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> While it’s true local banks provide a public local benefit, they are IME just inefficient Is there any smaller, local, customer respecting business that isn'

by izacus 3y ago

> While it’s true local banks provide a public local benefit, they are IME just inefficient Is there any smaller, local, customer respecting business that isn't "inefficient" in comparison to a megaconglomerate which can use monopoly and mass consolidation to operate with lower costs, worse customer experience after they achieved local monopoly?

MattGaiser 3y ago
Is it a worse customer experience or just a worse customer experience when something goes wrong? I find large companies to be superior in nearly everything, particularly availability of online services, except exception handling. And even there, plenty of larger companies have chat support. Many smaller ones merely have the phone.
reaperducer 3y ago
Is there any smaller, local, customer respecting business that isn't "inefficient" in comparison to a megaconglomerate which can use monopoly and mass consolidation to operate with lower costs, worse customer experience after they achieved local monopoly? Exactly. When something goes wrong (and it will), I want to walk into a branch and have a human being fix things. I don't want to put my money into the Bank of Google, where customer service is only given to people with nine figure balances, and everyone else has to shout into the void of social media to get help. Some things don't scale for good reason.
opportune 3y ago
I think big businesses can be dysfunctional enough that the communication overhead/standardization creates more inefficiencies than scale removes. One example would be groceries - it’s common for small ethnic groceries to be more efficient than big chain groceries (manifesting as lower prices, no long line for checkout) or for small non-ethnic groceries to have better local produce/staples due to having more flexibility in their product lineup.
- izacus 3y ago
  Sure, but since they can destroy competition after a certain size, does it matter?

by izacus 3y ago

MattGaiser 3y ago

Is it a worse customer experience or just a worse customer experience when something goes wrong? I find large companies to be superior in nearly everything, particularly availability of online services, except exception handling. And even there, plenty of larger companies have chat support. Many smaller ones merely have the phone.

reaperducer 3y ago

Is there any smaller, local, customer respecting business that isn't "inefficient" in comparison to a megaconglomerate which can use monopoly and mass consolidation to operate with lower costs, worse customer experience after they achieved local monopoly? Exactly. When something goes wrong (and it will), I want to walk into a branch and have a human being fix things. I don't want to put my money into the Bank of Google, where customer service is only given to people with nine figure balances, and everyone else has to shout into the void of social media to get help. Some things don't scale for good reason.

opportune 3y ago

I think big businesses can be dysfunctional enough that the communication overhead/standardization creates more inefficiencies than scale removes. One example would be groceries - it’s common for small ethnic groceries to be more efficient than big chain groceries (manifesting as lower prices, no long line for checkout) or for small non-ethnic groceries to have better local produce/staples due to having more flexibility in their product lineup.

izacus 3y ago
Sure, but since they can destroy competition after a certain size, does it matter?