# Is this a new sales gimmick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 15, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217 "2015-07-15T03:38:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Osiris\_the\_1st](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Osiris\_the\_1st](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osiris_the_1st)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/21 "2015-07-16T15:56:40Z")
> [@SeniorCitizen007](#): > > You’re 53 eh? It won’t be long before you’ll start running into the Dobists. > > On my 65th birthday my bank sent me a letter wishing me happy birthday … and an offer to cover my funeral for a couple of quid a week. A similar letter arrived the very next day, from the same bank. Then another the next day. At the end of the week, five letters later, I got a call from the bank: > > “Did you get our letters?” > > “Yes” > > “Did you read them?” > > “Yes” > > “What are you going to do about it?” > > The guy at the other end of the phone got really upset when I started laughing. > > Dobists (people who know or want to know you’re date of birth) can pop up at any time: > > I was instructed by a nurse to report to an office in a hospital. The moment I entered a woman jerked her head around, stared at me menacingly and spat out: > > “What’s your date of birth?” > > The most efficient way to identify me was by my date of birth. > > I needed an ambulance to a larger hospital. Two ambulance men appeared: > > “What’s your date of birth?” one demanded of me. Having worked at a hospital I can tell you, we had to verify date of birth with each patient anytime a treatment was administered. This is simply one more layer of verifying that the right person gets the right treatment. It’s not all that uncommon to have two patients with very similar sounding names or even the same name. A combination of name/birthdate is more unique. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/22 "2015-07-16T17:28:50Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > No, no _no_! Don’t _DO_ that! Where do you suggest I go instead to shop for computer products? Circuit City? CompUSA? Silo? ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/23 "2015-07-16T17:35:44Z")
It’s also possible the guy’s had a busy day, his last couple of customers were younger, and he was just on autopilot. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/24 "2015-07-16T18:10:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Where do you suggest I go instead to shop for computer products? Circuit City? CompUSA? Silo? Amazon. Except for situations where I can’t wait 48 hours, I love Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/25 "2015-07-16T18:52:27Z")
Young man, young lady, nothing new. But doing it three times shows he doesn’t get the bit, it has to be an obvious compliment. Works much better with members of the opposite sex. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/26 "2015-07-16T20:46:19Z")
First thing asked of me from large companies, insurance, AT&T etc., and every doc office in the last couple of years. meh… I save my rage for the SDMB. Bawahahahahaz ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217/27 "2015-07-17T16:03:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Amazon. Except for situations where I can’t wait 48 hours, I love Amazon. Or slickdeals . com, or New Egg. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-new-sales-gimmick/725217.md?page=1)