Corporate America choosing profits over customer service and trust
OPINION — I’m a retired CEO who deplores how so many huge national corporations squeeze every penny of profit out of consumers to satisfy their Wall Street-obsessed bosses.
Out of force of habit, and because they have driven under so many small local businesses, I have continued to deal with a few of those companies. Too many of them give me constant reminders that they prioritize short-term profits over customer service, trust and long-term loyalty.
I recently received an email from one of them. The “no reply” email itself demonstrated their lack of respect for me. It announced a switch to a four-week billing cycle instead of monthly and said it would take effect without my permission. The announcement didn’t explain whether this was a price increase. But if my math is correct and they charge the same amount every four weeks that I had been paying monthly, it will be a “hidden” 8.3% price increase.
Since I wasn’t permitted to reply to their email, I called to ask. It was answered by a robot that insisted I waste my time providing a lot of useless information before it finally put me on hold. I was not given the courtesy of an estimate of how long the wait would be, or the option of leaving my number so they could call me back at their convenience (if ever). I finally had to give up.
Did I hang up with warm and fuzzy feelings for this huge and uncaring corporation? Heck, no! The only alternative they’ve left me is to leave them. I hope more consumers will join me.
If corporate America can’t be honest about their pricing and won’t accept an email or answer their phone when we try to contact them, let’s just hang up on them. And take our business with us.
Joe Smyth is a retired journalist and former CEO of Independent Newsmedia, and the author of “America’s Broken Politics.” Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
