On Entitlement & Life Lessons

Let’s talk for a minute about entitlement. The act of being entitled. Of feeling you should be given something, or deserve something, or something is just your right to have.

I really wish this weren’t a topic I’m capable of going on at length about. I wish this were not something I have to deal with in the day to day of my life. It absolutely blows my mind and infuriates me to think about the fact that there are people out there who feel they are entitled to things just because.  I don’t mean entitled to clean air or simple things like that. I mean people who feel entitled to expensive electronics or free services just because of these made up constructs like “I’ve been a good customer” or “I’ve worked hard.”

Sure it would be nice to get something in return for being a long-term customer with a company, and a lot of the time you do get things… but you don’t decide what those things are. If your service provider wants to give you something, they will. If they don’t or what they offer isn’t good enough, find another company. If you don’t like the prices at a grocery store, you shop somewhere else. You don’t speak to the store manager and say “I’ve shopped here for three years, I don’t want to pay the same for apples that anyone walking in off the street does.”

Why this doesn’t extend to service providers is absolutely insane. I know there isn’t a lot of choice and that the wireless industry in Canada is pretty awful, but it’s not going to change if people don’t start looking for other options. If you hate the big companies so much, spend the money to break your term and switch. Don’t get into a cycle where you’re renewing every three months to get some other free perk you’re demanding. All that does is invalidate your point and prove that you actually love how bad things are because you get whatever you want in order to keep your business.

Meanwhile, I’m expected to work a job where my sole purpose is to tell people no. We’ve created them, we’ve ingrained in these customers that if they push hard enough they will get what they want and now they want us to stop doing that. I won’t get started on the specifics or the workplace  ridiculousness or the absolutely ludicrous policy decisions being made (Not to mention the lack of employee engagement in any way shape or form) because the one thing that terrible place is good for is a very good paycheque and if I get specific I’ll get myself fired, but suffice it to say: It’s insane.

The thing is, though, it doesn’t just stop at work. People who live their lives expecting to have things handed to them absolutely infuriate me. You’re never going to learn anything if you never have to work for anything. I may have issues with my parents and things that happened in my life, but I am eternally grateful for the lessons I was forced to learn. I don’t get any help from anyone, I have to work for things and if I fuck up: I need to clean that up.

So, there’s that, at least.