What ever happened to decent service? While we are at it, what ever happened to decent people? There was a time when others treated us with dignity. On this site, I promise you to teach you how to get back at others who show you no respect, who waste your time, or make life a little more Hell-like than you can stand, whether those others are companies that ignore you, neighbors who do not act neighborly, or just miserable people you would just like to mess with because they deserve it.

You may think you have little power as a single, pathetic consumer. You probably feel you can no longer withstand interminable stretches of time on hold, which robs you of a measurable fraction of your life that you will never, ever be able to reclaim.

You may think that you will someday explode in uncontrollable rage, no longer responsible for your actions, after you are forced to repeat the the same information over and over to a representative who either does not understand you or simply pretends, quite convincingly, not to.

You will wonder why you just used the telephone keypad to punch in your credit card or frequent flyer number, after scrounging for the card from your wallet or purse, then after putting the card back, will get connected to a live human being a number of minues later, who will start off the conversation by asking you to reach back into your wallet or purse so you can read your credit card or frequent flyer number again. It is astounding that we do not hear more news stories about irate customers taking the life of a phone rep who pissed them off one time too many.

Nothing will convince you that your call is important to them, the repetition of that recorded statement to the contrary every 30 seconds notwithstanding.

Yes indeed, you may think you are powerless, but if you join me and a million or so other pathetic consumers, we will change the face of service through our whining and complaining.

In the coming weeks, I will be helping you, my advisees, as you try to survive in a world of telephone menus, shoddy products, confusing warranties, half-hour wait times, and underpaid offshore customer service representatives who put you on hold so they can consult a dictionary to tranlate what they are about to say to you from their native language into English.

I will help you identify the worst companies on our planet and show you how to deal with them. Empowered, we will get back at the miserable bastards. I am naming names. You will, I promise, be vindicated.

And the lessons you learn here will be invaluable as you apply them in other settings, to finally get back at coworkers who are lazy and conniving, at strangers who are rude or unpleasant, at neighbors who are irksome and need to be censured, or relatives you would prefer never to hear from again.

If nothing else, the effective channeling of your wrath and indignation will make you feel a little better.

The first of my smears is coming soon. Questions in this category are being checked for sagacity and limits of liability. Not that it might change wjhat I have to offer.9+6.