The strip that induces guilt
I admittedly have some mixed feelings writing about today's strip, as I notice that it comes from someone in Louisiana--just outside New Orleans, it looks like. Admittedly this means that the person felt that a good way to deal with his frustration that possibly stemmed from Katrina was to submit it to Al, which is odd, at best. But still.
I will ask, though, what insurance agent actually comes to your house to deliver a policy? And honestly, these people are already at the agent's office. I seem to remember just walking out of the insurance agent's office, policy in hand, when I did this.
Really, it seems that the insurance agent is really just a scam artist. (Unless, of course, this actually happened to this guy after Katrina. Insurance agents at that time must have been overwhelmed, and if the only damage to the house is a single broken window, I can see an insurance agent putting these people off for a while.) Because there's no way this should take a couple of weeks. Geez, when I had fairly major damage to my car, the insurance company had someone out the same day to take pictures. (And I'll just pimp Erie Insurance here, because I've had to deal with them a few times and have had nothing but good experiences.)
Why is "After a tree falls on your house" followed by a question mark? It really should read "But after a tree falls on your house, where is your agent then?" Or something similar. Though when I'm reduced to critiquing Al's punctuation in the expo boxes...that's a bad sign.
I'm also starting to get weirded out by the fact that the characters in the strip look at the reader, to get our sympathy. I find it freaky.
Labels: Crap Every Time reader, insurance
posted by Barb @ 12:05 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I have to say, the woman looks decent in the final panel--fairly attractive, and young, and not all weird and sloppy like his women normally look. And she doesn't have that slack-jawed reaction shot characters always have in the second panel of the strip.
I thought this was an excellent strip, but maybe I'm just partial since it's the one I sent in.
I put in the part about the insurance agent coming into the house because it's nice and anachronistic.
A tree did fall on my house (among other things), but on the whole we were treated rather well by our insurer. We got our insurance money and our repairs done much quicker than most of our neighbors. However, I did notice that it was a lot easier to speak with someone in "sales" than in "claims." I just thought it would be funny to do a Katrina-related TDIET.
My e-mail to Al Scaduto is below, if you're curious:
Dear Mr. Scaduto:
A friend recently turned me on to your strip, and I've been a faithful reader ever since. While They'll Do It Every Time isn't in my local paper, I'm still able to read it on the Internet.
Inspired by recent bouts with insurance companies here in post-Katrina New Orleans, I've come up with this suggestion for your strip. Because it has happened to me (and countless others I know), I can personally guarantee that They Do it Every Time:
When you're looking to buy insurance, the insurance agent is always accessible. He'll come to your house, explain the rates, and make sure you sign every page on the dotted line.
But after a tree falls on your house, where is your agent then? Let's listen: "Too busy to talk, can't come see your house this month.... maybe around New Year's, but I can't make any guarantees... and be sure to keep making your insurance payments!"
Cool! I think *my* submission is running tomorrow*, so that'll make two of Barb's regular readers seeing print in a row! Maybe she needs a tag for this...
*The copy Al sent was dated 2-06-2007, but then he emailed me to said the syndicate moved it to 1-30-2007, but then it didn't show up then, so I've got my fingers crossed for tomorrow.
mwgallagher, I added the tag.
Thanks for the story, anon! I'm glad to hear that you fared pretty well. You'll notice that I actually had no qualms with the substance of the strip, and I appreciate that you actually included the detail of having the agent come out. Awesome!
Thanks for providing the story behind the strip. I find it fascinating to see how Scaduto translates from suggestion to strip. And mwgallagher, I look forward to hearing your story, too!
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