Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Why Do We Settle For So Little?
When did mediocrity become the norm in this country?
Sure, we have increasingly grown accustomed to bad customer service in areas where the government serves the public - the DMV, Post Office, etc. We expect a certain level of incompetence in these places. But more and more, the same sub-standard bureaucratic services are being foisted upon us by the companies that provide very limited value for which we pay so much. And it seems we have little choice in the matter.
As corporations get bigger and bigger, choking out the variety in any given area of goods and services, we are left with nothing but a "take-it-or-leave-it" kind of capitalism.
In most cases, I try to spend my money with local or small companies that provide excellent customer service - even if the price is a little higher. And in most cases, I get a positive consumer experience. But there are some things we just can't get locally. My Internet provider is one example.
There are times when I have had excellent service with Comcast, and there are times (like now) when I am so frustrated I don't know where to turn. Basically, I haven't had Internet service for over a week. The scheduled technicians have not shown up for 3 days. After calling multiple times and speaking with multiple non-English speakers (who I couldn't understand and who couldn't understand me) I have been told that I can get another appointment in 5 more days. That will be almost 2 weeks without Internet - for no reason.
I spent part of today trying to find other services - but nothing is available in my area that can support my radio show. So I'm stuck. And I'm settling for poor service to keep the Internet. I have realized, however, that despite all the crap Comcast is putting me through, I'm still better off with a company providing mediocre service than a governmental bureaucratic black hole of nothingness.
Could you imagine how bad it would be if the government provided our Internet service? I guess they'd call it ObamaWeb.
ObamaWeb would have a 3000 page rule-book. It would cost twice as much as corporate Internet, and those who didn't have it would be forced to pay a fine to the IRS. There would be occasional outages of ObamaWeb so that air traffic controllers could land planes safely. Of course, banks could use it for free - they'd probably be paid to use it - since they're too big to not have web service. But at least everyone would have ObamaWeb - whether they needed it or not.
Until compulsory and inferior Internet service becomes the norm, I will try to be grateful for optional inferior Internet service instead.
More to come.....
Danan Whiddon
http://www.dananwhiddon.com
Sure, we have increasingly grown accustomed to bad customer service in areas where the government serves the public - the DMV, Post Office, etc. We expect a certain level of incompetence in these places. But more and more, the same sub-standard bureaucratic services are being foisted upon us by the companies that provide very limited value for which we pay so much. And it seems we have little choice in the matter.
As corporations get bigger and bigger, choking out the variety in any given area of goods and services, we are left with nothing but a "take-it-or-leave-it" kind of capitalism.
In most cases, I try to spend my money with local or small companies that provide excellent customer service - even if the price is a little higher. And in most cases, I get a positive consumer experience. But there are some things we just can't get locally. My Internet provider is one example.
There are times when I have had excellent service with Comcast, and there are times (like now) when I am so frustrated I don't know where to turn. Basically, I haven't had Internet service for over a week. The scheduled technicians have not shown up for 3 days. After calling multiple times and speaking with multiple non-English speakers (who I couldn't understand and who couldn't understand me) I have been told that I can get another appointment in 5 more days. That will be almost 2 weeks without Internet - for no reason.
I spent part of today trying to find other services - but nothing is available in my area that can support my radio show. So I'm stuck. And I'm settling for poor service to keep the Internet. I have realized, however, that despite all the crap Comcast is putting me through, I'm still better off with a company providing mediocre service than a governmental bureaucratic black hole of nothingness.
Could you imagine how bad it would be if the government provided our Internet service? I guess they'd call it ObamaWeb.
ObamaWeb would have a 3000 page rule-book. It would cost twice as much as corporate Internet, and those who didn't have it would be forced to pay a fine to the IRS. There would be occasional outages of ObamaWeb so that air traffic controllers could land planes safely. Of course, banks could use it for free - they'd probably be paid to use it - since they're too big to not have web service. But at least everyone would have ObamaWeb - whether they needed it or not.
Until compulsory and inferior Internet service becomes the norm, I will try to be grateful for optional inferior Internet service instead.
More to come.....
Danan Whiddon
http://www.dananwhiddon.com
Read more: http://www.wlac.com/pages/guestblog.html?article=11241924
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