Hey Magi, that's an interesting scenario you have presented. Something pretty close to that has happened here in Canada at an MSO I worked for (I left for a contractor before it got to bad). They dropped capital expenditures to a bare minimum, tightened inventor,cut benefits, and cut some admin staff. After they exhausted those options, operational staff was slashed - lots of maintenance and service techs, call centre staff, planning, middle management.
They went with a single-source contract for installs soon after - unfortunately, the company they went with could not possibly meet all the terms of the contract (such as ownership of a call for a year, etc.). An organized contractor could not have done this, much less the one they went with. However, with no other contractors to turn to, the MSO was up the proverbial creek.
With the system degenerating from lack of maintenance, and basic customers leaving in droves due to poor service from service and installs, something had to be done. Within a year, the MSO hired back some of the original maintenance techs (at lower pay), and found new people to fill service and maintenance positions. They also invited the remaining install contractors back, to replace the single-source contractor.
With the remaining rebuild done, more planning and construction staff were cut, further demoralizing the left-over staff. I have not seen employee morale at the MSO this low before. The number of angry customers and satellite dishes has also increased greatly.
The MSO has likely saved money with the staff cuts, and non-payment of the install contractor (for poor job quality), but they have further alienated their subscriber base, which means less money in the long run. They have posted a profit this quarter, but it is meaningless - once the consequences of their actions catch up with them, it'll be back in the red.
Had the MSO simply left things as they were, and concentrated more on quality and excellence in all areas of the business, things may well have been a lot better for them. I wouldn't expect any other MSOs to learn from this though....
Re: My opinion is that...
Member #: 19080
Registered: 1996-2001
Posted:
28
Name:
Mark Krikke
Name:
Mark Krikke
Company:
South-Comm Solutions Inc
Occupation:
Supervisor
Location:
Ontario, Canada
Personal:
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