A few days ago I received a notice from an organization of which I’ve been a member for thirty-five years. It said: “As directed by the President, I have upgraded your membership, FREE OF CHARGE. This is a special courtesy to you in recognition of your continued membership.” Acceptance required only my signature on the enclosed acknowledgement. At the risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth, I scrutinized the offering and there, buried in the fine print, I found the hooker—“free of charge” extends only 94 days. At the end of that time my upgraded membership renews at a newly increased rate unless I specifically instruct otherwise. The organization: Automobile Club of Southern California, an affiliate of AAA; the benefits of the upgraded membership: an extended towing distance and a few gallons of gas; the annual dues increase: from $69 to $117, up about 70%.

There is no mystery as to the offer’s intent. It’s a scheme to peddle a grossly overpriced product disguised as a benefit. The artifice, taught in marketing schools throughout the nation, is known as Opt-in/Opt-out marketing. It’s based on the premise that a predetermined portion of persons who accept an initially attractive offer will, if required to perform some function, fail to cancel out when the benefits end. The task of its designers is adjusting the parameters so to predict, within statistical accuracy, what percentage will neglect, for whatever reason, to opt out.

Though I regularly receive such duplicitous offerings from various companies—an even more egregious proposal arrived from Bank of America a day later—I normally don’t take offense. I fully expect the nation’s financial community to operate in a high-handed manner. My surprise was receiving this from an organization for which I had regard. However, perhaps it’s to be expected. It appears that as a commercial entity grows in size, the activities of its marketing department become more remote from its fundamental business or service operation. And as these departments tend to hire persons with marketing school degrees, all taught the same techniques, the results are inevitable.

A concluding thought:
It’s a hostile world out there, so you must be continually on guard to avoid being ripped off. And above all, be aware that there are no sure guidelines by which to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys.