bigBADbobby.blogspot.com: 29/52: "The System's Bitch" by John Wright

Book 29/52: "The System's Bitch" by John Wright, 3/5 Stars

Though I've never met the author, he is a long-time friend of someone in my family, which is how his book came into my hands.

Any man married to the same woman for the majority of the time that he's been on the planet and who shepherded three daughters into the their adult lives with her... well, that man deserves to have his book read.

"The System's Bitch" is a humorous take on Mr. Wright's customer service experiences over the years. He writes with a straight-forward wit that makes getting through the book an easy and delightful process. His take on the world is one of common sense and he asks why we put up with the things we do as the desirable quantity--the customer.

Convenience has swung from the customer to the business. In other words, the business now finds it convenient to charge more for less because we accept it as a bitch of "The System."

I can relate to Mr. Wright because I have the worst customer service karma there is and I've not found what is supposed to be balancing it on the other side. For my bad traffic karma, I have good parking karma; makes sense, right? But, when my water gets shut off because the water utility changed their billing address and didn't tell my Bank ePay or DirecTV phantom charges me a buck here and a buck there for three straight months when my service was supposed to off while I was in the process of a move or when my health insurance provider fails to charge my credit card and then sends me a letter, which by the time I receive it and respond my insurance has been canceled (you couldn't pick up the phone and call me? Seriously, I pay YOU and you just let it cancel?)... well, I know what it's like to be "The System's Bitch."

The only criticism that I have of the book is that it is fully intended to be a rant, as far as I can tell. And, although the squeaky wheel, when screaming, often gets greased, I don't typically find favor in simply shouting... I always try to find a way to take one more step and relate to some way that we can make the world a better place, either through action or enlightenment.