Loyalty is a strange concept.

There's the loyal mobile phone customer like me, who sticks to one service provider for years. All I ever received from them was a pair of free movie tickets - to a show so lousy I can't even remember the plot.

Ever noticed that your service providers reserve all the good deals for new subscribers? I was told that it's a worldwide phenomena. It doesn't pay to be loyal!

Lately, a rival service provider sent me a letter tempting me with a free phone if I switch over to them. I couldn't because I'm on contract with the current one.

Then there's the loyal employee who work all his life for the company and gets an expensive watch one fine day. If it ends up in the second-hand market the next day, what can we say about his loyalty? Probably nothing. Money talks.

Loyalty is a strange concept.

Then there's the loyal spouse who works all his life for the family, only to be rewarded with a divorce suit. And there's the loyal child who works all his life to tend to his parents - who dote on his siblings instead.

I've also discovered that being loyal to one doctor may not be the wisest thing. This chap near my house has always been friendly and caring, but I can't recover well on his medicine. So one day I went to another doctor and it took only one pill of his to cure me.

One thing for sure is that with all the choices available, it's all the more important to offer the best to keep your customers, and sometimes loved ones. The trick is to find the right hook.