So today April and I both had a vacation day at work. She's been busily working around the house, I've been trying to reach the end of the internet. So far she is winning.
The doorbell rang, the dog went bonkers (as is her usual routine) and the little lady standing there promptly thrust an ID badge into my face and proclaimed that the Nielson people wanted to put a box in our house and monitor what we watched. Apparently we fit the demographic they were looking for, which is why she came to our house first. Naturally after telling me that we fit the profile, she asked a few questions. I guess maybe they weren't sure.
Turns out we were what they were looking for, and she gave me the little speech. Every time she moved, the dog lost her mind again, and finally was banished to a bedroom where she loudly snuffled at the bottom of the door, bewildered as to what was going on.
The Nielson thing sounded good, they were going to monitor what we watched, give us $150 the first month, $50 every 6 months, and $100 at the end of the 2 year program. Admittedly, not a king's ransom, but hey, it was money for watching TV, isn't that the American dream? I was left standing there thinking, this must be too good to be true.
Of course it was. She was telling me how the whole process worked, and offhandedly mentioned that they would remove the back of the TV, wire the box directly to it, and replace the back of the TV. I'm not sure why that is necessary, since she said they would be splicing into the audio plugs of the TV, but hey, it's their box, I guess they can hook it up however they like.
Unfortunately for all involved, I was not about to let them void the warranty on my brand new TV. She said that Nileson was aware of the fact that the warranty would be no good, and would gladly pay for any repairs their box caused, and split any repairs with me that were not their fault. Seeing as how our TV has already gone out on us once since we got it, I didn't think that sounded like the best idea.
So in a nutshell, while it would have been cool to be one of only 10,000 households in the US providing those Nielson ratings (think about that next time your favorite show gets cancelled because no one is watching!) I wasn't about to gamble on having to buy another TV (oh, and should you need a new TV during this program, Nielson would happily chip in $25 towards the cost!). Talk to you later!
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6 comments:
I'm with you. Plug it in the jack and be done with it. Then I would unplug it and put it on an old TV and watch only reruns of the Jeffersons.
The reason they want to attach inside is eactly because wise guys do stuff like uncle Bill suggested. Actually, he beat me to it; I was going to suggest watching BET and WWE 24-7. That would teach them...
Sounds like an exciting day. It would be very empowering to be one of the "chosen few" and I hope you would have watched (or recorded) all my favorite shows so they didn't get canceled!!! However, I'm with you about the whole warranty voiding thing. Oh well, you'll have to find another way to achieve your 15 minutes of fame.....
Love ya!!
Interesting. I had no idea how they chose the few... I wonder no more!! I'm pretty sure I would have been slightly skeptical, too. :)
So when my fovorite show gets canciled it's because poor people who need the money and have old crappy TV's don't like the same shows I do. That would explain Baywatch.
God! I hate it when some scumbag gets to pick which shows will be renewed. I sure wish you would have taken the offer. The funny thing is that when I bought a new TV, I was not familiar with the brand and bought the extended warrente. It has performed like a champ and never faltered once.
Love.
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