rotten bananas

Not to dwell on the iPhone anymore than necessary (it’s not that interesting), but Cingular announced that it will only be available with a 2-year contract. What is wrong with this company? They get something this good (and it’s going to be great for them), and find a way to piss off a corner of their market.

I’ve been a Cingular customer for a while, and I’ve been relatively happy with them. They seem to be slightly less inclined to screwing customers than some other wireless carriers, but this is really pushing it. It doesn’t affect me. I’m not going to buy an iPhone for a host of reasons, not least of which is that my new fangled money tree still hasn’t sprouted, but it’s these kinds of decisions that really get to me. Now, honestly, it probably won’t have that much effect on them because the people that want the iPhone will get it anyway, and the people that don’t probably won’t even notice, but I subscribe to the Seth Godin line of thinking, the best way to attract and keep customers is to just do what’s right.

Bad marketing is still marketing. Chip away small pieces of your customer base, and soon enough there won’t be any left.