Success! The First One. Borders Books

One of the criticisms launched against me is, "Those audio clips are old." Or "We apologized!"

Two things. First, some were "old" because those were the ones that I sent to the companies advertising at the time (see below). Second, not everyone apologized for everything (You mean KSFO cherry picked the clips they wanted to talk about on their three hour VERY SPECIAL PROGRAM and ignored others? That's unpossible!)

• Do I really have to go back and play ALL the clips that the hosts DIDN'T apologize for? Because I can.
  
  
• Must I demonstrate specifically how they were part of a long pattern of violent rhetoric including multiple instances from more than one host? Because I could.
  
  
• Do I need to point out how they tried to explain away their own words using more parsing tricks than Ari Fleischer and Tony Snow combined? I might.
  
  
• And maybe we might just take apart the dates and times of the "apologies" to see what really prompted them and just what they LEFT out that illustrates specifically why managment knew what the host said was the wrong. I probably will.
  
  

But first, here is an example of another company, Borders Books, following its own internal guidelines for the kind of shows they advertise on.

This response was my first indication that advertisers were in the dark as to what they were buying and why it was important to educate them so they could make an informed decision. As I learned later from someone at Mahatama Rice, often the advertisers thought they were simply getting a Disney affiliate (with the brand association that name implies), something, "family-friendly".

My letter to Borders referred to Sussman's own "War on Christmas" in which he asked listeners to call up and tell him about retail stores that used the more inclusive, "Happy Holidays" greeting rather than "Merry Christmas". If any listeners caught a clerk saying anything other than "Merry Christmas" he "outed them" live on the radio.

That is what the customer service manager was referring to in the response.

Borders Books Borders Customer Care < XXXXX@bordersgroupinc.com > to me
More options Dec 2 (3 days ago)
12/2/2005

Dear Concerned Customer,

Michael Tam forwarded your email and asked that I respond, as I am the Customer Service Manager for Borders.

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding a Borders advertisement that recently ran during the Brian Sussman show on Talk Radio KSFO 560 AM in San Francisco.

As a company, Borders is absolutely apolitical and as such, we do not purchase advertising time during shows with primarily political content. Although our media purchasing guidelines reflect this policy, sometimes errors are made or station scheduling changes. As we did not intend for our ads to run during the program mentioned and, in keeping with our stated guidelines, all remaining spots scheduled during the Brian Sussman show have been canceled.

Borders believes in the basic right of our customers to choose what they want to listen to, read and buy. Our stores provide our patrons with a wide selection of products, and an environment in which they can explore, discover and enjoy what is of interest to them.

Additionally, we strive to create an inviting atmosphere in our stores that supports varying beliefs and holiday celebrations for both our customers and our staffs. We specifically communicate to our employees that during the holiday season they should use any holiday greeting they feel is appropriate when interacting with customers.

Thank you again for sharing your concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions or comments.

Sincerely,

XXXX XXXXX
Customer Service Manager
Borders and Waldenbooks Customer Care
www.bordersstores.com

So from now on when I'm out buying items with my Visa or MasterCard I like to shop at Borders Books. I buy science fiction books, gift cards or books on the wonderful state of Michigan.

And just to point out some verification that I wasn't the only one who noted Sussman attacking retailers for their attempt to be inclusive, here is KSFO's own program summary from that week.