Dear Tivo Customer Care,

i don't mean to sound ungrateful, but i think that your existing customer base might better appreciate your company recognizing the people who have helped you thus far instead of continually rewarding people not yet in your camp.

UPGRADE PROGRAM
your upgrade program is a joke. people like myself who invested in your product back when a 14 hour unit was $500 (i personally paid $400) are offered an upgrade to a 30 hour unit for an additional $300, making my total burn $700 plus the shipping delay. new customers are offered the same product, less the shipping delays for $50 more than the cost of my upgrade price. why wouldn't i have a friend sponsor me, buy a new 30 hour unit without the shipping downtime and have a cumulative 44 hours of recording capability.

THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY PROGRAM
now if i understand this correctly, i go out and do marketing work for you, sell your units and in return you reward me with more marketing propaganda to wear and throw around my house and office. as appealing as it is to facilitate and absorb your company's advertising costs in some amway like scheme, i think i will defer.

now, please don't get me wrong, i do greatly enjoy your product and feel that you have done an outstanding job in this fledgling field. i already tout the device to my friends and family (2 units sold to date). but poor decision making and lack of true customer appreciation has killed greater companies than yours in the past.

now in your defense, i've heard that the education level in our country is plummeting faster than ally mcbeal ratings post-billy, so your adolescent ploys may work. but from what i've seen, it is educated people who embrace technology and innovation who are buying your product, and these people are hopefully savvy enough to find your 'appreciation' programs inane and amateur. maybe you view existing customers as already 'caught' and focus your time and bargains on people not yet at the table. while this is a sound short term strategy, it does not bode well for sustained longevity.

bottom line is your existing customers did not make an investment in a 2.99 happy meal, so you probably shouldn't treat them as such if you hope to retain them through the competitive times sure to come.

troy dearmitt
university city, mo 63130