✧✦Catherine✦✧Mar 3

my housemate was coughing a lot for no clear reason so i figured i'd buy an air purifier. i found one with a true HEPA filter and good score by that one autistic person who is obsessed with comparing filters of vacuum cleaners, by Levoit

Levoit includes a "Test Report" in their marketing materials by SGS and including their trademarked logo, referring to a specific "SGS ID" of a test, but no details

so obviously i emailed SGS and asked them to confirm whether such a test has been conducted.

i got a response from a Senior Sales Executive in Filtration and he Cc'd three other people in the lab that did the certification asking them to search their archives.

i wonder if i'm the first consumer who bought this device to go and ask this question, and if yes, whether i made their day

Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧Mar 3

i have a skill that i developed during my many years working in open source, which is that instead of whining on irc on social media i go and file a bug report. this usually goes quite well and all of the parties are happier for it

a few years ago i started applying it to entities like "banks", "governments", and "certification labs", and i get the distinct impression that most of the people who complain about problems do not actually make any attempt to solve them by talking to those responsible

Show threadJamie GaskinsMar 3

@whitequark I've been trying to be more effective in my communication. Simply complaining can be cathartic, but is just noise in the age of social media.

Reaching someone at organizations like this who can do anything has been my most common blocker. It sounds like you've had more success. How do you discover who to contact at these organizations?

Show thread✧✦Catherine✦✧
@jamie i start at the "contact us" form or the similar then work my way up
Mar 3 at 3:57pmWeb