[Lawtonfogle]

>That doesn't make it okay to lie to them.

You are right. What makes it okay to lie is that no harm is done to anyone I care about not harming. That they made themselves someone I no longer care about harming is their own issue.

[turar]

Moreover, the person you'd be lying to couldn't care less if you're lying or not. The person is most likely paid by the hour and is counting down hours to clock out and go home.

[794CD01]

Sorry, I'm not a consequentialist. And if harm is your criterion, what harm is done to anyone by calling customer service to cancel your account instead of lying so you can do it via email?

[chimprich]

Any company that treats is customers so badly is likely to have a long hold period if you phone them up, probably by design. Calling them could easily take half an hour and my life only contains a finite number of half hours.

I'd like to think that I could do something productive with that time that would make my life or the world slightly better. Plus the frustration of sitting on hold would negatively impact my health and state of mind.

That seems like quite a lot of harm; certainly not worth an empty idealistic gesture that would not help anyone.

[794CD01]

You can do something productive regardless. It's really baffling how many people seem to treat being put on hold as something that requires you to actively devote time to. Is this an age thing?

[Lawtonfogle]

Being put on hold does put limits on what one can do. Can I be at the movies? Can I be having a discussion with friends and family? Can I driving? No to all of these (without having a performance impact).

Being put on hold does far more damage than lying in this particular case.

[794CD01]

So it probably is an age thing. I would answer yes to all but the first, which I never do anyway.

[tamana]

Respecting your elders is right up their with honesty in the big ten commandments, son.

[794CD01]

That's completely untrue. The 10 commandments only tell you to respect your parents, not "your elders". And they don't condemn lying, merely perjury.

Not that they are a great source for morality anyway, but if you're going to use them, at least use them properly, mom.