After recently purchasing a new Intel iMac (very nice computer by the way) I had to register it with Apple as I set it up in my studio. Ordinarily I skip these kind of registrations but on this occasion I decided that I should probably register the product, but I elected to have a little fun when asked for my title and job title.
Once the Mac was up and running I quickly forgot about the information I had given Apple. That was until I got some Apple related junk-mail through the post addressed to Rev. Simon Jones, the “Senior whipcracker and tea boy” at my company address.
Seeing that title and job title on the envelope made me chuckle. It then occurred to me that this could actually lead to an interesting experiment in seeing just how far that information spreads. The initial information (which is incorrect by the way, I’m not a clergyman!) was submitted to Apple who in turn clearly shared this with computer retailer Cancom, the company that sent me the junk mail.
The devil inside me though about recording a telephone call to Cancom in which I angrily demand an explanation as to why they feel it is appropriate to mock me. But then I decided against this, after all, I’m a man of the cloth don’t you know.
Wrote the following comment on Jun 27, 2006 at 9:25 pm
Good post! I got an e-mail refering to me as the Company “Flunky”…that made me chuckle! I guess I am a flunky – I really should stop filling those registration forms out like that! Love ya…Donna
Wrote the following comment on Jun 27, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Interestingly enough, I do often use the name ‘Dave Mitchell’ when filling in sales related forms on behalf of my company. For example, if I need to attend a conference then the company point of contact is always given as Dave Mitchell. This way when I get sales calls they always ask for Dave Mitchell (who isn’t real) and therefore I can always say he is not in. Handy way again of keeping track of data that might otherwise be annoying if it were correct.
Wrote the following comment on Jun 28, 2006 at 6:48 am
My sister worked for the American Cancer Society for some time, and when they were doing their annual breast cancer funding drive, she got all of us to sign up to walk and/or donate to raise money. The title options on the site were exhaustive and amusing. My brother is now His Royal Highness John, sibling to Chief Commissioner Rachel, who in turn is older sister to Primate Mark. I love the church of England. I wonder how long it will be until they start getting awesome junk mail.
Wrote the following comment on Jun 28, 2006 at 10:55 am
‘Goddess’ LOL! :-)
I’ve been ‘Lord Simon Jones’ before now too, as well as ‘Brigadier’ and ‘Flight commander.’ All good fun.
Wrote the following comment on Jun 28, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Simon, If you haven’t already, you need to check out the writings of Lazlo Toth (aka Don Novello, Father Guido Sarducci) He’s got 3 books full of letters he’s written to corporations, presidents, etc. along with their responses.
One example … wrote to General Meyers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“My dentist is from Afghanistan, and he has relatives there, and his aunt wrote him that one of the good things about the war is that meat is much more plentiful. And she wanted to know, is it okay to eat goats that have been killed by missiles or bombs.”
Lazlo Toth is also the name of the guy that attacked Michelangelo’s Pietà with a hammer in 1972
Wrote the following comment on Jun 28, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Actually, this could be an excting new career for you, just think of all the bridesmaids you could meet if you did weddings? ha. Let me know when you are taking confessions…I have a ton I need to uh…get rid of. It really pisses me off when I get junk mail like that…when they sell your name. The worst is when you buy a house…I had people calling my new # before I even knew what it was to give to my fam!
Wrote the following comment on Jun 28, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Senior Whipcracker…what a lark. I’ve been known to fill in the occupation line as “Butcher” although that is perhaps a little morbid since I’m an anatomic pathologist.