Convenient Consolidation

[Alex Snyder]

I just bought a house in the Vermont country-side and am earning an education in areas of home ownership that my city-dwelling butt never imagined. Like a dealership, a country house has many niche needs and problems. Those needs and problems require many different people to provide answers. I'm getting to a point where I prefer one throat to choke than having to do all the throat-choking I'm doing.

Just one example: My house is setup for a traditional phone system with Verizon, Digital TV through DirectTV, Home Security with a local company, and Internet through Comcast. I will use all these services, but I am at the end of my rope on using all these different companies.

Comcast has all these services. Comcast customer service sucks. But Comcast's technology through all of these services is "good enough" to satisfy my overall wants. Comcast is also a little more expensive at the end of the day. But Comcast is one bill, one phone number, and is the provider of the service I care most about: the Internet.

I am not a country-home-owning guru like the DealerRefresh community is toward the digital dealership. Only a handful of people will put up with the minutia of controlling every aspect of every detail with tons of vendors, but the majority of us just want one throat to choke. I bet your GMs and Owners look at their stores (especially technology) a lot like I'm looking at giving Comcast all my business.

So, my epiphany amidst the frustration, is that when we believe our boss is buying this whole thing because "he's saving on the DMS contract" the answer isn't just about money. It is about convenient consolidation.

 

[jscole86]

Home Security with a local company

You need home security in the Vermont countryside?

 

[Alex Snyder]

You need home security in the Vermont countryside?

I don't think so, but the woman does #famouslastwordsfromalex

 

[ddavis]

Alex, I bet you are going to love the country. I grew up mostly in the country but worked most of my life in the city. I can have my boat in the water in 30 minutes.

My son-in-law has everything, in his home, tied to his smartphone. He can see everything in his home and property, lock and unlock his doors, turn on/off lights all from his phone. It is also tied to a security service. He installed all of this himself. The place is like a fortress.

I'm sure that most people can't imagine this but I haven't subscribed to TV in years. If I want to watch a game, I go to my favorite watering hole. The rest, I don't miss.