This years rates demand arrived recently.

It starts well enough with 'Dear Customer...' but that did cause me to ponder what product or service does my local authority actually sell or provide to me?
In other words, in what capacity am I their customer?

I pay a private company to remove my waste.
I am on the brink of being taxed for my septic tank.
I supply my own water.
The road that passes my house can barely be described as such.

But I'm sure that in this day and age those are unreasonable expectations..........it is obviously rediculous that, as a customer, one should expect any return for one's payments....silly me!

Flattering, I suppose, that the payment request should come from the top 'Head of Finance' but I fear the manners slipped a bit as his signature came without any offer of either 'faithfulness' or 'sincerity'.
But we will let that pass too.

However, as someone who also seeks to sell products and services to my customers, I was astounded by the implied threat at the epistle's end.

'We Subscribe to STUBBSGAZETTE Debt Recovery Services'

I suppose it could be argued that this implies some tangeble return on my money - they pay a debt recovery service!

I'll give it further thought, but I somehow doubt that I would enhance my chances of gaining their business if I included a threat, however veiled, at the very inception of forming a relatonship with a 'customer'.