What’s loyalty got to do with it?
‘Ithink I’m going to give up being loyal for 2019, because I’ve decided it’s not worth it any more. It used to be seen as a valued and noble trait but, these days, loyalty is often misplaced, misunderstood or abused. It’s become one of those words that’s so overused it’s lost its real meaning.
For a start, utility companies. To them, because I’m too lazy to go compare or change, I am told I’m a “loyal” customer. But in reality, I’m just a mug!
What do I get for being “loyal”? Nothing but massive price rises and a mouldy old carrot in the form of a promise that my bills will go up this year by only eight million per cent! Meanwhile, new customers get all the great deals and discounts.
Airlines are the same. They want you to always fly with them, so lure you in with membership of their “loyalty” clubs – then reward you with impossibleto-spend, pointless points. Shops and supermarkets do it, too, with their “loyalty cards”, which have nothing whatsoever to do with loyalty and everything to do with monitoring, tracking and marketing. Politicians are the worst. They don’t know the meaning of the word, and use it as a way of justifying their own selfinterest. They may purport to be “loyal” to their leader, constituents and country, but it’s all rubbish. So, I’ll stay loyal to my friends and family, but the rest of them can go do one!’