I have subscribed to lots of magazines in my time. I usually get them for lots of less money than if you buy them in the supermarket. Sometimes, I get them for fifty cents an issue which is a worthwhile and inexpensive amount. Of course, when you decide to unsubscribe after the last issue is about to come, they bombard you with all kinds of offers. You have to keep spending money for postage stamps to tell them you no longer want that magazine. If you do not, they send you an invoice, and then another one and finally they tell you, you are in arrears for the bill. Some magazines say you told them to renew automatically when you originally subscribed. Even if you did not, they say you do and continue on with the bills and the magazines keep on coming. Therefore, they can state you owe them for the issues you received. It begins to be a hassle. Some of them I am subscribing to online for digital reading which makes for less paper recycling and less bill headaches.

A few months ago, one of the ones sent in the mail added the current charges they are using to a Visa card they had charged the original one on the previous year. I really got angry, called them, called my Visa and finally they removed the charge and the magazines stopped visiting my mail box in front of the house.

They after a while become a nuisance and you feel as if you never want to subscribe to any of them, regardless of the inexpensive bargain they give you. It is a like a silent, though not too silent and annoying neighbor who is harassing you by having their dog eliminate on your lawn every day rather than on their own lawn. Then when you confront them about their dog’s waste, they look at you like you are from Mars and that it is OK to do what their dog is doing. I had two dogs in my lifetime and not once did one of them, Candy or Rhumba do that on anyone’s lawn, cement or flower beds. They were paper trained doggies and no one had their mess, but me. Of course, in Baltimore County, it is a law against dogs running loose, but it is ignored more than it is observed.

Also, those recorded phone calls from AARP and now political calls that are not live, they are automated and they keep on coming every day and you cannot do anything, but hang up and wait for the recording to be over with. At least on the emails coming from companies you do not want to deal with, you can click on the unsubscribe button and they will disappear. That is more considerate and you have now eliminated reading and deleting them. They are usually gone in a few days and they invite you to rejoin them whenever you miss them. I do not miss them, but at least they are gone. You cannot somehow call the magazine line because there is no line or number to call. That is done on purpose, so you will get disgusted from it and finally pay their bill, because you fear you will get bad credit from not paying for something you never ordered.

It would be nice if we could unsubscribe sometimes to other things that bug us up. Think about what you would like to eliminate or unsubscribe to in your life if you had the chance. Of course, we do not like to go to the dentist, we cannot unsubscribe from him or her. Yes, there are lots of female dentists now days and they are nice and sympathetic to people who kind of do not like to visit them. We cannot unsubscribe from a snippy secretary in a medical office who gives us a hard time when we call for an appointment. I usually make ‘friends’ with these ladies who mostly are very nice and cooperative. I ask them how their kids are, did they have a nice day off, their blouse or earrings are pretty etc. I mean what I say and to the very nice ones, I could become friends with them. To the not nice ones, I once reminded an unpleasant one that she had a job because people like me needed to see the doctor and he needed her to book the appointment. From then on, she was very nice to me, though I heard from a friend; they stopped going there because of her. My husband always says it is not necessary to give them Christmas presents, but I do, if they have been extra considerate to me. When a chain of stores came to Baltimore, several years ago, we were told that they are very nice to everyone. So the first time I went there was a few weeks before Christmas and I had to buy presents for the above secretaries and receptionists. The girl behind the jewelry counter could not have cared less. She was smoothing her finger nails, talking on her cellphone and was bored to death if you asked her where a certain piece of costume jewelry was. The chain lasted maybe two years and they all left Baltimore. I do hear they are making a comeback soon with a few stores here.  I hope they have more interested sales associates and that they will be helping the customers. Their name was Boscov and though their merchandise was fine, their employees were too uncaring. So the people of the several stores they opened, ‘unsubscribed’ from them. The opposite of this store is Nordstrom. Even when you call there on the phone, the operator says to you when you ask for a department “it is my pleasure.” Wow, what a nice phrase and it makes you want to shop there.

I had two experiences there in the last twelve or thirteen years they have been here in Baltimore, in Towson and in Columbia, Maryland. When my son got married twelve years ago, I bought this gorgeous six hundred dollar dress for the wedding. I really indulged, because I never spend that amount for clothing, except for the ballroom dancing competition dresses we had to wear to compete. It was made of this gold thread string and it was gorgeous. During the reception, one of the bride’s relatives hugged me and she had on a piece of jewelry, a decorative pin. It got caught in the jacket of the dress and it split. The next day I took the jacket and the dress to Nordstrom and asked if their seamstress could blend it in or fix it. They said nicely, if we cannot, we will order you a new jacket for the dress and no charge to you. Can you believe this? They called in two weeks and told me the jacket was rewoven with new thread and it was fine. I picked it up and thanked them and there was no charge. That is what you call service beyond what is necessary or expected. Then I had bought a pair of shoes there too and wore them only for about two hours for the first outfit I wore to the wedding. I had a fancier pair for that fancy string dress. So I took them to the shoe department and asked them would they stretch them because of my bunions. They said no, we will not, we will give you a credit to your charge account. We do not want you to wear shoes that hurt your feet. Did you ever hear anything like these two instances?

This is a store you want to be ‘subscribed ‘to forever. This is why they stay in business and are always busy because their sales associates are smiling and appear happy to assist you and to also have the job. This is one store you never want to ‘unsubscribe’ from ever. A third experience, I ordered some makeup I use and told the sales person, my husband would pick it up in the afternoon and to please have it ready for him. She took my name and address and said “you know what, I am going to visit my mom and she lives around the corner from you. I will save your husband the trip and I will bring it to you around six thirty on my way to visit Mom” I was overwhelmed. I never want to ever ‘unsubscribe’ from Nordstrom, I want to keep on ‘subscribing’ and shopping there and mostly to feel they are happy to have me, because it is “their pleasure” to have me buy from them. It is surely my pleasure too.

As I always bring in dancing to most of my articles, the same thing can happen with a dance teacher. If you find one that does not help you, encourage you and instill the love of dance into your mind and soul, unsubscribe to him or her right away.

If we have doctors or dentists or physical therapists or hair stylists or anything or anyone who treats us like they are doing us a favor taking our money; unsubscribe to them as you do on the internet or email. They need you more than you need them. There are many out there in some of these jobs or professions, who will relish, savor and appreciate your business, be it a medical office or a department store. My made-up Elita saying is this: “ Let us appreciate the people who in their jobs appreciate us.”