[xyzzyz]

Ford can easily afford to lose me, individually, but typically things that will cause them to lose me, will also cause them to lose many other customers. In practice, there is no actual asymmetry: if I don’t like Ford, I can just go to dealership next door, and so can millions of other customers, which means Ford needs to be careful.

[user_7832]

Ford needs to be careful, yes. But Comcast in this example doesn't need to be. And for you to compete with Comcast by spinning your own ISP and having your own cables is not likely.

[xyzzyz]

Yes, I agree. My point is just that the asymmetry in market strength is not based purely on the size of the company relative to the consumer. In many competitive fields, it is the providers that are in a precarious situations instead of the customers, even if the providers are large corporations. Consider, for example, McDonalds: it’s a huge company, but it would be ridiculous to suggest that it enjoys significant market power over customers. Many such examples.