My Issues with the Law

Welcome to corporate America. A land where the people have rights and privileges beyond anywhere else in the free world, so long as the corporations allow it. A place where a consumer must take responsibility for the actions of corporations. A place where we live by corporate law.

I know, it may sound melodramatic, but alas, this is what America, the land of rebels and freedom, has become. We live as sheep, being herded by corporations to our respective pens. What has brought this onset of thought? Well, let me tell you a story:

A month ago, I purchased a laptop from Dell. The very laptop I am using to write this post. When I purchased the laptop, the sales rep specifically told me that I would have 21 days in which to test the machine and make sure that it was up to par. 21 days from the point where I received it, to ensure that it would work for what I needed. Guess what? She lied. As it turns out, Dell has a policy that states that you have 21 days to return your machine FROM THE POINT OF INVOICE, not from when you receive it. That, my friends, is one full week less that I was told. And so, when I decided today that this machine, though quite nice, was not up to par, I called Dell. At this point, I was, pretty much told, that I had been lied to, and, because I was one day over the 21 days from point of invoice, there was nothing I could do about it. This, obviously, angered me. Now, being passive aggressive, I decided to punch a wall, and ask to speak with a supervisor in a calm voice. Let it go on record, that I never raised my voice to the operator.

The response I got from her was a simple "No." I asked why not, and was told by her that because there was nothing that he could do about it either. I told her that that regardless, I would like to speak with her supervisor, and was repeatedly denied. I asked her if I could call back later and speak with a supervisor, and she told me that I shouldn't, and that she didn't want me to. I asked for her name and rep number, and decided that I didn't want to deal with her anymore, and hung up.

So let me pose this question to you, dear reader: What can we do in a situation like this? What can we, as consumers and citizens in a virtual world, do to ensure we maintain our rights? If a representative for a company tells us one thing, should that company not stand by their representative and validate their words? What ever happened to "The Customer is Always Right"? Well, Dell, although I do like this laptop, your customer service has made it so that I am hesitant to ever purchase from you again. Your sales reps have ensured that I will never trust you again. And your corporate inability to right a wrong has made me lose faith. Is this what we are to expect from corporations? I hope not, but the more of these stories I read about, the more obvious it has become to me that this is the trend towards which we are headed. We are but ants in a world of giants, and I am sick of seeing people stepped on. Only together can we make a difference.