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To whom it may concern,
Recently my receipt of unwanted postal mail and email has just gotten out of hand! Much of this stuff is from people who have a product or service to sell and want me to do something other than, or in addition to, buying it. Some of it wants me to donate to causes that just don't concern me, such as women's rights (I'm not a woman), LGBTQ+ rights (I'm not any of those things), Jewish causes (I'm not Jewish), support for criminal enterprises (I'm against those), or other equally silly things. If you have been directed to this website by correspondence from me, you are one of these people.
Most of these communications have little, and often nothing, to do with my own interests. Sometimes, I just trash them. If they include a business return envelope, I often load it with whatever they sent me and debit their postal account by mailing it back to them, often with a political sticker on the front. Some of them want me to do something, often in a way that actually makes it difficult to do that. For example, they send me a "no reply" email that prevents me from responding by clicking "reply," or sometimes by figuring out how to reply at all! Or they want me to fill in a form that doesn't let me keep a copy of what I'm supposed to send, or they want me to visit their website or install their app, or call them and wait for a real person to answer or reply by postal mail by supplying my own first class stamp.
No doubt the senders do this to make things simple for them, even through they're more difficult for me. I say, "Screw 'em!"
For the record, I am not now and never have been an inmate in a penal or psychiatric institution, a welfare recipient, or a slave! I don't take kindly to being treated as if I were, especially by someone who's planning on taking my money! I pay my taxes and all my debts promptly. In any commercial transaction, I am the customer, who has implicitly or contractually agreed to pay for what I have received or expect to receive from the supplier.
This does not create an obligation on my part to visit the supplier's store or website, review the supplier's new product or service offerings, establish, update or review an account, provide feedback, "log in," take a survey, contribute to the supplier's favorite charity, establish an ongoing relationship with the supplier, install his software, or put up with his crap! I pay the agreed upon charge for what the supplier has promised me that he will provide in exchange. That's it! If the supplier makes it hard for me to do business with him, I won't do that. That's the way a free market economy works!
Now, I'm an easygoing, "live and let live" kind of guy. I like to get along with people and for them to get along with me. On the other hand, I don't pay for excuses, especially if they insult or annoy me. If you sell a product, or provide a service, don't make it difficult (or impossible) for me to know what it is, what it does, how to buy it, or how much it costs. If you send me a bill, make sure I am able to understand what it's for and why I should pay it. Being rude or threatening me doesn't do that!
I am not responsible for how you run your business or keep your records. If you are a president, preside. If you are a director, direct. If you are a manager, manage. If you're a supervisor, supervise. If you're a worker, work! If you are a customer service representative, serve the customer, which is me! If you are a product consultant, know everything there is to know about the product. "Sorry" is a word you should never feel you have to use! If you are ever, even once, tempted to tell me you're sorry for something, you aren't doing what you're being paid for, and I know that. It's up to you to make it right, not me! Consider what your reaction would be if I told you, "Sorry, I've decided I'm not going to pay you!"
And if "all your customer service representatives are busy serving other customers," you need to hire more! If you have an "unusually high number of calls," especially during the dark of night, hire an unusually high number of people to answer the telephone then! There are all sorts of people nowadays who need jobs and also have the ability to answer a telephone! My time is more valuable than that! Also, I have a recording machine at home; If I want to talk to one, I'll talk to it!
Just so you know, I really don't care what or how many awards your business has won, or what some famous person or publication said about you, or what your philosophy is or what religion you profess or what terrible things your competitor has allegedly done. What I'm interested in is value for my money. If I'm not getting that, I'll eventually go elsewhere! If you don't care about that, why should I?