Day 170
A lady pushing credit cards at a booth in the Calgery airport stopped me and offered me a credit card deal that sounded pretty good. I kindly declined and started walking away when she interrupted my walk with more of the sales pitch about travel rewards, perks, air miles, introductory interest rates, and so forth. She simply did not stop talking, so I felt obliged to turn back and listen out of politeness. She asked for my name to begin an application, and I again kindly declined.
"Why not? It's the best credit card." She replied. And honestly I could think of a reason. Maybe it was the best card, maybe it would be a great decision to apply. It was a weird point of consciousness wherein I felt irrational for turning down the offer!
"I don't know why not, but I then don't really need a reason. Thank you anyway."
"If you don't know why not, then you should sign up, you have nothing to lose!"
And now I was just annoyed. I turned to her and explained that her profession was essentially to exploit and take advantage of people's sense of politeness in order to push a product. And it is true, this is why they don't let you talk, this is why they don't tell you what they're selling until after they've given some schpeal. This is why they start with "how are you today?" on the phone before identifying themselves.
So I let this lady have it. I told her the whole industry of phone, door-to-door, and airport solicitations is making society worse. It causes people to be less polite to each other, to be less considerate and kind, because the industry trains us to believe that when we are kind, we'll get taken advantage of.
And yet another feature of capitalism rears its head. Companies have no issue depleting a resource that cannot be renewed if it means turning a higher profit. The idea (think oil here for example) is to exploit the resource until it is no longer viable, and then to move on. In the case of solicitatations, companies really are exploiting a natural resource - human decency toward strangers - that will eventually beome depleted. In good time we'll be so jaded that we'll just tell any stranger who wants to say hello to fuck off, the sales companies will have made their money, and they'll move on to a new business strategy leaving a worse-off society in their wake.
"Why not? It's the best credit card." She replied. And honestly I could think of a reason. Maybe it was the best card, maybe it would be a great decision to apply. It was a weird point of consciousness wherein I felt irrational for turning down the offer!
"I don't know why not, but I then don't really need a reason. Thank you anyway."
"If you don't know why not, then you should sign up, you have nothing to lose!"
And now I was just annoyed. I turned to her and explained that her profession was essentially to exploit and take advantage of people's sense of politeness in order to push a product. And it is true, this is why they don't let you talk, this is why they don't tell you what they're selling until after they've given some schpeal. This is why they start with "how are you today?" on the phone before identifying themselves.
So I let this lady have it. I told her the whole industry of phone, door-to-door, and airport solicitations is making society worse. It causes people to be less polite to each other, to be less considerate and kind, because the industry trains us to believe that when we are kind, we'll get taken advantage of.
And yet another feature of capitalism rears its head. Companies have no issue depleting a resource that cannot be renewed if it means turning a higher profit. The idea (think oil here for example) is to exploit the resource until it is no longer viable, and then to move on. In the case of solicitatations, companies really are exploiting a natural resource - human decency toward strangers - that will eventually beome depleted. In good time we'll be so jaded that we'll just tell any stranger who wants to say hello to fuck off, the sales companies will have made their money, and they'll move on to a new business strategy leaving a worse-off society in their wake.
Comments