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Discuss this article (14 Comments)Why I h8 junk txts
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Monday, 23 November 2009
Twice last week, I was woken in the early hours of the morning. Once at 2am, and once at 3.45am. This was not because my house was burning down, or because one of my nearest and dearest had suffered a mishap – in my book, the only two really valid reasons for hauling me into wakefulness at such ungodly hours. No, it was because a certain telco (as the UAE has a duopoly, you have a 50/50 chance of guessing who) decided to spam my phone with junk texts.
In the UAE, one of the perks of not having daily post is the lack of junk mail. When I moved here I was delighted to see my house didn’t even have a letterbox. Excellent, I thought. An end to the sad piles of junk mail gathering dust in my hallway. No more luminous, badly-written leaflets plugging the merits of double-glazing. Forget the glut of charity pamphlets pleading with me to save a donkey in Outer Mongolia.
You see, in the UK, removing yourself from a mailing list is nigh-on impossible. Even dying won’t crack it. A reported eight pieces of junk mail are sent out each month to a dead person in Britain; twelve if they lived in Surrey. But I had thought moving continents might help with the deluge; especially when my destination was a country without postcodes.
I was wrong. Now, I am just blitzed with offers by phone. And it drives me crazy. Shops I have never visited send me weekly updates on the merits of their stock. ‘Sale!’ they bellow. ‘Limited offer of 40 percent off crockery!’
In the last month alone I have been offered cheap spa treatments (for men); cut-price tyres for my car and – my personal favourite - a 15 percent discount on steam cleaning for my carpets. How did I ever get on this list?
For me, the worst offenders are the telco companies. Each text is sent multiple times, in English and Arabic, and usually in the wee hours of the morning. To paraphrase BT, it might be good to talk - but not at 3am.
Of course, this is symptomatic of a wider problem. Increasingly, you can’t buy a pack of gum without being interrogated for your personal details. I tried to buy a pair of sunglasses recently – with cash – but was stalled at the checkout when I refused to hand over my mobile number. No one could explain to me why the act of buying a pair of overpriced plastic glasses obliged me to answer questions such as; ‘What is your combined household income?’
Obviously, I know why. It’s so my data can then be flogged to the highest bidder, who will torment me with texts before selling my details on to another tenuously-linked company so it can do the same.
But my worry is that so many of us oblige with this demand for intimate information. Shoppers meekly hand over sensitive data on the slightest pretext; mainly because we don’t want to cause a fuss, or hold up the queue behind us. Oblivious, we fill out feedback forms –largely composed of questions that have nothing to do with the service received – just because a blank-faced waitress told us to.
Well, I am taking a stand. In the manner of a secret service officer, I’ll refuse to divulge any information unless someone in uniform (by which I mean police, not McDonald’s staff) is requesting it. Join me. Your phone – and sleeping patterns – will thank you for it.
Joanne Bladd is the deputy editor of Arabian Business English.
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
adsfasdfa's comment
Posted by Ali, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 11:23 UAE time
What you're saying is if someone rings your door bell at all hours, your answer is to disconnect the door bell, right? Perhaps it would make more sense to get rid of the source of the disturbance!
The TRA should have a division to look after the consumer's interests.
Posted by Ali, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 11:23 UAE time
What you're saying is if someone rings your door bell at all hours, your answer is to disconnect the door bell, right? Perhaps it would make more sense to get rid of the source of the disturbance!
The TRA should have a division to look after the consumer's interests.
Curious
Posted by adsfasdfa, d, d on Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 00:21 UAE time
As to why someone who hasn't figured out the silence function on her phone is allowed to write this article.
Posted by adsfasdfa, d, d on Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 00:21 UAE time
As to why someone who hasn't figured out the silence function on her phone is allowed to write this article.
Why I h8 junk txts - etc etc
Posted by Joe Bazooka, Dubai, Uzbekestan on Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 12:46 UAE time
Trick them!
Posted by Manish, Dubai - WHAT AN EXCELLENT IDEA - WHY NOT GIVE SOMEONES NUMBER IN ONE OF THE TELECOM'S DUOPOLY
SURE WHEN THEY START GETTING THESE CALLS IN THE NIGHT, THEY WILL WONDER WHAT HAS HIT THEM
FULLMARKS TO MANISH
Posted by Joe Bazooka, Dubai, Uzbekestan on Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 12:46 UAE time
Trick them!
Posted by Manish, Dubai - WHAT AN EXCELLENT IDEA - WHY NOT GIVE SOMEONES NUMBER IN ONE OF THE TELECOM'S DUOPOLY
SURE WHEN THEY START GETTING THESE CALLS IN THE NIGHT, THEY WILL WONDER WHAT HAS HIT THEM
FULLMARKS TO MANISH
operators cant do anyting
Posted by MM, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 12:32 UAE time
most of the time they use a software to send automatically from 050-1000000 to 050-9999999. So operators are innocent. all we can do is contact the spammer and let them know we r to stop using their services. or create a post and shame or start a petition on facebook or so and create awareness among these corporates that they r sending negative signals.
Posted by MM, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 12:32 UAE time
most of the time they use a software to send automatically from 050-1000000 to 050-9999999. So operators are innocent. all we can do is contact the spammer and let them know we r to stop using their services. or create a post and shame or start a petition on facebook or so and create awareness among these corporates that they r sending negative signals.
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