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themuffinman

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Posts posted by themuffinman

    I feel dirty

    in General Topics

    Posted

    AJ,

    You have a good philosophy, but sadly it just doesn't work in the real world. I am all for helping out the little guys, and it is one reason I try to always buy all my hardware supplies from our local general store instead of the lowes or walmart a little ways away.

     

    But your ideals only have merit when the little guys offer a product that can compete with the big two.

     

    Lets say in my town there are three hotels. A Hilton, a Holiday inn, and Bobs motor lodge. Bobs motor lodge is a bit cheeper, has a bed, shower, desk. everything you need and they are not the hilton or holiday inn so you give them a try.

     

    Two days later you find that your whole family has crabs and some skin rash you can't get rid of because Bobs doesn't wash sheets but once a month.

     

    According to you. You should continue to make your family suffer and put them at risk for the sole reason that Bobs motor lodge is not holiday inn or the hilton. And come hell or high water you will continue to put you and your familys quality of life at risk for the sake of bob who you've never met. All because the hilton and holiday inn have more hotels than Bob does,

     

    I'm sorry but thats just not the way it works for me in the real world. I will go to where I get the best service that fits my needs at a resonable cost. In the business world you have to compete. And while I do show some loyality to places, thats only as long as they offer the service I need.

     

    I really like Sprint, wish them all the best, and I am trying my hardest to stay with them and make it work. But as a company they are really horrible at managing themselves. Even t-mobile who bleeds customers constantly still turns a profit. they just don't offer the coverage where I need it.

     

    So I am left really with at&t, verizon and sprint. at&t I just really don't like. So we'll say verizon or sprint.

     

    Verizon is a huge duopoly,cost more, but they take thier money and pour it back into thier network to not only mantain a standard of service and provide a constantly good wireless quality but to massively improve on that network and footprint.

     

    Sprint cost a bit less. and in the years I have been with them. Have constantly lost money, not upgraded or serviced thier equipment beyond the bare minimum needed, and thier speeds and service have dropped a good 10 fold in that time. Its no longer a matter of them compeating. They can not even maintain minimum standards.

     

    sorry for the long ramble.

     

    Loyalty is good, and supporting the small guys is great. But there comes a point to where that loyalty and support needs to be at least rewarded by those companies offering to at least try and meet some kind of mimimum standards.

     

    Awesome analogy, very well said.

    I feel dirty

    in General Topics

    Posted

    I understand your predicament, and I sympathize with it. But I also hope that you recognize your role in the dynamic.

     

    When you give up on the competition and sign up with one of the dominant players, you -- at least implicitly -- endorse the status quo, as well as any further anti consumer policies that the oligopolists may then gain enough market power to impose, or you hope/expect that the electorate will step in and enact regulations to stem corporate practices that run counter to the public interest.

     

    With VZW and AT&T the helm, we are heading toward a wireless broadband duopoly as bad as, if not even more dysfunctional than the current wired broadband duopoly present in most markets. If you are okay with that in exchange for better wireless service, then you have made your rational choice. I may not necessarily agree with it, but I can understand it.

     

    AJ

     

    Well, I will have to respectfully disagree with what you said. In this day and age people want reliability and consistent quality service. We live in a world where cell/smart phones are relied upon now more so than ever before and if sprint is having issues with being competitive then who's fault is that and why should the customer pay for it? I have been with sprint for over 10 years and lets face it, they have made some very bone headed decisions over the years and the reason why they are in the situation that they are in right now is solely based on their own mistakes. That is no fault of verizon or at&t, they are a business(for profit after all) just like sprint and they have made decisions that put them in a position to be #1 and #2 in the industry. As a consumer and a business man my decisions are based on how it affects me and my family and not how it affects sprint.

    I feel dirty

    in General Topics

    Posted

    Same experience here as well. Every time I get frustrated with sprint I start looking at at&t and verizon. After a few clicks on their respective websites, reality smacks the hell out of me and then I realize that its hard to beat sprints value. Data sucks but fortunately I have wifi available just about every where I go. I only have two lines(with 25% corporate discount) but with how those two lines are used my bill will increase by at least $85 a month if I switch to either carrier, that a lot of money.

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