Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:Worldcom Customers: What To Do? - Life in the Exit Only Lane. The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, July 26, 2002 Table of Contents 01. Worldcom Customers: What To Do? 02. Life in the Exit Only Lane. 03. Tip Of The Week Welcome to the “The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter”. This week we have an article from Judith Oppenheimer. Judith publishes the “ICB Toll Free News” a valuable resource for Telecom mangers. I’ve known Judith for several years and always enjoy exchanging ideas with her. If you are a Worldcom customer this is a must read. If you have any thought or ideas you would like to share, please send them to Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com *01 Worldcom Customers: What To Do? Are you currently a Worldcom customer, or the customer of a Worldcom reseller? Don’t panic! Read here to discover all your options first. (ICB TOLL FREE NEWS, http://www.icbtollfree.com) Are you an MCI-WorldCom customer, and confused as to how the company's bankruptcy affects YOU. First of all, please take this bit of free, expert advice... DON'T PANIC!!! Whether you are a customer of MCI, WorldCom, The Neighborhood, TeleCom*USA, 1010220, 1-800-COLLECT or any of the other 70+ names that WorldCom has done business under since its inception, it is highly unlikely that you will experience any disruption in service. Although this is the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and there is little to compare the situation to in terms of size, the chances of any WorldCom customers experiencing loss of service are slim to none, due to legal and regulatory laws put in place by federal authorities to prevent any type of nationwide communications "meltdown". Just look at the Enron situation. They were one of the largest power companies in the United States when they declared Bankruptcy. Did anyone's lights go out as a result? Of course not. In fact, WorldCom's Federal Chapter 11 filing should actually protect its customers from possible service disruption, due to the company's shaky financial position. First off, how do you know if you are a customer of MCI, WorldCom, its subsidiaries or any of the numerous resellers that utilize WorldCom's service? It's easy. Just dial (toll-free) 1-700-555-4141. You will hear a recording telling you the name of your long distance carrier. If the recording says MCI, WorldCom or something similar, you are on MCI's network. If not, you are on a carrier or reseller that is independent of MCI for its service. Of course, all carriers (yes, even AT&T) use the networks of other carriers at one point or another. No carrier is capable of carrying all of its own calls to everywhere else in the world without interfacing with another phone company at some point. So, although you may be with a completely independent carrier, it is entirely likely (if not certain) that they utilize WorldCom's network to carry at least some of their calls. What safeguards are in place to protect you from having your service interrupted? Well, for starters, WorldCom's actions in Federal Bankruptcy Court make it illegal for the company's vendors to disconnect them for non-payment, in the event that WorldCom can't pay their bills. Until the Bankruptcy Judge says so, none of the company's vendors can "pull the plug" on them. Period. There would certainly be plenty of warning in the event that the Judge changes his mind. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission and numerous state regulatory authorities make it illegal for WorldCom to simply disconnect everyone's service without plenty of advance notice. In the unlikely event that WorldCom goes completely out-of-business (Chapter 7 - complete asset liquidation), you will be notified by mail of any impending loss of service, and will have more than enough time to find a different provider. Even if WorldCom does "go under", the chances of anyone losing access to long distance service are mighty slim. That's because there are numerous companies that would swoop-in to buy the company's "customer base" from the Bankruptcy Court. In this event, your account would be "sold" to a different company, which would have absolutely no incentive to disconnect you or lose you as a customer. Rates would likely remain the same, if not improve. So, what should I do? Bottom line... Don't panic! You are NOT going to have your service interrupted. If we simply wanted to take advantage of this situation, we would urge all WorldCom customers to flock to our list of alternative Toll Free Programs (http://www.whosells800.com/whosells800) and Long Distance Programs (http://www.whosells800.com/whosells800/ldservices.cfm), and dump their current service. We're sure that many, many others will attempt to scare you into switching your service. We won't BS you though. WorldCom's service is not going anywhere, at least no time soon, and unless you are shopping for a better rate (including low cost fuller-featured toll free) anyway, we would advise you to stay put. Of course, most of MCI's long distance plans are over priced anyway, when you factor-in their monthly service charges. So, if it takes a scare like this to make you start comparing rates, go right ahead. We would not advise making any hasty decisions out of fear of losing service though. Do I need a Back-Up Plan? Probably not. However, if the impossible does happen and your MCI service is not working, there are some alternatives. First off, one of them is NOT dialing 1010220! That program is run by MCI itself, under the Telecom*USA brand name. If the WorldCom network "goes dark", so will 1010220. This does not mean that there are not plenty of other choices for "dial-around" or alternative access though. Probably the easiest of alternatives are the many pre- paid calling cards that are available at local convenience stores. Of course, some of them use the MCI network as well. For back-up use, you may want to consider one of Cognigen’s programs (http://ld.net/dialaround/?whosells800) (yes, we get paid a commission on these services). They have several dial-around programs that can be accessed via a toll-free number, and have some pretty decent rates, especially on international calls. We will soon be coming out with a WorldCom Bankruptcy FAQ, since confused consumers will likely be looking here for help in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to this website (http://www.whosells800.com) for further updates. Reprinted with permission from Discount Long Distance Digest (http://www.thedigest.com). Judith Oppenheimer http://JudithOppenheimer.com http://ICBTollFreeNews.com http://WhoSells800.com We’re Talkin’ Serious” Bone Suckin’ Sauce ! Winner: “Battle Of The Sauces.” Created in true western North Carolina style. Tomato based all-natural, sweetened with honey and molasses. Order your Box of six today for $39.99 +s/h. Toll-Free 1-800-446-0947 or online http://www.BoneSuckin.com *02 Life in the Exit Only Lane My newsletter contribution this week may better qualify as an anecdote, but there is a point in here, if one has the patience. I started driving, legally in Texas, at the age of 14. Actually one could get sort of a farmer's license even earlier if it contended that it was necessary for the sustenance of the family and he only drove farm implements. Even though that tractor might not go 15 mph, I contend that most of those farm kids were pretty good drivers by the time they hit the open road. Having lived in both large cities and Podunk towns, I've seen all sorts of drivers. My Dad taught me to look down the road as far as I can, without disregarding the tire fragments or the car in front of me, and to consistently check the rear view mirror. Every day I take a route that says "Exit Only" on three overhead signs plus painted signs and arrows repeating the exit only message. Everyday I see people swerve to the left at the last second. Almost hitting the barricade or the car they are cutting off, and generally getting angry. Which leads me to this almost arcane, but justifiable parallel in business. We need to look not only at the immediate road in front of us, avoiding obstacles, but also further down the road to avoid more dangerous ones. I won't go into the obvious brakes, foot pedal and mirror metaphor so as to not insult our readers' intelligence. Allow me to thank you for all the wonderful; and thoughtful feedback we received on last week's ethics post. Obviously there are some folks out there who also believe that not only do ethics still exist, but they are critical and should be self-evident. Steve Jackson saj@inter800.com Vegas Vacation has the best rates on Las Vegas Hotel Rooms. Don't make a reservation without calling us first! Call 800-637-6442 or visit our ad in the Internet 800 Directory: http://inter800.com/02281174.htm Tip of the Week Printing Web Pages All of us at some point have needed to print a web page. When using Explorer you can configure how your printer handles the header and footer when printing a web page. Go to the page you want to print. Click “File” Click “Page Setup” RIGHT Click on the “Header” or “Footer” Select “What’s This?” Now you will see a list of commands you can use to customize the printing of the web page. If you have any tips or shortcuts that you think the readers of this Newsletter will find useful, send them to sjackson@inter800.com Banners? Pay-per-click? Why not target your market with links or information placed in relevant content? The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter offers direct access to business people who are interested buyers. Advertising: Information on how to sponsor this publication: Call 800-299-1879 Thanks for taking the time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2002 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |