I am not a big consumer.
In fact, I would much rather make due with a semi-functioning item than
buy a new one. I once told my wife that
if I ever have a mid-life crisis it will not take the form of an affair with a
much younger woman or the purchase of a motorcycle. No, my crisis will manifest as a giant
giveaway of everything I own. I really
do not like stuff because of how buying and owning make me feel. As one of my favorite writers, Peter
Matthiessen, once said, “We have outsmarted ourselves, like greedy monkeys, and now
we are full of dread.”
One way this aversion to consumerism shows up is my
reluctance to wear any item of clothing that has a visible label. My teenage daughter feels it is a bit
ridiculous, but I contend that companies should pay the wearer for advertising
when we walk around with big labels visible to the world. (Being human, I do allow myself an exception
in the case of Converse Chuck Taylor high tops, since I have worn them forever
and the circled star logo is invisible when I wear long pants.)
These quick comments are here simply to establish my bona fides as an anti-consumerist. Nobody would ever call me a shill for
anything. Having said that, I would like
to make a public declaration of adoration for a phone company.
I love CREDO Mobile.
They have been my long distance phone company for at least 15 years and
I have never once been tempted to leave them.
Erica has strayed from Credo a time or two, but each time, they have
welcomed her back by buying out her old contract and finding other ways to
sweeten the deal. As we have become a
3-phone family, they have adjusted our plan to make sure we are paying the very
least we have to while still having unlimited texting and no roaming charges
ever. When you call their customer
service number, you get to a real person very quickly. Their customer service representatives are
empowered to make decisions without checking with a manager or passing the buck
in some way. They have never been
anything but pleasant and helpful.
Can you say that about your phone company?
As if that weren’t enough, they are a corporation with a
huge sense of responsibility. Their mission is to build a for-profit company that works for progressive social
change. Since their beginnings in 1985
they have donated over $70 million to progressive causes around the world. Customers get to vote on how to disburse
donations each year. Every once in a while we get a coupon with our bill that entitles us to a free pint of Ben and Jerry's.
New York State recently made same-sex marriage legal. Mitt Romney famously said, “Corporations are
people, my friend.” Now, if only New
York would allow bigamy, so Erica and I could marry Credo…
If you are unhappy with your cell phone company, consider
switching to Credo Mobile. They rock.
