If you work anywhere in the direct marketing industry, chances are you’ve gotten an earful from friends and family about our fine business on many occasions.

Telemarketers are scum.

I hate infomercials.

How did I get on all these *&!?ing mailing lists?

Blah, blah, blah. I decided to give a select group the chance to vent about DM recently in a controlled environment. I put together a survey with 10 questions asking their opinions on direct mail, telemarketing, DRTV and online marketing, and e-mailed it to 22 friends and family members I knew wouldn’t be shy about speaking their minds. Of course, the results are highly unscientific. (I specialize in the highly unscientific.) But they are an interesting snapshot of typical consumer attitudes.

I received 15 responses — 14 from the list I used and one from the coworker of a friend who was forwarded the survey. The respondents ranged in age from their mid-20s to late 50s. Occupations included teachers, writers, techies such as Webmasters and programmers, homemakers and managers.

The good news is that no respondent outright hated direct marketing. In fact, they were kinda fond of certain aspects of the biz. Thirteen reported that they shop by direct mail and/or catalogs, and all respondents shop online. When asked to name their favorite catalogs, only Lands’ End, L.L. Bean, Coldwater Creek and Eddie Bauer received multiple votes (End and Bean got three votes each and Creek and Bauer snagged two). Single votes were received by 15 other catalogs, including Restoration Hardware, Victoria’s Secret, Signals, Pottery Barn, Wired, Spiegel and Critic’s Choice.

In the favorite Web site category, Amazon.com was the big winner, with 13 out of 15 respondents saying they had happy shopping experiences there. Buy.com, eBay and CDNow also each got at least two votes, and a number of other sites were mentioned, including Half.com, Barnes & Noble, Red Envelope, Border’s, Macy’s, Spencers.com and Anatomical Chart Co. (the latter two cited as great sources for Halloween decorations).

Several respondents said they used to shop from print catalogs, but gave that up thanks to the ease and convenience of shopping online. Commercial e-mail, however, wasn’t quite so popular. Nine said they get what they consider “a lot” of commercial e-mail. Only six said they respond — three “rarely,” two to offers for things like free shipping from merchants they trust and one to unsubscribe.

One gentleman said he uses software to filter out what he considers “junk” e-mails, and uses a special e-mail account when he shops online, so he can track communications related to his purchases.

“I delete most of it when I first open my e-mail,” offered another. “I look at it as the equivalent of putting catalogs in the recycle bin without looking at them. It saves me money in the long run.”

Only six respondents said they watched infomercials or home shopping channels, and only four respondents would admit to ever making a purchase from the idiot box. One bought a pair of dress boots from HSN.com, but returned them because the toe was too pointy. Another bought an exercise machine in a store after seeing it demonstrated in an infomercial, and yet another bought a shirt from HSN 14 years ago. One respondent was a bit more adventurous in her DRTV spending, citing tanning, hair removal and cleaning products among her buys. “Sometimes I’m happy with what comes in the mail, sometimes I’m not,” she added.

Trustworthiness of infomercials was an issue for many. Another said she’d trust the claims of infomercials “only when under the influence of narcotics. In that state, I’ll believe anything.”

“The claims are no more or less believable than regular advertising, just lengthier,” said a friend who said she’s seen all too many infomercials thanks to a work schedule that at times means she sees a lot of late-night television.

“There is no way anyone can get a nice set of abs by working out on “So & So’s” exercise machine after one month,” noted another.

Of course, it could be all in the casting. One friend said the only reason to watch infomercials is if you want to see out-of-work “has-been” actors. “Maybe if George Clooney started hosting infomercials…” she offered.

But wait, you must be wondering. Didn’t my friends and family have anything to say about telemarketing? Oh yeah. Boatloads. Next issue we’ll share their thoughts — and let’s just say you won’t be a-feelin’ the love.

BETH NEGUS VIVEIROS ([email protected]) is executive editor of DIRECT.

If you work anywhere in the direct marketing industry, chances are you