Design for obfuscation!

A couple of weeks ago, two things happened. First, I changed television/Internet suppliers. Second, AT&T, who had initiated flat-rate service for both voice and data on their cell network, stopped taking orders for the data portion.
So, how do these items go together, and how am I going to tie this to a Mentor product? Here’s the answer to the first question; I hope to figure out how I’m going to tie it to Mentor by the time I get to the end!
Trying to change TV/Internet suppliers was a complete mess. And, the reason I chose to do so was also a complete mess.
My previous supplier kept bumping up the price. Each time, I would call (about every 6 months) and tell them I was going elsewhere because they’d become too expensive. Each time, they would “find” all these promotions and reduce my rate to what it had been. This time, I called and told them I was tired of playing this game and I just wanted a reasonable price…something on par with what they were offering new customers. I was a bit surprised at the fellow’s reply.
He said “Well, we can’t keep doing this either. You’ll just have to reduce your services.”
WRONG!
So I called another supplier, and began the messy process of putting together a package. After nearly an hour, we had a “package” and a price that seemed reasonable. At the last minute, she offered HBO. We haven’t taken advantage of free HBO in the past, so I asked if there was anything else. She said “Sure…instead of HBO we can give you your setttop boxes free for three months.” “Great!” I said.
When I received the order via email, it had the free HBO instead of the boxes. I called again…spent another 20 minutes on the line, and they said it was corrected. “Can I get another email confirmation?” I asked. “No, our system won’t do that,” he replied.
Hmmm. I had my doubts that it would be correct, but I was surprised when the install took place that it was just as I had asked.
Yesterday, I called to see how much more it would cost to upgrade to the next level of HD channels. It took (I checked the timer on my cell phone) 17 minutes for the guy to come up with an answer! He told me that every region has different pricing, different promotions, different packages. He finally put me on hold to talk to a supervisor. Just before he did I said “Silly me…I thought this would take 30 seconds and you’d say something like ’10 bucks more a month’.” Interestingly, when he returned from talking to his supervisor, he informed me “$10 more per month.” I wonder if that was from the price list, or my power of persuasion?
So what point am I trying to make here?
Simple: the ridiculously complicated pricing systems used by TV and Internet providers (I’m omitting phone as I cannot understand why they are pushing a dead technology so hard) confuses the customer, is as fluid as the stock market, and results in a TREMENDOUS amount of time spent by their employees trying to figure out something as simple as “How much to upgrade?”.
I just can’t imagine a less efficient system, even if someone specifically set out to design the worst process possible.
So, the overwhelming response to AT&T’s flat-rate offer tells me something very clear: Consumers are sick and tired of these games and will flock to an easy-to-understand system.
I mentioned that to the first clerk, with whom I was terminating my service. He glibly responded “That’s exactly how we’ve built the largest network in the country!” Maybe so, but if you don’t care about the customers falling out the other end, there just aren’t enough new customers to keep it there. Plus…if just one supplier figures out the magic of flat rate, their ride will be over.
Now…how do I tie this to Mentor?
That’s revealed itself as I was writing this. AT&T has proved, and the TV/Internet suppliers will learn (I believe), that flat rate is what customers want. In fact, consumers want it so badly that they have outpaced AT&T’s ability to deliver.

Clearly, these markets will have high demand for greater and greater speed. Speed, as we all know, comes at a cost: tighter tolerances, more attention to power integrity, signal integrity and EMI. And, the solution to those costs is better design, development, and simulation tools. With Mentor’s recent acquisitions, we are putting a ton of effort into a solution that begins with design and simulation, and continues in an uninterrupted path right onto the manufacturing floor. At no time has there ever been more need for this type of integrated approach, and Mentor has been building toward that solution.