There’s an adage in marketing that you should surprise and delight your customers. I think this one qualifies as a “surprise” but not so much as a “delight”. NetSpend, a company in Austin, TX, shipped out a prepaid debit card offer to one “Asswipe Williams” in Sacramento, CA. Problem is, the dude is actually named James.
A seven-year-old in the household opened the envelope and uncovered the offending card, local news was alerted, and winning the award for journalistic failure, it seems Fox40 actually found it necessary to ask this guy if he planned to use the “Asswipe Williams” credit card. Unsurprisingly, he responded in the negative.
As to what really happened, your guess is as good as mine. I’ve heard urban legends of a person who was actually named “Asswipe” (pronounced “as-wee-pay”), but more likely than not I’d guess this is a prank. We are pretty sure where the card will end up, though:
Williams has also tried calling the company. He’s weighing his legal options and wants an explanation for the error he calls unprofessional and offensive.
“We’re a Christian family, you know? Church every Sunday. And for that baby to see something like that coming through the mail is not cool,” said Williams.
Won’t these marketing databases think of the children?
John Doe // Dec 5, 2011 at 12:37 pm
What does “Christian family” have to do with this? What does the Sunday schedule have to do with this?
It is so funny when people push their faith to attempt weighing in heavier on a topic.
Hey I am a Jew and got an offensive credit card in the mail but I am a Jew so it does not mean anything? The misprint does not exist because I am a Jew? The card is not offensive because I am a Jew?
It was a computer generated mistake. It was one card. You did not get thousands of these in the mail over a period of weeks or months. Get over yourself. Now you are an a##wipe!
Gobus // Dec 6, 2011 at 7:37 pm
After looking at the Netspend site, I am pretty sure this was a joke by a hacker. Most likely someone he or a family member knows did this. All a person needs is your name, address, phone and email and they can create an account under your name, or any crass alternative they can think of. Jump on a free wi-fi hotspot and hide behind a foreign proxy service and they will never catch you.
Gotta love the major fail on this one! BTW, anyone have Ben Bernanke’s address?
shortale // Dec 6, 2011 at 7:59 pm
I suspect he might have had heated words with a customer service rep.
lavacake // Dec 7, 2011 at 1:56 pm
“…And for that baby to see something like that coming through the mail is not cool,” said Williams.”
So the kid knew what asswipe meant prior to reading it on the card but Williams is offended because it came in the mail?
Tom Steele // Dec 8, 2011 at 10:39 am
He’s going to see what his legal options are? Sounds like the name was actually pretty accurate to me….
phil // Dec 10, 2011 at 3:28 am
Asswipe as a person’s name comes from an old Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Nicholas Cage.
See
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/92/92ababynames.phtml
or
http://www.wagthedad.com/its-asswipe-naming-boy/
pezhead9000 // Dec 10, 2011 at 4:01 pm
I’m surprised the card wasn’t made out to:
“Ben D. Over”
wild // Dec 13, 2011 at 2:20 am
How do we know this kid isn’t a stepchild?
wild;)