I really like ChaCha. I’ve been using their handy-dandy SMS question service for a few years now. Usually I could just wait until I got home and searched online, but sometimes it’s fun to ask questions like, “Why did God give me cauliflower ear?”
Back in the early days of ChaCha, I could ask as many questions as I wanted, but recently they’ve been implementing “usage limits.” At first it was 5 questions in 48 hours, and now it’s something like 3 questions a week! The usage limits don’t quite make sense to me because the more questions they answer, the more ads they serve. You’d think they’d want to answer as many questions as possible. But, I’m not totally sure what their overhead is and maybe they lose out somehow.
Either way, I kept exceeding my limit and getting shut down for a few days at a time. So, one day I texted-in asking if I could pay for some sort of pro membership, and they said that option didn’t exist (and their website still says that).
A few days later, I found out about ChaCha Gift Cards. I bought myself the Jumbo Size, and put in a special message: You’re a ChaCha freak!
The next question I asked was not preceded by an ad. Instead it was preceded by my special message as some sort of “shoutout.”
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
I thought that maybe this was a one-time thing, letting me know that I’d paid for the upgrade. But the next answer I received was preceded by the same “shoutout,” and the next and the next.
Today I asked the following question, and got the following answer.
Me: How do you spell Zuel, like from Ghost Busters?
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: Zule is the correct spelling for the fridge monster in Ghost Busters.
This whole “shoutout” thing had gone on long enough. Why were they wasting one of my text messages by sending me the exact same “shoutout” every time they answered one of my questions? The following ridiculous conversation ensued.
Me: I have paid for 100 Qs. Is there anyway to NOT get the “You’re a ChaCha freak!” message every time I text in a question? It just wastes one of my text messages.
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: I hate it when our history is down! Can you clarify your question so I can answer it for you? Thanks so much! ChaCha luvs U!!
I wasn’t quite sure exactly how to “clarify” that question any further, so I just repeated myself.
Me: I have paid for 100 Qs. Is there anyway to NOT get the “You’re a ChaCha freak!” message everytime I text in a question? It just wastes one of my text messages.
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: I am sorry, there isn’t a way to not get the messages you receive before your answer, it is how we advertise for our [sic] spongers. Thanks for using ChaCha!
Me: I get that. But, like I said before, I have paid money for 100 questions. I don’t get the ads anymore. Now I get a text that says, “You’re a ChaCha freak!”
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: If you go to http://chacha.com/m, you can read all about usage limits! Try 800-224-2242 for unlimited Qs!
It was at this point that I got a bit frustrated. I thought I was being very clear with my question, it wasn’t a hard question to answer, and they simply were not listening. In my response to this ridiculousness I tried spelling it out as best I could, but in the process I ended up sending a 3-text-message message. I was worried that they wouldn’t get the whole response, but I just went for it.
Me: Are you even listening to me? I’m not concerned about usage limits. I HAVE PAID FOR 100 Qs, now I can ask as many questions as I want. I was fine with the ads when I wasn’t paying for my questions. But now that I’m paying, instead of an ad I get a message that says, “You’re a ChaCha freak!” and then I get my answer. I’m just wondering if it’s possible to disable that.
And then the avalanche fell down upon my head.
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: If you have questions or feedback on answers that u sponsored, please email us at customer.relations@chacha.com.
ChaCha: If you have questions or feedback on answers that u sponsored, please email us at customer.relations@chacha.com.
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: There isn’t a way to turn off the “You’re a ChaCha freak” message. You can try sending feedback through the website though!
At last! The answer to my question! Oh thank heavens! Finally I got through to someone, finally! I couldn’t believe that it was over, I couldn’t believe that it took them that long to get their shit together and answer the freaking question. Imagine, it could have been this simple.
Me: I have paid for 100 Qs. Is there anyway to NOT get the “You’re a ChaCha freak!” message every time I text in a question? It just wastes one of my text messages.
ChaCha: *SHOUTOUT* You’re a ChaCha freak!
ChaCha: There isn’t a way to turn off the “You’re a ChaCha freak” message. You can try sending feedback through the website though!
Not to mention that it’s actually spelled Zuul.
Thanks Jack. It’s not the first time ChaCha has given me the wrong answer. One time I asked, “What is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States?” and they said it was Mount Rainier. But, if you just copy and paste that question into Google, you’ll find that it is Mount Whitney.