RIP John Linton. Tech and bargainer legend

neil on 02/02/2012 - 12:45
Last edited 02/02/2012 - 12:49

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/02/rip-aussie-tech-legend-…

John Linton was Exetel's founder/GM. A very honest guy but more interestingly he has written a daily blog for years which is brutally honest and gives a very interesting insight into tech/Internet pricings and inner workings. More importantly, he continually strived to make their plans as cheap as possible within reason and to cut costs using different methods. One of the funny cost cutting measures has been to tell out of contract unprofitable customers to take a hike. Call too much, use 100% of your allocated plan allowance, etc and you are culled. Respected TPG but pretty much hated all other ISPs, NBN, and the government (which isn't hard).

A true bargainer.

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Comments

  • tonyjzx on 02/02/2012 - 12:53

    There will be mixed feelings about this for anyone who has dealt with Exetel.

    • _Bruce_ on 02/02/2012 - 12:58

      Call too much, use 100% of your allocated plan allowance, etc and you are culled.

      Because customers who actually expect to use the service they pay for are no good.

      • neil on 02/02/2012 - 13:04
        +1

        Well, it comes down to bottom line. If you have a target of making say $100/yr profit on each customer and you want to cull anyone less than that, well it makes sense as a business owner. I believe they only culled customers after the contract was completed. I think a good deal of them had reported them to the TIO before this which I believe is a $75 cost per complaint for an ISP.

        But yeah, loyalty to the company didn't matter, it was all about the bottom line, which I think is true for many OzBargainers on here. I certaintly don't have any loyalty to a product or service, its about the best price for me.

        • tonyjzx on 02/02/2012 - 13:07

          his attitude isn't uncommon… ISPs in the us regularly kill quota 'abusers'

          there's a flip side to this

          people like David Teoh who keep quiet, never show their face and just provide a service

        • neil on 02/02/2012 - 13:18

          That's a good point. If people don't like the face of the company (e.g, kogan), then it can affect people's perception of the company. On the flipside, it seems to work in favour for Simon Hackett, Michael Malone, and more famously Steve Jobs.

        • morpheu on 03/02/2012 - 15:52

          it seems he didn't mind breaking the odd contract here and there as per "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" mentality;
          "Customers who used too much data or who complained over support issues were just as likely to find themselves effectively sacked, with their contracts terminated early."

        • StewBalls on 03/02/2012 - 16:33

          "Customers who used too much data or who complained over support issues were just as likely to find themselves effectively sacked, with their contracts terminated early."

          Judging by the comments I've seen on WP & Exetel forums, it's fairly clear that the latter far outweighed the former! Those who claimed to be victims of the first scenario often turned out to be those who were rude, abusive or invoked the TIO over trivial issues. I used to love it when they were crying foul, then Linton would post their actual letters to prove it was more than a one-way street! :)

  • Mikinoz on 02/02/2012 - 12:57

    Wow okay thats definitely the news of the day for me, never really agreed with his comments but it was nice to see someone like him in the industry.

  • StewBalls on 02/02/2012 - 16:33

    Wow, sad news indeed. Love him or hate him, the man was an Aussie internet icon, that's for sure!

    Regardless of whether it was his genuine comments that offended people or simply the misinterpretation/misrepresentation thereof, I firmly believe that we should all remember that guys like John Linton are a big part of the reason we enjoy such competitive internet pricing in Australia today!

    RIP John Linton! :(

  • scotty on 02/02/2012 - 17:23
    +1

    What?!!

    Used to read his blog although I stopped as I did't have enough time and cannot afford to read long blog posts. Been his customer @ Exetel since 2004 and SwiftTel before that, and sometimes I wonder whether I am the only one who have no problem with their service…

    • Mikinoz on 02/02/2012 - 17:49

      I used them for a business grade service and it was much better than optus telstra , price and service. That makes 2

      • StewBalls on 02/02/2012 - 19:10
        +1

        I'm happy to be no.3! I've been with Exetel for nearly 5 years now & been very happy with the service & price! I don't personally know of anyone who is not happy with them.

        A lot of the past complaints have arisen when folks bag out the tech support staff in Colombo without ever having followed the established protocols for support. I've not had much call to seek their help over the years, but when I have I've always found them to be helpful, courteous, competent & prompt.

        • neil on 02/02/2012 - 19:30

          Number 4 over here. 5 or 6 years for me.

          I guess death is inevitable for everyone but you hate to see people just go so quickly. I mean 1 day you are planning the future of the company, sitting and having lunch then boom, it's over. I'd think I'd rather have a heads up like Steve Jobs, say goodbye to friends/family, set my vision for company, do all the things you want to do before dieing. Sad.

        • AntMan76 on 02/02/2012 - 20:31

          Number 5

          Just signed up with them in Nov last year. Had dramas connecting on that first day of service but their support staff were very helpful and got everything going quick.

          Only used them a short time but my experience so far is great. Was with Pacnet before this: great connection, ok support, but no interest in keeping a long time customer. Their loss.

    • Cheeper on 03/02/2012 - 22:02

      Nope… you are not alone Scotty… I found Exetel to be top notch!

  • scotty on 02/02/2012 - 22:05
    +3

    Exetel's home page is now showing grey theme. Condolences to the Linton family.

  • Cheeper on 03/02/2012 - 21:57

    Just found this post.. a sad passing.
    This guy and one or two like him are the price breaking pioneers (hi Cat) that created competitve internet pricing. That is a very hard game!
    He was obviously a true personality of the telecommucations industry that will be sadly missed and in some cases not so it seems?
    Been with them for around 6+ years now and found them to be far better than their bargain price offered.
    Far better than a lot of other isps that i have endured since it was first introduced in aust.
    I agree totally with his attitude with disconnecting "pest" customers, after all when you run a business close to the bone to present a "bargain" the last thing you need is a pest customer.
    RIP John & thanks.

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