There are a few things that bother me a lot more than they should. The most recent example: the $35 activation fee every cell carrier seems to charge. It’s one of those things that seems reasonable enough, until you actually stop and think about it. They spend millions and millions of dollars to advertise for new customers, even though they’ve pretty much saturated the whole market. And when they finally get you to agree to pay $80/month, and enter into a long-term contract with them to ensure that you’ll still pay it, what do they do? Why, they demand $35 from you!

Especially with the way the economy is going, companies are doing everything they can to get new customers. They’re slashing prices and offering discounts all over the place. I could see, “Sign up for a 2-year contract and we’ll pay you $35!” as a good promotion. But “Sign up now for a 2-year contract and pay us $35 for the privilege of doing so?”

So I’ve decided that I’m going to treat it kind of like how I treat giving my phone number out to cashiers. My steadfastness will match my politeness as I say no.