| Comment Number: | 525547-00108 |
| Received: | 11/3/2006 7:46:08 PM |
| Organization: | Draper's and Damon's |
| Commenter: | Brad Farmer |
| State: | CA |
| Subject: | Telemarketing Sales Rule |
| Title: | Request for Public Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Draper’s and Damon’s is a women’s clothing company based in Irvine, California. Draper's & Damon's has been in business since 1927, and currently has 48 retail locations, a national mail order catalog and is home to approximately 570 employees. Draper's & Damon's has maintained a high level of standards throughout our company’s history, with continued ongoing compliance with the TSR, the national do-not-call list and general protections of consumer privacy. Draper's & Damon's has been conducting business with MessageBroadcast since April of 2005 due to their impeccable compliance record following FTC rules. We have found this medium to be a valuable and welcome way to communicate with our customers. To date Draper's & Damon's has deployed 2,512,478 calls to our customers and due to the nature of our customer base has a higher than average live answer rate of approximately 45% base compared to an average live answer rate of approximately 20%. Even with such a high live answer statistic the "opt out" rate for a live script nets out to less than 1.36% for live connects with our customers. The following is a sample of a recent live script used: "Hi, this is Ann with a recorded message from Draper’s & Damon’s. We heard it’s your birthday this month, so we’re inviting you to a celebration of November birthdays at your favorite Draper’s & Damon’s location. Stop in on Thursday, November 16th to receive your gift, some birthday cake, and 10% off your same-day purchase. Please press the pound key to replay this message or call 1-877-621-0990 with any questions. To no longer receive these exclusive telephone offers, please press 1. We can’t wait to see you at Draper’s & Damon’s, and by the way, Happy Birthday!" These types of calls are targeted to consumers who have elected to join our programs that provide benefits for them specifically and do not violate the national do not call list or our own internal do not call policy. Those customers who do elect to opt out are put into a file that assures they will not be contacted again, while others are sustained as a measurable means for us to monitor our success. This process yields a very positive result for all concerned. Draper's & Damon's would like clarification on the proposed rulings that states that we can not send telemarketing calls without express written consent. Please clarify what constitutes telemarketing and express written consent. Would a reminder call for a service appointment, a thank you call, a notification to customers of an event, or a survey fall in this category? Would we be able to sign up a customer via the internet or other means compliant with E-SIGN? Would the FTC consider providing any relief to our existing customer base? Our customers at Draper's & Damon's have welcomed our recorded messages of the past and it is our opinion that no consumer injury would result with continuing this means of advertising. In fact, we strongly believe that if the FTC does not provide relief to these proposed new rulings it could be damaging to our business and our valuable assets such as our data base and our customer relations. We respectfully request clarification and relief from these proposed rulings on the part of the FTC. Submitted by: Brad Farmer, CEO Draper’s and Damon’s