#17: Don't let companies screw you

Certain companies simply suck beyond belief. Two that come to mind are Comcast (see Don't #11) and Countrywide. If you owe them money, then it's only reasonable for them to want to be paid. However, often companies such as these will send you bills you don't owe or expect you to pay for shoddy or unperformed services. And you will call Customer "Service," and you will be put on hold forever, and often as not the lowly representative will not be able to help you. And when you ask to speak to a supervisor, companies like these will tell you there's not one on duty. (Bullshit. They have thousands of people working that day, and not a supervisor to flog the worker bees?)

Don't spend a lot of time on the phone with customer service reps. They have no power to help you because their employers clearly don't give a shit. Here's the very best way to get a resolution to your problem: Write a letter to the CEO. You may have to do some searching online, because these companies don't necessarily want you to be able to find their CEO, but you'll find him (or, rarely, her). Make your case in the letter clearly. Don't hesitate to show your outrage, but resist profanity simply because these bozos will often glom onto the "bad word" and let that distract them from the issue at hand. CC everybody who might remotely be interested in reading about your case--the state attorney general, some regulatory body, etc. Sending the letter by certified mail never hurts.

Many people find writing a chore, but I promise you that, assuming you have a legitimate case, you are highly likely to get some resolution to your issue. Just last week I received a phone call from the executive assistant to the Comcast CEO. They are now finally admitting and fixing their fuck up. I have written the CEOs of Continental, Comcast, Countrywide, Chili's--pretty much all the way up the alphabet. Only rarely has a CEO failed to respond. Two who never did respond were there CEOs of CompUSA and Mars Music. Both are now out of business.