::heh::
It's been a long weekend ... That was a good giggle before bed :-)
Ta.
We're not quite sure what to make of this particular packaging outrage, but what it's lacking on the excess cardboard front, it more than makes up for it in the trouser department. Warwick Uni's Jaroslaw Zachwieja describes himself as "surprised" to discover that, on unpacking his shiny new Western Digital "1TB MyBook …
I did many packing jobs when I was a stoodent all those years ago. Sabotaging one in twenty boxes / envelopes going out was pretty much standard by the third day. If anyone out there got a circular from the N&P with "Help, I'm a prisoner in an envelope-stuffing factory" written across the top, that was me :)
For some time now I've been using pre-paid/freepost envelopes to send nice messages, gifts, or random junk to companies and organisations around the UK. So if you work at O2 in Normanton and got a "How things work" book for Christmas, I hope you enjoyed it! Similarly, I hope the Halifax liked the collection of plastic envelope windows I sent them.
In response to the people who have mentioned receiving or sending random or annoying things in the post, I have a good one for you.
I used to run the post room for a large regional brewery a few years back. This brewery used to employ a mailing house to regularly send out huge advertising mailshots for its hotel wing. Many of these frequently come back, having been sent to the wrong address, or to people who had moved away, or even died. When they came back, we had to send them upstairs to the relevant department to have the details removed from the database, but since this was considered a low-priority job, it would often be forgotten by the people who were in charge of it. As a result, we would often get mail returned with messages scrawled on the envelopes by people at the effected address to the effect that this was the fifth, tenth or even twentieth piece of mail they had returned, and could we please take them off of the database.
One person had a great wrinkle on this, however. After returning ten pieces of mail for someone who had moved away years ago, they took the letter and put it in an envelope with the brewery's return address on it, but no postage, so we had to pay for it. And then, just to make sure we got the message, they put a roof slate in, along with a note stating that the next time they got a letter for this person, they would return it with two roof slates.
Their address got removed from the database pretty quickly after we delivered the slate and letter upstairs on a silver tray...
>> For some time now I've been using pre-paid/freepost envelopes to send nice messages, gifts, or random junk to companies and organisations around the UK.
I frequently get annoyed by 'Domain Registry of America' letters (and other such letters), which are mocked up to look like an invoice. Presumably they hope that will land on the desk of some unknowing finance goon who'll just pay it thinking it is valid, even though it says, in tiny writing, "this is not an invoice". Invariably they will include an addressed, non-postage paid envelope.
I'm sure I can't be the only one who can't resist placing the return slip and a cheque sized piece of paper (with the wording "this is not a cheque" written on it) in the envelope and returning without a stamp - so that they have the choice of paying the postage and fine, or possibly missing out on a cheque.
I make it a policy that anything I receive that contains a freepost return address, or a return card or similar I always post it back to them... they then have to pay the postage for it.
I'm often tempted to put in an invoice for my time in opening, assessing and returning said mail, but I figure that would be too traceable.
for a bar code that uniquely identifies the envelope and tracks it to the party to whom the original solicitation was addressed.
Before they did that I stuffed my share of unwanted offers and bulk into an envelope or two.
Now I am tempted to cut the bar code out and send away, but then there are microdot printers...
*deep breath*
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
*another breath*
Well I guess someone got alittle snippy with the phone techs. Would love to see the ticket notes for that and the call recording.
Tech: Sir, please relax and I will make sure you get a replacement ASAP.
Customer: #*((&@^@_ WD &$#(*&^ bloody wankers fix my *^*&%^$%* drive right the *(&^%** instant and make sure its a *(^$%*() rock solid drive this &*%$#$#) time and also make sure I get my &*%$$# (*^&^$$&* *(&%^$$#O() *&%$$#( USB cable this time you (*^$()$%#!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
Tech: Certainly cur. *click click click* *giggle*
I like to send back my junk mail in the prepaid envelopes. I try to make sure to fold it so that it's thicker than the post offices cheap letter rate. If you take all the stuff they send you and the original envelope, you can normally fold it into quarters and make quite a bulge.
I don't know if the PO bother totting up these extras or not. Roof slates certainly sound like a good idea, but I doubt they'd fit in the prepaid envelope.
I do normally have the kindness to write "NO THANKS" across the application form in black marker pen. Just so they realise that I don't actually want a new credit card/whatever when they've opened it.