Okay, so a while back, Studio Whipping Boy did a charity drive. We picked the American Red Cross, because hey, everyone knows they’re legit, right?
Well, maybe not.
My donation, submitted with a tagged address including “-nospam”, got me added to a mailing list. I complained. No response. I kept getting spammed. I kept complaining. No response. I don’t just mean they didn’t take me off the list; they didn’t respond in any way at all. I don’t just mean they didn’t send me a responsive email; they didn’t take me off the list either. No response at all.
So I finally gave up and called in.
Yes, they can take me off their email list. It may take “up to four weeks” to process.
This is an email list. It is run on computers which are on a network. There is nothing in the process of opting someone out of a list that takes more than thirty seconds to process. There is no excuse for this crap. Wait, there’s one; they want one more chance to pitch to me how important it is that I send them money.
Nope. No more. When the ARC is ready to behave more like an ethical charity, and less like any of the dozens of fraudulent charities that are always trying to find new ways to spam and telemarket to everything with a pulse, I might think about it. For now, though… Screw them.
They get the small box of cash we picked up for them at a con a while back, sent anonymously so they can’t add anyone to any lists. But from now on, when we need a charity to donate to, we’ll pick one that’s run a little more competently and a little more ethically.
Comments [archived]
From: columbus
Date: 2006-07-02 17:43:14 -0500
Now, come on dude. Let’s see a little perspective. The Red Cross was not only at the top of the list of private aid agencies after Katrina. Not only the top, they were worth all the other nine of the top 10 put together. “we’ll pick one that’s run a little more competently and a little more ethically.” is a bit harsh, now isn’t it?
Tom
ps~ I couldn’t leave a comment. The box said to tell you that.~