Existing Customers Get Nothing

First of all, happy birthday to one of the most useful devices to have come out in the past few years, the Google Chromecast. I'm using the device to stream music as I write this and recently even switched my podcast app to Player FM since it has Chromecast support (unlike Stitcher). At $35, the Chromecast is affordable and adds so much functionality to the average television setup. And with Chrome/Android/iOS support, the most users only need to connect the device to their device to use it.

To celebrate Chromecast's first birthday, Google is offering 3 full months of Google Play Music All-Access (wordy name...) for free! I was quite excited by the headline, but then I read the Chrome Blog post:

"To celebrate Chromecast’s birthday, Google Play Music is offering All Access subscriptions free for 90 days to anyone with a Chromecast (and who isn’t already an All Access subscriber)."

Once again, a company is attempting to entice potential new customer but failing to appease existing customers. It's frustrating that earlier adopters are left out (some of us didn't get the Netflix deal!), but I guess that's business. Comcast and cable companies are probably best known for infuriating their existing customer base with price hikes; they basically they advantage of their customers' complacency and the strong motivation to avoid their dreadful customer support.

Though there have been recent moves by a few companies that realize the importance of satisfying their customers. When my favorite keyboard application, SwiftKey, offered their application for free, they offered their existing (paid) users theme pack for free. Nintendo is a company that has taken their customer satisfaction very seriously by offering deals to new and existing users (though they have much more to lose than most companies).

Sometimes I feel like I'm Charlie by being an existing customer but the ending ends where the video ends: