Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/24/customer-service-us-consumers

With the consolidation of market power and competitors gone, companies can raise prices without improving customer satisfaction - paying more for less.

You can see this in the rise of fees from Uber to Amazon, where it is shown they are now on par with, or more expensive than, the traditional alternatives... except with minimal customer support.

This is why supporting alternatives is so important now, before it is too late.

Where do we go if we want to take our business elsewhere? All the mom and pop stores are dead. The local businesses are all megacorps.

If our choice is megacorp A or megacorp B, then megacorps get all the profits.

Nothing is going to give. The megacorps have cracked the code. Megacorp profits will continue to increase, and the poor will get poorer. Welcome to Amerikkka.

You get good service when you act like someone who deserves it and the company pays the employees enough to give it.

I think the Internet has made us docile. There's too much information and the human brain has a hard time with it all. That lowers our ability to get mad enough to make a stand.