Exclusivity deals aren't necessarily terrible in my view but it becomes a problem when the party that holds the exclusivity isn't interested in offering a good service. Epic's client is currently nothing more than a mere launcher, without features such as an overlay, trophies, cloud saves, community etc. but that's far from the biggest issue in my opinion; the biggest issue is their whole strategy and unwillingness to implement features they know people want, such as forums, reviews and refunds. I'm aware they backtracked on refunds because they got a lot of flak for it, but I think their stance is still relevant since it's quite telling how they're completely oblivious as to how a good service is provided.
They also mentioned they're not going to implement any form of trading card system. It's a minor thing and I don't care for trading cards myself but I just find that statement odd and makes me wonder why that is important to point out, or what even the harm would be by implementing it. Their whole approach of going "no, we're not going to be Steam or compete with Steam" and refusal to do anything that Steam is doing is not something I think of as a benefit in any capacity. It seems more like a silly temper tantrum than anything else, especially after Sweeney's comment "we'll stop doing this if Valve concedes"... I mean, what.
I have a lot of issues with Valve and their hands-off approach but Epic's strategy is simply not viable from where I stand.