High costs of inmate phone service

I did not get a good grade in economics class but.... my take on the profit/money/power thing as it relates to most any entity... is fairly simple (and as such may be off the mark, however)... I don't know anyone that is not interested in making a profit... the bottom line in the long run, rules us all; governments, individuals, corporations of any size and mix... and to that end, they all move. There may be many different paths to that end, but they all sooner or later will get there... or they will cease to exist.

The money (in whatever form) may be hidden, but it is there none the less. IMHO

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Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

I would offer several things...

I can't speak for ATT, but Sprint has lost millions of customers because they treat their customers like crap, when customer service returns, so will the customers, we are not as captive as they think. They feel that their contracts keep you locked down so they don't have to focus on customer service.

Secondly, having sat in on many meetings for large international corporations, what they tell their customers and employees is only what they want them to know or repeat, not necessarily the real motivation behind an action. Board Room whiners are often talking to hear themselves speak and not offering anything constructive, that is why they hire consultants Were these companies to focus on the basics of customer service, acknowledging customers needs and filling them at a reasonable profit with excellent service, exceeding expectations by value added items and services, and answering their phones with a person rather than a machine, their customers would be much happier. Having your customer so frustrated by being forced to talk to a computer or out of country call service makes it nearly impossible to make them happy and satisfied, because you pissed them off from the very beginning. Noted Nascar Race Promoter Bill Sawyer, former owner of Richmond International Speedway used to say, I never charge my customer for parking, why piss them off before they have even come in to see the show? He would also never raise prices without offering something in return such as nicer seating, better restrooms etc.

If this economy teaches us nothing else, it is that we should return to a 50's era focus on customers, people and quality applying the KISS principle as we go.

Scott

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R.E. "Scott" MacLean III

"Leaders are like Eagles, you never see them in a flock, but one at a time"

Chesapeake Group Investigations, Inc.
Chesapeake Bail Bonds
877-574-0500
301-392-1100 (fax)
301-392-1900 (Office)

Regarding trhe advancement of technology, I also worked in communications for over 30 years, mainly broadcasting.

Even in that field, the manufacturers came up with product advancements that none of us ever dreamed of. Then once one manufacturer came out with a new gadget, the others followed because the customer did demand it.

But again, with custumer electronics, the initial shot came from the product makers. Once our appetites got use to all the new fangled "things," of course we wanted more, bigger ( or smaller ), faster, etc.

Now some companies are going back to the KISS mentality. Such as the Jitterbug cellphone. Calls, text and vm thats it. No other apps.

I know our local S.O. uses the "profits" from the collect calls for the inmate fund. Now if they didn't have the collect call money, the inmate fund would have come from the sheriffs operating budget that he gets from the county, however that is now being cut.

So, if they had to provide for the tvs, cable service, personal hygiene items that is mandated by law, then they would have to cut in other areas including layoffs.

In CA, we can charge for additional expenses such as, phone calls, travel outside our advertised area, legal fees, bounty hunter fees and court costs.

We usually eat the collect calls. However like Kathy, we take 2 collect calls at the most. If we don't contact any possible co singers, we don' take anymore calls from that inmate.

I really don't know what my SO collects from phone charges, but from comments, complaints, and visuals, the jail itself doesn't get near as much benefit from various funds collected as the public areas do. The jail seems to be the stepchild when it comes to updating, or even necessary repairs and health issues. I have heard many complaints as to untreated mold and mildew issues in the jail, while seeing expensive visual improvements in the dispatch and other areas. It seems that luxery is more important than safety. I remain neutral, but some things just don't seem fair!

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

The two biggest service providers here in MO are Evercom, followed by Encartele. I use pre-paid accounts for both of these to allow calls to my cell. Both charge an "inter-connect" fee of over $2, with by-the-minute charges reaching over .40 per minute. The average call costs me from $3 to $5. I try not to spend more than a couple minutes on the phone with a potential client, during which I gather as many contact names and phone numbers for their "peeps" as they can provide in that amount of time. I tell them that I won't accept any more calls from them until I make the deal with their contacts, or I require more information.

Luckily, most of my business comes from referals, prospecting and repeat customers, so I manage to keep the collect calls to a minimum. This has saved me a small fortune in phone bills.

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Doug DiNatale Bail Bonds
Vienna, MO
(573) 368-6672

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."