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TeleBright gets big discounts for customers
Monday June 19, 2000
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Some people use the term middleman as pejorative, connoting that the intermediary's compensation loads up the cost of the commodity. Of course, the pitch of dot-com marketers is that they can get consumers cheaper rates. Chet Thaker, CEO of Telebright.com, explained to us how it works.
Telebright.com of Rockville, Md, targets small and middle market businesses that don't get the deep discounts and service extras large corporate accounts do in telecom. Thaker opened for business in May and so far small businesses have gotten an average 40% cut by switching to a plan found through Telebright.com.
A Knoxville, Tenn tire and wheel maker with 18 employees is to save almost $9,500 annually, or 66%, because it picked a new plan. A different customer trimmed $15,000, or 47%, off his annual telecom costs. The margin before a switch is padded because many businesses take what is offered to them by a provider's salespeople, Thaker said. "When the salespeople go out to sell directly, they are selling what the traffic will bear," he said.
Telebright.com takes standard offers and stacks them up in its database. Then Telebright.com calls the providers to tell them their rankings. "We say, 'look the plan you gave us just isn't competitive. If you stay where you are, you are eighth on the list'," Thaker said. "We are getting down to brass tacks."
Bandwidth trading and optical networking technologies are bringing down the price of telecom. "As a result, the service providers are under tremendous pressure. We are trying to connect small businesses to the benefit of this downward pressure," Thaker related.
Telebright.com hooked up with 36 providers so far. They are: AirTouch, American Long Lines, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Broadwing Communications, Cable & Wireless, CAIS, Capsule Communications, Cellular One, Conectiv Communications, Covad, Destia, Espire, Excel, Global Crossing, GTE, InnerHost, MCI Worldcom, Megapath, Neptune, Northpoint, OneStar, Phoenix Networks, PSINet, PSN, Qwest, RCN, Rhythms, SAVVIS, Speakeasy.net, Sprint, Starpower, Startec, Telares, Teligent and TTI.
Yet Telebright.com does not present a list of plans from all of them to customers. It comes up with a short list that fits the preferences of the consumer. If there are too many, the list is narrowed down to the five cheapest offerings. "You're not doing people any favors with too many choices," Thaker said. "After all, we are here to remove confusion, not cause it. The idea is to get from data to information."
Telebright.com offers toll-free assistance to shoppers and wants to install an electronic, real-time message system on the site. The company encourages people to stay in touch and Telebright.com follows up with them 90 days after a switch to see if they are satisfied. Customer service is given along three "tiers" - to use Thaker's imagery - with employees of increasing levels of expertise. We asked if Thaker is the third tier. "Actually, yes. I spent 23 years in this industry. I can get people the answers," he said.
Next, Telebright.com is to offer wireless shopping in 40 metropolitan areas. It is not likely to pursue energy suppliers itself but will work with telecom providers who tack on energy propositions. "We would love to sell energy and gas," Thaker said.
The company is backed by venture capital and plans to do a second round of financing soon. One board member is Raymond Smith, a former CEO of Bell Atlantic who now is in investment banking as chairman of Rothschild North America Inc.
From Restructuring Today, 800-486-8201, USPublish.com
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