Like all the big milestones in life, buying a house gives one a chance to experience the best–and worst–in direct marketing and customer service.
The ink wasn’t even dry on the closing papers when my husband and I began receiving direct mail pitches for just about anything one could imagine a new homeowner would need. Furniture? Yeah, there are some things we could use. Window treatments? Sure, when we get a bit more settled. Lawn maintenance? Definitely, since years of apartment living hasn’t exactly cultivated our green thumbs. Our own personal putting green? Um, no, I don’t think so. The bowling alley took up all our extra room.
Having to wait several weeks to get our phone lines installed has spared us temporarily from telemarketing solicitations. Of course, having no phones is inconvenient on several levels. In a cosmic way, maybe our old telephone service provider wanted to help. When I called to inquire why the number in our old apartment was still active four days after the scheduled cutoff, the rep happily informed me that it would be shut off
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