Cruzio/The Internet Store Newsletter - Number 35, June 13, 2000
1) Take the Cruzio survey, win $200 of Cruzio service!
2) Extended hours for Cruzio technical support
3) Lower setup fees on many Cruzio accounts
4) Tomorrow at Cruzio: "Growing Your Business" workshop
5) Classes next month: Web Design
6) DSL installation update
7) Improvements to Cruzio's phone system
8) Domains now slightly cheaper to order
9) Late fees
10) About This Newsletter
11) How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1) Take the Cruzio survey, win $200 of Cruzio service!
Cruzio is always trying to serve our customers better and you can
help. Please fill out the survey form at:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/survey
If you fill out the brief survey you'll be in the running for
$200 in free Cruzio services - any service except classes. A lucky
customer will be drawn at random. You must fill out a survey by
July 1, 2000 to win.
2) Extended hours for Cruzio technical support
Cruzio has extended technical support hours. The new hours are
10 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday, 10 am to 2 pm Saturday.
In addition, Cruzio Tech Support returns messages from 8 am
onward on weekdays, so late evening and early morning calls will
get an early response.
As always, Cruzio's emergency response team monitors the system
and can be paged for system-wide problems 24 hours per day, 7 days
per week.
We've always received kudos for Cruzio's great technical support.
One way we ensure fine tech support is to avoid stretching our staff
thin: tech staff receives ample training; shifts are padded to
accomodate absences and breaks; and no support person answers
phones for more than 6 hours per day. So when you call, waiting
is kept to a minimum and questions are answered quickly.
Some Cruzio members need support at hours we don't currently cover,
and we are looking at expanding hours further if needed. Please let
us know (e-mail office@cruzio.com) if there are any additional
support hours that would be useful for you or your business. If
there is demand, we'll endeavor to increase the hours -- and maintain
our high standard of service.
3) Lower setup fees on many Cruzio accounts
If you are considering expanding your Cruzio services by adding a
second (or third, or fourth...) Cruzio dialup, or if you're
recommending us to a friend or colleague you'll be happy to see
the lower setup fees on many accounts. Please have a look! We're
always happy to hear suggestions on prices and payment options that
will make things easier for Cruzio members.
4) Tomorrow at Cruzio: "Growing Your Business" workshop
On Wednesday, June 14th, 2000, from 12:30-2PM at Cruzio:
"Growing Your Business"
Cruzio partners with the Small Business Development Center to sponsor
this month's Business Brown Bag. Teresa Tomae from the Central Coast
Small Business Development Center will speak on starting a new
business, expanding your existing business, and finding legal,
government and capital resources for your small business.
Cruzio staff member, Kathy Bisbee, will speak on the basics of
putting your business online, and how to watch it blossom with
help of Cruzio's Internet Office and E-commerce tools.
All Brown Bags are $5 to attend, lunch is an extra $6. Visit:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/business/brownbags.html
to register, or click on the link from the www.cruzio.com home page.
5) Classes next month: Web Design
In July, Cruzio will be offering:
Thursdays, 6:30-9pm: "Publishing on the Internet II",
Intermediate classes in our popular "Publishing" series,
where the effervescent Mark and John present sophisticated
and effective methods of improving web pages. Includes
how to create online forms and optimize graphics. This
class is offered only once every few months!
Coming up in August:
Tuesdays, 6:30-9pm: "Using the Internet", packed with tips and
tricks for speedy, fun Internet usage. Taught by the
knowledgeable, engaging Brittany.
Wednesdays, 6:30-9pm: "Publishing on the Internet I", hotshot
instructors John, and Kathy guide students through
the process of creating Web sites for their family, hobbies
or businesses. Our most popular series.
Please check our classes Web page for more information and schedules:
http://www.cruzio.com/classes/
6) DSL installation update
Another update on DSL installation time frames:
There is still substantial delay on DSL installations in many areas,
especially Santa Cruz. For months the phone company has been out of
the "ports" used to connect people to DSL service. More equipment is
expected next week, but we cannot yet say how much the situation will
improve.
Adding to the delays and general confusion, Pacific Bell has had to
break off its DSL services into a separate company called ASI which
will now be sending bills to DSL customers. This has caused some
snafus with order processing, and Hilary, our DSL ace, is very
busy these days making sure that everything is transferring correctly
from the old system to the new. Thanks, Hilary! In the long run, the
split of ASI and Pacific Bell should foster competition and better
service.
If you currently have DSL with Cruzio, you should have received notice
of the change. The FCC would not allow Pacific Bell's owner, SBC,
to continue supplying the "transport" for DSL and other high-speed
services, because it was in a monopolistic position.
Demand for DSL has been high, and SBC is investing a great deal of
money in it. Hopefully this will result in improvements. Cruzio still
recommends ordering DSL now, because we don't know how much longer
we'll be able to extend our $200 cash rebate (an excellent deal). The
rebate depends on when an order is placed, not installed (so long as the
installation occurs within 6 months of the order date which is still
normally the case.) Details about the rebate program are at:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/dslspecial
Cruzio will update you on the situation as soon as we have further
news. Again, we are hoping that things will soon improve.
7) Improvements to Cruzio's phone system
Customers told us that our old phone system was clunky and confusing.
Cruzio listened, and we've been working on improvements for some time.
If you call Cruzio now, you'll find that the options are fewer and
better defined. The way the phones route has also been improved. Please
let us know what other improvements you'd like. Many thanks to Barbara
for her terrific work!
8) Domains now slightly cheaper to order
Network Solutions Inc. (NSI), the company through which Cruzio members
order domains, now allows customers to register domains for only one
year and for up to ten years. In the past, domain registrars required
two years. Now, if you wish to register a domain, you only need to pay
a year's worth of fees ($35) instead of two years ($70). The per year
fee has not changed, but the required initial payment is lower.
9) Late fees
Because our bookkeeper spends a great deal of time tracking and reminding
chronically late payers, Cruzio is instituting a small late fee of $3.00.
The fees will be applied to accounts 10 days past due date beginning in
July, 2000. Your bill will contain more precise details. Please remember,
if there are special circumstances you can contact us to make payment
arrangements. We can waive the late fee in that case.
10) About This Newsletter
Cruzio doesn't like to waste bandwidth with extra email, but we sometimes
have events and announcements that users need to know about. This seems
like the most efficient way to let people know what's happening. Hope
it's helpful. Please email support@cruzio.com with any comments or questions.
By the way, we would love to have a regular, predictable schedule
for this newsletter...but we simply do not send it unless there is real
news enclosed. Thus the haphazard datelines.
11) How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
To reach the Cruzio Information Center, for online technical and
sales information:
http://www.cruzio.com/support
To dial in to Cruzio, set your software to dial one of the numbers
below (note: we've expanded and joined modem pools, so you may be
using another number. If so, don't worry, it still works just fine).
56k: 459-9408
33.6 kbps and under: 459-6230
To call Cruzio:
459-6301............Use this number to check Cruzio's system status,
pay your Cruzio bill, find out more about our services, classes,
hours and location, or to reach someone in customer service
or technical support.
To send email to Cruzio, use one of these addresses:
support@cruzio.com.......for technical support
office@cruzio.com........for billing and ordering information
webmaster@cruzio.com.....for questions about Cruzio's World Wide
Web service
Thanks very much from Cruzio:
Chris, Peggy, John, Julianne, Patton, Kathy, Mark, Martin,
Georgette, Jay, Tapati, Hilary, Temoc, Brittany, Alec, Rachael,
Barbara, Raelani, Priya, Stephen, Paul, Tim, Gershom, Myesha,
Kelly, Allyson, and Laura (the grownups);
Jake, Annika, and Carly (the kids)
Jake, age 8, and I were reading "Treasure Island". He got to the
line "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum", and he looked up at me. "Rum
is an alcoholic liquid, isn't it Mom?" he asked. I nodded. "An
alcoholic liquid," he repeated. "I use big words, don't I?"
