Zazzle Please Offer an Email Option For Two Factor Verification

[klstock]

I am not comfortable providing a private cell phone number. The two factor authentication can be achieved by sending the code to the email you already have on file for a designer. 

As it is now, I am unable to assist a customer via chat because I have not provided my personal cell phone number. The customer is able to send me a message via chat (as was tested by ColsCreations in another thread) but they do not receive anything on their end to inform them I cannot receive this. 

Please reconsider this 2FA and include an email option.

[rebeccaheartsny]

I posted this in the other thread, but I also do not want to provide a phone number. I've now received two emails about waiting messages, but I can't actually check them because when I hit "skip" to skip the phone number, it reroutes me back to the home page instead.

Is there a way to turn off the messaging entirely? I don't want customers sending messages and never receiving a reply (and at my end, it's annoying to receive a bunch of reminders from Zazzle about messages I can't access!) Alternately, maybe they could put the full message in the body of the email, with an option to reply directly from there rather than through the messaging service?

[tigressdragon]

I do not have a cell phone so I am trying to figure out how am I supposed to do this?  Nor am I going to get into a close to $150 -$200 contract for a cell phone here in Canada just to verify my account. Can Zazzle please come up with an e-mail verification option os people can choose

[Anne]

OK, so now I have a customer sending a chat message which will never be answered.
How is that going to increase sales?
This coercion of designers to give up private information (and force them to buy a phone) is one thing, but also NOT informing customers who are wasting their time trying to reach a designer, is just a NO GO, @zazzle 
it's not securing anything (only putting designers at risk) and I agree with @rebeccaheartsny that there should be a way to turn off the messaging entirely (even regardless this "security" issue).
Thank you.

@Badeesie Thank you for explaining, however it doesn't make sense to me.

[Anne]

This is getting worse. I checked again now, as apparently I got another message from an unsuspecting customer. And now it says we are going to be CHARGED on our phones for these chat messages ???!!! 
Next, customers and spammers can CALL us?
The lack of communication from zazzle makes me more firm in refusing to give off my phone number.
Thus the option to chat needs to be removed OR the phone number scam needs to go.

[ColsCreations]

@Anne 

To verify yourself for chat you need to receive a one-time text message from Zazzle with a numeric code in it. Depending on the cell phone plan you have, you may or may not incur a charge from your cell phone service provider for that text.  Zazzle is not charging you, you're not being CHARGED for chat messages, Z is not giving out your phone number to customers or scammers, it's not a scam. The message you are seeing is just a common warning that receiving text messages might result in charges from your cell phone carrier.

[Anne]

@ColsCreations Thank you.
I don't care if it's Zazzle or anyone else, I don't want to be charged for anything that I don't want to begin with.

And I have no idea what international charges are going to be, might be high. 
Chat should be optional, not obligatory.

[SJoy]

I second this.  I have a chat message from a customer that would be an easy fix.  But I cannot interact with them.  Unfortunately, they will be left frustrated and no sale will occur because I could not get back to them quickly and easily.  Not only will they be frustrated, but I am as well.