Do warring companies ever consider their customers?

Do warring companies think of the customer? Of course they don’t, we’re just cash cows in the great corporate scheme of business.

I think it’s particularly bad when people are paying a subscription under contract and a serious chunk of the content can be withdrawn at will, not for any technical reason but as a result of a commercial dispute. I presume Sky wanted to throw their weight around and pay Discovery less for broadcasting their content. It is similar to what has been happening with smart TV’s and the withdrawal of services or applications. We are used to financial institutions that withdraw savings accounts or energy companies that change tariffs but there are understandable economic reasons behind those decisions. Unfortunately our tolerance is now being exploited by ISP’s that decide to stop supporting operating systems, telecom service providers that suspend free services from their bundles [which in many cases might have been the reason why people signed up with them], and even consumer magazine publishers that transfer whole subject areas to alternative titles for an additional subscription. Where will it end?

I’m not sure how much goes on betweem commercial companies, maybe others will give examples. Bidding for TV coverage has always been a commercial action – the BBC lost much sport to commercial subscription channels when the cost became unrealistic, so I don’t really see Sky and Discovery as much different. I get several Discovery channels on Freeview anyway. I can’t be bothered to fork out the large subs to Sky when sport is not a real interest. I do like bowls though and much of this is broadcast through Youtube, and arrives on our tv screen through mrs r’s iPad and an Apple tv box.

But it can happen between public institutions – NHS vs. Local Authorities on social care for example; who gets the consequences? The patients. And when unions decide to exert their power in disruption that is either spiteful – damaging air transport at peak times and holidays -or out of all proportion such as the millions of working days lost by Southern commuters. It is not the action itself; that might be justified. It is the disruption caused out of all proportion to the hapless innocents just trying to get on with their lives, and who can’t fight back.