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Commoditization and the Demise of Customer Support

Joel, this was one of the most cogent and well written articles on this very interesting (and disturbing) issue. I have always been made to feel as though I were being anachronistic to point out the decline in customer service. I am delighted to note that you are a younger man, and wish you well in any future endeavors in promoting the once-upon-a-time skills wrought by absolute dedication to customer satisfaction and (thereby) retention. I suspect that the loss of this fine point has long ago been lost because of the "me-now" attitude that seems to have pervaded our society at large. It could also be due to the lack of civility in an increasingly global landscape where polity, civility, and customer dedication are simply lost. Three cheers!

Sell the News, Buy the Rally

I have to join the thumbs down crowd here and ask how it is we landed on this kind of article in the first place? I believe it is better suited for Yahoo threads.

What Does The iPhone Teach Us About Technology?

It seems almost obvious that the iPhone, as is in the current offering, is network bound and that will limit available market. While design is important as you note and as Apple has proven, the question that keeps coming to me when I think iPhone is whether Apple has the juice to enter the rapidly maturing market of hand held computing/communicatin... devices (smart phones) and compete favorably with RIM, Nokia, Palm, Sony Ericson, et al. When Apple introduced iPod they hit a winner whereby a large part of the consumer base knew little about MP3s or what they were. Now, however, iPhone comes in to compete in a technically saavy space, as Smart phone users have had almost a decade of using these devices. Furthermore, almost everyone else has at least a mobilephone. Can Apple pull the simple mobile phone user to their side with a package that weighs in at around $2,000? That $2K commitment is to a stodgy AT&T and the more sleek and hip Apple. Where is the synergy in that? Perhaps Apple is thinking launching pad only? A way to gain initial ground? Apple needs to be thinking VOIP to give this one legs. This isn't your father's iPod proposition.