Posted on Saturday, 29th May 2010 by Bill Bean
An idea for companies such as ATT and Comcast.
We recently switched from the standard home phone service to Google Voice. Since we rarely used our land line, and we really only need a central voice mail service, it seemed like a good idea (so far so good). So we dropped our ATT service.
As a result of canceling our ATT home phone service we ended up getting a small rebate check in the amount of 87 cents. (would have included the relevant check image but my scanner doesn’t work) I’m guessing you’ve had similar experiences. I know I’ve seen checks for amounts that were less than the value of the postage, paper, and envelope. I understand the respective businesses have a responsibility to disburse those funds appropriately, but isn’t it a bit silly?
Here’s what Bill thinks.
Let’s come up with an alternative solution that allows a business, ATT in this particular instance, to give me the option of choosing to donate the small amount to a charity or cause instead of having them send me a check. This would be similar to what some stores are doing now when they allow you to round up your total bill to the next whole dollar and donate the difference.
I can see it being self-defeating, if ATT sends me something in the mail asking me what I want to do with the 87 cents they owe me. However, perhaps it could be an option I select when I first open the account. They could also do it via email. That wouldn’t address everyone but it would be a step forward.
Conservatively, doing this with a business on the scale of ATT or, say, a Comcast, could easily result in tens of thousands of dollars of donations. On top of that, I’d bet they’d save an almost equal amount.
Is there a reason this wouldn’t work?
Posted in Ideas | Comments (0)
