The benefits of being negligable.

It went like this:

Verizon Guy: Well, ya'll bought one o' dem fancy phones.  Ya gotta pay for a data plan, kno-wut-I-mean? (Yes, he did talk like a cowboy.)

Me: Well, no one told me about that. (I'm lying, they told me about that.)

Verizon Guy: There ain't nothin' I can do, boy, time's are rough down here on the prarie.

Me: But I've been a customer for years and blah blah bitch moan complain.

Verizon Guy: Okay, okay! I hollered for a manager and he got 'er done! (No joke, the guy actually said "got 'er done")

Me: Thank you, you're the best, god bless the Confederacy.

{fin}

This is what I love about dealing with big corporations.  At a certain point, you become not worth the time arguing with and you get exactly what you want.  Given my tendency towards being a spoiled brat, it's great to have an interaction that's just super responsive to me being obnoxious.  It's like having a bad parent you can go to when the other one turns you down.

It's always my advise that if a company ever charges you or does something you don't like, just complain.  Go higher and higher up the chain until you reach a manager that is either A) afraid of human interaction or B) is worth more money per hour than your complaint.  Of course, there's an equivalency to these things:

$10 = 30 minutes complaining (or m/c)

$100 = 60 m/c

$1000 = 120 m/c

And so on.

Of course, everything's against you on this.  Articles tell you why it's not healthy.  Doctors prescribe medicines to make the bile go down easier.  God hates complaining.  But it's a lot like an oil company saying global warming doesn't exist.  Think about how much easier it would be for companies if their employees never complained for fear of getting sick and missing work.  Or how much more money doctors would make if people just shut up and took their pills.  Or how much more churches could get away with if their congregation stopped going to the police.

I'm being half-serious here.  Complaining shouldn't be a way of life, but it certainly isn't going to make you die and go to Hell.  That's why I've decided to show some whiny asshole pride.  Behold:

Wear it with pride.