[rant]My NRA membership is up for renewal. In fact, it's a bit past due -- thanks to the NRA's rapacious method of operating. The ink wasn't even dry on the check a year ago before they started sending me "renewal" notices. Frequent renewal notices. Which, of course, I threw out. And throwing them out became such a habit that I lost track of when my term expired, and I didn't send in the renewal when it really was time.
This evening I got a phone call. Cheerful sounding male voice, assuring me up front that he's a member of the NRA (like I really believe a telemarketer is an NRA member), and right now he has a couple of great deals to offer me for re-upping: I can renew for five years for $125, or I can get a life membership for $300. Cool. I'd like to not deal with renewing any more, so I said I'd take the life membership. He then said he had to transfer me to another person to confirm my information.
So he transferred me, and a woman came on. She re-confirmed my name and my address, and then said "And for our records, do you confirm that you are enrolling for a life membership for $750?"
Well ... not, I don't. The other guy told me $300. "Hold on a moment, let me check." She came back about a minute later and said that the "distinguished life member" offer for $300 was only for people 65 or older. Just two days ago someone here posted that he gave one to his son as a high school graduation gift, and I told her that. "Just a moment."
She came back and said it's only for people 65 or older ... or for veterans. (This was a new criterion, not in play heretofor.) I told her I am not 65, but I am a veteran. She then told me the price for veterans is $375.
At that point I hung up on her.
I HATE it when people play bait-n-switch with me. I suppose eventually I'll get around to rejoining but for the moment, I am not a member of the NRA. And the NRA has nobody to blame for that other than themselves and their money-grubbing methods of operation.[/rant]
This evening I got a phone call. Cheerful sounding male voice, assuring me up front that he's a member of the NRA (like I really believe a telemarketer is an NRA member), and right now he has a couple of great deals to offer me for re-upping: I can renew for five years for $125, or I can get a life membership for $300. Cool. I'd like to not deal with renewing any more, so I said I'd take the life membership. He then said he had to transfer me to another person to confirm my information.
So he transferred me, and a woman came on. She re-confirmed my name and my address, and then said "And for our records, do you confirm that you are enrolling for a life membership for $750?"
Well ... not, I don't. The other guy told me $300. "Hold on a moment, let me check." She came back about a minute later and said that the "distinguished life member" offer for $300 was only for people 65 or older. Just two days ago someone here posted that he gave one to his son as a high school graduation gift, and I told her that. "Just a moment."
She came back and said it's only for people 65 or older ... or for veterans. (This was a new criterion, not in play heretofor.) I told her I am not 65, but I am a veteran. She then told me the price for veterans is $375.
At that point I hung up on her.
I HATE it when people play bait-n-switch with me. I suppose eventually I'll get around to rejoining but for the moment, I am not a member of the NRA. And the NRA has nobody to blame for that other than themselves and their money-grubbing methods of operation.[/rant]