Long time readers of this blog may recall occasional pieces
on consumer issues sometimes far afield from telecom. I see parallels, but
perhaps they are not perfectly on point. This piece might fit that bill
as I draw parallels between adulteration of pretzels and the state of customer
service in telecom and other industries.
Pretzels are one of my relatively few food
indulgencies. Bakers tout the non-fat nature of this product, but in
reality pretzels are largely processed and not terribly healthy white flour,
salt, soda, and yeast. Lately, bakers have added a most unwelcomed
ingredient: "vegetable fiber," otherwise known as cellulose, or more
unappetizing wood pulp and sawdust.
Adding wood pulp helps bakers scrimp on costly wheat while maintaining the same package weight. In these inflationary times, clever pretzel makers engage in shrinkflation by reducing packages from 16 to 14.25 ounces. They get another bite by replacing a portion of the wheat ingrient with a less costly filler. They hit the trifecta by fooling consumers at the same time as the package price rises from an average $2.50 to over $4.00.
I have launched a personal boycott of any pretzel conmpany
that sneaks in vegetable fiber. You can taste the difference, which is
not the case when high fructose corn syrup replaces cane sugar.
Maybe, just maybe, if enough consumers eschewed vegetable
fiber adulterated pretzels, the bakers might relent. Maybe not.
Will Frontier Airlines suffer in the marketplace, because
they have eliminated even the option of talking to a live person for any
reason? Does Tracfone/Pageplus Cellular/Verizon suffer when they lie to
the FCC and consumers about their efforts to call back to resolve a dispute
with a subscriber?
Does any venture face adverse consequences when scrimping on
customer care? Has a Bot ever been able to understand your grievance,
much less solve it?
We need more vocal and deliberate consumer pushback when
ventures replace longstanding ingredients with cheaper and inferior
substitutes.
