Credit protection from Citi: I received a letter from Citi, who we have our credit cards through. It was a very official, important and urgent letter. Apparently there was some activity in my account that seemed fraudulent. I obviously wanted to follow up with this because 1) I don’t want unauthorized transactions on my account and 2) I don’t want to be out and about and have my card declined. I called the toll free number and was able to speak to a customer service agent fairly quickly. He inquired about the charge at a restaurant at which we ate the previous night. He inquired about the gas purchase I made that morning. He inquired about the charge I made at lunch that afternoon. Everything was legit – no fraudulent charges. He then went on to try to sell me on a credit protection program for only $9.95 per month. This would allow me to check my credit rating monthly. I didn’t bother asking if this service would help customers fix their credit scores because I don’t need it, and I told the agent as much.So I was kind of pissed that I was tricked into making a phone call about my account only to be sold to. Smart ploy and I’m sure it’ll work for some people who don’t use credit wisely. Kudos to Citi for getting an extra $120 a year from some customers but now I’ll be leary before calling Citi regarding account specific information on my account.
Funeral Home Direct Mailings: The funeral home where we held Dad’s memorial service sends me 9″ x 11″ packets nearly once a month now. The first package was some information on grieving as well as a condolence letter, which was nice, but still a stinging reminder. The next packet they sent me was a survey, which I thought was a good idea because they are a business that renders a service and feedback is always very valuable for the company. I dutifully filled out the survey and sent it back to them in the SASE that they provided. Tonight I had another packet in the mailbox from the funeral home. This was a form that we could fill out to make it easier on my family should Elise or I die. This form asked for information about standard life experiences like where we were born, went to school, military and work experience; things that could be put into a funeral program or announcement. I’d like to think that I’m done with that funeral home. I don’t really want correspondences from a funeral home because I don’t want to think of Elise or me dying and I’m still dealing with losing my Dad in my own way. I don’t want a business contacting me monthly reminding me of that and the logistics involved. Great funeral home but believe me, I’ll remember everything about when Dad died. I don’t need a business card to remind me that my family was cheated.
Steve Jobs: I’m looking around the house, trying to find things to sell and attempting to convince my wife that we need an iPhone.
#1 sucks. #2 sucks more. #3 is freakin’ hilarious. and ditto the iTV.
When you finally succeed in convincing Elise that you *need* an iPhone, please let me in on your secret.