Saturday, September 26, 2009

Push Polls: They aren't just for politics anymore

So theCSO and I, dull suburbanites that we are, are headed to the Washington Home Show this weekend. You could save three bucks a ticket by ordering online, so of course we did that. One of the questions that you were REQUIRED to answer before you could but a ticket was:

    Please choose the factor that would be most important to you in considering replacement gutters?
  • Potential Water Damage in basement caused by clogged and overflowing gutters
  • Fear of falling off ladder or roof while cleaning clogged gutters
  • Potential damage to walkways, foundations, driveways, patios or landscaping caused by clogged and overflowing gutters
  • Expense of cleaning clogging gutters
  • Interest in upgrading current conventional gutters to a maintenance free, clog free system
  • Protecting your home’s resale value and give it an edge in today’s highly competitive housing market
  • Eliminating standing water where disease carrying mosquitoes can breed


TheCSO and I, who only have trees that are set back from our house and thus don't really have gutter problems, wanted to write in "Mosquitos? We want our gutters replaced because the pooling water is attracting Mothra."

But alas, that option was not allowed.

Even more annoying, the next option asked how many times per year our gutters clogged and there was no option for "They don't."

So, do you think the discount for online purchases was sponsored by the gutter companies?

And do you think we're going to be getting gutter mail in the future?

Oh well. We saved six bucks.

CC

3 comments:

kimc said...

It does make money seem like it's ruling our lives, doesn't it? Advertising is everywhere. We're so used to it, we hardly notice how ubiquitous it is. good for you for noticing how outrageous it gets sometimes.
You were sold for six bucks to the gutter company.... sigh....

John A Arkansawyer said...

I once got a poll from a firm which was (I assume) working for a congregation-in-planning. One thing I still remember was "Which of these local churches would you be most likely to attend?" There followed a list of about a dozen Protestant churches of various stripes, with one Catholic church and one Jewish synagogue mixed in. This was the qualifying question: Two possible answers marked you as a "No Sale".

Chalicechick said...

(((You were sold for six bucks to the gutter company.... sigh....)))

That seems a little dramatic to me. If we're slated to get some calls from gutter companies that I will have to listen to for a moment then polity ring off to, then I can live with that. I got to see the show for $3 less a ticket. If I'd wanted to pay $3 more and not give them my info, I could have.

Works for me.


John,

Wow.