Solicitations

[stoutfellow]

A few words of advice for those who want me to give them money, gratis or in exchange for goods and services:

• Sending me a letter whose envelope does not identify the sender is not likely to win my goodwill. Placing the name of your organization on the flap is only marginally acceptable.


• The words "Please Do Not Discard", placed on the envelope, are counterproductive.


• If you put coins, pencils, mailing labels, or cheap bric-a-brac in the envelope, I will accept the gift. This is, however, more likely to hurt than help your chances with me.


• If you choose to call me at home, be advised that I have caller ID, and will not respond to "TOLL FREE CALL", much less to "UNKNOWN CALLER". Such labels as "OUTREACH ASSOC", though somewhat intriguing, are also insufficiently informative.


• In calling me, you are intruding on my privacy. If I pick up the phone, I expect, as a courtesy, that there will be a human being on the other end. I do not talk or listen to robots. Having one person monitoring several lines at once is not sufficient; if my "Hello" is not answered in less than one second, I will hang up.


• I do not own a car. I do not drive. I have never entered, nor ever shall enter, a drawing in which the chief prize is an automobile or truck. No one who knows me will ever do so on my behalf, either. If you tell me that someone did, you are wrong, either factually or ethically, and possibly both. Consider yourself lucky, in that case, if I do no more than hang up.


• The fact that I bought a book by Bill O'Reilly for my niece (at her request) one Christmas does not imply that I am interested in buying books by Anne Coulter, nor that I will of my own choice give money to the Republican National Committee or any organization allied to it.


• "No" means "No". "No" said twice means "Time to quit." "How many times must I say no?" means "Get the hell off my phone line."

Have a nice day.

Comments

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

One of my NotFavorites is the ploy where the sender attempts to dress up his envelope dog with markings that imply that the contents are registered or derive from a governmental agency.

I do also get very irritated with solicitations that include products such as mailing labels with my name on them. If it's a worthy cause, I wonder why they are spending their donations on "gifts" rather than the actual help/research/whatever. I recognize that they are trying to guilt the receiver into sending *something,* but it doesn't work with me; how many people who donate to the cause expected that their donations would go to hire companies to plan a direct mail campaign, pay the printing companies to make the labels, etc.

End of unexpected Hopper rant (g)

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

My thoughts exactly, on both counts.

[pompe.livejournal.com]

I got real tired of those telemarketers so I registered my phone at the national NIX-registry. Not a single call since. If I'd gotten more ads in the mail, I'd likely register the adress too.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

There's such a registry over here, too. I haven't bothered to sign up for it, partly because of its limitations; in particular, charities, political organizations, and pollsters are not covered. The majority of my phonespam already falls in those three categories.

[filkferengi]

Hear, hear! Now if only they would listen, listen. :)

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

"Hello, is this Mrs. Justus?"
"I make it a point to avoid doing business with companies who solicit over the phone. Take me off your list. Good-bye."

(Mrs. Justus being my mother who lives 2000 miles away -- it's a very accurate marker for phone solicitors)

And I think the no-call and no-mail lists are wonderful things. Along with that (US) law that says they have to take you off their list if you tell them to.