Customer Base = Scamming Hughesnet

[Gwalk900]

My "scam" remark was in reference to one of the keywords in the topics title:

I have to agree with you on "communication" but having said that ... computers and networking are complex subjects in and of themselves. Then add in the additional complexity imposed by the ODU/Satellite/ Gateway equipment you now have a subject that is hard to define in very few words that can be understood by novice users.

You just can't wrap it up and deliver it as a "Unified Theory Of Satellite Communication".

[Rich1]

I agree with Lab Lover, I don't think it's a scam, just lack of  communication.  The first assumption I make about every HN customer is if cable or DSL was available, they would be using it because of cost/performance.  That is not a knock on HN, it's just a clear choice on bang for the buck.
I'm guessing it would be a  weird concept for 95% of the US population connected to the Internet to monitor data download usage. Particularly with TV advertisements bombarding them with  HBO, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc streaming and wonderful media things to do on the Internet.
I think HN sales should position the service as an option much better than dialup but realistically not able to stream movies or play online games.  It's basically a web browsing, light data usage service.  Nothing wrong with that (other than price), but being super clear in that message would help first time shock and ongoing expectations.  

[BirdDog]

Once again I feel compelled to say video streaming can be done in moderation and at lower definitions. Certainly not 24/7, 12/7 or even 4/7.

[Gwalk900]

I view having a capped service as a lot like being poor.

You can go "window Shopping" and gaze wistfully at all the "stuff" knowing you can buy some but not all.

Frugality is rule #1.

[GabeU]

Rich,

When I recently called to have my parents connected the sales rep explained about the service in regard to streaming and game playing, noting that streaming should be done at lower levels of definition and even then, not a lot, and that any real time games wouldn't work with Hughesnet. 

I think it's sad that it's come to a point that the majority of the population just expects things to work.  So little research is done before someone buys a product or service that when they get that product or service, and it isn't what they expected it to be, they aren't very happy and blame it on the product. 

Communication about the resets definitely needs to be improved, but even if they began to disclose the resets during the sales calls, you know as well as I that there would still be people who would consider it a scam because they would believe having the resets would not be representative of a typical month.  Of course, watching data usage would make this excuse moot, but it would and will still happen. 

And, of course, it's virtually impossible for the sales reps to explain everything in a sales call.  They can only go over the most important aspects, and they do, with the customer choosing between plans based on the amount of data in those plans, and explaining that the data is divided between two time blocks.  You'd think that with that being said, people would want to watch their data, but evidently, that's not enough.  During my sales call, they even talked about downloading the Status Meter.  I don't know what else they could do, save for saying "It's important to watch your data," but a lot of people tune out the disclosure, anyway, and others wouldn't even know what that means.  The reps can only explain so much.   

But, again, they could, and should, at least tell people of the resets. 

[BirdDog]

The wife and I do some Netflix on the weekends, even when we had 10 and 15 GB plans. Thank goodness since it is how we discovered Peaky Blinders and other great shows.

Self-control is the operative when talking streaming over satellite.

[GabeU]

I view having a capped service as a lot like being poor.

How about government subsidized tokens?  Heh heh. 

[Rich1]

I get it Birddog, but I think most people don't parse it that way.  Even If a sales rep says you can video stream in moderation, that means different things to different people.   In my case, I have a 10GB plan. If a sales rep said I could stream in moderation, I might think maybe an hour or two a day. That's pretty moderate, right? A typical person is not gong to think of a video compression/MB conversion ratio.    In my case, moderation really means I can watch 3 movies in standard definition a month.   Technically, I am streaming movies, but realistically who would think that is what streaming means? See what I mean?
I think the sales person should up front say it is not for streaming movies, but if you do, you can maybe watch 3 movies a month. Maybe the sales folks do say that and new customers don't hear it, I don't know.

[Gwalk900]

I'm already drawing Social Security as well as two pensions and a part time job.
I feel I'm well "subsidized".

Hey, bring me another Beer while you are up will ya ?

[BirdDog]

Rich, I've posted this before. With a 10 GB pan you could watch up to 30+ hours a month at 300 MB per hour.

Is up to the customer how they want to slice their data pie. Do less browsing and other things, watch more video, and vice versa.

If only able to watch 3 SD movies a month then you are eating a lot of your data doing other things. Again, a choice.