Bloody Pen

I remember, oh so very long ago, reading the statement "The Pen is mightier than the sword". Because I was certainly not the brightest student, I might not have understood this, back in the day, but the meaning is clear as day to me now.
  I know each time I sit down to bash the keyboard, I am putting words out there, for others to read and interpret. I also know that I speak my mind, and everything I put down, is my take on things, however, I disclose information that may cause another to stop and maybe look at things differently, simply because of what I wrote. I am aware that my "pen" is not likely to cause a war, or revolution (maybe a small uprising), but, I am able to comprehend, how a few words put on paper, by someone far more important than myself, can, in fact, change the world, far more than hacking away at someone with a sword.
  I have become a real Pen "Buckler" (just a twist on "Swashbuckler"). I stab away at anything that starts me itching. Something rubs me the wrong way, down I sit, and start pecking, and then when I feel I have spewed to my heart's content, I hit the send button. Don't think my ranting is limited to the blog, oh no...I can no longer simply accept what I feel is poor service from a company, I must e-mail them my thoughts, and voice my intentions.
  How many of you feel that customer service has become a joke? Many businesses seem to feel that they can simply sell you a product, and no matter how shoddy it is when you receive it, you should just shut up and suck it up. I wonder when this happened. Remember when if you went grocery shopping, and discovered when you opened your paper bag, you had maybe mold on the package of cheese, off you went back to the store, and without question, they apologized, and replaced the cheese? Dented cans were discounted, day old bread was set to the side and cheap, meat was cut and wrapped to your specifications, and tied with a little string for your convenience.
  If you bought a high end item, like a fridge or stove, you would call the store if something broke, and they would explain what was wrong, and send you the piece to fix it. Warranties were for years, you did not receive a phone call a month after purchase, attempting to sell you an extended warranty that took over after the 365 days or sometimes 3 months, of the original warranty life. Truth be told, these offers do not make a purchaser feel very good about their investment.Sadly, many times you should have bought that warranty, because items no longer last 15-20 years, they start to fall apart moments after entering your home.
  Plastic is my enemy. I hate the stuff!! It is pretty much what "made in China" used to mean when I was young. Plastic may not break down biologically, however, it breaks into pieces that instantly cause things to stop working. Then to replace the plastic piece, you must first wait a lifetime, and second, purchase a tool to use with the tiny piece of crap to fix the big piece of crap.
  Why am I on this rant, you ask? Well, I just purchased 3 large kitchen appliances. I paid as much for them, as my first car! I had to drive to another city to pick them up, haul them home, and open the boxes, only to find a huge dent on one appliance. I did as I was told, called the store first thing in the morning to explain my problem. We were told to drive out to the store, and the matter would be straightened out. Off we went, we had pictures of the dent, and merrily thought this was going to be easy, since they "Wanted" us to come in. Hah! The customer service person did not even want to see the pictures, she simply asked us if the dent was visible when the appliance was put in place. Helllllooooo, what the heck did that matter? The dent was there, and I knew it, I didn't want to hide it, I certainly didn't order a dent! She informed us that all she would do was give us a $75 store credit. I knew that shouting at this woman was useless, this was one time I simply walked out of the store, and let my honey deal with the matter. It was clear although there were plenty of customers milling about, this woman was not going to change her mind if I started ranting. I wonder, if she had bought a new car, found a big dent under the wheel well, if she would simply pay the full price, knowing the next person was going to get a dent free  car for the same price?
  What did I do? Well, I got out my "pen" and wrote her head office. I told them I would NOT buy a single thing from them ever again. I also told them they were getting my appliance back, although I would now have to pay for a trip back, and then wait another 2 weeks for a replacement. Will they care? Ahhh..it's not likely, but, I will get my dent free appliance, and I have my bloody pen poised to slash away at tiny little "bricks" all over the country.