You know, I’ve never been one to really escalate with customer service very much but I received an Early Termination Fee from Sprint when I decided to switch to AT&T because I just really wanted an iPhone. Now, I think ETFs are stupid but I am a reasonable person and if it is the industry standard I will pay it. The thing is that Sprint started charging me for months in advance before I left. Now if you are going to charge me for a month in advance and I leave the first day that the new month starts, I don’t believe I should be charged for a service I haven’t used.

I mean it’s a little ridiculous to be paying extra charges. And I swear the first two lines of customer support are managed by people who just don’t think. They honestly give you answers without actually thinking about what you are saying. But today, for the first time in my life I actually escalated my issue about 3, maybe 4, times. And at the last place I actually spoke with a person who understood my issue. Did not make me repeat my information and actually knew who I was and what my account looked like. And was reasonable enough to drop the extra charges. It took a lot of effort but I’m very proud of myself for not giving up and just wasting money that I don’t need to waste.

I am also exceptionally proud of myself for taking the time out to manage my finances enough to know that these are erroneous charges and having my accounts all managed and up to date. It has taken me a while to get organized and there is *so* much more that I need to do but I am excited that I am finally getting there. I suppose being an irate customer is one of the first steps. It’s amazing what a little unpleasantness and escalation can do for you. So my advice to anyone who hesitates to escalate when they call with an issue, just keep escalating if they don’t give you what you want. Seriously, what do you have to lose? And from this experience I’m realizing that you have a whole lot to gain and it never hurts to try.