"The Seven Sneaky Words"
I do think the intentionally ambiguous is a widespread tactic used not only by lobbyists and their cohorts, but also by financial institutions, and in contractual agreements across the board. Not to mention utility business practices in general. (such as electric, phone and cable companies) The 'customer service' person starts out smiling and then when you ask for the surplus charges to be removed, they become brittle and snippy, the smile turns into a tight leash. Why? Because they know what is going on behind the scenes inside the companies they 'represent'. Once on the telephone a cable customer service rep was reading me some rule explaining the answer to a question I had about an extra 4.95 charge per month that suddenly started appearing on my cable bill. And she accidentally kept reading a part the customer was not intended to hear. "It is because of the state tax application, etc etc. Never tell a customer that the charge is..." (I won't continue as I would not like to be sued) but I said "What did you just say?" She pretended not to know what I was talking about, so I repeated it. She was caught, up against the wall. She stammered and tried to dismiss it. I said "But you just said..." and finally she said "I didn't mean to say that". Ha ha, oh really? So even the squirt customer service person on a remote phone in some other city is party to the strange and quirky permutations of the truth. I have worked for companies that make you sign papers confirming that you will never reveal "proprietary information" for a period of five years AFTER you may leave their employ. I guess because they figure no one would believe you after that amount of time if you told them that you were instructed regularly and systematically to deceive the customer. Being able to live with telling outright lies is a performance requirement.
