Letterbox debate?

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chrisj1948
Posts: 538
Joined: 15 Jul 2008 15:12
Location: Sydenham

Letterbox debate?

Post by chrisj1948 »

We received two pieces of hand-delivered post here today. The first was the Labour Sydenham News with a headline "Council Tax Frozen". The second was from a pizza firm with the rubric "We don't believe in frozen dough"

:)

Regards
Chris
Eagle
Posts: 10658
Joined: 7 Oct 2004 06:36
Location: F Hill

Post by Eagle »

How can one stop thje infernal delivery of Pizza Leaflets.
I have never ever had a meal delivered to my home in 61 years. I am sure I cannot be alone in this.
I either eat out or cook at home .
Despite nearly throwing them back in their faces I seem to get no where. Why should my recycled bin be full up with unsolicited trash.
Probably no good putting sign up in English.
chrisj1948
Posts: 538
Joined: 15 Jul 2008 15:12
Location: Sydenham

Post by chrisj1948 »

A good point. Eagle. Incidentally the chances of your having a home delivery pizza are almost certainly far greater than the chance that I would ever vote Labour 8)

Rewgards
Chris
Eagle
Posts: 10658
Joined: 7 Oct 2004 06:36
Location: F Hill

Post by Eagle »

What gives people the right to stuff unsolicited rubbish through ones door.
Accept for Royal Mail should be banned.
How the hell did we get here. Do not remember this being a problem in the 1950's and 60's.
Ulysses
Posts: 893
Joined: 1 Apr 2009 12:30
Location: Sydenham

Post by Ulysses »

It's an interesting debate Eagle.

At it's heart is 'what qualifies as junk mail'?

Last year I leafleted a number of streets here in Sydders with an A4 flyer for the £3M Sydenham Road improvement plans. Now, as you can imagine lots of letterboxes had a 'no junk mail' sign. I must admit I took the moral high-ground and was fairly indignant...sort of "this isn't blo*dy junk mail" type thing and put them through regardless.

But it was junk mail. It was, as you write, unsolicited. I would like to think as I was in favour of the plans that I was doing some good. I also think other forms of 'junk mail' are welcome (charity collections/Lewisham Life magazine/plans for CP Park etc). So, where to draw the line? Chrisj1948 wouldn't dream of voting Labour and neither you or I would ever have a take-away Pizza but clearly the firms do well out of it...else they wouldn't do it?

I think our moral compass/taste barometer/political leanings is effecting what we define as junk mail?
Eagle
Posts: 10658
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Location: F Hill

Post by Eagle »

Very true Ulyses
I would have welcomed one of your leaflets.
It is just endless junk food leaflets which annoy me. When I have managed to speak to one of the delivery people they either claim not to understand or think I am mad. Perhaps I am .
Cannot the local authority ban ay leaflets door to door concerning food. I am sure the people who do like to order food at home because they are to lazy to cook , or to go out to a restuarant know the delivery numbers anyway.
Fatbackfour
Posts: 97
Joined: 13 Nov 2009 18:48
Location: sydenham

Post by Fatbackfour »

Eagle,
its a proven method of direct marketing,the type of business which engages in it realise they are only likely to get a small number of customers from it. It costs them little to produce the leaflets and even less to have someone distribute them.
So spare a thought for the people who distribute the leaflets and if it really annoys you go to the owners of the businesses who make the decision to undertake the marketing campaign.
Dont shoot the messenger, its cold out there and they are very badly paid.
Pumpkin
Posts: 27
Joined: 13 Nov 2009 15:40
Location: SE26

Post by Pumpkin »

Two comments.

Yes - I agree its annoying and swelling the recycle box is not good.

Two - having moved to the borough from what was previously a very run-down area, to get leaflets indicates a place is not completely a dump. This may seem strange, but I really lived somewhere so unsafe and undesirable that I never got pizza leaflets (until the last few years I lived there). Maybe its not so bad to know you live somewhere where the pizza delivery man is willing to venture after dark.
Ulysses
Posts: 893
Joined: 1 Apr 2009 12:30
Location: Sydenham

Post by Ulysses »

I don't think you're mad Eagle but I do think you should worry less about it.

As pumpkin and nimbyboy say you have to look at in a number of ways.

Regards the poor souls doing the leafleting I agree. It's a tough gig. We were all volunteers doing the Sydenham Road campaign and it was hard graft. Think about how long and hilly some of the roads here are. It really makes you appreciate the hard slog the postie has and, to a lesser extent, the junk leafleters. And we only had to do it once! I wouldn't like to do it again, especially on the pittance the real leafleters will be getting.

Is it too much of an inconvenience to pop the leaflets that aren't applicable to your demographic into the recylce bin? I can think of much more intrusive ways of advertising/marketing.

I can understand it's a bug bear of yours and why but as pumpkin says it's when deliveries aren't made to your area you know you live in a ghetto. Recently Addison-Lee taxi firm refused to go to Harlesden or Neasden or Clapton or somewhere hideously rough north of the river.
Great Bustard
Posts: 53
Joined: 30 Apr 2009 12:45
Location: Kirkdale

Post by Great Bustard »

broadly speaking if it is not personally addressed then it is junk mail.
stuart
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Location: Lawrie Park
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Post by stuart »

I particulary resent the annual unsolicited income tax return from the Infernal Revenue. Tax is deducted at source so this pointless exercise results in us exchanging cheques for less than a tenner despite costing more time and money on each side.

But like all spammers - once on their list it appears impossible to get off!

Stuart
leenewham
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Post by leenewham »

It would be good if local businesses/takeaways gave an opt out box on their fliers and leaflets.

It's easier to look them up on the internet anyway and the prices will be up todate.
Ulysses
Posts: 893
Joined: 1 Apr 2009 12:30
Location: Sydenham

Post by Ulysses »

I think the point I am trying to make is that not all junk-mail is equal. Great Bustard is correct that anything not personally addressed to the home-owner/tenant would qualify as junk-mail but I positively welcome anything that drops through that is informative and educates me. Be they local magazines/info on changes to council services etc.

I don't see it as too much of an imposition to pop the takeaway leaflets in the recycling bin, after all, as written above by pumpkin the thought of not getting any would really set the alarm-bells ringing (or would that be gunshots?).

It seems I get most junk-mail (well, unwelcome mail) from firms that I am an existing customer of. The amount of times British Gas, for example, write to me pitching one product or another! Especially galling when they haven't bothered to check that I am in most instances a fully paid-up subscriber to said service! I Need a 'Grrr' emoticon here.
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