Guideposts - Reviews and experiences

I sent a book to my place for my mom, thinking that would be straightforward. Instead I got bombarded with junk mail and emails, and I kept having to send physical envelopes back and call. Each time customer service said they’d remove me, but the mail kept arriving. Then there was a billing mix-up for my mom’s order that took probably ten calls before it was fixed — I was turning sceptical at that point, honestly. The moment I felt relieved was when a supervisor finally confirmed the charge had been corrected and told me the mailing list entry was deleted; the junk mail stopped. The book itself has been great for her morning routine, she reads a chapter with coffee every day, so in the end the product does what it should.

I never signed up for any of this, so when a steady stream of donation letters started showing up after we moved, it was annoying. I'm not religious, I don't do Christmas cards (estranged family, long story), and the envelopes always had two scripture-filled cards inside — totally useless to me. I called a few times, got the usual "we'll remove you in a few weeks" answer, and still got the mail. The turning point — the moment I knew I was actually satisfied — was when I finally got through to a person who bothered to look past the script, tracked down my file and confirmed they'd taken my address out. Two cycles later, no more envelopes. Relief, honestly; small relief but real. That said, getting to that point needed persistence and felt wasteful (all that paper, ugh), and their first responses were slow. Credit to the rep who fixed it, but they should sort this faster so other people don't have to nag.

There’s a little pile of magazines on my table and one of them keeps asking for money already. I’m only six months into a one‑year subscription — and I got renewal notices twice with half a year left. I don’t mind reminders, but this felt pushy, especially since I support a few dozen other organisations that get less from me. I didn’t know the magazine had a different religious slant than mine; I’m Roman Catholic, so that surprised me, but eh, it’s not a dealbreaker. The actual issues are practical and readable — helpful in a steady, ordinary way — though a lot of the spiritual stuff tastes a bit too sweet for me, too sentimental maybe. Oddly, one personal story last month was unexpectedly useful and grounded, so there’s that. I’m 79, slow with tech, still using a desktop and a landline and yes, an old typewriter for fun, so the paper format suits me. For now I’ll ignore the renewal emails and decide later.