Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

                                                                

I do not fit the usual profile of a stalking victim. I am not young, rich, a public figure, a celebrity nor female. Yet the past week has made me empathize with those who fall victim to the obsession that often prompts unwanted surveillance.

It all started when I had the audacity to change my Internet, telephone and television service provider, after being approached by a rival company that made me an offer I couldn't refuse. (I won't name either company involved, as I have no desire to be a shill for the corporate agenda.) Suffice it to say that the new suitor offered technologically superior service, a better channel selection, a free streaming service for six months, enhanced phone service, and a cost savings of at least $60 a month for the next two years. As well, the usual hefty installation fee was waived.

And best of all, they would cancel my existing contract with the rival company and give me a prepaid Visa card for any expenses incurred in breaking the contract. It all seemed so bloodless, since I wouldn't have to endure the usual "customer retention" ploys that occur when one is threatening to leave a company, a practice I am quite familiar with from previous renegotiations over the years with the departing service.

It was a neat, arm's length relationship-severing with the jilted party - or so I thought.

Almost immediately, the phone calls began, urging me to stay with my current 'partner'. (Since I have call display, I only listened to the messages they left me.) These calls became a daily feature of my life until the new service was up and running, telling me how they could make things right for me. However, because I had already undertaken to commit to the new service, I had no intention of breaking my word.

Then the emails began. The first one expressed regret at not being able to reach me by phone, with a large caption reading, Give us one more chance to make things right, and promising an exclusive offer in hopes of retaining me as a customer. Both the calls and the emails continued, prompting me to regard them as desperate and whiny, trying to keep our 'relationship' intact. It got to the point where I apologized to my wife for bringing this messy affair into our home. I had so hoped for an amicable breakup.

What is my point in all of this? Perhaps it is obvious, but I hope it serves as a reminder that corporations are not our friends, and they are essentially profit (greed)-driven, no matter how all of their advertising suggests otherwise. But, it is also a reminder that we perhaps all too often underestimate the bargaining power we have when viable alternatives exist. Those alternatives serve as leverage.

Leverage is necessary, since no price reductions for 'loyalty' are ever offered. For example, I am sure (and this was especially apparent from reports when online learning was the only option during the height of the pandemic) there are still customers who pay hefty fees on accounts that have limits on how much internet one may use before incurring extra charges. That was my case before embracing streaming, and it was only after threatening to leave that I was given unlimited access. Do not expect the corporate heart (if that is not an oxymoron) to be touched and a company to reach out to you proactively to see if it can do better for you. 

You, and you alone, must take the initiative. Any feelings of loyalty to your ISP, I can assure you, will not be spontaneously reciprocated.