Churn Management 101

I recently decided to switch my provider. Less expensive, but faster. So it’s an somewhat easy and economical decision.

Now the task to cancel the existing subscription.

Apparently telcos have done a good job in keeping the customers by making it difficult and inconvenience to unsubscribe! Ha3x.

Subscribing is just a phone call away. So is upgrading to a more expensive package.

But not the other way around!

I have to be physically present. To be exact the person who’s name is on the bill had to come to their office. Otherwise you need to prepare an authorization letter with a signed duty stamp (“meterai”).

(How to wake someone from the grave to sign it?)

Good thing is that they’re open on Saturday.

There’s form to fill in. And there are a couple of documents to submit, including proof of payment.

At least everything was clearly explained.

On the flip side, I think it’s a precaution to avoid potential fraud and dispute. That is what makes telco in a way a “trusted entity” – proper process.

Ok. Off to the queue again. 5 people to go.

Geek Note: Getting the subtitle right on iPad (NOT YET?!?!?)

So far the journey continues… my current conclusion:

1. Playing AVI directly on iPad — CineXPlay, just copy both AVI & SRT… voila!
2. Ripping DVD to M4V files using Handbrake, with soft subtitle… was problematic … more on this below…

Here’s the setting that I use for Handbrake. Correctly choose which subtitle language, not selecting “Burned In” (Burned in is the last resort, when everything fails… it’s proven to work).

Here’s the available “tracks” inside the m4v file (output of Subler). There’s that mp4s track which contains the subtitle.

Quicktime Player (both on Mac and on the iDevice) didn’t recognize the “mp4s” track which Handbrake created inside the m4v file.

Here’s for your reference the subtitle track that can be recognized by both Quicktime Player and iPad’s default Video Player. For this particular file, I manually embed a SRT file using Subler.

Trying another media player on Mac (VLC to be exact, version 1.1.11),  the Mulan video file that Handbrake created works just fine. Subs can be correctly displayed or hidden when we choose to.

On the iPad, it is different though. Another media player, e.g. my newly found fave’s, CineXPlayer, still can’t display & detect any subtitle in that same file.

Eventually I’ll figure it out how to embed a soft subtitle when ripping DVD…. but now I think I’ll settle with “Burned In” subtitle. It’s Korean Drama, so always need a subtitle. Hard-coded it is.

Geek Note: Converting Video to iPad 2

Just bought an iPad 2 for my mom-in-law. Definitely I’m looking for trouble… ended up configuring the device, sync-ing photos, copying musics, setting up Facetime, and converting video.

Converting video. Hmm… Handbrake. With subtitle. Yeah. That’s a key requirement. Indonesian subtitle. Very useful for Korean Drama…

Two video sources:

DVD – Rip, Convert, Sync

• easy… handbrake does the job perfectly
• rip DVD’s
• convert with iPad preset, got the correct resolution etc.
• selecting how to get the subtitle right (I want it to be “soft” not hard-encoded subtitle – so can be turned off when needed), a couple of wiki pages later and google result and of course few trial and errors… I think I got it still wrong… right. Just select the right language, and select “Default”, doing this will unselect the “Burn In”
• hit the convert button…
• wait…
• copy to iTunes, add artwork, copy to device… done

Other sources, typically AVI file with xvid content

What should I do? Easiest way is probably to use VLC… find the SRT subs, copy both files through VLC in iTunes file sync. Quick and nifty, no re-encode. I’ll need to teach her how to use VLC app which doesn’t have the slickest interface of all.

Wrong again… apparently my VLC app is not working properly in displaying SRT subtitle… don’t know why. Don’t want to know.

Another way is to re-encode (re-package?) the file into m4v. I let handbrake do the magic again. Works great. Same cycle…. but

• I had problem with the subtitle, again. Tried the “Add External SRT” few time – didn’t work. Probably bad SRT file(??). Don’t know.
• Looking for alternative, I found Subler to mux the SRT into the M4V. As a bonus this small application can embed the art work as well.

Note to self & verdict for playing AVI file directly: should choose the VLC route. Copy the file. Very straight forward. UNLESS, you don’t have the VLC app – no longer in the iTunes Store

Try CineXPlayer for iPad ($2.99 in iTunes Store). Better looking than VLC. Support for SRT (subs) is better.

Questions to research/answer:

1. Avoid re-encoding! Repackage from AVI to M4V… possible? Does iDevices use the same H.264 encoding (plenty of  encoding profiles to choose from…)?
2. Any other alternative players? Lifehacker mentioned a couple of alternatives though… cost $3-$5, may be worth a try?
3. How to automate the process, do a batch processing… something like:
• copy all the DVD to harddisk
• do a batch processing disc-by-disc
• resulting file copied to iTunes – if necessary
4. Can I have the iPad sync automatically without iTunes? I imagine, when the iPad enters my home network, it will copy new video files from the network server.

Hmm… to be continued?

Website & Usability…

… have you ever tried to redeem Citibank credit card reward points for a specific thing (e.g. annual fee waiver) through their website? Do you think the website is usable?

People design and provide multiple customer interaction channels in order to create a pleasant (and cost effective in a way) customer experience. But sometimes I wonder if they do really design this website with that notion in mind… :p or maybe I’m just simply using a wrong channel. (Phone call looks easier.)

So the story goes like this…

This is the time for my annual fee payment. And of course the time to redeem my reward point for free annual fee. I might try another way – haggling for free fee, but not this time, just too lazy.

Ok, what’s the quickest way? Website. Internet banking. Will be the easiest way, so I thought.

Wrong.

Went to their website. Enter my login ID. Then click on the “Reward Points”… then taken to the reward site. Now the problem began…

It’s a reward catalogue, hundreds of items… how can I find “Free Annual Fee”?

• Is it under “adventure”, “charity”, “time”, “culture”, “memories”, “well-being”, … , “mileage”, “new items”, “voucher”, “special offer”? Huh?
• Ok, maybe search will help… “annual” – “membership” gave nothing; “fee” gave me coffee ; “citibank” resulted in citibank bags and other merchandises. Hmm?
• Last try, history. Aha, there’s the code for last year redemption. But why not, “Purchase this Item Again” link? Hmm… let’s use the code in the search box… no luck.

Why I can’t do this simple task over the reward website? I suppose it’s a mundane task that will take like 5 minutes. But instead taking me 30+ minutes, and another 30 minutes for this blog.

Time to pick up the phone. And wait in the line. (You know, contact centers).

I think annual membership is among the top 10 items that people will exchange their reward points for. So why not make it simple? :0

Anakku Masuk SD…

Rasanya seperti baru kemarin ya? Kemarin dia lahir, kemarin dia belajar jalan, kemarin dia belajar ngomong, kemarin dia masuk TK, dan ribuan “kemarin dia…” yang lainnya.

I can imagine other older parents saying the same thing and feeling this way.

My observation is that time really flies with regards to seeing our kids grow. So bearing that in mind, I don’t want to regret one day that I didn’t spend enough time to take care of of them.

I remembered a few months ago, hearing a surprising advice from an unexpected guest – one bule from Canada (office colleague, visiting us). “Spend time with your kids. I’ve learned my lessons. One day they will leave you.”

Parenting definitely is for brave people. (And for the committed).

Just a small reminder.

Broadcasting Industry in Indonesia

Speaking about TV, I had a very interesting lecture about the (quick) history of television broadcasting in Indonesia.

It was an event held by one of our customer. Since we were one of the speaker, we also had a chance to attend the whole session.

Until 1988, television was a controlled media in Indonesia. There was only once channel TVRI. Government owned national broadcasting. Although they permitted at one time, No TV ads were allowed, due to the fear of “consumptivism” as the result of these ad.

(There was an annectdote that our former President found out that a rural farmer bought a fridge, though he doesn’t have electricity, and used it as clothing cabinet; only because he saw an ad about it on TV. Since then ad was banned).

Imagine how’s life with only one channel….

Then in 1989 RCTI started as a (terrestrial) pay TV station, broadcasting 100% Hollywood content. With decoder. Covering Jakarta and surroundings. The subscriber number maxed at around 125k when they licensed EPL live.

Then regulation changed in 1991 and they allowed FTA license. In 1993, five licenses were granted: RCTI, SCTV, Indosiar, TPI, and ANTV. (Those who live long enough here knew why these 5.)

Business model was ad-funded, as with all FTA.

And the rest 20-year is history.

Ad industry now is valued at around US$5 bio. About 60% goes to the TV.

There are now 10 National FTA TV, plus 1 TVRI, 200+ local TV, 3 Pay TV (and one upcoming IPTV). All competing for the same 43mio households.

Content has shifted from imported movies to more local (or locally adapted) shows. Quality is another issue ya… Sports is always an exception.

Content production houses thus have flourished as well.

It is one of the most cut throat FTA market in Asia.

So the question now is where the industry is going?

Digital Terestrial TV transition (DVB-T) in 2013/2017 will change the industry structure as well. There will be network companies and content companies.

Noting that, digital dividend will gradually become available soon.

And then another question, if there’s a good future for Pay TV and IPTV and Mobile (pay) TV. (There’s a future predicted at 14% revenue growth by MPA, but definitely not easy).

How are Pay TV’s going to grow their revenue? Worldwide statistics show that subs revenue is around 45%, the rest is ads.

But I’m used to (and still expect) ad-free channels at my Pay TV. I saw the growth of Pay TV ads nowadays.

How about these interactivity features boasted by IPTV (and to some extend fixed-line based return channel for Sat TV)? Has anyone successfully implemented these?

Still IPTV and the overall industry will have have challenges from the OTT (Internet TV) and social media channel (“Social Entertainment”). How will they react?

Note also that IPTV initiatives by Telco are only considered successful in Hongkong and France. Overall IPTV subs worldwide accounts for 30mil household (SNL Kagan, E’09). Asia alone has 650mil TV households.

To be frank, I have more questions than answers at this moment…

Definitely an interesting era to be in. The convergence (read: collission) of media, telco, and Internet.

At the end… Long live the customer. More choices, more convenience, but more complications.

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Doubling Your Revenue…

Received a very interesting phone call from my Pay TV provider, asking if I want a second subscription — for the same package, at the same price.

The only thing that they give for free was the installation charge.

When that wasn’t working, they offered their flanking brand, which is cheaper but has fewer channel.

Also didn’t work.

Definitely, I’m not the right target for this marketing campaign. Didn’t want an extra subscription (thus extra STB and of course extra Rp$$$) for my second/third/fourth TV sets. Didn’t watch TV that much, and it’s good to teach the kids that we should take turns (watching TV).

I guess in the Pay TV world it’s quite common to have one household that subscribe to an extra subscription, to satisfy the viewing needs of different family members: Disney Channel for kids, Golf Channel (or Fashion TV) for dads, …

My current Pay TV provider uses DTH Satellite… And the STB didn’t allow viewing two different channels at the same time (on two different TV sets or through PiP).

Or not?

Why can’t I share the settop box with several TV? (Probably it’s the way they decode the signal ya?) Or it’s just a matter of the settop. Dual channel decoding will be more expensive.

At least, can I get the second subscription at a lower rate? Discounted… 50% say…

Or maybe it’s just a nice effort to double the revenue.

Come on guys, you can do better than this…

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The Pursuit of Happiness

… must begin with understanding what is happiness – what exactly are we chasing? Kayaknya itu million dollar question. Kalau bisa mendefinisikan dengan tepat apakah “kebahagiaan”, rasanya pasti semua orang bisa hidup bahagia. At least, I can live happily.

So, I guess the most common definition is “happy = to live a successful life”

And success is commonly defined by the things we have. Our riches and possessions.

Jadi bisa beli jam tangan dengan 33 complications yang diwariskan turun temurun, bisa beli mobil berlogo kuda jingkrak, bisa punya very nice condo, or the latest Leica camera just for fun, or baju-baju berbahan sutra halus yang digambari pakai malam dengan tangan siang malam, atau setelan jas dari wol kelas satu. Atau juga tas dengan motif kotak-kotak warna beige. Or the Kelly bag. Bisa juga seperangkat sound system dari Swedia itu.

Does our happiness depend on our possessions?

Atau bahagia jika sebenarnya kita lepas dari kungkungan benda mahal bermerk. Dan bebas menikmati hidup tanpa prasangka dan tekanan dari lingkungan kita.

Bebas pake baju MangDu.

Or is success defined by another old belief – power! And influence.

Maybe. Becoming the world’s famous CEO. Presidency. Senate. House of rep. The people we know, they peeps that know us. Being in the Family or cartel.

What happens if we are just an ordinary man? Bisakah kita bahagia?

Mungkin juga kebahagiaan diartikan sebagai berapa banyak wanita tidur dengan kita?

Allegedly 32 wanita yang mirip selebritis terkenal dan katanya 3 laki-laki.

I recalled a famous king from Old Times had it all. And yet he said that everything is in vain.

Jadi apakah itu kebahagiaan?

Terserah anda jawabnya. It’s really up to you.

Mungkin buat saya, kebahagiaan itu bisa merasa cukup dan menikmati dengan apa yang ada.

“Since we entered the world penniles and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.”

Maybe it’s not easy to have a different world view. Not easy at all. But let’s hope it’s worth it…

Last quote.

“I work hard. I do my job well. And I don’t have a $10 million view of Manhattan that I share with a 22-year old art students while we sip espresso.

“Why not?

“Because I’m not supposed to. The amount of work I do equals certaim things in the real world… This is what gets you into trouble.

This is the start of those something-for-nothing schemes that lead to the frauds that got you locked up.”

Berkatilah Makanan Ini…

Semangkok bakmi babi panggang, samcan garing, tepatnya… Mengepul di depan mata. Menunggu.

Berdoa dulu…

“Tuhan, berkatilah dan kuduskan makanan ini agar menyehatkan tubuh saya.”

Tebersit di benakku, lha, kolesterol kok dimakan bisa menyehatkan sih. Terus apa arti doa itu tadi?

Walk the talk. Mau sehat nggak hanya doa, tetapi pola hidup nggak sehat.

(Bisa dibaca, mau ujian nggak belajar, tapi doa saja. Dan segala variannya).

Berdoa memang bisa merubah perspektif kita. Apalagi if we intend to walk our prayer. Mungkin itulah doa yang powerful.

Makan dulu, ya… Bulan ini cukup deh intake kolesterolnya. Besok diet…

*replace babi panggang dengan otak sapi goreng, soto Betawi isi jeroan, udang goreng mayo, cumi mentega dan sejenisnya…

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Negotiation Script for Credit Card Annual Fee

Just happened this morning…

Me: “Good morning, I would like to request that your bank waive my credit card annual fee. [Note: which you did last year]“

Operator: “Do you have a bank account with us, Sir? What kind of account?”

Me: “Premier.”

Op: “Sorry Sir, free credit card is only available for Advantage account [Note: which is one tier below my account], we can offer you a free annual fee, if you redeem your reward points.”

Me: “Ok…”

Op: “… which you do not have enough [Note: yes, because I redeemed it for something else], so we have to charge the annual fee in next month’s bill.”

Me: “Is there any other alternative?”

Op: “No, Sir, unfortunately not.”

Me: “Ok, in that case I would like to cancel my credit card.”

Op: “Hold on a moment, we’ll process it.”

(hold)

Op: “Sir, based on our data, you’ve been a long time customer and have a good payment record. We would like to offer you to waive the annual fee, if you reconsider closing your card. Do you think you can accept it, Sir?”

Me: “Yes, please. [Did you hear what I asked for in the first place?]“

Op: “We will start process it, but there’s a condition to the offer…”

Me: “Ok… [I know there must be strings attached!]“

Op: “Could you register any of your bill to our bill payment system? Phones, electricity, satellite TV, internet, etc.”

Me: “No, all is taken care already. [regular payments make you attached to the card]“

Op: “Ok, second alternative, could you accept a supplement card for probably your wife, free annual fee for the first year?”

Me: “No, thanks, my wife got your credit card already. [supplementary card is notoriously very difficult to cancel - must deliver the card physically to their card center before it will be canceled and it's only free for the first year "

Op: [she mentioned the third alternative, which I forgot and also rejected, must be something stupid/tricky as well]

Op: “Well, in that case, how about making three transactions on your credit card within the next two weeks? [note: the same condition that you offered last year, that's what I've been waiting for]“

Me: “Aha! That is certainly something I can do.”

Op: “Ok, Sir. We confirm to waive your credit card annual fee, and please charge the card at least three transactions within the next two weeks.”

Me: “Thank you.”

Op: “You’re welcome. Have a nice day!”

Me: [See you next year, with the same story. Good luck...]