Some businesses are open twelve months a year. Yours might not be — and your phone provider should understand that, not just tolerate it.

If you run a hunting lodge, a pumpkin patch, a Christmas tree farm, a corn maze, a fishing guide service, a seasonal campground, or any of the dozens of other businesses that run full-throttle for part of the year and quiet the rest, you’ve probably dealt with the same frustration. The phone company charges you the same amount in February as it does in October, because they don’t know the difference. They don’t know your business. They just send the bill.