posted
Here in Northern Ontario, our area code is 807 - Salt Lake City, USA 801. So if you stay at a Marriott Hotel and want to collect, redeem or communicate with the Marriott Rewards program - you fax a sign shop in Kenora!!!! We get faxes from hotel guests and internal communications. They have sent me documents with guests confidential info - i even had a woman send me her husband's death certificate on the day it was issued so she could get his points!!!! We recieve up to 400 pages a month. The chain says they can't do anything about it. If I disconnect the fax or move it to another number, I get 400 annoying fax beeps. I have a really annoyed form letter I sent to each Marriott property as they fax me - but will not go to the time or expense of replying to all of their numerically challenged customers. Anyone got any ideas. A fax is a must, since we still send hand drawn designs to some customers. Help!!!
-------------------- Murray MacDonald OldTime Signs 529 Third Ave S Kenora, ON. P9N 1Y3 oldtimesigns@gokenora.com Posts: 781 | From: Kenora, ON | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Take legal action or make them, (Marriott) make it damn well worth the headache. They CAN if they WILL and if they DON"T, sue 'em!! It's not YOUR fault they won't change THEIR #'s!!
R.T.
-------------------- R.T.Thomas,AirDesigns/Sign And Airbrush Studio rtart1@earthlink.net
Hattiesburg,MS 39401 Shop 601-584-1000 Cell 601-310-5901 Proud supporter of LETTERVILLE!
"Ahhhhhh.......Juicy Fruit." Posts: 547 | From: Hattiesburg,MS USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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OR... ya can become a real PITA! I did that with a new restaurant! They had the same attitude, "Nothing we can do about it!" So....one Friday ; "Prime Rib Inn?" "Yes ma''m,what ca I do for you?" "I'd like reservations for a party of 6 tonite." "Would 7:39 be OK?"
Next one was also at 7:30, in fact ....all were at 7:30!
Monday...no more calls for Prime Rib Inn!
-------------------- Si Allen #562 La Mirada, CA. USA
(714) 521-4810
si.allen on Skype
siallen@dslextreme.com
"SignPainters do It with Longer Strokes!"
Never mess with your profile while in a drunken stupor!!!
Brushasaurus on Chat Posts: 8831 | From: La Mirada, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I have to disagree with RT on this one... Unfortunatley, there's nothing you can do about it. You can't legislate stupidity. We get phone calls on a regular basis for a taxi service out of New york City. Our area code is 717 and theirs is 718. We do have fun with it though, we'll answer the phone and identify ourselves a printing company and the person on the other end will still ask for a taxi. So, we say we will be right there. Other times we'll answer as a donut shop or a phone sex hot line. In the other fax post, Glenn linked to a company that is able to screen your faxes and it makes the fax sender select another number after the fax has connected. Or, you can do like Bob S. mentioned & hook the fax line up to you PC so you're not printing all these faxes out. Another option would be to hook up an old pc with the ability to accept faxes. When someone attempts to send you a fax, you can play a recorded message that states something to the effect of ... Thank you for calling OldTime Signs. If you are a client trying to send us a fax, please press 1. for all other fax requests, please be aware that we charge $10 per page for fax receiving. Please be sure to include you name address & phone number for billing purposes. I doubt you'll get rich off this but it will make people think twice about pushing the send button : )
Havin' fun,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
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I had the same problem with a local sandwich shop named after an underground train,, I finally started telling the ones who would speak the company they reached is bankrupt. HEH HEH never said the co's name.
It didn't take long and one day the owner called me and asked why i was saying that. Told him i was sic of receiving their calls.. They soon changed their fax phone number..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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We had the same problem with a gasd station chain in town. They have over 300 stores throughout Alabama and every Monday all 300 stores would have to fax in accounting paperwork. The head office said they'd get the number corrected but never did.
We printed three pages requesting that they correct the error together, taped them into a loop in the fax machine, and dialed the correct number. You hit the start button and let it run. It will send fax after fax until the other machine runs out of paper. We had to do this three times before they finally decided to fix the problem.
-------------------- Pat Whatley Montgomery, AL (334) 262-7446 office (334) 324-8465 cell Posts: 1306 | From: Wetumpka, AL USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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We have three very similar problems...our number is one digit off a company here called "Tickets Unlimited" and when the "Sooners" (Oklahoma University Teams) are hot like they are this year we spend a lot of time saying "you want 364 not 360"
The other problem is a little more unique...with a name like SIGNLanguage we get calls all the time with inquiries as to when we are "holding our next classes".
Bu tthe worst of all cames when a deaf persons print phone attempts code contact with our number...we answer and no one is there... when their phone realizes there is no "hook up" we get a click (hang up)and a then dial tone.
None of these are a real big deal...unless you are all the way across the room from the phone (which we usually are).
We've been living with all this for about 13 years now and have gotten used to it...nothing else you can you do!
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
posted
I agree with Patrick on this one if you loop 3 or 4 pages together and let the fax run all night or several hours it not only runs them out of paper but fills the memory and they can not recieve any other faxes. Its a little demented but sometimes thats the attention getter and when they call and ask you to stop it's real simple to just reply now you understand my problem. good luck sometimes those corporate types move slow unless motivated or inconvenienced.
Magic
[ November 10, 2003, 12:57 PM: Message edited by: Mark Higdon ]
posted
A couple of years ago, they added a new area code to part of the state. Our area code remained the same. My cell phone # just happened to be the same # (different area code) as a building supply store in the northern part of the state that had to change area codes. So I start getting calls: "Clanton Graphics, this is Michael, can I help you?"... "Is this ---- builders supply?" No this is Clanton Graphics- " Is this Jerry?" -No this is Michael -"could I speak to Jerry?" -"This isn't ---- builders supply?" -I think you have the wrong #- Many, many times a day, since 2000, now I quickly tell them to dial the correct area code, but it has cost me on incoming minutes.
I have had a couple of laughs: One guy calls and immediatly starts eating my --- out, because he had a truckload of 2'x4's delivered and they were junk! So I told him very nicely to come on in, and we would give him some more, NO CHARGE, just ask for Jerry! Another lady claimed that she was not happy with her new hot water heater that she bought about 4 months earlier! after several minutes of trying to get her to calm down and dial the right #, I finally told her to come on in and she would get a full refund! That shut her up!
My grandfather had a foolproof way to mess with wrong #'s- When they called and asked for someone, he would just say- "oh, they just left, you just missed them!" they would usually just thank him and hang up, never to call back, and never the wiser!
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1736 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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Had a similar phone number as a pizza place I did a sign for a couple of summers ago...
I told the customer about it and that I was correcting them, and got free pizza delivered to the house a couple of Friday nights a month. One Friday night, while I was working as a bounce at another restaurant, I joked about calling in an order for a pizza and having it delivered to the door. Before long, the joke got out to the kitchen and we called in 14 of them for the kitchen staff and managers... delivered to the back door! Picture restaurant workers running out food to customers and jetting back into the kitchen for an impromtu pizza party.
The fun part...we make pizzas, too!...but like the other guy's better. The following weekend. we sent them a bunch of chicken wings and onion rings for munchies. They like ours better.
Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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