I hate to fly.

I hated to fly before 911 because I am 6’ 5”, and the seats are uncomfortable, and terribly crowded. Now they have added annoying security lines, removing shoes, and charging for baggage to the crowded narrow uncomfortable seats and stale air. I like to travel, I just hate to fly.

I hate being put of hold for 20 minutes while a recorded voice tells me my call is important to them. I hate getting a customer service representative that I have to get to repeat everything three times because I can not get through his accent, although many of the Indian call centers are far more polite and helpful than many plain English speaking Americans.

I hate to have to work so hard to even find a phone number to call to deal with a problem, being forced to use some online menu that 90% of the time does not address my problem.

I hate to be told by my health insurance that I can not buy a sixty day supply of pills but I should consider buying the double size dose and cut the pill in half using a pill splitter. (No I am not kidding.)

I hate having to explain my father’s reason for his hospital admittance to 6 different physicians at the hospital because none of them took the time to read the charts, but I can’t find anyone to clean up the room because they have cut back on the cleaning staff. A hospital is the most inefficient enterprise I have ever seen and they complain about not making money.

I hate getting nasty surprises on my cell phone bill because my college degree apparently is inadequate to be able to understand the phone plan I just bought.

I hate being nickel and dimed by the banks for every service they offer. I hate getting a bill from an attorney who charges $450 per hour and then adds $1.45 for using the copier.

We only think about elections every couple of years but we encounter lousy customer service and incredibly ignorant and hostile treatment from businesses every single day. It may be this frustration that is carried over into the political sphere when someone calls for “change”.

To offer some balance, I do love Amazon and Territory Ahead and buying interesting products online without having to drive or wait in line or even waiting for the store to open. Cox Cable will take a message and call you back so you do not have to wait on line. And the folks at the maintenance shop at Riverside Ford are as friendly and attentive as you can expect.

And last night the movie theatre showed the new Bond flick (it sucked) on two screens. One of them was for adults only and you had to be 21 to use it. What a great idea.

Yet as bad as much customer service is it is infinitely superior to dealing with most government services. The tax code alone requires teams of accountants and lawyers just to figure out what I owe. If voters think that their frustration will improve by promises from politicians you may long for the days of just crappy service.

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