Target thought I might enjoy a $5 discount on a Swiffer WetJet, so they dropped me an e-mail today to let me know about it.

They were mistaken.

I gave the unsubscribe link a click and jumped through the necessary hoops, to be informed that they’re happy to help:

We are happy to remove your name from our e-mail list. Please be aware that removal may take up to 30 days. We apologize if you receive an e-mail in the meantime.

Now I have a little bit of knowledge in this area. I might not be able to tell you why it takes 6-8 weeks to start a magazine subscription, 4-6 weeks to get a free game piece, or a lifetime for a rebate check, but databases, I know about. E-mail, I know about.

I know it doesn’t take 30 days to update a database, especially not one run by a third-party company specializing in (legit) commercial bulk e-mail. Database updates are measured in minutes (admittedly, sometimes hundreds of minutes), not weeks. Let’s hope that on- and off-line marketers will stop claiming otherwise.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2003 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Miscellany.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.