This afternoon, I was in a local shopping area and noticed a new storefront advertising Verizon FiOS service. I've been a FiOS subscriber for two years now, but I'd never seen a FiOS storefront. Unfortunately, the store wasn't open.
There was a T-Mobile store 50 feet away and a Verizon Wireless store two blocks away. They were both open, as was an AT&T store about a half mile away. The Verizon Wireless store hours were typical of all the mobile phone stores, i.e.
M-F 10am-8pm
Sat 9am-8pm
Sun 10am-6pm
Indeed, these hours are typical of retail stores in the neighborhood. Weekday openings are at 9:30am or 10am and closing times are 8pm or 9pm. And all retail stores are open at least a half day on Sunday.
The Verizon FiOS store hours:
M-F 9am-6pm
Sat 9am-1pm
Sun closed
I remember when retail stores were closed on Sundays. It was a long time ago. I even remember, as a child, when some neighborhood stores were only open a half day on Saturday. That was a very long time ago.
Apparently the FiOS store was opened because Verizon is now competing with Comcast for TV subscribers in our neighborhood. Comcast is another long term monopolist, so it was interesting to drive (about a mile) to ther retail storefront. It was also closed on Sunday. In fact their only store hours were M-F 9-5. Wow!
I suppose two sources of wired TV services is better than one, but this is another case where it's clear a duopoly provides very little competition (for example, compared to our mobile market with 6+ players).
There was a T-Mobile store 50 feet away and a Verizon Wireless store two blocks away. They were both open, as was an AT&T store about a half mile away. The Verizon Wireless store hours were typical of all the mobile phone stores, i.e.
M-F 10am-8pm
Sat 9am-8pm
Sun 10am-6pm
Indeed, these hours are typical of retail stores in the neighborhood. Weekday openings are at 9:30am or 10am and closing times are 8pm or 9pm. And all retail stores are open at least a half day on Sunday.
The Verizon FiOS store hours:
M-F 9am-6pm
Sat 9am-1pm
Sun closed
I remember when retail stores were closed on Sundays. It was a long time ago. I even remember, as a child, when some neighborhood stores were only open a half day on Saturday. That was a very long time ago.
Apparently the FiOS store was opened because Verizon is now competing with Comcast for TV subscribers in our neighborhood. Comcast is another long term monopolist, so it was interesting to drive (about a mile) to ther retail storefront. It was also closed on Sunday. In fact their only store hours were M-F 9-5. Wow!
I suppose two sources of wired TV services is better than one, but this is another case where it's clear a duopoly provides very little competition (for example, compared to our mobile market with 6+ players).
Comments