Big corporation is like the anti christ.  They are one of the largest consumers of human energy, outsourcing their customer service to non-english speaking Countries and pulling one who seeks assistance into a vortex of insanity. 

As a Taurus I am like a bull in a china shop.  I can be calm to a point but I have a breaking point and when I reach that point all hell breaks lose.  It takes me only a minute or two to reach this point when on the phone to Dell customer service or microsoft or any of these large monopolies who are leaving behind quality customer service in favor of corporate greed.

Recently I purchased a new version of Microsoft Office 2007 only one week before Office 2010 came out.  With my purchase came a free upgrade to 2010.  Only I was not informed I had a grace period in which to upgrade.  I figure I had at least a year so I didn’t rush, since I had just installed 2007.  But on November 18^th I went to find out how to upgrade only to find out the option had expired October 31^st.  I figured, no problem.  I will talk to someone who understands that I was not aware of the deadline who will be able to help me out.  After all I purchased my product and it did come with a free upgrade.  What happened after that was two hours of being passed around from one person to the next who told me the same thing.  “I’m sorry mam that offer has already expired.”  At first they told me the upgrade link was already taken down, and it was.  So when I asked that they mail me a CD which I would happily pay for, that was not an option either.  Evidentally all the upgrade CD’s had been destroyed.  I knew all they really had to do was issue me a license for the upgrade.  I could have downloaded a trial copy of 2010 and then entered my new license.  But there was not one person in that entire two hour cycle that had the least bit interest in helping me.  I should have known that the upgrade had a grace period. 

I had received thousands of microsoft product offers from stores who got my email information from products I purchased through them.  But did I receive one courtesy email telling me that my upgrade was about to expire?  NO!  Did I receive a note in my purchase package telling me I only had until October 31^st to take advantage of the upgrade?  NO!  But my ignorance about their grace period prevented me from getting my free upgrade.  And once the grace period, which I never knew about, was over, there was nobody willing to make it right with me.  They didn’t care about losing my business!  They had millions of people hooked into their system.  Who was I?  Nobody!  Right?

Just the day before I was on the phone with Dell Customer Service for four hours trying to get assistance with my Windows 7 that had corrupted.  Four hours.  No offense to the nice people who were hired to do the job of customer service, but these people were clueless.  They were going off a script without any real technical knowledge.  I’m sure Dell is betting that a few hours with one of these guys we will just give up and buy a new computer.

Unfortunately even companies like Qwest and Verizon who were once very loyal to their customers are now becoming too big for their britches. 

The entities in themselves are narcissistic.  Their employees are conditioned not to have compassion or empathy for the customers.  We are empty faced names.  That’s it!  We are pocket books. 

Dell wanted to sell me a three year warranty for my five hundred dollar laptop for nearly five hundred dollars.  And what do I get for my money?  I get to call those outsourced people who don’t speak my language and can’t help me.  I can’t count on my computer lasting either because I’m sure they have built to expire parts now so we are forced to continue throwing money at our computers in order to have them work.  My current laptop has a battery that lasts as long as the warranty.  Also the CD/DVD player is built to last about a year.  I really believe that the dark forces behind companies like these really do build our machines to expire.  Horrible for our landfills and our environment but good for their bottom line.

I have recently had to ask myself if I really want to be part of this world.  The world of computers, cell phones and high technology.  Although I prefer CD’s to using an Ipod, that option is fading from grasp.  I have to change gears as quickly as new technology is invented which means a lot more money out of pocket. 

In our Grandparents days things were built to last.  I still have a blender from those days that would blow anything you can buy today out of the water.  The reason things aren’t built to last is so that these large corporations can make more profit.  They profit at our expense.  We are constantly forced back out into the retail world to replace something that is not worth repairing. 

We can either tolerate the ways things are today and feed the beast with our hard earned dollars or we can make a decision to stop playing the game.

I am strongly looking at the decision to “bow out” right now.  But I need to understand what that means to me.  Does it just mean buying from the little guy only top quality, built to last products?  Well that would be a start in the right direction.  What about computers?  What options do I have?  I would have to explore that.

I have already made a decision that, other than paying off the balance on my account, Dell will not get another penny from me.  Neither will microsoft.  That narrows things down.  It may mean learning to live without a computer.  Ironically I make my living on the Internet so I would have to figure out another way to support myself.

Fortunately I have simplified my life already to where I don’t require a lot to live on.  But I could simplify so much further.  I could change the way I live my life.  Awe, what a concept.  There is so much to reflect on here.  And as I reflect on how we can change the world by our refusal to “feed the beast” then I will share my reflections through writing.