7 things you should NEVER accept as a customer---and how to eliminate them.

1: Paying a fee for being broke

                This is just so evil. Late fees above $50 dollars on rent. Bounced check fees resulting from “stacking”. Minimum balance charges. Interest rates that vary depending on your credit. These are the ways unethical companies make money. You shouldn't have to stand for it.

Your move(s): Work with a credit consular or money manager to get less broke, find less predatory companies to work with, publicize the nefarious practices of the Evil Ones, use a service like Manilla to track your bills and payments.

2: Impatient service providers rushing to the solution

                Everyone’s rushed and overworked, especially front line reps at a call center. But it’s their job to hear you out (within reason!)

Your move(s):Sympathy, with an iron edge. "I know you're eager to help me, but I actually need to explain my situation a little bit more before we move to the solution, okay? Thanks."

3: The blowback from the previous rude customer landing on you

                You’re not the a$$hole who just threw your organic coffee at your barista, right? So why are you the one trying to turn her frown upside down?

Your move(s): Sympathy, with a humorous edge. "Wow, that last guy was some piece of work, eh? Well, we're not all like that, I can tell you." If this doesn't work, try yoga breaths, remembering your first job, and just letting it go. 

4: Huge mergers with the potential to significantly lower your quality of life

                Why more people aren't in a froth about banks, cable companies, and tech companies taking over the earth is a mystery to me. It’s going to make your life really, really miserable when ComCast/Time Warner has the power to throttle content from other providers, yet…somehow it’s pushed through.

Your move(s): Short of slowly weaning yourself off cable and the internet over time, I honestly don't know. This is so scary, yet so real. Any ideas? 

5: The first (unreasonable) “no”

                Refunds, rebates, replacements---sometimes you need to push a *little*. 

Your move(s): Just do it calmly and politely, and use the “threat sandwich”. Compliment the product or service, threaten to take your business elsewhere, and then assure the rep that you’re positive something can be worked out…can’t it?

6: Purveyors or service providers who fail to hold up their end of the “bargain”--after you've invested your time or money with them (i.e. 24- hour plumbers not answering the phone after 9 PM to come back and repair the drip they missed the first time)

                You paid for a service or good, not a marker at a blackjack game. Reliable, honest, and consistent service shouldn't be a gamble.

Your move(s): Ask for a recompense for the miss, and failing that, get on Yelp or Twitter and detail your disappointment. 

7: Consistently poor service, performance, or longevity of the product

                One or two incidents in the lifetime of a relationship is no big deal. Monthly or weekly screw-ups, multiple disappointments from the same company, and Houston, we've got a problem. 

Your move(s): Time to change your provider or brand. If you're stuck with a dud product or service (contracts, cable company monopoly), try to work with the company and see if you can improve the problems. If that fails...channel your righteous rage into inventing an alternative.