I rarely pass up the opportunity to gripe about companies that irritate me when I already deal with enough irritations on a daily basis. For instance, take my cat, Skye, who vomited her entire meal onto the kitchen nook seating; she couldn’t do it on the kitchen tile like a considerate cat would, but apparently that never crossed her mind.

Anyway, to begin my griping, I’ve had DirecTV for over 30 years. I’m too lazy to leave my desk to confirm that number, but it’s been mucho years. During those mucho years, I’ve only called DirecTV a handful of times. In other words, I’d say I’m an ideal customer.

But, as it turns out, I’m also one of their dumbest customers. I’ve been paying $10 a month to cover any DirecTV expenses I might incur involving equipment issues, home visits, etc. Seriously, who does that? Yep, yours truly spent over $3600 for those few and far between visits. In other words…

Without fail, DirecTV, like everywhere else, raises their prices. So before long, I was paying close to $200 a month (minus streaming services) for basic programming. I only watch maybe six channels because I tend to stream more often. So each time this happens, I pick up the phone. And here’s where the squeaky wheel emerges.

Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t particularly enjoy complaining about companies run by greedy billionaires who always want more. I think griping is fair, though, since they gouge us every year. Don’t you agree? (Say yes.) But this time was different.

Thank you for asking. The only sport I watch on TV is tennis, so I pay $20 extra each month. But since January, my tennis channel went poof, and disappeared like magic. The station now read, “This channel isn’t in your package.” And I thought, then where is it?

If you’re under age 50, you likely have no idea what that means. But to continue, after calling DirecTV numerous times, nobody had a clue why I was no longer receiving the channel; however, to their credit, they did try. During different calls, at least four employees took me through a number of steps, to no avail. Here’s what happened on my last call…

Me: It appears you raised your pricing again without notice and the tennis channel is gone.

DirecTV: Yes Janet (we’re on a first name basis), we’re so sorry you’re unhappy.

Me: Yes, you’re correct. So I’d like to cancel DirecTV, and I’ll be going to YouTubeTV. They cost less with more of the programming I’m interested in. (This is true.)

DirecTV: Janet, you have been with us for many years. (I prefer mucho, but let’s continue.) We’d hate to lose you as a customer. May I transfer you to someone who may be able to help you?

Me: Why, yes, that would be lovely, thank you.

Enter Brad, the fixer. He couldn’t have been nicer and very personable; I totally understood why they hired him. Good ol’ Brad discovered that my viewing package changed in January but they neglected to notified me.

So my buddy Brad worked his magic and put tennis back into my programming, even though it’s no longer a part of my DirecTV package. He also gave me a refund for the months I paid for tennis but didn’t receive it, plus he discounted my monthly bill. Gotta love that Brad.

By the time we said good-bye, my monthly bill contained just two digits and costs less than YouTubeTV. In January, when DirecTV undoubtedly raises their prices again, I hope Brad is on duty that day.

And that, dear friends, is what happens when you become a squeaky wheel. Why not try it sometime?