Competition: Not Always in the Customers' Best Interest
Mobile telephony drives me a bit crazy.
If I need a phone for my house, I can go to Target or Radio Shack or wherever and buy a phone and plug it in and it works. I don't have to buy a new phone if I want to switch from, say, Verizon to Time Warner Cable as my home service provider. And I don't have to switch providers--nor do I have to wait two years--if I decide that I want a new home phone when I see one with better features a few months after I've purchased one.
Not the case with mobile telephony. The mobile telecommunications space is rife with exclusives, contracts, and locks. It's great for the telecoms, not so great for customers.
Don't get me wrong. I understand how it all works on the back end regarding contracts and technology. And, hey, that's all fine.
What irks me are the exclusives that clearly benefit the partners involved, but don't seem to really benefit customers at all. Main example: Apple's five-year exclusive deal with AT&T. What if you didn't want to switch to AT&T? It was a long wait. And still longer for customers of carriers other than AT&T and Verizon who don't want to switch. How many former Verizon customers will switch back from AT&T at the first opportunity now that they can have an iPhone from Verizon?
Personally, I'd like to get a touchscreen BlackBerry. Unfortunately, my carrier doesn't offer one yet. But I don't want to switch phone brand or carriers. I've been a T-Mobile customer for about 10 years; I like the connectivity, the customer service, the Web self-service, and the pricing. And I like my BlackBerry and would prefer (as much as I love everything Apple) to stick with one. So I'm forced to wait until who knows when. In the meantime, I spend a great deal too much time considering alternatives. At some point soon I just may find myself at a Verizon store buying an iPhone.
My point is this: Compete on quality, price, service--customers win, and come back for more. Compete on exclusivity--a few customers win, most lose. Sometimes making something available to a select few is the goal. In the right situation is works well; it's aspirational, creating demand among other customers. Often it's just a way to drive most customers to complain, rethink their loyalties, and shop the competition.
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