Cruzio Newsletter - Number 85, June 13, 2005
1. Cruzio DSL Price Special: $19.95/mo for 1 year
2. What Is This, a Broadband Price War?
3. Free Brown Bag Workshop on Webmail This Thursday
4. Office Services in Watsonville
5. Free Watsonville Wednesday Workshops, 3 to 6 pm
6. www.cruzio.com's New Look
7. micruzio.com, Our Spanish Language Web Site
8. Take Action to Protect the Internet!
9. Buddy Bucks
10. Feed Hungry Folks Instead of Paying Late Fees
11. About This Newsletter
12. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1. Cruzio DSL Price Special: $19.95/mo for 1 year
Cruzio is running a new DSL special: the price is just $19.95 per
month for a year, for new DSL customers who start a one-year contract
before August 31, 2005.
This is a great price for a premium service. Visit
http://www.cruzio.com/services/highspeed_access/ for more
information, and https://quartz.cruzio.com/dslorder/order_dsl.html
to sign up.
DSL 3.0 and 6.0, even faster speeds, are also excellent deals
right now: they start at just $19.95 per month for 3 months. Cruzio
DSL 6.0 is up to four times the speed of cable Internet!
If you are already in the midst of a Cruzio DSL contract, we are
unable to switch you to this low price right now, but we are working
on it. We will let you know as soon as the special is available to
you; please contact us (office@cruzio.com) if you are concerned about
your price. We are sorry we cannot lower everyone's price at once,
but our wholesale circuits are under contract, and wholesale prices have
only been lowered for new circuits.
Remember that you can always lower your bill by recommending Cruzio
to a friend (see item 8).
2. What Is Happening, a Broadband Price War?
If you pay attention to prices, you'll notice that DSL prices are
falling. The titans of the telecommunications industry are
battling for control of the broadband lines into people's homes.
(These titans are fewer and fewer in number, as the giant
corporations combine and purchase each other.)
Cruzio's policy, as always, is to charge the lowest price at which
we can reasonably maintain our business. This means that when our
wholesale prices decrease, we pass the savings on to you. The pricing
Cruzio offers is both low and sustainable; we have matched or
nearly matched large corporate prices every step of the way.
But we are also concerned that the price war will hurt the Internet,
as prices plunge below the cost of providing service. Cut-rate
pricing is a short-term benefit which will end in fewer choices for
consumers, as Internet providers drop out of the race. In the long
run, we expect fewer providers to lead to higher prices and less
variety in the content you get.
Although they spend a great deal on marketing, other broadband
providers still don't give you the high quality customer support
you receive at Cruzio, or contribute to the non-profit organizations
in your community. Cruzio is here for you and Santa Cruz County.
Yes, there is a broadband price war. And yes, when Cruzio gets a
lower wholesale price we pass it along to our customers. But we are
in this business for the long haul, and we hope our customers are
too. A short term, low price contract is not nirvana.
See item 7 below for more ways you keep your broadband options open.
3. Free Brown Bag Workshop on Webmail This Thursday
"Maximizing Cruzio Webmail", Thurs, June 16th, 12:00-1:30 PM
903 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz -- Free!
Do you know that a full-featured Webmail program comes free with
your Cruzio email service? Cruzio Webmail includes folders, extra
storage space, calendars, and many other configurable features. You
can even choose the background picture and the voice that tells you
new email has arrived. Use it over the Web -- it's fast, easy, and
works well with your spam filter.
Learn about Cruzio Webmail's many features at our upcoming Brown
Bag workshop. Led by able Cruzio Technical Support Manager Stephen
and knowledgeable Support Lead Mike, the workshop is free and
information-packed. Questions, as always, are welcome. You may choose
to accompany the workshop with a yummy lunch for $7 (order online).
To register -- space is limited! -- visit
http://events.cruzio.com
4. Office Services in Watsonville
When we moved into our Watsonville store, savvy Store Manager
Gershom quickly noticed a lack of office services in the downtown
Watsonville area. Some folks needed computers with Internet access,
others wanted to use a laser printer, and still others had to send
faxes or burn CD's. Cruzio has made all these services available to
the public at low prices.
Please stop by the Watsonville office for any of these tasks, or to
pay a bill or ask a question. We are always happy to help a customer.
Our Watsonville office is at 23 East Beach Street, inside the Plaza
Vigil, across from City Plaza Park.
5. Free Watsonville Wednesday Workshops, 3 to 6 pm
Every Wednesday, beginning June 15th, 2005, 3:00-6:00 pm
At Cruzio, 23 E. Beach Street, Plaza Vigil, Watsonville
Free and open to the general public!
Bilingual computer expert Gershom Toriz, Cruzio's Watsonville
Store Manager, will be holding regular Wednesday Workshops in
Spanish and English on topics such as basic computer operation,
parts of the computer, how to use Web browsers and search engines,
and how to find information on the Internet. It's a great chance to
learn about computers and the Internet in a comfortable environment
-- questions are welcome!
After the class, attendees will receive 2.5 hours of free computer
rentals -- usually $8 per hour. A great deal. For more information,
see http://www.cruzio.com or http://www.micruzio.com .
6. www.cruzio.com's New Look
Did it surprise you? After 4 years of our black-and-green Web masthead,
we decided it was time to lighten up. Cruzio's talented Webmasters
released our redesigned pages at http://www.cruzio.com early last week.
It's not just the site's appearance that's lighter. Our pages have
been optimized so they now load much faster. Also, you will see some
new items in the header: we've added a "Members" section, where you
can find resources and information that you'd like to use *after*
you've already got a Cruzio account. For example, are you interested in
chat, instant messaging, or music downloads? Try our new "Things You
Can Do" page to find links to all these popular Internet services.
"Resources," one of our less popular categories, is gone from the
masthead, but the links have been placed judiciously onto other pages,
and are not lost. Please let us know if you have trouble finding anything,
or if you love the new graphics, or any other opinion you wish to share.
There is a "Suggestion Box" on the bottom of every page on our Web site
and we love it when customers send us their thoughts.
7. micruzio.com, Our Spanish Language Web Site
Please visit our new Spanish Web site, http://www.micruzio.com .
This extraordinary site was created in-house by our many multilingual
employees, who did their own translation of technical information
and found interesting resources for the local Latino community.
Cruzio also conducted focus group sessions with members of the
Watsonville community to learn what people in our area want to see
on the Web. We are adding new information to this site all the time;
if you visit regularly, you'll see new content every couple of weeks
or so. Many thanks to the Cruzio Spanish Team, Cruzio Marketing,
and our tireless Webmasters for putting the site together.
Bien hecho!
8. Take Action to Protect the Internet!
The Internet has open access to a wide variety of Web sites
partly because you can choose your own provider, such as Cruzio.
Right now, even in a smaller market like Santa Cruz you can
choose from dozens of Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
If the number of Internet Providers dwindles to two (SBC and Cable),
will access to new technologies be open to all? What will happen to
the price of Internet service, to creativity, and to innovation?
This month, SBC is going before the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) to ask permission to merge with fellow corporate
monolith AT&T. Not so many years ago, SBC and the other "Bells"
were forced by antitrust action to *separate* from AT&T due to
anticompetitive behavior.
Help keep the lines into your house open to your choice of information
sources. This is one of the few times when SBC must pause to get public
approval; make the most of it by letting them know that there should
be some public input on public utilities. You have been invited to
comment on the merger, and we encourage you to do so. Please email
public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov, or write to CPUC Public Advisor, 505 Van
Ness Avenue, Room 2103, San Francisco, CA 94102. If you are the
kind of person who appreciates a boilerplate letter to copy-and-paste
(as I do), here is a start for you:
Dear Public Utilities Commissioners,
Because of their anticompetive behavior, I think that the
merger of SBC and AT&T will be damaging to the growth of a
healthy, free and prosperous Internet. Telephone lines are
a public utility, and should include choices for members of the
public. This merger will tend to reward monopolistic practices
and limit competition in the Internet and telecommunications
market, and I urge you to vote against it.
If you write a letter, we'd love it if you dropped a note to
office@cruzio.com to tell us you did!
9. Buddy Bucks
Recommend us to friends, family, colleagues, people you barely
know: if a new customer gives us your email address, account
number, or full name when they sign up, you'll get $10 credit to
your account. That's $10 each, for as many friends as you send in.
To celebrate the opening of Cruzio's new Watsonville store,
until July 1, 2005 we are *doubling* our Buddy Bucks offer if
you refer a new customer from Watsonville, Freedom, Aromas, Pajaro
or Corralitos. That's $20 credit per referral!
10. Feed Hungry Folks Instead of Paying Late Fees
If you're late on a payment to Cruzio, turn it into a donation
to hungry people in our community. We will waive your late
fee if you bring 3 cans into our office for our Second Harvest
Food Bank barrel. Learn more about this charity at
http://www.thefoodbank.org
11. 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.
12. 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.
Dialup: 459-9408
Nationwide Dialup: Look up local number on our Web page:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/dialup_isdn/nationwide_numbers.html
or call Cruzio toll free, 1.800.303.3302
To call Cruzio:
459-6301............Use this number to check Cruzio's system status,
pay your Cruzio bill, find out more about our hours and location,
or to reach someone in customer service and technical support.
722-6200 .......... Cruzio's number in Watsonville.
To send email to Cruzio, use one of these addresses:
support@cruzio.com ......for technical support
office@cruzio.com .......for billing and ordering information
Cruzio's locations:
Santa Cruz: 903 Pacific Avenue, Suite 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Watsonville: Plaza Vigil, 23 E. Beach Street, Watsonville, CA 95076
Cruzio's hours:
Sales hours: 10am-6pm, Monday through Friday; 10 am - 2 pm Saturday
Technical support: 10-6 pm, Monday through Friday, 10am - 2pm Saturday
System monitoring, including customer-alerted emergencies, 24 hours
per day, 365 days per year (leap years, 366 days)
Thanks very much from Cruzio:
Chris, Peggy, Julianne, Kathy, Mark, Tapati, Stephen,
Paul, Gershom, Jessi, Michael, another Chris, Maria, James,
Juana, Krissie, Nikkie, Mike, Don, Bruce, Edgar, Brian,
Jhonee', Derrick, Westi, Andrew, and Jaime;
Jake, Annika, and Carly (the kids)
Annika, age 10: "I'm the third tallest in my grade -- Kevin's
hair shouldn't count."
