Consumer-oriented corporations live and die by the financial bottom line, so they spend a lot of money trying to understand “consumer intent.” At the same time, they avoid taking in email because it is unstructured and noisy. There’s a lot of spam. But, if you take the time to write a letter and mail it in an envelope, someone at HQ is bound to skim it over, log a note about it that will funnel up to management, and they may even write you back with some coupons or stickers. The old activist wisdom is that a hand-written letter carries the weight of 1,000 emails.
Hand-written is best, but as a computer guy with bad handwriting I will compose something in a text editor and print it out. A perfectionist can work through a draft on the computer and then transcribe it with a pen. You do you. Try to keep it short and to the point. Follow a format that works for you. I tend to write about half a page like this:
My address
Their Address
Date
To whom it may concern:
What I like about your company. My favorite app or whatever.
What is making me sad about my experiences with your products, if applicable.
But you know what is really, truly awful? You gave President Trump a bunch of money to demolish the East Wing of the White House.
I hope your company will reconsider its complicity in the destruction of our Democracy and return to its core mission of whatever I said I liked just a few short paragraphs ago.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
My Name
Print, fold, envelope, address, stamp, seal, and drop it in the box. You’ll feel great all week.
Defund Oligarchy 