Mailing list pillow talk
I had a Vanguard 401k account many moons ago. Years actually. As part of the signup process, I stupidly gave them my email address. Since then I get a "newsletter" from them every month which I don't read. Most of the time I just delete it or set it up to get popped by a junk filter. Still, like the forgotten onion, it makes it presence known.
So I "opted out" last week. I clicked the link and went through the little "Are you sure that you want to unsubscribe?" wheedle that they do. I even clicked the "Are you really sure?" plaintive whiney screen.
Today I got a note back; they're sorry but "We were unable to locate an account with the e-mail address you provided" and they can't unsubscribe me.
Now of course I received this through email, the same email address that I gave them. The fact that they even have a process contemplating sending an email to someone saying that they don't have their email is ludicrous.
I don't like spam. I consider it a violation of my privacy and an annoyance that I have to deal with it. It's easier to pick on the felonius ones trying to overtly rip us off than the crap that comes from "real companies", but I I actually prefer the Nigerian foreign minister messages to these dressy institutional ones, because they're easier to filter.
Why are companies so arrogant that they think that we want to hear from them?
It's not just Vanguard of course. It's everyone. Go into any consumer-facing company and grab the young blond-haired guy with round wireframe glasses. He's the marketing guy and it's his fault. He came up with the bright idea that people want to get informative blurbs from the disposable companies that they work for. You know what I'd really like him to do? I'd like him to answer his freaking phone when I call his company and stop making me play menu mambo.
I have a hard time maintaining a meaningful relationship with these kinds of companies. I'm not married to them. I don't want to hear their opinions about anything. How come when it's over they can't just roll over, shut up and go to sleep?
Posted on November 08, 2005
