Emptying the Mailbox
This last year I went on line to buy three books from Amazon and a gift card from REI (a wedding present). Meanwhile, I received in the mail gifts of a shirt from L.L. Bean and serving bowl from Macy’s.
The result: My home address ended up being shared like a virus, and seemed to be passed around to every retail company in the nation. The postman began to tremble from the extra bulk of the catalogs. The mailbox began to look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
With holiday mailers rapidly approaching, I knew what I had to do. I donned my weapon, and went to work. I made phone calls.
As I did dishes over a two month period, I put on the headset and called the 1-800 number (or 1-888 or 1-866) for every catalog, not quitting until I spoke with an actual person in Denver, or Dallas, or Raleigh, or Great Falls. My opening salvo: “I would like to be taken off the mailing list.” They countered by asked for the costumer code, and I was ready. They asked for my address, and I spelled it out for them. If I got put on hold, I picked up my cell phone and called the line again: An attack on two fronts.
I even called Dell Computers, where my phone call was, of course, routed to India. I hung on the line for 35 minutes I was cut off once and transferred four times. But I prevailed. And I was able to make a batch of cookies at the same time.
Yes, I also wrote some letters, and sent out a couple emails to a few of those universal “remove my address” organizations, but I have found the direct, person-to-person method works best.
My mailbox no longer leans. The postman smiles at me. It takes my recycling bin 4 weeks to fill. I do still get some unsolicited catalogs, but it nothing as compared to the spring. And it feels good.
My next battle: Removing my address from the weekly mailers such as the "Market Value Place." Any thoughts?