In other words, cable and oil service companies treat new customers better than older customers!

FORBES: Why Companies Treat New Customers Better than Old Customers?

If you have been with a cable service company or an oil service company for more than a year, you will probably have discovered that, you either have to pay a higher price for the service package you get, or the same price but for a lesser package.

FORBES: Why Companies Treat New Customers Better than Old Customers?

British Steel, British Leyland, the British National Oil Corporation, Associated British Ports, Cable and Wireless, Rolls Royce.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: Not for Turning

Meanwhile, the new oil and gas strategy aimed at securing thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of investment was unveiled by UK Business Secretary Vince Cable in Aberdeen, which is known as the oil capital of Europe.

BBC: BP and partners announce $500m Clair field appraisal

The same is true for customers of oil service companies, though less so, as the cost of switching among oil service companies is smaller than that of cable services, and there are more choices.

FORBES: Why Companies Treat New Customers Better than Old Customers?

Many foreign firms, of course, are doing well in China, especially at the two extremes of the value chain: things like luxury goods, fibre-optic cable and big aeroplanes on the one hand, and oil, ores and recyclable waste on the other.

ECONOMIST: Selling foreign goods in China

With this the driller can create 4-D images (three dimensions plus time) of oil reservoirs via a seismic vibration sensor attached to the end of a fiber-optic cable pushed down into a well.

FORBES: Oil Gleaners