While the spam I receive in my e-mail inbox is down from the flood levels of years past, there are still a few web sites I specifically block in my e-mail program. One of the big ones is Classmates.com. Apparently I’m not alone.
It was with amusement that I used to read the Classmates.com missives. “An old friend has tried to contact you,” was the common tease. Turns out, however, that information was all crap.
The US legal system has now been brought in, thanks to a lawsuit filed against Classmates.com in San Diego (my old haunt). Apparently this guy spent $15 for a 3-month premium membership only to discover that none of his former classmates had tried to get ahold of him. None. The e-mail message was an outright lie. That’s a bad thing.
This article has more detail on the Classmates.com lawsuit. It lists some good reasons why Classmates.com needs to be judicially kicked in the cyber teeth. But I’d like to see more. Then there is the Consumer Affairs web site’s list of complaints, which you can read if you really want to increase your anger at Classmates.com.
Another site I block in e-mail is MyFamily.com. It uses a tactic similar to Classmates.com: family members are trying to contact you, you have to pay them to read the messages — and there is no apparent way to remove yourself from their e-mail list. So you end up using your e-mail program’s spam filter or “mail rules” to block all incoming messages from the MyFamily.com server.
I’ve nothing against enterprising organizations marketing their services. On the other hand, why would ay honest business using e-mail not have a method to unsubscribe you from their list?
Good article, Dan. Marketing is fine, offering a service is fine–but honestly, if my customers don’t like my service, I’d rather they didn’t pay for it and end up hating my company as well. I always keep in mind that it should be easy to unsubscribe or cancel any subscription. Anything else is just crooked.
Comment by jamh51 — November 17, 2008 @ 11:06 am
Thanks. Successful companies provide one thing above and beyond the call, and that’s customer service. My father was in the restaurant business and he said that customer service is far, far more important that whether the food is good or mediocre. Add in to that where it takes years to undo a bad reputation, and these web sites are doing no one any good.
Comment by admin — November 17, 2008 @ 11:11 am
I am a hater as well. However, I recently had a little scuffle with Classmates.com and feel I came out on top. An old friend of mine I’d been searching for for years popped up on a google search under the dreaded Classmates.com scam. I didn’t pay for anything, but there was just enough info on my buddy’s profile for me to be able to come to some conclusions and bypass those scum-sucking louse. It was nothing but win – win for me. I finally contacted my old friend, and I got to stick it to The Man. Well, maybe not The Man, but I’m sure Classmates.com has A Man somewhere in that mess.
Comment by T.S. — November 18, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
You are a competent Internet sleuth, T.S!
Comment by admin — November 18, 2008 @ 9:49 pm
You’re right, Dan. I work at a local fast food joint, and if the customer has been waiting for a while, I give them another or a larger drink, more chips, or a dessert (Customers tend to like desserts). Sure, it causes a small loss for the company, but if the customer is happy and willing to come back again, then that money will be made back again.
Comment by Douglas — November 20, 2008 @ 2:51 am
I was offered classmates for $9.95 forgetting that i had paid by credit card,now i get a charge for automatic renewal at $39.00.If you must join clean you imformation off their website when you’re done.I’ve found more old friends on myspace for free,all i’ve gotten out of classmates is unwanted spam.
Comment by gotto — December 5, 2008 @ 3:11 pm