Please fill out this brief survey...

[jhsachs]

Lately most of organizations I deal with seem to send me at least one request to fill out a survey every time I interact with them. If I buy a wrench from Home Depot, they send a survey: did you find what you wanted? If I call my dentist to request a printed receipt for my insurance, they send a survey: was the person who spoke with you friendly and helpful?

Some sites send me an email every time I log in. "Someone logged in to your Gmail account today... please let us know if it wasn't you." Gmail, if your security is to bad that you have to double-check every time a user logs in, perhaps I shouldn't be using your service.

These messages are pushing toward 99% of the email I receive. I probably spend a half hour every week just deleting them, and I'm sick of it.

The obvious solution is to change my registered email address to an account that I never look at... just log in once a month and delete everything in the queue. But most of these places could send me messages that are important, and some of them often do. My oncologist, for example.

I wonder if anyone has other ideas for dealing with the flood of junk. I'm not so naive as to think there's any way to make it stop.

 

[COLGeek]

Route to spam and ignore.

Also, change your password immediately. Scan all devices for malware.

 

[Wolfshadw]

In addition to the above, check for a link at the bottom of each e-mail to unsubscribe (after verifying the validity of the e-mail). Usually takes a few weeks (though I know it could be done in about five seconds), but you should stop getting those e-mails or at least be taken to a page where you can customize what e-mails you receive from them.

About once a month, I'll get a survey request from my local grocery store (but I am part of their rewards program). Any time I go to get my vehicle serviced, I generally get a "How did we do" survey e-mail shortly after. Beyond that, I generally don't get much if any at all. I just don't download/install a lot of store apps and don't give out my e-mail address if I don't need to.

-Wolf sends

 

[jhsachs]

That is helpful, but not a solution. Many of these emails have no unsubscribe link.

My pet supply provider recently autoshipped three buckets of cat litter to me. They sent me an email to remind me that they were autoshipping in a few days to give me a chance to change my order, an email to tell me they were getting ready to ship, another when they shipped, another to tell me that my shipment was almost here, and today, three to tell me my order will arrive today. That's right, an email for each bucket. And after they're delivered, I expect at least one more to tell me they have been delivered.

The first of those emails is important. The rest are noise. They have no "unsubscribe" link, but if they did, it would be unclear whether unsubscribing one would unsubscribe them all, which I would not want.

The only way I could opt out of those 8 to 10 useless emails would be to cancel the standing order and periodically lug home 105 pounds of cat litter from a B&M store. Paying in cash so they wouldn't know who to send emails to. (And they'd try to find out anyway, and I'd have to refuse. That happens every time I buy something at the pet store.)

That seems to be the only solution: pay cash and lug the stuff home.

 

[USAFRet]

Filter for "survey", and send to junk.

 

[Wolfshadw]

That is helpful, but not a solution. Many of these emails have no unsubscribe link.

My pet supply provider recently autoshipped three buckets of cat litter to me. They sent me an email to remind me that they were autoshipping in a few days to give me a chance to change my order, an email to tell me they were getting ready to ship, another when they shipped, another to tell me that my shipment was almost here, and today, three to tell me my order will arrive today. That's right, an email for each bucket. And after they're delivered, I expect at least one more to tell me they have been delivered.

The first of those emails is important. The rest are noise. They have no "unsubscribe" link, but if they did, it would be unclear whether unsubscribing one would unsubscribe them all, which I would not want.

The only way I could opt out of those 8 to 10 useless emails would be to cancel the standing order and periodically lug home 105 pounds of cat litter from a B&M store. Paying in cash so they wouldn't know who to send emails to. (And they'd try to find out anyway, and I'd have to refuse. That happens every time I buy something at the pet store.)

That seems to be the only solution: pay cash and lug the stuff home.

Any company that sent me that many e-mails in regards to a single order would immediately lose my business. If you have an account on there web site, check to see if there is some sort of notifications setting on your account to change the amount of contact you receive.

Otherwise, as suggested above, set up some e-mail filters to automatically junk those e-mails you don't need to see.

-Wolf sends

 

[souper82]

Lately most of organizations I deal with seem to send me at least one request to fill out a survey every time I interact with them. If I buy a wrench from Home Depot, they send a survey: did you find what you wanted? If I call my dentist to request a printed receipt for my insurance, they send a survey: was the person who spoke with you friendly and helpful?

Some sites send me an email every time I log in. "Someone logged in to your Gmail account today... please let us know if it wasn't you." Gmail, if your security is to bad that you have to double-check every time a user logs in, perhaps I shouldn't be using your service.

These messages are pushing toward 99% of the email I receive. I probably spend a half hour every week just deleting them, and I'm sick of it.

The obvious solution is to change my registered email address to an account that I never look at... just log in once a month and delete everything in the queue. But most of these places could send me messages that are important, and some of them often do. My oncologist, for example.

I wonder if anyone has other ideas for dealing with the flood of junk. I'm not so naive as to think there's any way to make it stop.

I treat these requests for surveys like spam, i don't answer any..!