Earlier this month I received two texts but my response to each couldn’t have been more different: the first was from my local leisure centre, offering me a special gym membership price. The second from Ocado, confirming my delivery.
The first was unsolicited, annoying (they have my number only as I called to enquire about swimming lessons for my son late last year), and provides no way for me to unsubscribe to it, and having checked back over my messages, this was the third time they had contacted me over the Christmas & New Year period.
By contrast, the Ocado text simply confirmed my order for the next day (reminding me of the delivery time – very useful) and highlighting which products had been substituted (also very useful – if it’s a crucial recipe ingredient, I’ve got time to pick it up somewhere else).
Spam texts seem to get to me much more than spam emails – maybe it’s because with a spam email, I can just hit delete or unsubscribe in my own time but with a text, first there’s the alert to say it’s arrived and then you have to read it and then it seems from my experience it’s impossible to get off the constant mail out list (unless you take the time to find the number to call them direct).
So from now on, I’m going to be much more vigilant when giving out my mobile number to try and stop spam texts being sent – and to stop having my beauty sleep interrupted.
A tale of two texts http://goo.gl/fb/7Jt1 (@ceallen)
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
My blog: a tale of two texts http://tiny.cc/66BFO
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
I NEVER give out my mobile number unless I ‘have’ to these days.
Best use of text is my local school, which sends a 7am text message with instructions in the case of things like inclement weather, school events or local parking restrictions. Brilliant.
Time to opt-out of non-opt-in texting? Speed blog on etiquette. http://tiny.cc/66BFO.
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Agree – text messages are becoming more invasive and some companies think they can text you in the middle of the night for everything and anything.
O2 daily text messages during the Christmas period offering a free download were so annoying, bothering me during my holiday and when I’ve never asked to be updated about offers.
On the other hand, I’ve recently placed an order through Ikea and I left them my mobile number, just in case. They texted me to confirm my order, confirm the date/time of the delivery and one day before, confirm my two-hour delivery slot. Perfect!