Anthony R. Coston: Consumer wants vs. needs

In response to Barlow Herget’s Feb. 4 Point of View “Cable users, unite!”: I felt both empathy and sadness for those Time Warner customers of whom he spoke. Empathy, because I have been in their situation and sadness, because of the gullibility and the naivete (or is it ignorance?) of the consumer.

It seems that a lot of consumers are unaware of the power that could be wielded just by taking control of where our dollars are spent. There seems to be a blur of what is a luxury and a necessity.

When considering cable and TV, would they be considered a need or luxury, or something that we cannot live without?

Is there more suffering caused by being inhumanely treated as a paying customer for attempting to obtain expected services or does one suffer more because of lack of cable TV? The disrespectful treatment occurs only because it is allowed. Why not just cancel the account? The suffering would probably only be short-term.

As consumers, we can speak by deciding where and with whom we spend our dollars. By doing so, consumers can take back the power.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Anthony R. Coston: Consumer wants vs. needs."