5 ms·

> It is less market choice but often produces a free or subsidized product. A lot of companies are going down the “captive customer” path wherever they can. Re

> It is less market choice but often produces a free or subsidized product. A lot of companies are going down the “captive customer” path wherever they can. Rental properties are a good example of this. Nowadays, there are a handful of compulsory services that you, the renter, must pay for on top the rent and there are no options to cancel (the federal government is currently targeting this practice). I worked for a startup in the media space that did the exact same thing. As soon as we figured out that we could pitch our product to media properties while onboarding their advertisers and forcing them to become our paying users instead of the media companies themselves, we found product-market fit and took off.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago
> Nowadays, there are a handful of compulsory services that you, the renter, must pay for on top the rent and there are no options to cancel (the federal government is currently targeting this practice). Off the top of my head: - cable TV I don't use - a trash retrieval service my friends don't use (the service is to take it from the apartment door to the dumpster) - parking space someone without a car doesn't use Good to know I might be able to tell my landlord someday that I don't care about the deal they got with Comcast, I'm not paying for the stupid cable.
- sidewndr46 3y ago
  The trash service is the one thing that as homeowner (and former renter) just baffles me. I totally understand the need and value if you are disabled or if you otherwise cannot. But seriously, every apartment I rented the trash dumpster was right there. Just grab the bag on my way out, toss it in
  - birdyrooster 3y ago
    They would do it in Texas at some of the shittiest apartment complexes and I never understood how they could afford to offer such a waste of a service.
    - avidiax 3y ago
      They don't have to afford anything. The garbage collection service cut a deal with the landlord to pay them $X/mo./unit, and helpfully suggested adding it to the lease so they have a 100% subscription rate. The landlord is the customer, not you.
- no_wizard 3y ago
  I really dislike the trash service we have. Its the same deal. They aren't taking it off site, just the onsite trash bin that we would have to take it to anyways, and its ~35 a month for the privilege. Can't opt out at all. They also have onerous rules: - Can't have more than one trash bag per night - Trash and recycling must be taken on different nights (I think largely as a result of the above) - they don't service Friday or Saturday, the two biggest days for trash during the week. This means trash is often sitting outside for 24-48 hours because the complex doesn't have any rules around how long your trash can be set out for. - Trash can't be too heavy or bulky. These things are not quantified, so sometimes the trash just isn't taken and you have no idea why - You must use 13 gallon trash bags or larger. They won't pickup smaller ones (no idea why this exists) - You must use their exceedingly small bin or they won't pick it up. The bin has no lid. If the trash doesn't slide out of the bin naturally, they will refuse to pick it up (IE, they won't tip it to empty it. If it pulls at all they just leave it) On top of all that, they constantly leave fliers on our doors trying to sell trash bag subscription service through the company. I looked it up out of curiosity and they want $17 a month for the privilege
  - ta8645 3y ago
    When I was a kid, the city garbage men used to walk behind our house, grab the metal garbage bins that weren't lined with plastic bags, carry them back to the truck, dump them, and then return them empty back to where they were found. And they did that for every house in a city of 200,000 people. Granted, I'm an ancient relic, but oh my how things have "improved" in my lifetime.
    - thmsths 3y ago
      And these garbage men used to have a decent job with good benefits and a salary that was enough to support a family. Contrast that to the people picking up the garbage bags in the hallways that are probably gig workers.
shostack 3y ago
What product is this exactly?

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago

> Nowadays, there are a handful of compulsory services that you, the renter, must pay for on top the rent and there are no options to cancel (the federal government is currently targeting this practice). Off the top of my head: - cable TV I don't use - a trash retrieval service my friends don't use (the service is to take it from the apartment door to the dumpster) - parking space someone without a car doesn't use Good to know I might be able to tell my landlord someday that I don't care about the deal they got with Comcast, I'm not paying for the stupid cable.

sidewndr46 3y ago
The trash service is the one thing that as homeowner (and former renter) just baffles me. I totally understand the need and value if you are disabled or if you otherwise cannot. But seriously, every apartment I rented the trash dumpster was right there. Just grab the bag on my way out, toss it in
- birdyrooster 3y ago
  They would do it in Texas at some of the shittiest apartment complexes and I never understood how they could afford to offer such a waste of a service.
  - avidiax 3y ago
    They don't have to afford anything. The garbage collection service cut a deal with the landlord to pay them $X/mo./unit, and helpfully suggested adding it to the lease so they have a 100% subscription rate. The landlord is the customer, not you.
no_wizard 3y ago
I really dislike the trash service we have. Its the same deal. They aren't taking it off site, just the onsite trash bin that we would have to take it to anyways, and its ~35 a month for the privilege. Can't opt out at all. They also have onerous rules: - Can't have more than one trash bag per night - Trash and recycling must be taken on different nights (I think largely as a result of the above) - they don't service Friday or Saturday, the two biggest days for trash during the week. This means trash is often sitting outside for 24-48 hours because the complex doesn't have any rules around how long your trash can be set out for. - Trash can't be too heavy or bulky. These things are not quantified, so sometimes the trash just isn't taken and you have no idea why - You must use 13 gallon trash bags or larger. They won't pickup smaller ones (no idea why this exists) - You must use their exceedingly small bin or they won't pick it up. The bin has no lid. If the trash doesn't slide out of the bin naturally, they will refuse to pick it up (IE, they won't tip it to empty it. If it pulls at all they just leave it) On top of all that, they constantly leave fliers on our doors trying to sell trash bag subscription service through the company. I looked it up out of curiosity and they want $17 a month for the privilege
- ta8645 3y ago
  When I was a kid, the city garbage men used to walk behind our house, grab the metal garbage bins that weren't lined with plastic bags, carry them back to the truck, dump them, and then return them empty back to where they were found. And they did that for every house in a city of 200,000 people. Granted, I'm an ancient relic, but oh my how things have "improved" in my lifetime.
  - thmsths 3y ago
    And these garbage men used to have a decent job with good benefits and a salary that was enough to support a family. Contrast that to the people picking up the garbage bags in the hallways that are probably gig workers.

shostack 3y ago

What product is this exactly?