There’s been far less junk mail lately. Complaining to the major distributors, as described in my previous update and its comments, works. However there are still some serial offenders.
First, though, a pat on the head to Broadway Shopping Centre, Franklin’s and Mountain Designs who, as reported in the comments, responded quickly.
A slap on the wrist to De Sousa Real Estate; Domino’s Pizza (again! three times now!); Marrickville First National Real Estate; Prestige Cleaning Specialists; Raine & Horne Marrickville (a real estate agent again! twice!); and Ray White Newtown (yes, another real estate agent!), none of whom even acknowledged my email. Pathetic.
Since my last update, the new batch of rude pricks includes Banana Joe’s FoodWorks Marrickville; Camperdown Fitness; Domino’s Pizza (again); L J Hooker (a real estate agent); Lat-Dior African Eatery; Magic Tree Service; McGrath (a real estate agent, of course); Pinpoint Plumbing Services; Ray White Surry Hills & Alexandria (yes, another real estate agent); St Brendan’s Church, Annandale (OK, I suppose religious organisations are exempt); Sydney Antenna Specialists; and a builder-repairer called Michael.
I won’t contact these businesses his time, as some of the problems date back more than two months, and, quite frankly, I couldn’t be bothered. But I will get back into a routine of a roughly monthly post — for my own reference if nothing else.
Religious organisations are exempt from the law, but the behaviour is still rude.
@Steve Noble: Indeed, ’tis rude. Though I should have mentioned, as someone did in one of the comments of a previous post, that anyone can stick anything they like in a letterbox.
Agreed. We should be extremely cautious about making laws against rudeness, just as I’m glad there are no laws against me rudely telling everyone just how rude I think they are! 🙂
I deliver “junk mail” for a living, or at least I did until the company I sub-contracted for went belly up. I used a tracking device which customers could then use to see exactly where their mail was being delivered. Our policy was to never put mail in a post box which had a no junk mail or equivalent sign on it. We also adhered to a policy of placing the mail inside the mailbox and not throwing it on the ground. I can sympathise with people who receive mail in large formats which is jammed into their postboxes not allowing for any other deliveries and as for those people who drive around in cars and toss the mail onto the street… well that’s just littering. If anybody has a complaint it should be about this behaviour. If anyone has a gripe about junk mail please contact the company who is advertising firstly and make a complaint then contact the distributors and complain, they should then reprimand their walkers. If I can say only one thing in defence of the “walker” it is “please put a ‘no junk mail sticker’ where it can be clearly seen” I have inadvertently put mail in a mailbox with a sticker, being unaware it had a sticker as it was not clearly visible. I hope to keep delivering this material in the near future as I believe a) companies need to advertise and b) lots of people like their junk mail. So I hope in the future “walkers” will respect the people who do not want junk mail and the distribution companies will clean up their act. As for a footnote… maybe if the distribution companies paid their walkers a fair wage they wouldn’t have half the problems they do.
@Richard, Brisbane: Yes, your advice seems to match that given by commenters to the previous posts in this series. [1, 2] My experience so far is that the bigger distributors and advertisers take complaints seriously. Good point about the low wages too.
In the UK we have an alternative option. I receive anything up to 15 takeaway food menus a week. Kebabs, curries, pizzas, Chinese, burgers, all of these (and more) can be delivered.
I’m contrary enough to refuse to have a sign on my letterbox (why should I vandalise my own property just to stop receiving unwanted flyers?). What I do is post the flyers back to the responsible parties, but not put a stamp on it. In the UK (dunno about Australia, I’m afraid, I understand that some ancestors went over a couple of hundred years ago, but that’s about it), the recipient of The Post With No Stamp receives a notice from the Post Office to the effect that they have to pay a surcharge before receiving their own flyer back!
All is then good.
@Mark Hamlett” Yes a similar “come and pay to collect your unpaid mail” also applies in Australia. Or it did. I don’t imagine it’s changed.
Real estate agents would have to be the most ignorant sons of b….s out there as far as their junk goes. No matter how many times I tell them to stop putting their crap in my box, as sure as night follows day, there it is back in my box again.
All that advertising that gets paid for by the vendor, do they even realise that all it is really for is to advertise the agent? So obviously they couldn’t care less how many leaflets get chucked straight in the bin, they don’t pay for it!
I hate real estate agents with a passion, especially McGrath, they would have to be the pick of the crop for sheer arrogance and ignorance.