it's not common. most businesses do not wait years until they capriciously decide to make money. that's because most businesses are not funded by the silicon valley, it's float or die.
'Monetize' is the stage where they make money, and in normal companies it happens early and doesn't imply that customer service suffers. It's the 'Exploit' phase where the customer gets screwed if you let short-sighted people call the shots.