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Cingular's Response to Consumer's Concerns: Reiterate PRCA's Rodeo Propaganda )
in this issue:
  • Resolution: Compassion Trumps Wireless Service
  • Cingular Censors Members Forum
  • Please Contact Cingular!
  • Dear Friends,

    After a couple of weeks of confused, unintelligible replies from Cingu lar Wireless in response to customers' complaints, the company finally realized the issue isn't going to fade away and released a response regarding its rodeo sponsorship. This statement comes straight from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) propaganda handbook—no surprise as the two companies are now bedfellows-- and closely resembles what many other rodeo sponsors churn out.

    Click here to read Cingular's full statement and SHARK's rebuttal to their false claims. Then tell Cingular to get out of the abuse industry! Many other companies have seen the futility of hiding behind their ridiculous statements. Cingular will too when they feel the sting of enough ethical consumers dropping their wireless contracts. Cingular doesn't care about the animals, but they do care about profits.

    Please Read Cingular's Statement and SHARK’s Response.

    Last week, In Defense of Animals (IDA) joined SHARK’s campaign to stop Cingular’s cruel sponsorship, and we are expecting more animal advocacy organizations to support this important effort.


    Resolution: Compassion Trumps Wireless Service
    Twisted Calf

    Please make a New Year’s Resolution for animals in rodeo! If Cingular does not halt its support to this abusive industry by January 1, 2007, we urge all animal defenders to terminate their contracts on ethical grounds immediately! Do not allow your money to be given to the greedy hands of those that terrorize animals.

    As a corporation that has shown it is only interested in the bottom dollar, Cingular cannot help but feel the slap from a wave of canceled contracts and returned cell phones.

    Please continue to write, email, and phone Cingular and tell them of your intent!

    On our site, Cingu larSponsorsCruelty.com, we have posted a sample letter, along with more letters that other caring consumers have written. Feel free to use ideas from these, but please add your original thoughts.

    Cingular Censors Members Forum
    CowboyUp

    At right, one of Cingular's prominent PRCA ads.
    Cowboy Up? Animals Down.

    Cingular shows animal abuse can't stand the light of day.

    Many of you know that discussion was lively on the Cingular Members Forum regarding the company’s rodeo sponsorship. In response to articulate and earnest pleas for a halt to the wireless company’s abusive affiliation (and less-than-literate or rational pro-rodeo posts), Cingular summarily closed the topic.

    Even though the postings were already heavily edited by Cingular moderators, this cowardly company is afraid to let it’s own customers use the thinking parts of their brains and expose Cingular’s disgusting ethics.

    Further entries to the Forum are not being allowed to post, but you can still read the discussion on the Forum (until it is “archived”) after logging on. Link here. In response to being informed of the topic-closing, SHARK wrote to the Cingular Moderator:

    Thanks for the message. I am still trying to figure out why a thread that people voluntarily visit poses any problem for Cingular, except of course that some customers will not agree with the company's choice of sponsorships. However, I do not recall seeing anything that prohibits the discussion of such a topic on the forum.

    Although some people may become overly emotional, in which case I understand your editing or outright deletion of their posts, most people have been very thoughtful. I should think that Cingular would value the input of these people. They are giving the company an opportunity to know their thoughts rather than simply doing a cut-and-run. Were I in Cingular's marketing department, I would be watching and quite possibly even participating in the discussion, not advocating censorship. That is the best opportunity the company has of retaining customers when there is a controversial issue such as this.

    I hope Cingular will take a position very soon. Regardless of what that position is, the forum should be open to opinions from Cingular customers. This includes those who support rodeos. It is what makes the USA the USA, yes?

    To which the Moderator replied, confirming Cingular’s utter lack of concern for customer opinions:

    I appreciate all of your dedication and hard work in supporting your mission. However, Cingular Wireless may or may not come here and post a statement I just do not want to give any false hope.

    Although we appreciate you all doing this you cannot continue to do post this type of activity on the Cingular Wireless Forum. Any further attempts will invoke the threads to be archived and or any further actions ensue.

    Thank you for your anticipated cooperation. This thread is permanently closed and will archive in a matter of time

    Appalling doesn’t begin to cover what we learned next. One supporter wrote to tell us that, in addition to her forum posts being censored, when she attempts to call Cingular and discuss her concern she becomes “accidentally disconnected” whenever she mentions the word “rodeo”!

    Please Contact Cingular!
    Calf w/tongue hanging out

    Phone: 1-866-CINGULAR (246-4852)
    or if you have a Cingular phone, call the company by dialing "611" (it's free). Press 0, and then 0 again to avoid menu listings.

    Call the Office of the President, Stan Sigman at: 404-236-6000

    Mail: Cingular Wireless
    Stan Sigman, President and CEO
    5565 Glenridge Connector
    Atlanta, GA 30342

    Email: Cingular customers can email the company here.

    Additionally, communications can also be emailed to the Office of the President, Stan Sigman, at: [email protected]

    Remember that if you are a Cingular customer you can call the company by simply dialing 611, free of charge and with no loss of minutes in your calling plan. Calling Cingular on your cell phone enables the company to know for certain that you are a customer, and they will know just how much money they are going to lose if you dump them. There is nothing more upsetting to a company than to see such losses heading their way.

    If you are not a Cingular customer, you can still have a significant impact by letting them know that when your current contract is up that Cingular will NOT be in the running for your business.

    We know you are busy with the holiday season warming up, but it was this same time last year that SHARK's "Buck Starbucks" campaign was putting the heat on the coffee giant to pull out of rodeo. Due to animals advocates' efforts then, we won that one. And with your support and we can do it for the animals again!

    Kindest Regards,
    Steve Hindi and Your SHARK Team

    Steer Sores

    P.S. As the end of the year is near, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to this important campaign.

    Click Here to Support SHARK!
    Thank You for your much needed help!

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    phone: 630-557-0176