Putting the 'Tight' in Tightcircle
Written: Dec 27 '03 (Updated Jan 03 '04)
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Tightcircle.com represents the worst of online community and consumer services. Should you happen to desire a simple, reliable, user-friendly virtual atmosphere with pleasantly helpful customer service personnel, you might do well by omitting tightcircle from your list of possible candidates.
As recently as an hour ago I checked my personality profile to see if someone added masochism to that document. Since it appears I may fall under the opposite end of the spectrum, I decided to share my experience with the nifty folks at tightcircle with you.
Like so many other Epinions members, I met and meshed with a small group of like minds. We decided to find a venue where we could share ideas, experiences and generally let down our hair in the safety of a private venue. After a few false starts, one of our well-informed friends mentioned the java-free tightcircle site. Almost immediately, we set up and populated our little haven on the Internet.
At the time of our first experience with that site and the resources it availed, all of our group’s members seemed content with the free services. A few months into the experience, tightcircle.com began charging an annual fee. For thirty-six dollars per year, a tightcircle membership includes:
· Use of the tightcircle technology
· Options of receiving digests by e-mail or reading them on the Internet
· The ability to upload small files to share with your community members
· An online form used to invite new members
· An e-mail address dedicated to your tightcircle community
· E-mail forwarding service provided by Earthlink.net (according to the deployment system architecture page)
· No troublesome java or JavaScript used in the programming of the site or its features
Simply put, tightcircle.com provides an e-mail broadcasting service. All the members of a group e-mail their posts to the group’s address. Depending upon each member’s settings, they receive scheduled daily or weekly digests of the e-mail give and take between their fellow members. The site also offers current and archived digests for viewing online on the individual community’s site. In theory, this concept makes communication between friends a simple and enjoyable pastime.
During the free beta period, we expected occasional glitches. Days often passed without a post showing up on the site or in e-mail. On April 23, 2001, the developers felt enough confidence in their patented technology to bring the site out of beta status. At that point, those tightcircle communities already in existence received the offer to become paid customers.
Our group discussed the idea of continuing our association with tightcircle.com. Those among us who work as programmers saw no problem with paying for a service we enjoyed. Unfortunately, before we managed to agree upon who would do what, the newly developed tightcircle customer service deactivated our community. A polling of our group via a quick e-mail exchange determined that we liked the concept and would pay for the privilege of continuing our membership. We chose to set up a new tightcircle since our old one was no longer available to us. One of our members decided to anonymously pay the annual dues that year as a gift to the group.
We soon discovered that although the site’s owners claimed to have all the glitches resolved, that statement skirted on the truth. We experienced the same issues as paying customers as we did during the beta testing and worse. Instead of finding ourselves out of communication for days at a time, we received no digests for weeks at a time. Even with those problems, the little online haven served as our link to one another and we stuck with the program, warts and all.
Earlier this week, I realized that I missed a few days of tightcircle digests. This was nothing new so, I headed to the web site to read the online digest of posts. Hitting my profile page, I was greeted with the information that I belonged to no groups. All that remained where the link to my community once existed was the invitation to start another group. After e-mailing one of our administrators to ask what the problem might be, I learned that our subscription expired.
I admit, my thought processes may qualify as odd but I decided to pick up the miniscule tab for the annual fee so our group would continue to have a place to call our own. With the old tightcircle gone, I created a new one, invited the members whose e-mail addresses I had on hand and prepared to enter my payment information once I was certain the members wanted to continue using tightcircle as our means of communication.
Thankfully, one of the members I invited to the new tightcircle sent an urgent message telling me that we could reactivate the old group, retaining the archives and settings as they stood. Instead of clicking to pay for the new tightcircle, I sent that administrator the funds to use for reactivating the old group.
Earlier today, I received e-mail from 'tc' of tightcircle.com:
"Hello,
It appears that you (as a group) were trying to avoid the subscription charge by creating a tightcircle at the end of each trial period. This seems a little foolish, since you lose the archive and the discussion is not continuous. It is also a little insulting, because we're not charging hundreds of dollars. Truth be told, we're barely keeping our heads about water, and yet some twenty or so people can't pool their resources and cough up $36 for a year?
That doesn't seem right from our side of the server. Maybe you can convince us otherwise.
--tc"
While I worried a bit over the “keeping our heads about water” statement, the tone of that correspondence set my teeth on edge. I definitely understand their point but it struck me that there are better ways to voice that view. Besides, I fail to connect the expiration of a paid subscription with the charge that we repeatedly set up new tightcircles when our trial periods expire in order to swindle them out of what amounts to three dollars per month.
I began typing my response, even though in my heart I felt that their need for me to convince them that my friends and I are worthy of using their technology did not deserve a response. I started out cordial, expressing the fact that as someone also involved in web programming, I completely understand his or her frustration. Then, the first and only digest of the new tightcircle arrived in my Inbox.
It appears that the lovely person who signs his or her e-mail “tc” was in possession of payment in full for one more year of our annual subscription when he or she penned and sent that piece of dreck to me. Another of our members already paid to reactive the old group according to one frantic post in that single digest.
Responding to the digest proved impossible, tightcircle.com's technical staff banned me and, I surmise, several others from entering the secure portion of their site. Even though our group’s membership is reportedly paid in full, we cannot access the digest or use any of the features.
I typed a less cordial response to their accusatory e-mail and just received the following from ‘tc’ the site’s official communicator:
"There.
You are no longer banned. We made you an administrator of the XXXXX tightcircle for now. (The creator can change that if they wish.)
If you go to http://www.tightcircle.com/user/invoice you should be able to pay for the tightcircle.
You can imagine that with serial tightcircles being created XXXXX XXXXX2 XXXXX3 XXXXX4, and usually terminating when the subscription ran out, it sure looked like people trying to duck the bill. We even trial-ed the XXXXX3 back into active status.
--tc"
We terminated each subscription because reactivation of the old groups was not a publicly known option. With twenty people involved, it sometimes takes a bit of time to figure out who will take the initiative. By inadvertently letting old communities expire and then paying for new ones, I cannot see how ‘tc’ interprets that as “people trying to duck the bill”.
Tightcircle appears to give no grace period and I do not fault them for it. Unfortunately, dear tc, you will not receive duplicate payment for services not yet rendered from this individual and I, for one, will seriously consider venturing out onto the Information Super Highway to find a venue that treats its customers with more respect. My friends may decide to remain subscribers but do not count on my joining them.
To anyone considering this type of service, if you're looking for a virtual meeting place for a few friends or family members, look elsewhere. If you desire rude customer service and plenty of downtime, tightcircle.com is the place for you.
For additional information on how 'tc' treats clients, please visit:
http://www.fredtek.com/scribblings/archive/000114.php
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
pogomom
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 in Home and Garden |
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Reviews written: 193
Trusted by: 727 members
About Me:
Web/puter person who, disguised as mild-mannered Pogomom, offers unsolicited opinions to all she encounters.
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