One of the questions always asked when a new business is launched is “But Does It Scale?”
Often times the question is thought to mean “will the service work as we add users” when in reality it really should mean “can the company support the number of users who come online.” Support is more than a technical issue. It’s also a matter of support.
In the past I’ve commented about the ridiculous hold times when calling T-Mobile as has pal Martin Geddes in the UK. Both of us fall easily into the category of “well informed business people” with the ability to do more than turn something on and off.
When folks the level of a Martin or me have to call support it usually means something has gone wrong, or we need help. That was the case today when I called Sprint PCS about my data card once again doing the “we won’t let you stay on” jiggy that seems to happen whenever I move from city to city. The funny thing is I used it earlier in the day, but yet it seems to arise only when I travel or when I turn the card on in the San Diego area after a long dormant period.
At this point my call has been on hold after the system recognized me as a business customer (i.e. I have more devices, numbers and a bigger bill than John Q. Public) for over 31 minutes without a human even coming on board.
So, my question is, “does Sprint scale?”