QUIT MONKEYIN' AROUND

While surfing the web this morning I came across an ad for the site CareerBuilder.com. It was a banner with a picture of a chimp and the copy read "Only zookeepers should have to work with monkeys." Now, I've seen this ad campaign before online, in print and on TV, but this time it made me mad (well, it bothered me a little). Maybe it was because I was online and could let them know how I feel about their ads easily that I decided I would tell them. I mean, come on! I'm not gonna get up off the couch, go to the computer, dial up (I know, I know), open a browser window (Firefox, of course), go to their website, look for the number, log off, and then call them when I see one of those commercials on TV. That's a lot of trouble for something that really doesn't matter at all (plus they are kind of funny). But it was easy here at work with a high-speed connection and a fast computer to go to their page, click on the link to leave a comment and give them a piece of my mind. They actually responded (now I'm getting to the point of my story) to my comment! They didn't just send an auto response to say "we got your comment, thanks a bunch!", but they ADDRESSED my comments in their email. This is the email I got:

This email is in response to a question you submitted to CareerBuilder.com. Please do not consider this email as spam. To respond with further information, please click the link at the bottom of the email. On 8/30/2006 you posed a question to CareerBuilder.com which was noted as inquiry 322680. The question you posed and our response are listed below. Your Question, Comment or Feedback: Feedback: I am sure this is not the first comment regarding this issue, but...THOSE ARE NOT MONKEYS IN YOUR ADS!!! Chimpanzees are apes. Monkeys have tails; apes do not. Response: Dear snikta, Thank you for contacting Careerbuilder.com. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We are aware that the Chimpanzees that we use in our advertisements are actually Apes. We call them Monkeys instead as that name was tested to be more popular even though it is incorrect. We do appreciate you taking the time to write us however and commend you on your knowledge of primatology. If you have any additional questions or comments, please let us know. We are available on the web at http://www.fuzeqna.com/careerbuilder/consumer/question.asp or by phone at 1-866-438-1485, 8:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Friday and 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday (Eastern Time). Good luck with your search! Try our new automated online assistant! Available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week! To Ask Careerbuilder, click here: http://www.careerbuilder.com/cbchat/redirout.aspx Do you want to learn how to navigate our site better? Take a look at our Jobseeker Online User Guide: http://www.fuzeqna.com/careerbuilder/consumer/search.asp?catID=44 For additional free career related information please click on the following link: http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/careerbytes/

Sincerely, Kelly (I deleted her last name)
Customer Service Representative CareerBuilder.com
A Better Job Awaits!
(I deleted her phone number, too.)

Customer Service Please use the link below to respond with further information if applicable. You may need to cut and paste the entire link (it may span two lines) into the address line of your web browser. http://www.fuzeqna.com/careerbuilder/consumer/clarify.asp?-
incidentID=%7BC80C862A-6877-4929-8907-8642E507FF2C%7D

OK. Is Kelly a bitch, or am I taking her the wrong way? You know, Kelly, this didn't cause me any inconvenience. I didn't wreck my car over it or anything. And what's with the capitalization of "Chimpanzees" and "Apes" in her response? What, are we writing in German? (All nouns are capitalized in written German) And it's not just the chimps used in the ads that are apes, but ALL chimpanzees are apes. And if I hold a focus group, can I call anything whatever I want just because that name tested to be more popular than the real one? I drive a Toyota, but I now call it a Bugatti. I held a focus group (just now) and Bugatti tested to be more popular than Toyota. You (I'm addressing CareerBuilder now) "commend" me on my "knowledge of primatology"? What-the-fuck-ever.

A Better Job Awaits indeed! Calling things by the wrong name and writing smart-assed emails to people you don't know.



Did you know that I got stung by a yellow-jacket Sunday? I sure did. I was mowing the lawn, and one of them stung me on the back of my left leg, just above the ankle. He didn't fly away after, either. I looked down and there he was, on the back of my leg with his ass stuck in me. So I smashed his head and pulled the stinger out. Now the back of my lower left leg is all swollen and ITCHES. Damn!


snikta

PS-Blogger's spell-checker didn't recognize the word monkeyin' and wanted to replace it with monogamy. I think that's funny. It also wanted to replace fuck with Fuji, but that's not humerous.