Competition. The future is here already.

I’m going to assume that at some point you’ve visited a Verizon or Apple store. For most it’s a long and weary visit. You show up and are greeted by someone whose sole purpose  is to put your name in a virtual cue. She splits the rest of her time telling people there are 14 people ahead of them, or 128 people if you’re in New York or another large city anywhere in the world. Even worse, if you’re there for service of any kind, like getting your phone or computer fixed, you will have to wait in a physical queue, for a long time, only to be told that the next available appointment is 2 weeks out.

On average, over the years, it’s taken about 90 minutes to buy a new phone and get it turned on. One time I got in the virtual cue, went next door and left may car for an oil change, had coffee, and returned with enough time to get my teeth cleaned. If only there was a walk in dental office next door I thought. My phone rings and it’s the oil change guy. My car is done. The mechanic says he has time to put the snow tires on. I wonder if I have time to drive home and fetch them before Verizon calls my name.

Here in Asia it really only takes 5-10 minutes to set up a new phone plan. During the past year I’ve signed up for plans in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia. The monthly fees for the plans are $5-10. A month. For that price you get anywhere from 7-30 GB of data per month for your phone, you don’t have to share it. Our latest experience was at a mobile phone store in a mall. We walked in, got a new plan, were in and out in about 7 minutes. There was not even enough time to run over to Starbucks and grab a coffee this time, never mind get your teeth cleaned or snow tires mounted.

Anyway, Verizon is a distant memory in my world. I don’t wait in their cues anymore. I don’t pay their expensive monthly bills anymore, I don’t share 2 GB’s of data with anyone. I switched to the competition, Republic Wireless.  Republic doesn’t have expensive plans, or queues, or showrooms, or any waiting. You buy a phone on their website, they mail it to you, and charge you $23 a month. It’s been a year and things are great. I can even use my phone in places like Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu, and as long as there’s wifi I make and receive calls to and from the U.S.A. I talk to my parents more now than when I was at home.

I was recently in one of Apple’s showrooms which was full of beautiful equipment and sales associates but devoid of consumers. We had been at a different Apple store earlier in the day and were directed to this store across town, where there was an on-site service center, where we could get an iPhone battery replaced, for a really good price, since we’re in Asia. The sales associates greeted us and guided us to a good old-fashioned, physical queue. We waited in line. The sales associates went back to the retail area where there were no real consumers buying anything. Just a bunch of really nice Apple products and plenty of sales staff. But no buyers. I want to make a point here. There were a lot of sales associates hanging around doing nothing, while the cue for service grew longer by the minute and snaked its way to a single, over-worked service advisor. The cue moved quickly and by that I mean I only had time for coffee, not teeth cleaning. Finally the service guy greeted us with a smile.

“We’d like to get this battery replaced in this iPhone.” we said.
“We can do that.” he said.
“Your store across town said you could do it in 4 hours and we could pay $32.”
“That’s correct.” he said.
“Great, we’ll just go shopping or get our teeth cleaned and be back in a while.”
“But sir you don’t have an appointment.”
“Yes, but we just waited in this cue.”
“This cue is for people to make an appointment, sir.”
“Of course it is.” I said, “Let’s make an appointment.” I said.

After looking at his calendar and looking at ours for a few minutes, it was apparent that nothing was going to work in the week. After informing us that he doesn’t schedule anything out more than 7 days we smiled and left, walking back through the quiet showroom, while the staff kept an eye on YouTube, as the cue for service grew longer and longer.

A few days later, in a different part of Malaysia, we found ourselves searching for a restaurant someone had recommended – Sushi Kitchen, a vegan chain, this one located in a mall. It was right across from an Apple store. After our delicious meal we stopped in to inquire about the iPhone battery replacement. The kind young man informed us that this store was a retail only and there was no service center there. Just sales folks hanging around with no customers. He said their service center was across town. We thanked him. But as we were exiting the store, the kind young man approached us and walked us to the door. He said there were places right in the mall that could probably change the battery. He suggested we try them and directed us toward them. The 2nd place we stopped into was staffed by 2 young geeks and I mean that as a compliment. We asked if they could change the battery. They said yes. We asked if they could do it right now. They said yes. We asked if it was $32. They said yes. We left the phone and as we were walking out the door the tech called for us. He said iPhone batteries were really easy to change and it should be only a few minutes. Just wait a few minutes he said. We spent more time looking at new portable power banks than he spent fixing the phone. We were in and out in less than 10 minutes. I gave them a $10 tip.

Earlier in the day we had just finished up a visit to Penang Hill. When we returned to the bottom we tapped our phone for an Uber (actually it’s called GRAB in Asia). We tried 3 or 4 times but there were no drivers available. This comic weekend is a holiday so it’s extra busy. We looked across the street and noticed about a dozen taxis parked there with the drivers hanging around on the sidewalk. We approached them knowing that GRAB would charge us $3.75 to get to our destination. The drivers slowly approached us and asked if we needed a taxi and we said yes. Where are you going? We told them and showed them on our GPS. None of them could figure it out until finally one guy OK, OK, get in. We asked how much. He said $7.50. We said no, use the meter and we’ll go. He refused and we walked. A few steps down the road one of the drivers waved us down and said he’s use the meter. We hopped in an old rundown down cab and he drove us. He said we were his first fare of the day. It was 4 PM and he’d been hanging around all day waiting for a fare. When we arrived the meter read “$3.75”. We smiled.

The old rundown cabs sit quietly on the side of the road, waiting for an old-fashioned fare, while GRAB is so busy that they’re turning away business. Many old fashioned taxi drivers won’t use a GPS or a smart phone, while GRAB drivers know where you are, where you’re going and how to get there, and you know the fee before you book the ride.