Have you noticed that sometimes it’s better to be a new customer or subscriber than a long-time devotee of a particular company? Every day you see ads and hear commercials about discounts or free memberships or extended warranties for new customers. Some gyms waive the initiation fee, magazines offer a jacket or a backpack, some credit card companies waive annual fees, and cable or Internet companies offer discounts as an introductory offer—all this for newbies but not for us long-time customers.

Recently I subscribed to a weekly sports magazine only to discover two weeks later that all new subscribers would receive an NFL jacket with their team’s logo for signing up. Naturally I contacted the customer service section of the magazine but was told I wasn’t eligible because I ordered the magazine through a school discount program, and the offer was for “recently new” subscribers. Well, as a retiree with time on my hands, I became their worst nightmare, pestering them with e-mails. Finally, just to make me go away, the company relented and stated that I would receive a jacket. I requested a Detroit Lions jacket, of course. It has been three weeks, and I’m still waiting. It may be time to bombard them with additional e-mails. We retirees can be pertinacious. (I like that word.)

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