Comments on: Vonage CEO Snyder out, spending to be trimmed

Michael Snyder steps down as company pledges to reduce spending and to weather patent infringement suit filed by Verizon.

[DancesWithDoves]

Poor quality overcomes marketing

I have been a Vonage customer for about a year. The number of dropped packets on the upload side can be severe. What happens is that the call is not dropped entirely, but the other person usually gets 12 seconds of dead silence, while I have no interruption. This is a regular occurrence, and is no way attract new customers. I suspect that nearly everyone who has talked to me on my Vonage line is not a potential customer. I also suspect that this is a major reason why Vonage is losing customers.

[TBolt]

who is your ISP?

I'm just curious who your ISP is. I really think that the issues you mentioned are more a problem with the internet connection that your ISP is providing to you rather than a Vonage problem.

We've been using Vonage lines for about a year now and have had no problems at all. The sound quality is excellent, too. We're using Time-Warner's highest speed package.

[romo828]

No problems here...

I've been with Vonage for almost 3 years now, and the only issue I have had was not receiving any emails with voice message attachements for a one week period, which wasnt a big deal. Most people that I've heard with problems, are all with upload connections, which I believe, may be due to the ISP connection (routers) or their own computers/laptops and not Vonage. One story I will share, was a user did not know his computer had been compromised, and the hacker was using his PC for hacking purposes. Once he formatted his PC to ensure everything got cleaned, he then noticed a big difference in the quality of his calls. Now, I'm not saying this is what everyone else's problem, but my point is not to point finger at Vonage. The problem with VOIP service, is that it relies on the users knowledge of VOIP and its reliance upon an Internet connection, and many have no clue how to troubleshoot their own connection to see where the problem really lies. It's not a service for anyone. Thumb rule is if you dont know how to fix problems with your own computer, then VOIP may not be the best solution for you today.

My 2 cents worth.

[chuck_whealton]

Re: Poor quality overcomes marketing

One of the things I don't like about it, or any VOIP solution at this point, is that last I checked many security systems simply won't use it, or won't support it's use.

Not to mention, when was the last time you lost your LANDLINE versus your DSL/Cable connection?

Even if my security system did support the use of VOIP solutions, I'd want to stick with the landline. If I needed a second line, I'd think about it.

Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com

[busy_young]

Decent service

I have had few problems with Vonage and considering it's relative newness and price, am happy with it.

[lcraver]

Excellent service

I have been a Vonage customer since it's inception. The price has remained the same unlike the phone service it replaced.

[smilin:)]

I've saved enough for new PC

Previous phone bill was about $60 with 3-way, caller id, voicemail etc.

I'm on the 500minutes plan with Vonage (I never go over. same with mobile) that is $15 a month.

Over the two years I've been with them I've saved enough for a new computer. As long as the price remains the same I'll get a new one every two years and never be obsolete :)

[lcraver]

Excellent service

I have been a Vonage customer since it's inception. The price has remained the same unlike the phone service it replaced.

[bossnme]

Vonage

The service is excellant and the voice problems of old are gone.If I were not a member, I would join again. I love the fact I don't have to use Verizon. Anything that pisses off the big boys makes me happy.

[Rants&Raves]

Vonage: Advertising vs Word-of-Mouth

Vonage grew rapidly as users raved about the technical and cost merits of the technology; service, however, has become a major issue over the last few months: dropped calls, people calling getting a "not in service" message, no dial tone, one side of the connection going blank, poor voice quality, phone not ringing (on either end), call forwarding failing, online control panel crashing, etc. E-mails to support are not even answered. I think that if Vonage is to grow, it has to earn back the confidence of its existing customers; as long as we tell the stories of our experiences to prospective users, their opportunities for garnering new customers will be limited.

[pxmesh]

Growth

i think the management had overwhelm with the growth and they fail to have projection on the number of customer service. They should outsource their customer support.

Has anyone out there heard about WideCircles.com. It seems like a way better service then wasting money on PPC. Apparently they are using refering websites ( forums, blogs, wiki, etc. ) and have a viral word of mouth distributed approach to it. My friend told me he got around 100 visits from single post which cost him $0.40c. I am going to give them a try today . In case you are intrested here is it. http://widecircles.com?s=imt1

[Traupe]

Unexpected reliability

The Vonage savings are great, but the reliability problems may force me to return to Verizon. As others have reported, I've had plenty of dropped calls, lack of dial tone, etc. I've figured out how to get the signal back by manipulation the Vonage and cable boxes, but after several frustrating attemps. I'm going to hang on and hope that Vonage can gets its act together and weather the current legal and technological storm.