My mom still balances her checkbook by hand. With paper and a pen.
I do not have this sort of patience.
I also don’t catch little things that may be off - like a $2.00 administration charge that has never shown up before.
Mom however, is all over it.
To the tune of two different calls with 30 minutes on hold each. And a form. And since she doesn’t have a scanner, that form needs to either be mailed or dropped off at the local branch.
For her, it’s “all about the principle.”
Two dollars. About three hours and a stamp.
When I ran an apparel brand, we hired an overseas inspector to spot check as shorts came off the line. The pricing was based on our order invoice.
One time there was an additional fee because the inspector had to go back a second time.
I pulled up the contract. I called corporate. I got mad. It was the principle of the matter.
I won.
What I didn’t account for was the woman on the ground who’d been doing extra for us. Or the inspection company I’d just soured a relationship with. You need trust when you’re working overseas - that’s the only thing making sure what shows up is what you ordered. There’s not much recourse after 90 days on a ship.
I felt it at renewal when I a got cool email and a take-it-or-leave it contract sent to me.
Principle is the word we use when we’ve decided not to do the math.
My mom’s math worked. She spent time she was going to spend anyway, on a company she’ll never need a favor from.
Mine didn’t. I spent a relationship I needed intact, over a fee I could have paid and forgotten.
Same fight. Different ammunition.
Sometimes you have to ask if the hill was worth what it took to win it.