Mighty MCI Is Now Officially Junk

**Joubert**[$] · #1 05-09-2002, 10:49 PM

The DC area, home to MCI since Wild Bill first decided to take on Ma Bell, has lots of marketing alums roaming the Beltway. I know half a dozen personally and all took pride in something majestic -- they beat AT&T when Bell was a monopoly. Then they created Friends & Family - one of the most successful marketing campaigns in any industry's history.

And then they got gobbled up by Bernie Ebbers in his power-mad quest to dominate the industry. Of course, Bernie was paying for everything in stock, which is a fine shell game as long as you keep acquiring. But when the Sprint acquisition derailed, all of the trains cars went with it.

WCOM is now trading at $2. UUNet and MCI are shells of what they once were. And the giant named MCI that changed the world will never be the same if it even survives. Ebbers' hubris did him in. It's a shame the company is going with him.

kurt_messick · #2 05-09-2002, 10:55 PM

It really is a shame, too. As a communications/marketing person, I stole the Friends & Family idea for my college; the idea here was not to get students to recruit Friends & Family (although that did happen some, too) but rather to market the idea of our college to friends and family members of the local high school juniors and seniors, as well as the F&F of anyone else interested in our curriculum. Result: we went from 800 students to 2200 students in the eight years of my tenure as p.r. director.

So, why can't I get a job???

**Joubert**[$] · #3 07-22-2002, 12:08 AM

This was less than 90 days ago.

Doesn't that seem like a lifetime?

kurt_messick · #4 07-22-2002, 01:18 AM

Yes, especially for my friend who bought 300 shares, and convinced another friend to buy some too (not me!) just before all the bad news really hit.

CurtisEdmonds · #5 07-22-2002, 01:59 AM

I had some MCI nitwit try to call me the other day, trying to sell me on MCI local service. (I have MCI long distance ONLY because I get Delta frequent-flyer miles out of it.)

"Listen," I said. "I had a horrible experience with MCI last year. I tried to switch phones to my new apartment while keeping the same phone number. It took a solid month to hook up my service. MCI couldn't do it, they had to bring in Southwestern Bell to do it, and the Southwestern Bell guy screwed up. I had to call the Public Utility Commission and scream before I got anywhere."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but we can offer you..."

"THEN, I moved again, from Austin to Atlanta, and MCI wouldn't accept that I had canceled my local telephone service in Austin, and it took months to get it straightened out, and MORE calls to the Public Utility Commission, and a formal complaint."

"Well, I apologize for that..."

"And at that time, I swore a mighty oath NEVER to use MCI for any local service, because it is a horrible company, and you should be ashamed for working for them, convincing poor unwary people to sign up for your horrible service."

"But - but - but..."

"You know something? I am GLAD your company went bankrupt. I am GLAD that you're going out of business. I just hope that I was a small, insiginificant reason for MCI to go under. I feel good about it."

Then, a CLICK from the other end; the poor serf clearly couldn't handle the truth. If MCI goes out of business, I say yippee-skippee. They don't deserve better, you know.

frazzledspice · #6 07-22-2002, 02:17 AM

Personally, I feel sorry for the MCI employees who will get laid off as a result of Chapter 11, even the telemarketers.

In the first place, if they are telemarketers they probably don't have many other marketable skills.

They're getting tossed into a recession-wracked job market where the average term of unemployment is twelve weeks.

Maybe they will no longer be annoying you to sign up for MCI, but others will spring up to take their places to annoy you about something else.

I WISH they would get jobs ANSWERING phones, so that people calling customer service departments wouldn't have to listen to five minutes of options before dealing with human beings.

CurtisEdmonds · #7 07-22-2002, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Personally, I feel sorry for the MCI employees who will get laid off as a result of Chapter 11, even the telemarketers.

I would, too, if it weren't for the fact that everyone I have ever dealt with there wasn't a complete #$%&ing moron.