Corporate America has done this … created a massive plague of distrust among us.
It’s no wonder that everyone is leery of everyone and everything these days when greed is the driving force of Corporate America.
Every time you turn around, we’re getting financially gouged from all sides.
I know that’s a pretty strong statement, but my experience yesterday was a clear example of this greed.
Let me tell you the astonishing chain of events.
I recently contacted Verizon customer service for assistance in reducing our monthly bill which has become prohibitive. Granted, we are paying for internet as well, since we live fulltime on the road and fund our lifestyle with the income we generate online.
The customer service rep was genuinely helpful. She clearly understood that we worked online and went to work to find some savings, but there wasn’t much to be had.
In the end, we decided to suspend the use of our two tablets for a whopping $10 monthly savings on each device; and, we decided to downsize our data usage from 30GB to 20GB for another $10/month savings. It’s important to note this: she was aware that we weren’t sure 20GB would be enough.
Our total savings added up to $30/month … definitely not a whole lot to get excited about, but it all adds up.
Imagine my surprise at this text message received yesterday:
You’ve used about 75% of your 20GB data (cycle ends the 20th.) To increase your plan data by 5GB for $55 more per month, reply YES.
I admit, I was not the top math student in school, but I think Verizon’s math is a little off base. We cut data by 10GB and saved $10; to add 5GB, we will spend $55. It just doesn’t add up.
This is how we get screwed by Corporate America.
We have become so dependent on cell phones and internet to the point that we will be forced to pay whatever “they” deem necessary for these services.
It may appear there’s competition among the providers … but here’s the bottom line that affects all of us:
wherever there is a profit to be made, they’ll find it, and they will suck it out of us.
Anyway, back to Verizon. I immediately called customer service and asked that she review our plan change, then tell me what cost savings we were receiving.
She confirmed the suspension of our tablets which would save a total of $20/month; but, she informed us that a suspension fee of $15 per tablet had been added to our bill.
“WAIT A MINUTE!” I said. “Why on earth, if I initiated the call because I wanted to save money would I not be told it’s going to cost me to suspend the tablets?”
Fortunately, she saw my point and immediately credited my account.
She then confirmed that we had changed from 30GB to 20GB on the data plan and would save $10/month.
As calmly as I could, I asked why now it would cost us $55 to add 5GB, as per the text message received.
I know she was reading from a script. I know, too, that I was causing her to rethink her career.
She was doing the best she could to answer a question that had no reasonable answer because …
If there’s a way to screw people, Corporate America will.
I’ll fight back all day long on principle.
Realizing that my argument had been stated clearly, I simply asked to speak to someone who would switch our plan back to the 30GB for the same price we were paying.
She hesitated, she scrambled to find a reply on her screen and gave me a rote explanation of the data plans. I repeated the request to speak to someone who would change the plan back.
She put me on hold and returned within a few minutes saying, “your plan has been changed back.”
Chalk one up to Trisha for standing her ground.
I’m not an activist. I’m not camping out at courthouses to protest. I’m just a grandma who gets pretty riled up over stuff like this that is happening to people all over this country.
Oh, the frustration of being charged fees and taxes and surcharges and access charges, upgrade fees, and downgrade fees by the cell phone companies. You can’t make any change to your plan without it costing you. Can you say ChaChing in Corporate America’s pockets?
No wonder people have a distrust of everyone and everything.
We the people believe in integrity and honesty and fairness. But, we’ve been screwed from every angle so much so that now we don’t trust anyone or anything …
We don’t trust the news, the politicians, the commercials, the religious leaders, the pharmaceuticals, the education system, the banks, the federal reserve …
Heck, even reality shows are scripted.
The saddest outcome of all this distrust is that we don’t even trust our fellow man. We doubt, we second-guess, we think everything is a scam.
Corporate America wins when we lose all trust in humanity.
Here’s to fighting back. Here’s to trust and integrity.
Trisha Barnes
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Way to go for standing your ground! It’s true and so sad that there is such a lack of trust these days, and that it ultimately had been brought on by corporate greed!