On a trip to Budapest Hungary 10 years ago shortly after the fall of the iron curtain it was interesting to note the number of cell phones in use on the streets of the city. I remember stories of ten year waiting list to get a phone installed in your home yet here was an explosion of cell phone users. When the free market was finally able to operate, the market seemed to skip right over the old technology and went for the current offerings.
When digital and broadcast high definition TV came out, Europe and Japan were enjoying what it had to offer while we had to send the decision to congress to decide for us the format that would become the standard. Here we are years later and still waiting, of course now it is a wait for the prices to drop to the level of affordability. And while I am waiting I still notice that the standard doesn’t seem to be set in stone yet. Are we broadcasting in 720i or 1080p or something else entirely? The old system is supposed to go away in 2009 or something like that, but then we all converted to the metric system exclusively back in the 70’s, remember.
Capitalism works if you let it. We are supposed to be the champions of the free market system. We are supposed to be the leaders in technology. We are supposed to be the ones to introduce the rest of the world to the new ideals. Alas, we seem to be missing the boat because we are stuck in our present paradigms and are afraid to cross the street unless Uncle Sam is holding our hand. I think it is time for some shackle breaking people.
Anyway, it is time for me to breakdown, get rid of the land line and venture into the world of cell phones. It is not that I am a Luddite; I just really, really, really don’t like the pricing structure of current cell phone companies. You would think that with the number of companies out there plying their wares that phone services could be had at a much more reasonable price. That and this radiation thing has me concerned.
I like the idea of Cricket and the one fixed all included pricing but they are in a limited market area and from those I’ve talked to, they have had limited coverage even in those areas. I like to travel and if I am going to subject myself to the electronic leash then it better be able to go wherever I do.
I was leaning toward Cingular because I liked the roll over feature of their phones. They also have the free talk to those in their plan which is o.k. because I know people I talk to that have Cingular phones. Most plans have some version of that so it is no big deal unless you are talking to someone not on your plan, and guess what, that is bound to happen. Cingular blew it big time by selling out to at&t. at&t is the absolute worst in terms of customer service. They do not deserve to exist. Their advertisements are horrid and misleading. As for more bars, I borrowed a phone for a time and got dropped more times than I care to say. I couldn't even connect standing next to their sales booth in the local Wal-mart. It told me I could use it for emergencies only. That means someone had a connection there, they just weren’t willing to pay the sharing price and so the customer has to pay the price of no service. The quality of the sound was a 50/50 affair, where half the calls were barely usable and many ended in “I’ll call you back later”. This kind of defeats the purpose of going mobile.
So I tried to check reliability ratings with the consumer reports and various on-line sources (most of which are just trying to sell you a service, though some offer an attempt at value comparisons). Sprint/Nextel seem to be in the also ran category not scoring very high in any area. The two best names seem to be Verizon and T-Mobile. Both of which have lousy ads by the way. Verizon’s baby delivery taxi in the tunnel ride took me 4 tries before I figured it out. What the heck were they thinking with that one?
I have talked to someone that said T-Mobile has very good customer service and I understand that Verizon takes care of its customers as well. Both are supposed to provide the best service and coverage; it’s their pricing structures that leave much to be desired. All services provide a discount, but that is only if you qualify. I can qualify for at least one in most cases but if you have ever seen them listed you will notice that there are several different discounts offered depending on whose group you belong to, and those discounted amounts can vary by quite a bit. It’s simple, I want the biggest discount they offer, no matter whose discount it is.
I know, I know, I am the picky consumer that wants it all. I do. I hate it when there is differential treatment of customers. I don’t think it is fair that one person should pay this and another that for the exact same item no matter what the reason. I also realize that these pricing differences are a fact of life, and with that realization, I want to get my fair cut. It just isn’t always that easy to find and get. That is part of the reason that I will wait as long as I have to in order to find a fair deal.
So what is a fair deal? With the state of technology given today, and the coverage that is available, and the number of companies supposedly trying for my business, I feel I should be able to get a phone service on a family plan of 2 phones (one for the wife and I) that we can use without worry for minutes, or who we are talking to and which plan they have, or when we call so that we get those free weekend and middle of the night minutes, and be able to get this for about the same price as basic land line services are costing now. No fancy add ons needed, though they should be included since the costs to include is practically nothing. The prices the want for caller id, three way and voice mail is sad.
Is that too much to ask? So far it seems to be. Yet, there are enough out there that are dissatisfied with their phone service that they are willing to switch at the drop of a hat. I hear enough complaints to know that not everyone is happy with what they have. I also know that there are many who think that things are just fine and won’t bother to switch because that’s just the way things are. This all reminds me of what we had before cell phones were an option, when Ma Bell was all there was. All this competition and new technology and we are still operating the same old way with the same old expectations. No wonder so little has changed.
You would think that Verizon and T-Mobile would be attacking the number one position hard and you would think that the pickings would be easy since the number one position is held by at&t, the one with the worst reputation for customer service. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part because what I am wanting does not exist yet. That’s o.k., I have waited this long, what’s a little longer. Who knows, maybe Sprint/Nextel will make a leap of discovery that will place them in the running. I am not holding my breath. Reality says that there is nothing on the horizon to suggest a change anytime soon. But all it takes is a desire to make the customer happy and a company could raise the bar, not just talk about having some bars. Maybe it’s too much government regulation interfering in the free market process. Maybe I am just dreaming of how things could be.
Give the people what they want. They will come.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
No comments:
Post a Comment