Big Companies.. Listen up

I don’t think you realize that consumers mean business.  The days are over when you can charge what you want and we will mindlessly pay you like sheep.  We are in a financial crisis, we the individual consumer more so than you the big companies.  Verizon is the latest to feel the sting of consumers being fed up with corporate greed.  How dare you tell people they have to pay a $2 fee in order to pay their bills online?  I know you had meetings about this fee and I can’t believe that nobody said, “no big wigs, this is a bad idea. The people will be pissed.”  All you had to do was look at the backlash from Netflix.  People just can’t afford to be nickle and dime’d anymore.  I know your goal is to make money, and your first responsibility is to your shareholders, but you need to realize that consumers are who you make money off of.  You are all so out of touch with the average persons struggle to stay afloat.  These price hikes are greedy and disrespectful.  I know you keep saying the fees and price hikes are to better reflect the cost of these services, but why punish loyal customers? In the past 2 years I’ve learned just how far a dollar stretches and it let me tell you it doesn’t go far enough. I don’t think you have the ability to look at the bigger picture.  If a family is struggling financially and they have a choice to pay for utilities and food or cell service, what do you think they’ll pick?  Now is the time to be lowering prices not seeing what extra you can squeeze out of people already stretched to their limits.  I personally will not be supporting any company who displays a blatant disregard for me and my situation.  This means you Netflix, who still hasn’t lowered their prices back to where they were.  This means you Bank of America (You know what you did).  This means you Verizon.