Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

Earlier this week, it was announced that ESPN will become be available via streaming.  The development eliminates another reason to pay for an expensive bundle of television stations via a cable subscription. 

For years, consumers have complained about skyrocketing cable bills, poor customer service, and having to pay for channels that they never watch. But what could we do?

Now we can do plenty.

This shouldn't surprise you, though. 

For years, hotel chains could charge you outrageous fees to make telephone calls from the room. But what could you do? Enter the cell phone.

A while ago, I wrote about how techology destroyed India's telegram offices. In the 1980s, there were 44,000 telegram offices. Today, there are none. 

Twenty years ago, it was tough to grab a good bite to eat on a road trip. Any exit was a risk, taking you from your planned route. It was a huge unknown as to where you might eat, and whether the restaurant was good. Usually, you'd exit where you saw a bright neon sign of a national chain.  You knew it wouldn't be fine dining, but at least you knew where it was and what you were getting. Now, GPS devices allow drivers to fearlessly explore new areas.  And applications such as Yelp allow you to find wonderful restaurants based on peer reviews. 

Gone are the days when a business can fleece a customer without fear. Today, if you aren't delivering true value, beware. If your customers hate using you, but continue to do so simply because they can't see another option, beware. 

The barriers between consumers and what they want are coming down quickly and unexpectedly. 

My question today is this: Is this a good thing for credit unions?