The 7 stages of a roaming charge

Thursday, September 9th, 2010 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor

Roaming bills are one of the hidden costs of IT. They are particularly frustrating because they can be avoided, with policies, limits and reporting that get down to the network, user and device level. Large bills can cause quite a bit of mental anguish with an employee, and the aftershocks gave rise to these “7 Stages of a Roaming Charge,” loosely based on the 7 stages of grief:

1. Shock and Denial:
The user reacts to the bill with disbelief.

• “Can you look at this mobile data card invoice – the roaming charges seem incredibly expensive, it can’t be correct.”
• “I only checked my email when I was traveling international and didn’t know there would be roaming charges.”
• “I was bored at the airport so I watched internet movies. It’s on the internet –I thought it should be free.”

2. Pain and Guilt
The miscreant has realized that they are at fault. They may bang their head on a nearby wall.

• “How could I not realize that
• was considered international?”
• “Watching a YouTube video? How do I explain this to my boss? Watching a video means there was a data download?”
• “Oh no I am probably going to get fired!”

3. Anger
The employee turns from frustrated to angry.

• “Why did you give me the 3G card anyways!?”
• “How was I to know?!”
• “My boss told me that I had to make that conference call, no matter what!”

4. Bargaining
The employee looks for a way out.

• “Can’t you just call and explain that it was a mistake?”
• “Can you just cover it in all the other expenses?”
• “Next time, I’ll just turn off roaming.”
• “I’m sure that the executives get to do this all the time.”

5. Depression and Sorrow
Depression is a normal stage that must be managed carefully to avoid rash decisions.

• “Fine. I just won’t use the phone for work anymore.”
• “I’m sure to get fired now. Why bother working on that report?
• “I’m sorry, I feel really bad – I’m afraid management will think I took advantage or abused the system.”

6. Testing and Reconstruction
The employee’s mind starts working again, seeking for resolutions.

• “Do you think using Skype on my phone would work?”
• “Can I turn off the roaming feature for my next trip?”
• “What’s the best way to stay connected; how do I know what I should do?”

7. Acceptance
At this stage, the user has accepted the situation and starts behaving normally.

• “Hey Bill, look at this cool new app that I downloaded!”
• “Mary, did you see that video that’s posted on the conference website?”

Tags: 3G network, cost management, mobile workforce