The Winner! – The worst customer service experience I have ever had.

Posted on January 27, 2012 by interman

That’s right. This past week I had the worst customer service experience ever. It will go down as the worst this year easy. Could be the worst for the decade.

That’s a bold statement, Don. Yes it is, loyal reader. But this is one that just got worse with each phone call and still is unresolved.

So, this weekend, I am going to type up this story. The reason I am waiting a few days is that I am debating putting the company name in the post. see, I am afraid that this vendor will shut me off and I will not get my fruit shipments. Sorry, I slipped up there.

Don. You have blasted AT&T, FEDEX, RITE AID and yet you are afraid of a local vendor. As a matter of fact, I am.

If you read this and have a suggestion on how to approach the name of the vendor, please me know.

Almost Final Thoughts with Don Noble

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Customer Service Failures – Rite Aid

Posted on January 19, 2012 by interman

Sometimes, as I write these stories, I chuckle because they almost sound made up. Fortunately for me but unfortunately for Rite Aid, I have the emails and the websites to back this up.

I only have one prescription and I take it to Rite Aid for filling. Their prices are very competitive and I love their website refill service (at least until today).

Each month, when my bottle gets near the bottom, I go online to www.riteaid.com, login, select the prescription I want, and boom, two hours later, I can pickup it up. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

Today, after logging in, I was greeted with an unmovable page saying “wellness+® ONLINE ENROLLMENT IS NOW REQUIRED TO ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT. IT’S FREE AND EASY TO ENROLL.” in big red letters. If you don’t know, wellness+ is their loyalty program. It is obvious that someone at corporate thought it would be a good idea to force customers into its loyalty program and what better way to do it than its many prescription customers.

I did not want to take the time to find my wellness+ number and enter it so I started clicking everywhere. No good. Same screen every time forcing me to enter the number. Sensing that this was not going to go my way, I decided to contact the company.

Under Contact Us, I was told I would be getting terrific customer service and noticed the big CHAT NOW button. (Boy that guys looks friendly).

So I begin the chat. I have a choice Wellness Program or Customer Service. I think this is a problem with the website, so I choose Customer Service. A nice counter says I have 30 seconds so while waiting, I get my wellness+ card and try to input the number. When I click submit, it comes back and asks me to “Correct the error below and resubmit.” Problem is, there is no indication of what the error was. So, I recheck the number and resubmit.

I try 5 times before I give up, but the chat is ready so I start there. As with most chat sessions, I try to explain quickly. “I cannot enter my wellness+ number.” Within a second, a response “I will transfer you to a wellness representative”. Before I can respond I see another 30 second countdown, so I try the website again. 5 more times, no success.

The rep from wellness+ comes on and I repeat my problem. Very quickly, they say “That is a customer service issue” and transfer me back. I closed the window.

This post is getting long, so I will speed up. I called the 800 number thinking it might be faster. LOL. I get a 10 second recording on their latest coupons that I cannot bypass. Finally an automated phone tree. First option is whether I want to talk to the pharmacy about a prescription. Second is if I want to subscribe to the newsletter. I punch 0(zero) a few times and it repeats that it cannot understand my option. I hang up.

Finally, I decide to send a nice email explaining my problem and telling them that I am leaving. I cannot believe the response so I am posting the whole thing.

Dear Donald Noble,

Thank you for contacting the Rite Aid Wellness+ Customer Support.  I do apologize for any inconvenience to you.  The error message that you are receiving is due to the web browser that you are currently using.  Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox and Safari are all having difficulties in loading the page correctly.  I suggest using an earlier version of Internet Explorer 9 or Google Chrome.  If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to email us back or give us a call at 1-800-RITE-AID.  We thank you for your business at Rite Aid and have a wonderful day!

First of all I was using Chrome. But REALLY? Downgrade to an earlier version of my internet browser so I can bypass a restriction that you put in that keeps me from buying a product from your company. I cannot stop laughing. On this one, I really could not stop laughing.

Here we have a complete disconnect between management, marketing, technical support and just about every other connected department at Rite Aid. What started with a good idea (drive membership in our loyalty program) ends up a complete failure which will lose sales and lose customers.

How often does this happen at other companies? How many customers choose a competitor because of frustrating restrictions like this? Probably a lot.

Lesson #1 in retail: Treat each and every customer as gold. Once they know you are using them, they will leave you in a heartbeat.

Final Thoughts with Don Noble.

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Customer Service Failures – Cox Communications – Hopefully Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2012 by interman

I hope you enjoy my customer service failures. It has been awhile since I have posted one but this one is a killer. After I stopped laughing, I started writing.

I do not know where to start. I was watching COX TV CONNECT on my iPad. I love the app and loved COX (see the past tense). The app is cool. While at home, I can watch live TV (most channels) with my headset while my wife

During the show, an error popped up and said ” the cox network is unavailable”. The app then closed and when I re-logged in, I got another error saying “you must be on the COX WIFI to watch tv shows” and the app closed again. Now, I disconnected my 3G and had only WIFI on. Same error.

So it told me to call a 877 number. Unfortunately, I did not have a local phone number (how many people now rely on their cell phones primarily) so when I called, I got a “you cannot call this number from your phone”. This is actually beginning to be funny.

So I logged into my account to find the local number. I did. When I called I had two options. Troubleshoot my cable TV or my internet. HMMMMM. Not sure which one of the 50-50 choice I was, so I tried internet. It asked me to determine if I had a WiFi network or not. Although I am sure that after an hour or so of this I would get to something irrelevant, I opted for the tech support CHAT option.

So, unabridged, here is the text of the chat. (I have not changed the name to protect the innocent, nor have I edited my frustrated, misspelled responses)( I HAVE added emphasis where I thought it was funny).

Thank you for choosing Cox Communications. A representative will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with ‘Dennis’.
Dennis: Welcome to Cox Live Chat Support. I will be assisting you throughout this Chat session.
Dennis: I understand you are having problems connecting on your iPad. Is that correct?
Don Noble: yes and no
Don Noble: I am having trouble with COX Connect on my ipad
Don Noble: your app that allows me to watch tv on my ipad
Dennis: Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Dennis: I will be glad to assist you.
Dennis: Have you installed the application on your iPad? (really? Have I installed the app?)
Don Noble: YES
Dennis: Let me check this out, please.
Dennis: Are you using a Cox Primary user ID?
Don Noble: yes
Dennis: May I have it, please?
Don Noble: ad**********\
Don Noble: sorry
Don Noble: ad**********
Dennis: Thank you very much.
Dennis: I will send you a link, so you will be able to troubleshoot this issue on your iPad.
Dennis: I would like to do this for you, but I do not have access to your iPad from here.
Dennis: To troubleshoot this issue, please click here. (here is a link to the TV connection page)
Don Noble: Dennis
Dennis: Were you able to access the link above?
Don Noble: I am really trying to be patient here
Dennis: Or, you can contact our Specialized Team by phone at: 1-866-590-4229. (the same number I called from my cell phone and did not work).
Dennis: Could you open the link above?
Don Noble: I tried to call the number and there is no option for Cox tv connect
Don Noble: there is only cable and internet
Dennis: What number have you tried?
Don Noble: when I go tto internet, it asks me to troubleshoot my internet wifi
Don Noble: 866-590-4229
Dennis: May I have the number, please?
Don Noble: I am on my computer chatting with you
Don Noble: not my ipad
Dennis: That is the one I have for Cox TV Connect.
Don Noble: soince I cannot chat with you on the ipad. (Sorry…… Really? you cannot chat with me on the iPad? If you could wouldnt I be on the iPad chatting with you?)
Don Noble: I cannot see the link there
Don Noble: HOWEVERE
Dennis: I do not have another one.
Don Noble: I did open the link and it asks me
Don Noble: 1. if my wifi is on.
Don Noble: gotta love that since i was ising the app before the error message
Don Noble: 2. verify that the app is installed
Don Noble: again, I was watching the app when it gave me an error message
Don Noble: 3. ask me to sign in again
Dennis: According to the link, you need to set up your WiFi connection to connect to the Cox TV Connect.
Don Noble: so again, when it fails, it kils the app so I HAVE to sign in again
Don Noble: wow, let me ask you
Don Noble: are you intentionally not listening or are you just not reading (Sorry Dennis. I really am, but now you are being just mean.)
Don Noble: ?
Don Noble: see number 1 above
Don Noble: if you cannot read the english
Don Noble: I can translate to your language
Don Noble: indian
Don Noble: ?
Don Noble: chinese?
Don Noble: perhaps?
Don Noble: maybe brazilian
Don Noble: I understand they are outsourcing there now
Don Noble: let me ask you another question
Dennis: Thank you very much. You are so kind.
Don Noble: how can you troubleshoot my prblem when you do not knwo what the problem is?
Don Noble: is it possible to ask many inane questions fist
Don Noble: first
Don Noble: just in case
Don Noble: >?
Don Noble: so, since you did not ask
Don Noble: I have COX tv connect on my ipda
Don Noble: ipda
Don Noble: I was watching tv
Dennis: That is why you need to call. We do not troubleshoot iPad’s via chat.
Don Noble: I recevived an error
Don Noble: saying the cox network was not responding
Don Noble: again, you do not have an ipda option on the call line
Don Noble: so i am in a circle of no answers
Don Noble: you point me to the phoen
Don Noble: and the phone does not cover ipads
Don Noble: anything else?
Don Noble: maybe I can send an email to the tech support for internet
Don Noble: that should help yes?
Don Noble: is it ok, that I copy this chat when I complain about cox’s customer support?
Dennis: Go ahead. If that makes you feel better.
Dennis: Are there any other questions I can help answer?
Don Noble: actually, it makes me sad
Dennis: Sorry to hear that.
Don Noble: that customer support has reached this level
Don Noble: that you do not have the tools to do your job properly
Don Noble: that you are frustrated by not being able to help
Don Noble: someone that is truly having a problem with you companies product
Dennis: Not at all.
Dennis: Do not worry about it.

Really, “DO I HAVE THE APP INSTALLED?”.

BTW, the link he sent was to troubleshoot my TV connection.

So, while I was verbally parleying with Dennis, the app started working. So, it was probably a network or similar error.

I believe sometimes, a CSR should say “I don’t know how to fix the problem.” Wouldn’t that be easier than providing useless troubleshooting steps and answers that do not lead to anything?

I will leave it for you to decide?

Final Thoughts with Don Noble

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Customer Service Failures – Fedex – Part 2

Posted on December 12, 2011 by interman

I am sorry for my long hiatus, but we have been busy opening our new store.

Anyway, I am back in Middletown, Connecticut for some business and I could not help checking up on my good friends, FedEx. If you remember, I wrote about what I considered a customer service failure at FedEx. I received so many comments on that post, it demanded that I do a follow-up.

So, while in Middletown, I needed to overnight two packages. I prepared the contents and went to Fedex.com to print out the waybills. I then began my trek to find a FedEx envelope.

The last time I did this, I only found one box that had any supplies in it (in fact, it was fully stocked). So, I started there. I found one envelope and nothing else. I completed the envelope and drove to Staples to drop it off. I figured I could deposit the completed one and get another envelope. Unfortunately, that box was empty. I went into Staples to ask for an envelope, but their pack and ship is UPS only, so no luck.

I then went to all the boxes I went to last time to look for an envelope. As it was approaching 6:00 pm, I tried to hurry. Four boxes later and no envelope. So, I decided to wait and see if the truck had any envelopes.

The truck pulled up and I was hopeful. I felt like a kid on Christmas day. I asked, do you have any envelopes. The driver was very nice but said no, he did not have any.

So, long story short, I went home, cancelled the shipment, and went to the US Post Office the next morning and shipped my package.

Last time, I calculated that FedEx lost incremental income in the millions of dollars. This just confirms they do indeed lose income. How many people have faced this same situation and decided to not use FedEx again. Either one or one million, it is lost income.

So, to April at FedEx, or Roberto (Drinker of Purple Kool-Aid), I still consider this a failure. For all those people that read this, how much revenue and how many customers is your company losing because you are forgetting that customer service is a key (and I consider THE key) to success.

Final Thoughts and Happy Holidays from Don Noble.

P.S. I don’t mean to be targeting FedEx, it just happens that I am using their service and they failed me.

 

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Small Business Banking in the 21st Century – Part 2 – The Return of Big Banks

Posted on October 14, 2011 by interman

I have spent a few days with clients and as always, I learn as much as I teach.

But yesterday, I decided to call an friend of mine who works with mid-size banks. Although he was adamant that he is not an expert, he does have an enormous amount of knowledge of the banking sector and was willing to share a bit with me. Here are some of our talking points with commentary (in no particular order).

1. NO NEW BANKS – There have been no de novo banks since 2010. I thought that there would be a ton of new banks as older banks are laden with bad debt, asset problems, etc. A new bank would have a fresh start and be able to borrow money from the Federal government at great rates and really jump start the economy. However, government regulations since the meltdown have increased the barriers to entry for new banks. (For the statistic minded, the breakdown of new banks is (0 in 2011, 2 in 2010, 20 in 2009, 73 in 2008, 144 in 2007 and 152 in 2006).

2. THE SBA IS DYSFUNCTIONAL - The SBA has introduced many new regulations on lending that make it much harder to receive a business loan. One change in particular is to require a lien on assets (personal and business) for a new loan. So unless you have the money or assets in the first place, you cannot receive a loan. To me, this really cripples small business creation. The SBA is supposed to help small business start and grow (isn’t that what SBA stands for) and here they raising the barriers to start a new business.

3. LIMITED LENDING – Larger banks (BofA, Suntrust, et al) all have asset and income problems. As such, they are setting the barriers to new loans very high to limit the exposure. Also, the government has set regulations for banks to increase their income diversification (reduce interest only income) and they are making fewer loans. Just a note here. Each bank sets its own rates and policies regarding loans. Although they can go through the SBA, the bank can set almost any rate, term or conditions they want.

4. NO ONE KNOWS THE RIGHT ANSWER - Although I thought this was the case, I was surprised to find it was so widespread. When banks downsized after the meltdown, many cut to the bone (means they cut too far). Many loan executives were fired or moved on and the staff left is picking up the pieces. So finding the decision maker has become harder.

5. TOO BIG TO NOT FAIL???? – This is not worded correctly on purpose. After 30 minutes, my friend and I came to the conclusion that all banks have to grow larger to avoid failing. With no new or small banks starting (and feeding into the system), eventually the consolidation of banks will result in even larger banks that cannot be allowed to fail. Seems paradoxical to me but I am only an armchair economist.

Our suggestions to small businesses: Look for regional banks with assets of $1 – 1.5 billion. Some of these banks are lending often. Also, before considering the SBA, find an SBA preferred lender that has lended consistently for the last 2-3 years. These banks tend to have a fast track process and also have few decisions makers.

As always, if you have any comments, please send them along.

Final Thoughts  with Don Noble

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Bank of America – Customer Service Failure or Shrewd Move

Posted on October 7, 2011 by interman

I have been obsessing over Bank of America’s decision to introduce a fee on their debit card customers. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if they had this more carefully planned out from the beginning.

So far, there has been no or little response from Bank of America on its fee change. Despite the massive media blitz on telling consumers to switch banks, BofA is silent. This leads me to believe that they knew what they were doing.

There are three possible options behind Bank of America’s new fee.

1. They had no clue that the backlash would be this big. Unlikely. Why? Although corporations tend to make small mistakes, only occasionally do you see them make very large ones.

2. They knew what they were doing and weighed all the risks before moving forward AND it was for profit only. Likely scenario. Mainly because the math works. With the new charge, they will lose some checking account customers. How many? Not enough to make a difference in either their asset base or their loss of other income.

3. They knew what they were doing and are trying to push congress around using your money. Although this has conspiracy theory written all over it, it does make sense. Congress voted to reduce debit card fees to merchants (I, being a merchant, did not really have a problem with those fees in the first place). Bank of America lost money on this deal (as did only banks). By saying they are adding the fee because of what Congress did; they force consumers to call their representatives.

Unfortunately, most blogs, news sources, and other media outlets, only look the obvious story and do not dig anymore.

Final Thoughts with Don Noble

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Examples – a perfect teaching model.

Posted on October 4, 2011 by interman

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions, both on and off line. They are much appreciated. One comment in particular, captured my attention and I thought I would use it for another post.

In response to my blog entry of Sept 22, “Customer Service Failures – FedEx“, Robert wrote to me about the post. Basically, he said that FedEx is a good company with a great product and I should complain less.

I agree completely. As I said in the post, FedEx has a terrific and recognizable brand, something to be proud of. They also have a great product. In particular, their overnight delivery is a staple of American business. They also offer a variety of similar products that make selection easy. You can choose before 10:0 am delivery, afternoon, 2 day, 3 day, etc.

In fact, I like FedEx so much, I have two online accounts and do most of my overnight shipping from my computer with pickup at the office.

So, Roberto, I am not complaining about FedEx, but using one small failure on their part to show how executives must look at all aspects of their business to keep their companies working on all eight cylinders (unless you are a Duisenberg, then it is twelve cylinders).

Too often, executives and companies are focused so much on the numbers (my specialty) that they miss the big picture. Take Bank of America and Suntrust. Both of these banks are in financial trouble and they think their way out is to raise fees. Their customers are not happy and the latest report shows their customers are jumping ship. ARTICLE

I say if they had worked with their customers instead of against them, both banks would be in better shape. (Remember the robo-signatures?) However, I digress.

I use examples and case studies to teach people. Whether it is in the classroom or in the boardroom. I find it the best way to clear up confusion and misunderstand. By providing a common base (a story or example that people can understand) it is far easier to convey a topic or premise that has no basis with the recipient.

To that end, examples should be used more in business settings. How many times have we assumed the other party knew what we expected and later found out they did not? Too many.

One of my past jobs (thanks to Ray Hood, my favorite CEO of all time) was to implement warehouse management software. I was exceptionally good at it and one reason was the way I conveyed to the customer how the base model worked and also how the changes asked for would work. I cannot remember all the times I was handed a software implementation document which everyone signed and later found out that no one even understood the product. So I would act out the examples and everyone would understand.

Back to FedEx. To all the FedEx employees, managers and executives out there; I apologize. I do not hate your company. However, here are some numbers to consider. Roberto says they ship 3 MM packages per day. I could not find supplies at 75% of the self-service kiosks. If we make an assumption that 1 in 5 people who go to an empty box do not ship that day and let’s say 100 people use the those 4 boxes (a large number but still). That means 1% of shippers do not ship.

If your number of 3 MM shippers per day is accurate, then FedEx is missing out on 30,000 shipments. Let’s say that they average $ per shipment is $20, then that is $600K of additional revenue lost. Considering that each additional shipment is high contribution margin (trucks already are going to where they are going and payroll is paid). Then I would be willing to say that 80% is profit. So FedEx is losing out on $480K of profit per day.

Assuming 250 shipping days per year, that is roughly $12.5 MM per year of lost profit because FedEx cannot fill its self-service containers. That does not consider lost repeat business or other variables. In fact, let’s say that my numbers are high and reduce by 90%. $1.25 MM in lost profit per year only because they did not keep up with a service that they are promising.

My point is simple. Customer service matters. It matters so much that CEOs should put it in their top 5 goals. Otherwise, it is like leaving money on the table.

Final Thoughts with Don Noble

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Customer Service Failures – Fedex

Posted on September 22, 2011 by interman

I am starting a new series of posts on customer service. As most of you know, I consider customer service to be one of the things that either makes a company great or drags it to its knees. So, I am going to write about some of the more insane customer service interactions I have had in an effort to show people how NOT to do it.

This week, I was traveling near Hartford, CT. Today, I had to FedEx a check to our stores in Virginia. I like FedEx for a lot of reasons, but on this trip, not so much.

I have an online account, so I login and print the shipping label from the house. I then did the next logical thing; I looked up drop boxes for (1) a FedEx envelope and (2) a place to drop off the envelope. There are no full service locals in Middletown, CT (closest city), so I opted for self-serve. I printed the top five locations and set off at 9:30 am (time is important).

The first location I found, all the supplies in the top (not many there) were soaked and obviously been there for days if not weeks because they were stuck to each other and to the stainless steel container. So, I go to the next container, this one being at the USPS office. I opened it and found the plastic label containers and nothing else. Now, I feel like am on a scavenger hunt. Argh, mateys.

So, on to the third box. Inside were three large FedEx Pacs and nothing else. I know there is treasure out there somewhere. The fourth box, I struck gold. By Wesleyan University, I found a box, fully stocked, dry. Eureka!!! It was now 11:30 am and I was getting hungry from my quest. I look around for Tortuga for some ale and mutton when it occurs to me: “I bet FedEx would like to know that some of their drop boxes are out of supplies”!

Don’t start laughing yet.

I called the FedEx number and when it (yes “it”) asked me to say exactly what I wanted, I politely said “Complaint”. A very nice lad came on and I explained my dilemma and he said promptly “Let me transfer you to a manager”. It is important to remember here that I do not want or need anything, I just want them to fill their boxes for the next person.

The manager came on the phone and I recited my adventure tale. I could hear her typing and then she said “The drivers fill up all drop boxes every evening when they do the pickups.” That was it. Nothing more. Being dazed like a deer in the headlights, I said “So what you are saying is that between 6:00 pm last night and 11:00 am this morning, there was a rush of customers near these three locations and must have emptied them.” She said “Yes sir that is what happened.”

I was speechless. Was Ashton “punking” me? Where was the camera? What do I do? So I hung up. Then I busted out laughing uncontrollably and could not stop. (see the bottom of this post for what happened next).

Here is a company that has a terrific product, terrific brand, good intentions, but fails miserably on the front line customer service.

What does that mean for businesses? Simple; if customer service is not on the top 5 of a CEO’s priority list, look for lost revenue, lost business and struggling employees. This happened to Dell. Michael Dell (whom I met and is incredibly smart) started the company based customer service. Then he handed it over to someone that removed it from the company’s mantra. Michael had to take over again and restore customers to the front.

Customer service and customer satisfaction MUST be at or near the top of any company’s objectives, missions statements, whatever makes every employee aware and every customer happy.

P.S. I felt it was rude of me to hang up so I called FedEx back. A wonderful rep named April came on the phone and asked why I was laughing. I apologized and told her the story. She chuckled as well. She took down the addresses of the boxes and said she would send to the regional facility for fulfillment. She thanked me for helping and apologized for the original answer. Thank you April.

P.P.S. I would love to hear your customer service stories. I will include them here if you want. Feel free to email me or call me (just don’t FedEx them to me). I promise good customer service.

Final Thoughts with Don Noble

 

 

Posted in Customer Service | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Let’s have a meeting to discuss that. Or Join me in the seventh circle of hell.

Posted on September 20, 2011 by interman

I HATE meetings. Wow, that is a load of my mind. I am sorry if I offend anyone that really enjoys meetings, but they are a colossal waste of time and money.

I am not talking about training meetings (which are not really meetings, but are training sessions) or informational meetings (like a quarterly results presentation). I am talking about the discussion meetings, update meetings, or the very worst, the “get input from each department before making a big decision” meetings.

Wait a minute, Don. Consultants love meetings. It is true, meetings are an hourly consultants dream. You spend several hours preparing (how often have you heard “I cannot talk now because I am preparing for the meeting at 2), then you get to the meeting and sit while everyone else talks and talks. Meanwhile the consultant sits looking at the billable hours’ clock on the computer ticking away.

In fact, in one of my professional services positions, I had a timer on my computer because we were mandated to bill separately for each minute in each meeting as it was expressly written into the fixed price contract that meetings were above and beyond the scope. One customer that figured it out, excluded me from meetings, and then would come to my desk and recite everything that happened. Well, we billed him for that time anyway.

I had the CEO of one of my recent customers tell me (after I asked why every Thursday was booked on his calendar) that he forced everyone to have their meetings on Thursday so he would only waste one day of the week. When I got up from the floor from laughing so hard, I told him my strategy.

Any meeting that goes longer than 15 minutes is a waste of time.

Yes, in fact, no matter the assignment or job I am about to take (full-time, part-time, contractor, nanny), the very first words out of my mouth are exactly that. I tell everyone I don’t like meetings and they if they go longer than 15 minutes, then I will go and do something else.

I have had customers ask me to run their meetings for them. You would be surprised how much faster the day goes when everyone is prepared for the meeting, the discussion is moderated and kept to the point, items needing more work are taken off-line, and of course I have little Nerf footballs to throw at violators (ok, I made that last one up).

So, don’t call me if you like meetings and do not want to change. Maybe I will change the name of my company to “Meeting Busters”. No, maybe not.

Final Thoughts with Don Noble

P.S. I have renamed my Blog in tribute to Tom Sharp of Kelser Corporation. After every (short) meeting I had with him, he would say “Final Thoughts with Don Noble”. I am going to assume it was out of respect. Thanks Tom.

 

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Be afraid, be very afraid (of who is looking at your data)!

Posted on September 18, 2011 by interman

I was delayed by a few days as I was doing research. That being said, I found something out today that pretty much scared me silly.

A little background. As most of you who know me, I used to be a technologist. Now it is a hobby of mine. I like to know how things work so I can also understand how to fix them.

My son and I are traveling and while traveling, we stopped at Starbuck’s, McDonalds and several other places with public Wi-Fi. When stopping at these locations, I started thinking again about internet security. If you remember when TJ Maxx lost all those credit card numbers, the kid who did it was bored and sat outside different stores looking for open Wi-Fi networks. He then used a packet sniffer to read every packet. I thought that was way too easy to it was then that I began my research.

Fast forward a little to when I started writing this at my hotel. I was streaming a movie from my home server and was listening to it in the background. (FYI, the movie is legal and I legally own it and was simply place-shifting, for those authorities reading this blog). In the middle of writing, my internet connection stopped and I called technical support. Long story short, the ISP shut down my internet access because I was downloading copyrighted material. WOW!

After that, I started digging. I read about deep packet sniffing, Wi-Fi monitoring, security protocols and other similar items. What I found startled even me.

The statistic for the day: the odds that someone is looking at your internet packets at any given time is about 99.999999% and the odds that they are looking more deeply than you think is about 99.999998%. And yes, they can figure out what you are doing.

I do not want to write a technical article, but I do need to include a few things to make my point. First of all, if you do not believe me, think about the route that one packet of your data goes through. Your computer (hopefully virus free), to your wireless router (hopefully not being sniffed), to your ISP (probably listening to avoid lawsuits), to a backbone internet provider (probably AT&T who is defiantly listening), to the company’s ISP (probably listening to avoid lawsuits), to the company’s internal network (reading every packet to understand bandwidth, to their servers (hopefully not compromised). Now, add in layered monitoring by the FBI, NSA,  and other acronyms and you see my point. Here is just one of about a billion articles on the subject.

Let’s face it; this makes Facebook security look like a non-issue. For the record, I do not believe in illegal downloads. I think a certain amount of monitoring is important prevents terrorism. I also believe in the Bill of rights and especially privacy and due process (which BTW, this monitoring seems to violate all of these). But this is not why I wrote this article.

The question remains, what is your business’s vulnerability to this threat. Small businesses are the most at risk, followed by larger companies that do not take the threat seriously. Small businesses do not have the IT resources to work on this problem and cannot devote time to learning.

But any open ISP can be and most probably is a listening post (BTW, AT&T provides the most free internet Wi-Fi in the United States). In fact, I could imagine a scenario where the MPAA or the NSA for that matter, pays the ISPs to scan every packet looking for copyrighted material. Any other find (pornography, passwords, and your mother’s recipe for cookies) is just a bonus.

How is your company protected? How many of your employees (from the CEO to the janitor) access company data from a public hotspot (airport, Starbucks, a smart phone)?

Two of the companies I consult to are creating professional services around this topic. I am also considering starting another company that does nothing but security. If you want any additional information, either from them or me, please email me.

Don

”’Before we were bombarded with the Television reality series, “Big Brother” described any overly-inquisitive or overly-controlling authority figure, or attempts by government to increase surveillance.”
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_expression_%27big_brother%27_originate#ixzz1YH2FSiHc

 

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