A Consumer Reports
I am so tired of being a consumer. It seems everywhere I turn someone is trying to pull one over on me, or railroad me into a commitment. The cable company does it, your internet company does it, your cell phone company does it, and from company to company to company you’ll find they all have the same essential policies and practices.
Example: My DSL provider SBC locked me into a 1 year commitment with a $250 early termination fee, and this is the kicker… if I move to an area where SBC can no longer provide me with DSL service, I still have to pay the early termination fee.
But what really kills me is that essentially they all make their rates artificially high, then offer you a reasonable, lower “special rate” if you’ll agree to a 1 or 2 year contract. Where are the consumer advocates? Republicans and Democrats are so busy trying to take each other down, and not lose a potential corporate donation, that no one is standing up for the consumer. I always thought that the central tenant of capitalism was that the market (aka you, me, and everybody else) essentially regulated industry, but if you think the market has even the slightest chance of forcing SBC, or Sprint, or United Airlines into changing all the minutia that’s essentially sticking it to us, you’re living in a dream world.
The cherry on top: I just started researching resort vacations for my family for over the holidays, and time and time again there was an astrix beside the room rate that said the listed price didn’t include a daily $20 resort fee. That’s the fee they charge for using the pool, the hot tub, the sauna, the hotel gym, and for enjoying a walk on the grounds. Shouldn’t that just be part of the room rate then?
As consumers, we’ve been terrible at standing up for our rights. If audiences had simply booed continuously every time an ad came on before a movie in a movie theatre, no companies would have wanted to have been associated with that. If audience had put up a fight there would be no ads before movies today. Instead, we all just rolled over and took it.
Example: My DSL provider SBC locked me into a 1 year commitment with a $250 early termination fee, and this is the kicker… if I move to an area where SBC can no longer provide me with DSL service, I still have to pay the early termination fee.
But what really kills me is that essentially they all make their rates artificially high, then offer you a reasonable, lower “special rate” if you’ll agree to a 1 or 2 year contract. Where are the consumer advocates? Republicans and Democrats are so busy trying to take each other down, and not lose a potential corporate donation, that no one is standing up for the consumer. I always thought that the central tenant of capitalism was that the market (aka you, me, and everybody else) essentially regulated industry, but if you think the market has even the slightest chance of forcing SBC, or Sprint, or United Airlines into changing all the minutia that’s essentially sticking it to us, you’re living in a dream world.
The cherry on top: I just started researching resort vacations for my family for over the holidays, and time and time again there was an astrix beside the room rate that said the listed price didn’t include a daily $20 resort fee. That’s the fee they charge for using the pool, the hot tub, the sauna, the hotel gym, and for enjoying a walk on the grounds. Shouldn’t that just be part of the room rate then?
As consumers, we’ve been terrible at standing up for our rights. If audiences had simply booed continuously every time an ad came on before a movie in a movie theatre, no companies would have wanted to have been associated with that. If audience had put up a fight there would be no ads before movies today. Instead, we all just rolled over and took it.
posted by Stomple at 11:03 PM
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