I went to my local drug store to pick up a prescription this morning. I walked in and stated my name, the pharmacist asked me my date of birth, then she went into a drawer,picked up my prescription, and handed it to me. I paid for it and left. Before I even got to my car I got a text:

Thanks for visiting [Drug Store Name]. How did we do today?

To rate your overall pharmacy experience, reply with a number 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. We appreciate the feedback!

I replied: STOP

…And received an unsubscribed notification text. But here is the thing: I never subscribed.

This evening I was sent an email from the same pharmacy titled, ‘How Did We Do?’, asking me to ‘Take a short Survey’.

I don’t remember when the line was crossed, but it has been crossed. You share personal information like your phone number and/or your email address, and companies believe it’s their right to contact you and ask for feedback or to promote products and sales. And the thing is you always end up giving them your phone number or your email because, for example, you need to become a member in order to get the sale price, and you can’t become a member without sharing these details.

I can understand asking me, ‘ How did we do today?’ If I spent 2 hours getting a service from you, or if I contacted customer service to help me solve a challenging problem. I get it if we’ve been through a two month process together. I can’t understand what you expect me to say about a 45 second interaction?

What meaningful data are you getting, and at what cost of annoyance to your customers?

I can’t pick up a prescription without being hounded for feedback on the transaction? I can’t read your website without accepting all cookies, and closing the window inviting me to subscribe to your newsletter? I can’t see your 1-minute news clip without viewing two fifteen second ads, the first of which I can’t skip and the second I have to wait 7 seconds to skip? I have to watch a 5 minute video where you spend 4 minutes telling me what you are going to tell me.

You want to help me? Stop this nonsense.

You want my feedback? Stop asking for so much feedback. Stop burying the lead behind advertising or behind a slow-burn audience retention strategy designed to evokes sunk cost feeling like, ‘Dang, I’ve listened for 4 minutes now, I’ve invested too long to miss the ending now.’ And stop asking for engagement (like, comment, subscribe) before you get to the point.

Just stop it… Please!