A little over a year ago when Flow was granted a licence to operate its 'triple flow' function of digital cable television, landline telephone and high-speed Internet, few of us in Jamaica had any idea of the potential that could be realised from the Michael Lee Chin-owned company.

Most of us were used to our friendly community cable provider offering the paradox of 'excellent' customer service with poor technical knowledge of the product they were offering. All were offering an analog cable service but, in an informal survey I did among a sample of cable providers, none of the front-desk personnel knew what 'analog' and 'digital' meant and they were hopelessly lost in explaining to me why one could not get surround-sound via their cable inputs.

Sure, I knew that although cable TV was connected to every valley and throughout the communities dotting each hillside in Jamaica, Jamaicans were really not interested in digital, analog, surround-sound, and our households were slow in embracing the Internet. Cable and Wireless (C&W) ruled the roost in landline telephones while Digicel, the Irish upstart, had taught C&W a thing or two about marketing mobile phones.

It seemed to me therefore that where the typical Jamaican had little technical knowledge of basic electronics and the various cable TV companies were simply giving the consumer a line to watch multiple channels, with the advent of Flow, the consumer would be dragged up into a new appreciation of the power of digital.

Of course, we Jamaicans hate to be left behind in the world of 'hype'. As example, one of the typical demands of Jamaicans on the 'Rock' from their relatives abroad is a mobile 'smart phone,' those phones with the latest bells and whistles. Yet once these phones are secured, all they are used for are making and receiving calls and text messaging.

Some of these phones cost in excess of J$20,000, yet the services they are used for can be performed by a cheap Coral mobile costing around J$2,000.

The latest player on the block, America Movil, has set its marketing strategy to become the number one provider of mobile phones in Jamaica in three years. While I do not expect Digicel to roll over and die as America Movil moves into town, I am expecting healthy but aggressive competition. In this, I expect the Jamaican consumer who loves to chat to reap rewards in terms of phone rates.

FLOW IS POTENTIALLY A BIG MONEY SPINNER

Those versed in info tech and electronics have informed me that Flow's potential to earn more than just its monthly take from cable, telephone and Internet (very high I should say) is, at the very least, awesome. One has even suggested that once Flow rolls out its full service, not now offered, it should be able to decrease its price to the consumer.

While that sounds good to the ears of those on board with Flow, we should remember that in Jamaica we are quick to increase but deathly slow in decreasing prices. Some may be asking, what could Flow, poised to become a monopoly or, at the very least, the market leader in cable by a mile, do to begin the process of decreasing its price to the consumer.

You may find the following remarks interesting from a 'techie' versed in electronics and marketing.

"With digital cable lines, Flow can offer video on demand, they can offer pay-per-view and they can offer high definition content, all at extra costs."Some of the stuff they would store on video on demand would be free content, others you would have to pay for.

The more interesting content could be priced at say $100 a day, some consumers won't be able to resist, and all those extra dollars add up. An example of a piece of $100 a day viewable content would be say, Sting 1991.

"They can also offer PPV events live, so for example they could strike a deal with Laing to carry Sting 2008 live, at say half the price of going to Jam World.

"Flow being digital can also start out by offering a classified advertising channel, and charge the consumer for it. They can end up having income streams from both advertisers and consumers. You may think this is not feasible, but if they pitch this 'channel' with job openings updated daily or goods for sale updated in real time, many individuals would pay for this.

Remember now, this is not your old-time analog cable where ads run across the screen, this is digital cable, where you can use your remote and navigate through categories. The interface for feature would resemble something like the navigation patterns found in Windows media player.

"Even if Flow does not charge for this initially, they are going to eat up advertising market share from the newspapers and perhaps even the electronic media."

"It makes me wish Flow was a publicly traded company so I could get me some stock! The small man may be complaining now, but once this takes root and grows, it will be almost as crucial to him as 'light & water.' Remember, many Jamaicans with disposable incomes still are not very e-savvy, the navigable component of digital cable would target these folks. They can get from job listings, phone directories, cars for sale, everything that's in the newspaper classifieds.

"If there was enough volume to make it feasible, Flow could even take a percentage off pizza / jerk meat sales.

Imagine, instead of taking up your phone and calling your pizza shop, you use your remote to go to Flow classifieds, then you go to restaurants, configure the toppings you want and press ENTER on buy with your cable box remote. Your cable box is linked to your home address, so the pizza man knows where to deliver. At the end of the month, the pizza you bought comes up on your cable bill! Or if you prefer, you buy credit for your cable box, so that you can consume TV content as well as irie jerk or pizza without owing.

"Of course, we in Jamaica are not ready for this culturally yet, but this is perhaps in their 10-year plan, and you will be surprised to see how it will take off. Can you imagine something like this for your supermarket - buy your groceries with your remote and the supermarket will know where to send the box of groceries. "
Because your cable box can be linked to a bank account, you can even bypass Paymaster. Pay your light bill with your remote. This thing is just like a computer, only the imagination limits how Flow can use it to nickel-and-dime the Jamaican with disposable income. I really wish I had some Flow stocks, because I see where this is heading maybe in the next five years."

In the meantime, Flow, the pixelation on your channels is horrible. It was the same with my old analog cable company. Did I switch too quickly to Flow? Please, do better than that.

Hewlett Packard's (HP) poor post-sale customer support service

I am writing the following only because I have determined that my experience is not an isolated one.

In March of last year I purchased an HP Pavillion laptop from a store in The Marketplace. In February of 2008 the screen went blank. I took it back to the point of purchase and they told me that the repair centre was in the same complex just outside the store.

Personnel at the repair centre told me that they only serviced Toshiba laptops. I was given the Half Way Tree Road address of another repair centre. On reaching there, all I saw was a security guard who told me that the repair centre had been relocated to another address.

I followed his directions faithfully even while on the verge of losing my patience. Of course, at the time of purchase, the last thing on my mind was the computer going faulty in less than a year, forcing me to seek redress under the one-year warranty.

At the 'other' repair centre they told me they only dealt with commercially used computers. Blood pressure rising, I was again directed to a repair centre on Cargill Avenue. Sorry, they told me, they don't repair laptops.

While at that centre I called HP support services and was given the very address where I was as the official repair centre for the product. To make matters worse, the person on the other end of the phone spoke English with a very heavy Spanish accent. I could understand only little of what he was saying. In disgust I hung up the phone.

The next day I called the same number, spoke with another heavily accented man who gave me a registration number. He said someone would call me. Not hearing from him, the next day, I called again, gave the registration number only to be told that I needed to be given a new number. I was on the verge of throwing the $100,000 laptop in the garbage.

Always knowing that customer service in Jamaica is poor to non-existent, I was appalled that a large organisation such as HP would have this 'fish shop' customer service. After two days I was contacted by a local person who told me that he would come to my home to pick up the laptop.

If I thought I was getting somewhere I was utterly misguided. Each week after he had it I was told (only after calling him) that 'You should hear from me by tomorrow.'

He had the laptop for five weeks.

Between April and July it worked reasonably well until it would shut down to a blue screen. It would be a guess whether it would work on booting. A week later, all the screen showed was, 'Operating system not found.'

Again I was forced to call. Again the communication problem from customer service reps who are supposed to represent the Caribbean and Latin America. I realised that if Jamaicans were proficient in another language (Spanish?) we would not have to undergo the indignity of begging customer service from persons who can barely speak English.

In the end I was told that I had only three months warranty on the repairs. In the end, I am left with a $100,000 (US$1,400) laptop that was most likely faulty from the day of purchase. The conclusion I have drawn is that Jamaica is not very important to HP in the Caribbean and Latin American region.

DO MULTINATIONALS ROUTINELY BRIBE PUBLIC OFFICIALS?

It is said that it is money which makes the mare run, and no one appreciates this more than the CEOs and marketing strategists working for multinationals.

It is rare that one will come forward and bare his company's soul to the public. In confidence, I have been told of one public official some years ago collecting US$1 million as his share of the 'proceeds' of an official deal.

In Trafigura we were bombarded by various PNP officials trying their best to convince us that the $31 million which came from the commodities trader was a gift to the PNP. In other words J$31 million dollars in Euros was wired from Trafigura to the account of Colin Campbell, then information minister in the Portia Simpson Miller-led PNP government.

The money was not sent to the PNP secretariat nor was it handed out openly to the PNP. Many agreed that it was indeed a 'gift ' to the PNP. In other words, Trafigura had no earthly reason to bribe the PNP. A gift is a gift and a bribe is a bribe and, in politics, never the twain shall meet.

While the PNP was in power it was no less a person than Audley Shaw who reminded us that one transnational doing business in Jamaica at the time actually had an 'under the table rate' of two and a half percent. That same company is still doing business in Jamaica. I wonder what the rate is like now, if indeed the JLP is even harbouring the thought of 'business as usual'.

It may not be taught at Harvard Business School, but bribery has become a 'legitimate' part of business deals. Why argue with a ministry's political official when a few hundred thousand US dollars will seal the deal and get the mare and especially the stallion galloping and the project racing to its start?

IS DADDY PJ DIRECTING PORTIA?

When does a professed leader need another person to lead them? Probably when that professed leader is Portia Simpson Miller, president of the PNP and prime minister from March 2006 to September 2007.

Of late Simpson Miller has been put under a sort of 'house arrest,' meaning that she is being reined in from making some more of her disastrous platform 'don't draw mi tongue' speeches. PJ Patterson, a former prime minister, has been silently trying to shore up the shaky campaign of Simpson Miller.

Quite apart from the fact that her team is made up of many of the re-runs in Patterson's time, one is forced to ask, what is it that PJ sees in Portia that we cannot see? Has he determined that she has devoured a crash course on leadership since she bowed out un-graciously from the post of prime minister?

If the presidency of Peter Phillips is being seen as an attempt to wipe the slate clean and bring back credibility and respect to the PNP, what must we make of PJ's quiet support for Simpson Miller?

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