Clear Out Of My House

I used to get a letter every year from the Publishers Clearing House asking me if I wanted to register for their sweepstakes.  I always threw it away.  But this year it's not like I've got anything better to do.

So I went to their website to register--no purchase necessary.  And once there, I was hit with a bewildering array of come-ons for various products.  All I wanted to do was officially sign up, but even after giving them my personal information, it was hard to figure out what I had to do.  I scrolled through page after page, hoping to get to the end.  Finally I thought I'd succeeded, but I still wasn't sure.  In any case, I signed off.

Soon after I was receiving an email or two or three a day from PCH, telling me I was close to completing my registration--why don't I come back and finish it?  So I went back and the same thing happened.  I thought I registered, but I still kept getting emails saying I'm almost registered--why not return and take the last step?  No thanks, if I can't figure it out in two shots, I don't see any point in going back.

I get it.  They're in the business of selling things, not giving stuff away for free.  But still, should they make it this hard to register?  Funny thing is, if they just had an easy registration, I might have stuck around the website a little to see if there's anything of interest. Instead, I was stuck in an Alice In Wonderland world just looking for a way out.

I realize I wanted something for nothing. But that's no excuse. I don't usually say this about people, but the PCH crowd are evil.