first heard the short PSA about this last week on KMBZ and then asked one of the Wal-Mart bellringers about how it works. Thankfully, the Salvation Army has taken the time to inform their volunteers about this method of giving and they actually created little stickers with the details near the red kettles for inquirers just like me.

The back-end technology is from mgive.com and allows the $5.00 to be instantly charged to your cell phone bill.

I've been burned by my family members' accidental "subscriptions" to premium text messaging services (Predicto, anyone?) at somewhere around the accidental "ten-dollars-before-cancellation" level, so it was a great relief to me that upon sending my text to 90999, I was asked to confirm that I wished to donate $5.00 through my bill by replying with a confirming "YES" to the same address. I received an immediate "thank you" back!

I was thinking about the monetary value of such a campaign: I probably wouldn't have put $5 cash into the red kettle because I don't have that much cash on me -- especially after the Wal-Mart visit and debit-card transaction! But by being able to get a quick, impulsive, $5.00 donation from people who (like me) think to themselves, "hey, this is a great idea, and I can do it immediately," the Salvation Army stands to benefit pretty well from their givers and mgive.com stands to earn new charities who may pick up their service.

Hats off to them all for conducting a highly-effective, targeted campaign that maximizes the technology's responsiveness while ensuring that donors know what they're doing. The Salvation Army is a worthy organization doing a lot of good in Kansas City, for those who need it most. I say take your next $5 bill credit (for going paperless, or referring a friend, or whatever it takes) and donate it back by texting "ARMY" to 90999.

Educating the Sprint ChatBots: "ringer" vs. "calltone"

I continue to try to stay focused on what Sprint does well and rally the troops to keep them in business because of their Kansas City HQ.

Although a few of my regular phone friends despise my call tone, I happen to think it's kind of fun to listen to a bit of a song if you call me, while you're waiting for me to pick up. Sprint's own web site explains call tones in this way:

• About Call Tones
  Call Tones are available to all Sprint PCS subscribers who have a Sprint PCS Vision phone. Anyone calling you will hear the Call Tones you have assigned to their number no matter what wireless carrier they use, if they call from a landline phone, or even if they call internationally.

OK...fair enough. In the past, I've had everything from "Blackwater" by the Doobie Brothers to "Winter Wonderland" by Martina McBride on my phone line.

Wanting to update for summer, I earnestly desired "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.

But then I engaged in an online exchange with "Ryan G," an assumed pseudonym for a guy who doesn't understand web sites and calling features, using the Sprint "chat with a representative" feature, and it really caused me grief....

---

1:53:53 PM System Connected to sprint-ap1.cnxchat.com

1:53:54 PM System Session ID: 2796402

1:53:59 PM System Please hold and the next available agent will be with you shortly.

1:53:59 PM System Ryan G has joined this session!

1:53:59 PM System Connected with Ryan G

1:54:04 PM Ryan G Thank you for contacting Sprint. My name is Ryan. How may I assist you today?

1:54:13 PM Me Are you able to see what I am typing? Previous two reps could not...

1:54:29 PM Ryan G Yes, I can see what you are typing.

1:54:39 PM Me Great. Let me cut-and-paste from my previous aborted chats...

1:54:54 PM Me I am having trouble ordering a calltone from sprint.com

1:55:01 PM Me as a guest, I can see every available ringer and ringtone...but then when I want to purchase one, I have to log in -- then they no longer show up.

1:55:14 PM Me I am getting a very tiny subset of the Digital Lounge once I'm logged in.

1:55:19 PM Ryan G What's the make and model of your phone?

1:55:25 PM Me I would gladly send you screenshots of what I'm seeing, or do a shared browsing session.

1:55:28 PM Me Motorola Q9c.

1:55:33 PM Me Calltones = not device-specific.

1:55:43 PM Me Calltones = what callers to my phone "hear" when phone is ringing, not something on the device itself.

1:55:44 PM Ryan G Thank you, one moment please.

1:55:56 PM Me I actually already have a working calltone, but want to purchase a new one.

1:56:49 PM Ryan G May I have your username and password. I'm going to try to access your account.

1:56:54 PM Me username: xxxxx

1:56:57 PM Me password: xxxxx

1:57:11 PM Ryan G Thank you, one moment please.

1:57:14 PM Me But FIRST look around as a guest.

1:57:29 PM Me You'll see a huge difference between what's available as a guest, and the shortage of apps available once logged in.

1:59:04 PM Ryan G This is because everything on the Sprint Digital Lounge is based on the device itself. This device doesn't support the call tone feature from the Sprint Digital Lounge.

1:59:24 PM Ryan G Whenever you are logged into your account, our system recognizes the type of device you have and provides you with the available options.

1:59:27 PM Me WHAT?

1:59:36 PM Me The Calltones have NOTHING to do with a device.

1:59:43 PM Me They are provisioned at the central office.

1:59:52 PM Me As I said, I already HAVE a calltone. It works fine.

2:00:00 PM Me Call my phone and listen! 816-xxx-xxxx

2:00:09 PM Ryan G Where did you purchase this call tone from?

2:00:21 PM Me SPRINT.COM

2:00:39 PM Me We are not talking about a ringer here. I understand ringers only work on certain devices.

2:01:05 PM Me Please assure me you understand the difference, or we can disconnect now!

2:01:33 PM Me If you call my phone now, you will hear "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey while my phone rings.

2:01:43 PM Ryan G One moment please.

2:01:44 PM Me I was trying to purchase "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.

2:02:11 PM Me I could have any device and it wouldn't matter because calltones originate from the Sprint network, and are never played on a device.

2:02:18 PM Me (gee, I'm having to give a class here).

2:05:12 PM Me ?

2:05:24 PM Ryan G One moment please.

2:05:34 PM Ryan G I'm discussing this with someone from our Floor Support.

2:06:59 PM Ryan G Being able to purchase call tones is device specific from the Sprint web site. The Moto Q9C is a device that is not able to purchase call tones from the Sprint web site.

2:07:41 PM Me But I don't think you understand. A "calltone" is not device-specific. It has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the kind of phone I carry. It's a SONG that plays to CALLERS who dial my number.

2:08:03 PM Me Instead of "ring, ring," callers can hear something else...like a song.

2:08:09 PM Ryan G The Sprint web site is what makes it device specific.

2:08:23 PM Me I could be using a tin can and string -- and it would still play that CALLTONE to my callers.

2:08:29 PM Ryan G The Sprint web site won't allow you to download a call tone for the Moto Q9C.

2:08:48 PM Me Why? Could I lie to the web site about my equipment and buy a calltone, then tell it what I actually own?

2:08:48 PM Ryan G I'm aware of what a call tone is. You are referring to the Q9C correct?

2:09:01 PM Me "Objection your honor...irrelevant."

2:09:12 PM Me Yes, I own a Q9C along with THREE other devices.

2:09:24 PM Me A calltone would work with ANY of the devices, if I could only PURCHASE it.

2:09:43 PM Me Do you see how ridiculous this is?

2:09:49 PM Ryan G It may work with the other devices, however you won't be able to purchase one using the Q9C.

2:09:57 PM Ryan G I understand your frustration Buck.

2:10:04 PM Me But I'm NOT using the PHONE to buy a calltone, I'm trying to use a frickin' WEB SITE.

2:10:11 PM Ryan G Unfortunately the Sprint Digital Lounge won't allow you to purchase call tones for this device.

2:10:25 PM Me Can you explain why this is?

2:10:27 PM Ryan G I realize this, however you are trying to purchase it for this device, that's why it won't allow you to purchase the call tone.

2:10:49 PM Me should I hit the "calltone is not device-specific" macro keyboard button again?

2:11:35 PM Me Whether I choose to have callers hear "ring ring" or some rap artist while my phone rings, has nothing to do with my ability to purchase it and pay for it. If that was the case, I wouldn't be getting billed $2.50 for the one I AM CURRENTLY USING WITH THIS PHONE.

2:11:59 PM Me I purchased this one "under" a Treo 755p and when I get my new MotoQ9c, it has continued to work just fine.

2:12:20 PM Me Try it -- call my number -- 816-xxx-xxxx, you will hear it is working just fine while it RINGS my MotoQ9c.

2:12:37 PM Ryan G I understand, you would be able to purchase it, however whenever you purchase a call tone or ring tone it has to be sent to the specific device.

2:12:54 PM Ryan G The reason you were able to purchase it is because you purchased the call tone using the Treo.

2:13:13 PM Me No, I'm sorry, you are wrong. There is nothing "sent" to this device. The music you hear, Journey, is played BY the Sprint network to my callers. It is device-agnostic.

2:13:24 PM Ryan G It's stored from when it was on your Treo.

2:13:40 PM Me OK...I will agree that the calltone is "stored" on the Sprint Network.

2:13:56 PM Me But shouldn't I able to purchase another song, to get "stored" in place of this one?

2:14:54 PM Ryan G You would be able to if you had a device that Digital Lounge allowed to purchase call tones, however, Digital Lounge doesn't allow you to. It's a system limitation.

2:15:22 PM Me That's where I am confused. Why should the Digital Lounge care what phone I have, when calltones aren't tied to a specific device?

2:15:53 PM Ryan G Unfortunately that's how the system is designed.

2:16:02 PM Me Could I log in and "be" my wife's or son's phone, and buy a calltone for my line?

2:16:35 PM Ryan G No, you would only be able to buy a call tone for the device tied to that line, however, it's not the same with the Moto Q9C.

2:16:54 PM Me You've got to be kidding me -- the system was designed to limit customers to buying $65 Microsoft apps for their Windows Mobile phones when they just want to buy $2.50 calltones to be played as audio to their callers?

2:17:32 PM Me Would you not agree that this is a really odd implementation of a calling feature?

2:18:00 PM Me Could YOU get into the system and switch it from Journey to Otis Redding? Since it's on your end, not mine?

2:18:09 PM Ryan G Yes, I agree, however that is the way the Digital Lounge is designed.

2:18:22 PM Me And you wonder why Sprint is losing customers by the gazillions?

2:18:26 PM Me Things like this.

2:18:40 PM Me I agree that certain features are limited to particular phones.

2:18:41 PM Ryan G I wouldn't be able to because it would ask what number to be sent to, then whenever I put in the number for the Moto Q9C it will only display ring tones.

2:19:17 PM Me Some programs only run in J2ME, or Symbian, or on the Palm OS or WinMo OS. But a calltone should be placed into the "anyone can buy" category.

2:19:49 PM Me It's a network provisioning thing, and has been incorrectly linked to devices. That's an error in my book. And a fixable one.

2:20:16 PM Me If you want the recurring revenue from Digital Lounge, it should work...properly.

2:20:49 PM Me I simply think someone screwed up on this, and it's a "bug" that should be investigated.

2:20:56 PM Me It's a web site usability issue.

2:21:55 PM Ryan G I apologize for the inconvenience, however you won't be able to purchase a call tone using the Moto Q9C, the web site won't allow a call tone to be downloaded to this device.

2:21:57 PM Me Digital Lounge should give you ringers and apps to buy for YOUR particular device/phone. But since this isn't that kind of thing, it should work for anyone who logs in.

2:22:09 PM Me GRRR...WE ARE NOT DOWNLOADING ANYTHING TO THIS DEVICE.

2:22:30 PM Me The device is NOT a factor in playing a calltone!

2:22:33 PM Ryan G If you purchase a call tone, it has to be sent to the device.

2:22:47 PM Ryan G That's the only way it is stored on the device.

2:23:06 PM Me It is NOT stored on the device!!! The device doesn't have ANYTHING to do with it!

2:23:16 PM Me A "RINGER" would be stored on the device.

2:23:34 PM Me A "CALLTONE" is played on the network when a given line is called. The device might even be turned off!

2:23:59 PM Me Can you please talk to someone who understands Sprint's own services a little better? I don't think I am getting through here...

2:24:54 PM Ryan G I apologize, this is a system limitation with your device. I can approach our research team with this issue, however at this time you won't be able to purchase a call tone for a Moto Q9C.

2:24:59 PM Ryan G Do you have any further questions or concerns today?

2:25:08 PM Me My concern: you don't understand what I'm talking about.

2:25:20 PM Me And you don't seem to be able to help me spend money with Sprint for a new calltone.

2:25:24 PM Ryan G I completely understand what you are talking about.

2:25:38 PM Me But you're talking about downloads and devices, and a calltone involves NEITHER.

2:26:11 PM Me Can you ask "the system" if it would reconsider?

2:26:56 PM Me Because I'm standing here with a little pocket change to spend on a fun summer calltone, and while my "Don't Stop Believin' " Journey song plays, it's getting tiring.

2:27:18 PM Me You do understand that there is currently a calltone IN EXISTENCE on this line. Working for THIS device?

2:27:39 PM Ryan G At this time a project is underway to fix this issue. As of right now the Digital Lounge won't allow you to purchase call tones for the Moto Q9C.

2:28:00 PM Me How can we make sure this gets addressed? It's a FREAKIN' BUG IN THE WEB SITE.

2:28:04 PM Ryan G That's because the call tone is stored in the system.

2:28:23 PM Me Right. So I want to store a different calltone in the same system, to replace the one that is currently there.

2:28:40 PM Me It works now, it should work always, I just want to modify it to a different song...

2:29:44 PM Ryan G In order to do this you will have to activate a phone that Digital Lounge allows to purchase call tones to your current phone number, purchase the call tone you want. With the Moto Q9C, you can't modify the call tone.

2:30:28 PM Me OK, I understand what you're saying. But can we consider this a BUG in the web site, and not my problem? Would a web developer be able to look at this situation and fix it, realizing that it should not function this way?

2:31:09 PM Ryan G Yes, there is a project underway doing this, however it's just not under production at this time Buck.

2:31:42 PM Me Ah, now we're getting somewhere. So you're telling me this actually IS a known issue, that someone actually IS working on correcting it, and at some point, I will be able to purchase a newer/different calltone for this line?

2:32:24 PM Me Is there a person whom I could contact regarding this project?

2:32:59 PM Ryan G Yes, there is a project underway, however there isn't anyone you can contact directly in regards to this issue.

2:33:29 PM Me OK, then, Ryan, I hope someone down the road from you in India is hard at work on this bug.

2:33:41 PM Me Because I am one frustrated American right now.

2:33:58 PM Me Please click the box that says "customer not satisfied."

2:34:37 PM Me And if you ever want to hear what a calltone sounds like, feel free to call 816-xxx-xxxx before the 90-day Calltone expires on this line.

2:34:54 PM Ryan G Do you have any further questions or concerns today?

2:35:08 PM Me I'm not going to dignify that with a response.

2:35:24 PM Ryan G Thank you again for contacting Sprint. We appreciate your business.

2:35:41 PM Me I wish it were true.

2:36:11 PM System The session has ended!

When error messages turn on customers

I'm trying to love Sprint. I really am! They're the "hometown team" (if you don't count the Virginia corporate HQ), they employ a lot of Kansas City people, and they really do have some great products and services. Our local Sprint store in Lee's Summit just got a fantastic facelift, blew out a bunch of nonperforming people, and ratcheted the whole thing up a few notches.

Why, then, does the Sprint web site have so much to dislike? Let me count the ways.

I haven't been able to access my account for TWO DAYS now. I simply wanted to download a new call tone and perhaps a ringer or two. Sprint considers this a magical thing called "monthly recurring revenue."

On their "Digital Lounge" web site, If I come as an anonymous drifter, I'm in with no problems. But if I actually put in my username and password, I get one of two VERY different screens, depending upon which browser I'm using.

• Version 1, short, sweet, and incomplete (click the small graphic below to see a clearer one):

This one's kinda fun, because in Firefox, it starts out with a lowercase "later, and thank you for choosing Sprint" farewell. I like the informality of telling your customers "later...[gator]" but wouldn't an explanation be nice? Let's talk about CSS positioning, shall we!?

Oh wait, that's for another browser....

• Version 2, now with added holes through the middle for IE7 browsers (click for larger view):
  
  
  
  
  This one's even more fun, because you get the sense that there's supposed to be some big, ominous graphic in the upper-left. And maybe a "Done" button below the error (at least they came up with an ALT tag for the missing button).
  
  And they seem to regret any inconvenience "this" causes. What's "this?" We don't know because there's nothing to tell us about how "this" became a problem in the first place.
  
  But wait!! I'm a web geek, and I know to look up there in the URL bar. And what do I see there? Is that a parameter? (click it)
  
  
  

Ah yes, the famous "MANAGEDOWN" parameter. As in, "We can't let you manage your account because we're down for the count."

It really makes me wonder who tests their web site. Do they ever try this stuff before making it live?

I still have no ringers, or call tones, and it would have been fun to buy something fun for my Christmas cell phone experience. When I read all these headlines about how Sprint is literally hemorraghing customers by the boatload, I return to my roots, close my eyes, and think to myself: "It's all about the customer experience." And right now, that experience leaves a lot to be desired. No Sprint Speed® here. No Sprinting Ahead® either. This is just bad CSS and bad programming, combined in a loathsome mix.

Hey, cool! A free book.

I love SitePoint's books. They've never failed to deliver great material, and I'm an easy sucker for their "download the PDF for $10 before the book arrives" deals. Free poster, free samples, blah blah blah -- SitePoint rocks! I've learned a ton about CSS and Javascript through their recent offerings.

As further proof of their amazingness, they've just released a new book about developing Ruby on Rails web applications. And this book is free -- no samples, no gimmicks, you get the whole thing as a downloaded .pdf.

http://www.sitepoint.com/books/rails1/freebook.php

I've not yet taken the time to learn much about Ruby on Rails, but now the "I can't afford it" excuse is out the window. Let's see what I can learn!

Pretty much how I feel today

So this morning is the first day of school -- fraught with rushing around, figuring out how to dress-to-impress, making sure we have the needed supplies (either a parking tag for the teenager or the right amount of Kleenex® for the sixth-grader), getting out the door on time.

THEN...we have a visit from the P.O.T.U.S. who completely shuts down traffic all around Kansas City — completely normal and expected for a Presidential visit, but just a little inconvenient on the first day of school when things are a mess anyway.

But the proverbial camel's-back-breaking straw was when the illustrious Missouri Department of Transportation, in all their infinite wisdom, decided to take advantage of this gorgeous mess of a day in order to conduct bridge-painting on I-670, shutting down two MORE lanes of traffic in addition to the mess we already had on our hands. Now, far be it from me to ask the daring questions like "why today?" or "why not overnight instead of during rush hour?"

It does seem like MoDOT does occasionally trip all over themselves when working on projects. They schedule many simultaneous projects at various corners of Kansas City and the suburbs, which taken singly are not a problem but when glommed atop each other cause major headaches for the very commuters they're trying to serve. Nobody has yet figured out their methods for determining why an entire city must be shut down in order to paint a bridge, but the mystery continues almost every spring and summer. I can picture it...Sicily, 1948..."hey guys, let's do ALL our projects in the same month! That will make us look busy, like we're really spending taxpayer dollars effectivetly!" "Yeah, don't spread those projects out, why not do them in one WEEK instead of a month? Better bang for the buck..."

Conclusion: It seemed only fitting that Dan saw the "gasping Mr. Bill inside a plastic bag" face stenciled on some Dell laptop packaging this morning. This was too hilarious not to shoot a pic of and post. It perfectly describes how most of us are feeling today, after the battle we faced trying to get to work. Thanks, MoDOT, for your ineptness. Feel free to start other random projects on horrible days, we really don't mind! :)