A good old friend once taught me this: If you’re really mad at someone about something, write ‘em a letter – but don’t send it, just write it and put it away.

Get it off your chest. I’ve used this anger control technique a number of times and it really works. But it sure is tempting to send the letter.

The technique has kept me out of trouble for years and appeased my anger often. I have a folder of such letters buried deep in my hard drive. On rare occasions I go in and read some. I’m always glad I didn’t send them. Anger never healed anything.

Sometimes, for me the writing of the letter is just not enough, so I do something even more extensive – I write a song about it. That always works. Keep the subject universal so it doesn’t get personal and let that rage out, baby.

A number of years ago my telephone company at the time, MCI, made a mistake on my phone bill to the tune of several hundred dollars. It was clearly their mistake. I had the long distance calls listed on my bill and they were all to people who I did not know and never had any dealings with.

I began to call MCI’s customer service to rectify the situation. Of course I would always be put on hold, have an impossible time reaching an actual human being, be bounced around from ineffectual so-called service people who had no clue about their jobs to their supervisors who would promise rectification and then no change would happen to my bill.

This went on for months. In the meantime my good credit was ruined because I would not pay this bill.  I was the little guy and powerless. Even my wife said at one point, “Oh let’s just pay the bill and get it over with.” But it became a cause celebre for me; it became a fight against big brother, the principle of the thing. I’ll have to admit, I became a bit obsessed.

Over the period of about 6 months I called 67 times (I kept a log) and got no results. I once figured that the time I spent on those calls was over 24 hours – an entire day of my life. Now you might say to me, “How stupid of you!” And to a certain extent you’d be right, but remember, on each call I thought I would have a chance to rectify the situation. I mean, why not?  I was in the right!

They all knew me over there at MCI and often customer service people would say the same thing, “Oh, it’s you again.” I actually worked my way up the ladder and spoke to some knucklehead they called The President one day who promised me confidently that if he couldn’t do anything, nobody could. He couldn’t.

The bills kept coming.

I would try to change telephone services, but other telephone companies would politely refuse me because I stilled owed an unpaid bill to MCI.

I don’t remember the outcome of this sad adventure. Somehow it went away. Life went on. What I do remember however, is this. Once I had written this song on one madly frustrated night, I let it go. The song was just the therapy I needed to get over it.

Perhaps we paid the bill, perhaps one of the humans I got to know over there finally took pity on me and got the job done. It didn’t matter. The writing of the song had solved the dilemma.

The great thing about blogs today is that they have become powerful and effectual tools for us little guys. We can finally speak up and be heard. Big companies are afraid of bloggers because we do have a voice and there are countless stories of bloggers bringing big companies to their knees with the power of their blog. Hooray for the internet!

We have a voice that will be listened to. We have found a voice for fairness that is finally respected in the world and because of this, the big companies have become better with their customer service – not perfect, but better.

At Watchfire Music, (yeah, here comes a plug) customer service is at the top of our list. We’re going to have happy customers if it kills us. We are going to be there for our customers so they never have the experience of the following song.

If you’d like to hear me sing it in all my pent up fury with the help of Jenny Burton, click here.

If you need to play it over and over to appease your own frustrations on some similar issue, you can actually purchase the song for just 99 cents at Watchfire Music. Click here. Now that’s about the best anger management deal on the planet. Think of what it would cost you in therapy.

The Truth Be Told
Music and Lyrics by Peter Link

If you write
No one reads it
If you call
There is no one listening
If you go
There is no one there to see

Something is hap’nin’ to the world
Something beyond control
It’s a wonder that anything works at all
An’ it’s time that the truth be told

I don’t know why it’s gone this way
I’ve done all a man can do
I scream and I cry I plead I pray
But nothin’ I say gets through

Cause they all leave me holdin’ on the line
An’ the hours they slip on by
An’ the number they’re doin’ on my mind
Is tearin’ me up inside

If you ask
No one answers
If you wait
It’s a waste of your time
If you beg
There is nothing they can do

I don’t know why it’s gone this way
I’ve done all a man can do
I scream and I cry I plead I pray
But nothin’ I say gets through

Cause they all leave me holdin’ on the line
An’ the hours they slip on by
An’ the number they’re doin’ on my mind
Is tearin’ me up inside

An’ millions of people sit and stare
As the world keeps them all on hold
It’s a hopelessness more than we can bear
An’ it’s time that the truth be told

Cause I tried an’ I tried an’ I tried
An’ I tried to explain
Though I tried an’ I tried an’ I tried
It was all in vain

Cause nobody cares if I’m alive
As long as the goods are sold
It’s all ’bout the bucks an’ that’s no jive
An’ it’s time that the truth be told

Then at last
When they finally answer
They don’t know
What the hell they’re doin’
But they’ll get help
So they put me back on hold

Something is hap’nin’ to the world
Something beyond control
Its a wonder that anything works at all
An’ it’s time that the truth be told

An’ millions of people sit and stare
As the world keeps them all on hold
It’s a hopelessness more than we can bear
An’ it’s time that the truth be told
It’s time that the truth be told
Yes it’s time that the truth be told!!!