Another open letter

[resonant]

Dear fund-raisers, retreat facilities, and others who supply to churches:

Your calls came over my switchboard the week before Easter, and you all seemed very surprised to be told that the pastor and the youth director really don't have time to chat with you about your publication or your lakeside cabins or your church directory package.

Funny thing -- turns out that in Christianity (you know, one of the religions you market to?), Easter is kind of a big deal.

Given how many of y'all there seem to be, I'm guessing there must be serious money in marketing to churches. Maybe learn a little something about us before you show up holding out your cup?

Comments

[ninasis]

We get tomorrow off, cuz, you know...Good Friday and all. And when I told somebody that I wouldn't be able to send them something until Monday because our offices are closed tomorrow he acted like it was the most ridiculous thing he'd EVER HEARD. How DARE a faith-based organization close for one of the most sacred days in their religious calendar. He needs his freakin' CD, c'mon! People is weird.

[amberfox]

Some people have levels of entitlement issues that have to be seen to be believed. At least it kind of makes sense that the grocery store where I work is open til Sunday afternoon; people need food, right? I'm still trying to figure out why the bookstore, video game store, and movie store are open; in case people get suddenly and incredibly bored from dealing with their families and need an emergency dose of new entertainment? (One of the family stories involves someone coming into a Blockbuster movie shop, yelling at the clerk for being blasphemous enough to be open on Christmas Day, and then renting a movie.)

[akacat]

I know! How dare those non-Christians, wanting to do their regular Sunday things!

...wait, what?

I agree that it truly sucks when a person has to miss holiday activities that are important to them, because their employer doesn't observe that holiday. I certainly missed my share of Christmas and Easter services back when I was a security guard (and still Christian.) But I don't think there's anything particularly entitled about a non-Christian expecting a (random to them) Sunday in April to be business as usual.

On the other hand, the ding-a-ling who berated a Blockbuster employee for working on a holiday, then turned right around and rented a movie -- that's entitlement. Just as it would be if someone did that on any other religion's holiday.

[akacat]

Whups -- I just realized that I jumped to the conclusion that you live in the US. If you live in a country where the state religion is Christianity, my comment obviously doesn't apply.

[amberfox]

I do live in the US, actually. In my case it's not so much that I'm arguing for Christian holidays but for family holidays, there's just a significant overlap. My standard expectations of day off-ness are Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day, those being the times we went to visit my grandparents out of state. Other than those, people can make their own arrangements; I personally have a standard request for Halloween evening, it being my mother's birthday and general favorite holiday. I don't mind Easter not closing too much, but boy I get cranky for Christmas. (Although not being Christian, I've volunteered to be part of a skeleton crew for it before.) So really I suppose I'm not being fair, but everybody needs a day off sometime, right?

[resonant]

Something that bugs me a lot is when business owners make a big deal of their "Christian values" and then make their employees work on Sundays or Christian holidays.

[resonant]

The Tech Goddess used to work for a movie theater when she was in high school. I told her once that I thought it was sad that people had to work at the theater on Christmas Day, and she said, "High school students long to get away from their families on Christmas Day."

[ecaterin]

One of the weirder effects of farming out your marketing department, it seems! Right hand, meet left hand - ya'll ought to get to know eachother better :D

[akacat]

A few of them have the excuse that Easter isn't the same time each year?

I definitely agree that the church directory people should know when Easter is. But the lakeside cabin people could honestly have no clue. (If they aren't Christian, and they don't have a calendar that lists major holidays.)

[resonant]

I guess ... I mean, of course the date of Easter isn't significant to everyone, but it's sort of like someone who markets to a lot of Americans not bothering to learn when Independence Day is.

[majoline]

This is really kind of hilarious, because at the very least, I would expect people trying to help/supply/benefit from any sort of religious organization to have looked up the important dates before they called, as major holidays are, yanno, MAJOR.

[delurker]

Hee!