Always ask for more
A few days ago I was called by a representative of my cellphone company. It transpired that it was time for me to renew the contract for another 24 months. If I wished, of course. To lure me all the more, I was offered a wide range of new mobiles to choose from plus some benefits. The latter included one-second billing, which I’ve had for years (!) now. One would consider it a standard rather than a generous present, but all right – let it be a gift. However, the moment I heard that it was only for 12 months and then I’d have to pay 18 zl a month for it, I got a bit unpleasant. With all the politeness I could muster, I explained what I think of the offer and what benefits other companies provide. And guess what? The woman “double checked” something on her computer and it turned out that there is still this possibility for me to be presented with one-second billing for the whole period of 24 months! Hah!
But… hmmm, come to think of it, it’s always like that, not only when it comes to mobiles. It’s simply life. You can observe it anywhere anytime, especially when you spend more time with some cheeky friends of yours. The conclusion is – you should always ask (or argue, for that matter) for more :)
I bet you felt proud of yourself when had your per-second billing scheme corrected. That’s a typical lesson those corporate hyenas are trying to teach us all the time: be loyal, we’ve got plenty of carrots for you. Fight, kick, resist and refuse is often a good personal policy against their dominance.
I think it’s a bit different with people, the cheeky or false friends of ours. Sometimes a wiser option is to keep a low profile and always say thank you, especially for the things we’ve never had.
By ‘cheeky’ I didn’t mean ‘false’ friends who want too much from me, but people who are extraordinarily self-confident and brave enough to oppose, no matter what those self-important corporate hyenas or some other pompous officials may claim.