| said by LeeRich :
Real competition means that we have companies constantly innovating, introducing new services and cutting prices. Saving a few bucks in the short term until Verizon triples the price for caller ID again is not what our competition laws were meant to do.
My thoughts exactly. How pathetic is this, these companies vying for the ability to make a last swipe at an already disenchanted customer with some afterthought of a deal after he walks out the door? No competing company should be allowed to contact a customer to try to keep them AFTER the customer has initiated a change to another service provider and before they disconnect with the first provider. This thwarts competition and innovation as the first provider can sit on their thumbs until the customer is fed up enough to undertake the process of switching. It also sets up the perfect opportunity for the first provider to harass the customer (let's not forget AOL).
What is always overlooked in the discussion of competition among providers of telecom services is that it doesn't work in the same way as retail competition at, say, a grocery store. You don't routinely re-shop for telecom services and if this week the offer is not good simply go to another store. You've got this bit of infrastructure attached to you and a certain amount of bureaucracy involved in switching. |
