Activating a newly updated credit card has always been an effortless matter. Dial the 24-hour toll-free telephone number provided, enter the 16-digit card number, punch in the last four digits of your social security number, and finally press “1” to confirm proper receipt. It’s that simple. Your new card is now valid.

As I’ve just described it, that’s the way it is . . . or rather was. Times change. When dealing with Citicorp, one of the major credit card issuers, what used to be the ending is now the beginning. After confirmation, you’re no longer bid an electronic adieu. Instead, a real live person replaces the recorded message, offering you the firm’s service-oriented commitment. “How may I assist you,” he asks. “Is everything satisfactory?” With the formalities concluded, the true purpose of his presence becomes evident. There are products to be sold, and you are clearly captured clientele. Your credit card is not complete without a variety of extras, all at a price. During my recent encounter, the litany of offerings came one after the other. I successfully groped for legitimate-sounding reasons why I didn’t want any of them—until he got to the last one. It became clear that he did not intend to take “no” for an answer. He informed me of my need for protection. What if someone steals my identity? Their monitoring service would give me the notice I must have when my card is stolen—and best of all, it would be free. Though it took a bit of prodding, he eventually disclosed that the “free” part expired after 30 days, when it automatically became $9.99 per month changed to the card. He was tough to get rid of, attempting to close me eight times during a 12-minute harangue. It was one of the hardest attempted sells I’d ever experienced. And why not? Consider what’s at stake. Citicorp controls tens of millions of credit card accounts. For every million schlemiels they can coerce into that program, they stand to gross $119,880,000. As you see, billions can be made, and as the late Senator Everett Dirksen once said: “A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon you’re talking real money.”

If you think the experience I’ve just related is simply a matter between me and Citicorp that doesn’t affect you, you’d better think again. What I’ve just described is the corporate world in which we live. Innovative marketing is what it’s now all about, and every prominent firm will, sooner or later, embrace these practices. You will find yourself regularly fending off this sort of pitch—and worse. For this reason, you’d better develop a thick skin and a skeptical attitude to go with it, because you will be put-upon in ways you cannot yet imagine.

A concluding thought:
At a time in the past, many successful firms operated on the principal that the customer deserved to be treated honestly and with consideration. For whatever reason, this is no longer the way it is. To imagine otherwise is to place yourself at a serious disadvantage.