13 (dream/nightmare) originally uploaded by Brad Dougherty
On Tuesday night I received a phone call which I must admit left me concerned for the well being of my family. We rarely receive phone calls at the house and if we do they’re from relatives or friends and in this day and age, rarely are marketers stupid enough to follow in the footsteps of Justice a Clothing Store for Girls or Kirby Vacuum Cleaners in Hastings by calling those on the FCC’s Do Not Call List. Unfortunately for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, they are most certainly that stupid and rank even lower than either Justice or Kirby due to the tactics they used twice this week.
Yesterday evening, after we returned home from our first trip of two to the State Fair the phone rings. I find this to be a little odd considering the hour and the person on the other end cautiously announces that they’re calling from the Pioneer Press and that they are aware that I had an issue with a previous call. Knowing that I have not received a phone call from anyone, let alone the Pioneer Press, recently I informed the caller that they had the wrong number. About ready to hang up the phone the person on the other end of the line says, “No, Mr. ‘Roe El’, I don’t have the wrong number. I dialed…,” and then they continue on with, “can I speak with your father?”
Now. This is where I start getting nervous. First off I am on the FCC’s Do Not Call List and have been for a very long time. I made sure to re-up status and as of October 2009 I am registered for life at the number they called on. The Pioneer Press would never make the mistake of calling someone registered on the DNC List right? In addition why would anyone call and speak to my “son” for this long before asking to speak to me? I lost my voice last weekend and I sound like a 90 year old woman who has smoked for 81 of those years. How could they ever confuse me with my “son”? It’s at this point that I ask, “what was the problem again?” The person on the other end of the line says, “no problem here,” and then hangs up.
Aside from the introduction at the start and the mention of the Pioneer Press nothing in the substance of the call makes me believe it’s at all the Pioneer Press calling. I have had some real wackos call the house before, as if there weren’t only a handful of Roehl’s in the nation–let alone the Metro, and think that by finding my phone number they have somehow tracked me down. Was this one of them? Do I need to ready the shotgun by the bedroom door and leave the hunting knife I use to trim my beard while camping under my pillow for the evening or am I just being paranoid?
A restless night of tossing and turning commences with me mulling over the strange phone call from the weirdo claiming to be from the Pioneer Press. All worries cease when the same company calls back today and speak to my wife again claiming that they knew we had a problem with someone we spoke with recently. She tells me she can clearly hear that this person is in a call center and that they now want us to sign up for a free, no obligation trial for 90 days of the Pioneer Press. We wouldn’t even have to call them to cancel. Unless they hear from us they will cease delivery. Sure they will…
Why in the world is the Pioneer Press violating the FCC’s Do Not Call List and having their reps start off the conversation with a statement that they know you had a problem with someone at the Pioneer Press recently? Why are they trying to shove a 90 day free trial down your throat all while claiming it would be easy as pie to cancel? Has the Pioneer Press called you like this? Were you confused by the whole ordeal? Do you think the FCC should levy fines against them for their violation? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 8:59 am
When I got home from work the other day, I had missed a call from a company named ‘Crossfire’ that had a 715 area code. I went to 800notes.com to see if there had been any entries. Sure enough, it had been the Pioneer Press! My last subscription ended over 18 months ago, so it’s a direct violation of the DNC list.
I wouldn’t want a subscription even if it was free. I had a 13 week subscription of Fri/Sat/Sun. Friday’s paper was always stolen by the time I got up. One of the perils of living near the park & ride, I guess. The first two weeks, four out of the six papers were missing. They got mad because I kept calling to report missing papers. Told ‘em I’m not getting up at 5:30 on my days off to make sure my paper’s not missing…
And the kicker? The ‘free’ $10 KwikTrip gift card I was given for signing up only had 38 cents on it when I tried to use it. I had to write three letters to them to get them to send me a new one.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:08 am
I’m sorry, Bill. I was the one that kept calling. I didn’t mean to freak you out. When I called, i was just going to ask you if your refrigerator was running or something, but I froze, and just blamed it on the Pioneer Press instead.
To keep this from happening in the future, I’m starting my own DNC list. If you want to ensure that I never call you again (unless I need to inform you about any great sales going on), just send me an email and I’ll make sure you get on the list.
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:06 am
While I’m not on the DNC list, I made the mistake of accepting the trial subscription. DO NOT DO THIS! I can only liken it to inviting a vampire into your house.
I can only surmise that they sidle around the FCC rules by farming out the telephoning jobs to private contractors. I don’t know the rules, but I do know that the phone calls came from all kinds of numbers, and usually they weren’t identified as the Pioneer Press.
Patti, it would be nice if whoever stole your paper would be “tagged,” and the phone calls would follow them to THEIR homes. But hey, I’m a dreamer.
We always know when there’s a new resident in our building; the Press shows up on the doorstep. We old-timers stay far, far away from it. : )
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:20 am
If you have ever been a customer of theirs, they can call you. Did you ever subscribe to the Pioneer Press?
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:09 pm
And why are you camping under your pillow?
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:19 pm
ohhhhh you don’t violate the national do not call list. That makes me want to cancel my subscription. Oh wait….I wouldn’t subscribe to that if Meghan McCain delivered it in person. well……I wouldn’t read it anyway
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Is that a picture of Mrs. Marcos all dressed up? I don’t think she’d approve otherwise.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:07 pm
yeah, she probably wouldn’t read it either…..except maybe to clip some coupons :)~
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:55 am
I like the Press. I like the writing better than I Star Tribune. Mrs S likes a paper she’s used too, regardless of the writing. The PP is also the paper that comes to the front door, not the stupid mailbox up the street.
I subscribed to the press for years. And then, last year I started getting calls for subscription offers. Weird since I already get the paper. Talked to the people who called and their supervisors. Was told 100% of the that the situation had been fixed and I wouldn’t get calls again. And, 100% of the time, a few weeks later, a solicitaiton to subscribe to the PP.
Later I started getting calls about billing issues. They seemed to never be able to figure out how billing works. I pay, you deliver the paper. They were terrible.
Finally cancelled all together, not because I didn’t like the paper, I actually like it a lot, but because their circulation department is so messed up. But, in this age when newspapers are making money hand over fist and subscriptions are through the roof I guess the lowely consumer doesn’t have any leverage.
September 4th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Lefty, you’re mistaken. A company can only call you if they have done business with you in THE LAST EIGHTEEEN MONTHS. That is right in the DNC list rules.
September 6th, 2010 at 6:47 am
I think more companies might start calling any way just to try and get business. I’m sure the mind set is what are the odds of actually being reported. I took a Real Estate seminar not that long ago and even the trainer was suggesting ignoring the do not call list when contact home owners when their listing expired. And it’s all because, “what are the odds of being reported”.
August 18th, 2011 at 7:01 am
[...] Intrigued, knowing that we specifically told the Pioneer Press never to contact us again when one of their contractors twice violated the FCC’s Do Not Call List in September of 2010, I tore it open and read the letter contained inside. Here’s the text of the letter: SPECIAL [...]
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I get daily calls from them, I have told them I wasnt interested, remove Me from their calling list, and have turned them in to both National and State DNC.
9:30 in the morning, even on Sundays!