Had lots of time to think in the recent darkness… And it occurred to me that there is a simple test of whether you are at the mercy of an unfair monopoly:
Are the behaviors of the customer and the provider balanced? Can the buyer influence the provider’s behavior and success, and vice versa?
For example, if I want a product but won’t pay for it, I (generally) can’t have it. If a provider has a product that doesn’t work, I won’t buy it. There’s a natural symmetry there that limits how badly either group can be screwed over.
But take my local power company, Progress Energy. If I don’t pay a bill, they are VERY quick to cut off the power (I missed a payment by a day or so when I switched banks and even though they had a deposit on hold, they cut the power).
But if they fail to deliver their product, say for 5 hours on a cold wet rainy weekend evening, I get nothing and have zero recourse.
Interesting!
And with that happy thought, I’ll get back to work 🙂