4 ms·

Isn't that the case for every company ? Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest ? Competition is what'

Isn't that the case for every company ? Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest ? Competition is what's supposed to take care of this

dpatterbee 5y ago
Unfortunately it's possible for competition to not resolve things to the benefit of the consumer, that's where regulation typically steps in. I'm not necessarily implying that that's required in this case, just that things aren't as simple as competition == consumer wins.
osrec 5y ago
Well exactly, but they have convinced (brainwashed?) a bunch of their users that they're really on their side. In my experience, Android users are generally not plagued by this misconception to as great an extent.
- adav 5y ago
  There are a whole lot more Android users.
  - osrec 5y ago
    But what's your point?
    - adav 5y ago
      That it might not be a fair comparison.
      - osrec 5y ago
        In what sense? We're comparing proportions - I think that's fair. Unless you're also saying that a higher proportion of Apple users are more gullible (in which case you agree with me), I still don't understand your point?
usrusr 5y ago
Yes. And they sleep well at night, moral obligation to the shareholders and all that. Competition won't do anything.
- elcomet 5y ago
  At least with competition users get to choose which companies they want to do business with.
uniqueid 5y ago
Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest There are many reasons, but if for no other: so that emails like this don't leak and cause you bad PR! There's a whole school of thought around being 'customer focused' that boils down to the Golden Rule (but in MBA-speak). I don't know how many 'customer focused' businesses really walk the walk; probably not that many in situations where doing so requires real guts.
- smabie 5y ago
  But doesn't that mean it's ultimately in the companies interest?
  - uniqueid 5y ago
    Well yes, in the long term. I was hoping nobody would notice that I avoided admitting that ;)
a1369209993 5y ago
> Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest ? We call that "ethics", IIRC. It's depressingly rare.

Isn't that the case for every company ? Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest ? Competition is what's supposed to take care of this

dpatterbee 5y ago

Unfortunately it's possible for competition to not resolve things to the benefit of the consumer, that's where regulation typically steps in. I'm not necessarily implying that that's required in this case, just that things aren't as simple as competition == consumer wins.

osrec 5y ago

Well exactly, but they have convinced (brainwashed?) a bunch of their users that they're really on their side. In my experience, Android users are generally not plagued by this misconception to as great an extent.

adav 5y ago
There are a whole lot more Android users.
- osrec 5y ago
  But what's your point?
  - adav 5y ago
    That it might not be a fair comparison.
    - osrec 5y ago
      In what sense? We're comparing proportions - I think that's fair. Unless you're also saying that a higher proportion of Apple users are more gullible (in which case you agree with me), I still don't understand your point?

usrusr 5y ago

Yes. And they sleep well at night, moral obligation to the shareholders and all that. Competition won't do anything.

elcomet 5y ago
At least with competition users get to choose which companies they want to do business with.

uniqueid 5y ago

Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest There are many reasons, but if for no other: so that emails like this don't leak and cause you bad PR! There's a whole school of thought around being 'customer focused' that boils down to the Golden Rule (but in MBA-speak). I don't know how many 'customer focused' businesses really walk the walk; probably not that many in situations where doing so requires real guts.

smabie 5y ago
But doesn't that mean it's ultimately in the companies interest?
- uniqueid 5y ago
  Well yes, in the long term. I was hoping nobody would notice that I avoided admitting that ;)

a1369209993 5y ago

> Why would a company do something in the interest of the consumer if it was not in their interest ? We call that "ethics", IIRC. It's depressingly rare.