I collect t-shirts with food on them (literally and graphically), and I like Boston though I don’t live there, so I was attracted to a Facebook ad selling a “Wicked Hungry” t-shirt as a fundraiser for beleaguered Boston restaurants. Clicked through and quickly lost interest when I discovered my XXL would cost $40 plus $8 for shipping. But I had gone far enough to put in my email address, and in the subsequent 24 hours I was bombarded by no fewer than three abandoned cart emails.
One such email is probably okay and it’s ok to frame it around “did you forget something?” And in fact the email from Jonathan Holden, owner of Purely Boston, seem heartfelt as he explained why he was doing this. But just five hours later he was back with “I’m really having trouble thinking of why you haven’t claimed our Massachusetts Restaurant Fundraiser Shirt?” I responded to this one, explained the price was the barrier and asked him to stop contacting me.
Then this morning he was back again to explain he had been “looking through support emails” (apparently not including mine) and wanted to proactively answer the questions I hadn’t asked. This inspired me to visit Jonathan Holden’s website, PurelyBoston.com. Not surprisingly, it’s an online store selling Boston tourist merch. Surprisingly, the T-shirt which seems to have become a generous obsession is nowhere listed.
Now I’m wondering if I will continue to get spam emails from Purely Boston after this promo is over. And my charitable curiosity has changed from “hmm, maybe” to a resounding “no way!”
P.S. I know Bostonians have a reputation for being in-your-face, but I was offended by the subject line of the second and third emails, “Everything OK?” and “Are you confused?” Direct marketing 101: it’s never a good idea to lead by insulting your customer.