The Vent and Rant Thread

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i get catalogues all the time. nobody ever comes to take them back though, unfortunately. what really amuses me is the clever ploys they constantly come up with trying to trick me into thinking i'm a special customer getting an exceptional offer.

I take it this means you never noticed the 20 or so that I had sent to Zelda Pinwheel? Well darn.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I take it this means you never noticed the 20 or so that I had sent to Zelda Pinwheel? Well darn.

so that was YOU !!!! i should have guessed.

[Sparrow]

Another sneaky ploy that some charities here use is to put a cheap pen in their junk mail.

You're supposed to feel guilty because they've gone to all that expense; and surely you're not going to keep the pen and not give them anything in return?

Oh yes I am.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Another sneaky ploy that some charities here use is to put a cheap pen in their junk mail.

You're supposed to feel guilty because they've gone to all that expense; and surely you're not going to keep the pen and not give them anything in return?

Oh yes I am.

huh. i only get pens in the annual "consumer surveys" they insist on sending me (and when you say "cheap pen", they're not even worth keeping). presumably, if they don't actually send you a pen to fill it out you won't do it. however, doctors without borders sends me a map of the world once a year or so which i'm actually rather pleased to get. and i admit i do feel a bit guilty not giving them anything in return...

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

...doctors without borders sends me a map of the world once a year or so which i'm actually rather pleased to get. and i admit i do feel a bit guilty not giving them anything in return...

You meanie!

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

You meanie!

hey, charity begins at home. i do what i can, when i can...

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Another sneaky ploy that some charities here use is to put a cheap pen in their junk mail.

You're supposed to feel guilty because they've gone to all that expense; and surely you're not going to keep the pen and not give them anything in return?

Oh yes I am.

Some banks/credit card companies used to do that too. So I'd save them up til I had half a dozen or so, then send them back without postage

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

Some banks/credit card companies used to do that too. So I'd save them up til I had half a dozen or so, then send them back without postage

hehehe...

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

hey, charity begins at home. i do what i can, when i can...

I was only joshing, while surveying my vast collection of freebie pens.

I think charities that try emotional blackmail techniques do themselves more harm than good.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I was only joshing, while surveying my vast collection of freebie pens.

I think charities that try emotional blackmail techniques do themselves more harm than good.

i know. i think you're right, too. (especially because it works just enough to piss me off, which makes me a lot less likely to ever give them anything, even if i win the loto.)

just to make myself look virtuous though, i just donated my old pc tower with some components that are still perfectly good and 2 barrettes of ram to an association which rebuilds / refurbishes pcs and gives them to families who can't afford to buy one. they never sent me any pens. correlation ? causation ? who can say...

[DixieGal]

You want guilt? I got your guilt right here! Just wait until you get the package from the orphan indian school. You get a handful of southwest themed Xmas cards, note pads, stickers, a keyrind, and lots of heart rending stories and pictures of little indian children. How can you not send them $$$ in return?

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

You want guilt? I got your guilt right here! Just wait until you get the package from the orphan indian school. You get a handful of southwest themed Xmas cards, note pads, stickers, a keyrind, and lots of heart rending stories and pictures of little indian children. How can you not send them $$$ in return?

And it can work pretty well for them. Unfortunately, it's probably not cheap to send all that junk so a fair fraction of your donations probably go to pay for all that stuff that send out to get more donations. Makes you wonder how much goes to take care of the kids.

[LazyScot]

Oh GREAT! Judging by the sound on the window the cockchafers(*) are back. I hope I'm wrong and its just a bunch of moths on steroids....

(*) best description I've come up with for them is a scarab beetle equipped with cross between a personal jet pack and a hand glider.

[krisk]

I don't know if this is a vent or a props... I am finished with all my work, even though I was out yesterday. I was technically finished by 1030 this morning, just been puttering my way through since then.

*sigh* I am so underemployed. *so glad for my Kindle*

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I think charities that try emotional blackmail techniques do themselves more harm than good.

Oh definitely.

My main peeve in that respect are those people who've been dubbed "chuggers" (as in charity muggers) - the people who stand around on the streets trying to get your direct debit details off you for various charities.

Now a lot of them will take a smile and a "no" and leave you alone. But some of them will go chasing after you trying, basically, to bully you into agreeing to give n amount a month to a charity after being able to give it all of about 20 seconds thought.