You Can't Give Something And Then Take it Back Part III

Here's an update with regard to the FreshDirect coupon situation. For those of you who haven't been following this saga click here and then here for the complete back story.

Tracy, a customer service representative from FreshDirect, called me to follow up on my emails to FreshDirect.

She apologized that the mass email had been sent out by mistake to several customers. She said that I would most certainly receive the original coupon which would entitled me to the $20 free food and the free garlic lime rotisserie chicken.

I thanked her kindly. She also said that she would forward on an email that I composed to the CEO of FreshDirect.

Here is what I said:

Dear Mr. Braddock,

I have been a loyal customer of FreshDirect for over five years now. Recently I received a series of emails in which your company first offered a generous coupon and then quickly rescinded the offer.I was extremely put off by this communication, and contacted customer service to let them know how I felt.
Please see my blog posts regarding this matter here:

http://www.oldschoolnewschoolmom.com/2010/01/you-cant-give-something-and-then-take.html
http://www.oldschoolnewschoolmom.com/2010/01/you-cant-give-something-and-then-take_28.html

The second email I received was problematic. Karen, the head of customer service, told me that if I spent over $300, I would be entitled to the aforementioned coupon.

Karen is wrong. You offered me (and potentially hundreds of other customers) the coupon in the first place, and then your company realized it made a mistake and rescinded the offer. That is not my problem. Your customers should not have to pay for your corporate error. And offering free delivery as an apology is not a good solution. You should let customers have the original coupon you sent.

It is bad business to present an offer to customers and then revoke this same offer.

My blog has a steady following and receives over 2000/visitors per month. My readers are anxious to know what you will do with regard to this situation.

I look forward to hearing from you and resolving this matter.

Sincerely,

Sarah Fader
Blogger

www.oldschoolnewschoolmom.com

You Can't Give Something and Then Take it Back Part II

Those of you who have been following my blog know that I wrote to FreshDirect.com when they rudely rescinded an offer for $20 worth of free food and a free rotisserie chicken. See previous post here.

Well, it looks like I may get my free chicken after all! However, their justification for the email error still strikes me as bizarre. Take a look at their response:

Dear Sarah Fader,

I definitely understand your frustration. You are a valued customer, so I am going to specifically add your account to this deal, and if you’ve spent $300 in January, you will receive an e-mail from us with the $20 discount code during the first week of February.

I’d also like to address the concern of why this offer was sent to some customers and not all. The e-mail was intended to be a test offer for a very small audience of less frequent shoppers, but the email was sent to a large group by accident. Though we are truly grateful for the loyalty of customers like you, we simply can’t afford to extend this offer to all our customers.

In addition, I want to confirm that the promotion code you received for waiving the delivery fee on your next order (or adding an extra week to your Delivery Pass) will also work for you. Simply enter code FREEDEL74 when you checkout before February 15.

Again, I am sorry for the confusion and frustration this error caused. Thank you for your understanding.

Best wishes,

Karen C.
Director, Customer Service Group
FreshDirect

FED EX Woes

I recently wrote about about my computer's untimely demise. See post here. Dell was of absolutely no help and insisted that my computer is having a "software issue" and even though it is under warranty the only thing they can do is wipe it clean (erase all the data) and reinstall the software.

In an attempt to salvage data, which includes precious photos and videos of my son, I decided to send it on to my pal Byron (who does techie stuff) in Canada.

He graciously offered to try to fix it, or at least attempt to retrieve my the photos and videos from the possibly dead lap top.

My boyfriend gets a discount with Fed Ex through his job. So I decided to ship the computer internationally through them. I have had sucess with them domestically, so I figured why not?

Well, it has been a disaster! When I shipped the computer, they told me at the Fed Ex store that they do ship to P.O.Boxes in Canada when you include a valid phone number for the recipient. Logically, I included a valid phone number for the recipient.

Yet, I received a call from Fed Ex International stating:

"Hello Ms. Fader, we do not ship to P.O.Boxes. Please provide a physical address for your package."


So I called Fed Ex International and asked them:

"Do you or do you not ship to P.O. Boxes?"

Their response:

"Yes. We do ship to P.O.Boxes in Canada. But you didn't provide a valid phone number on your air bill." I did provide a valid phone number on the air bill.

I wanted to scream. Anyway, I called them later to ask them where my package was. Their response:

"We don't ship to P.O.Boxes in Canada."

I am not kidding.

So I gave in. My recipient gave me a physical address. I called Fed Ex to track the package today. Their response:

THEM:"Your package is with an OUT OF DELIVERY AGENT."
ME: What does that mean? Where is my lap top in time and space?
THEM: Well, it's in transit.
ME: So what you're saying is you don't know where my computer is. You have no idea.
THEM: Hold one moment please.

Also, a mysterious charge for 13.99 appeared from Fed Ex on my bank statement today!

Needless to say I am extremely disatisfied and would not recomend shipping anything internationally to Canada with Fed Ex. I want my time, energy...oh yeah and my money back!

Earth's Best Has Bested Themselves

As some of you may know, I recently contacted the Hain Celestial company (makers of Earth's Best Organic Baby food) regarding a free cooking class (**see previous blog here). My mom also contacted the company on my behalf (**see additonal blog here).

Unfortunately, after all of my efforts to cash in on this offer, the free cooking class promotion has expired. I am terribly disappointed. But, for my trouble, Pati, a lovely woman and supervisor at the Hain Celestial company sent me a large variety of coupons for Hain Celestial products.





These are not just ordinary $1.00 off type coupons. There was one coupon in the bunch for a FREE package of Earth's Best diapers valued at $14.99. And several more for free Earth's Best products valuing up to $2.99. Way to go Earth's Best!

I have always wanted to try the Earth's Best diapers, and now I have the perfect opportunity.

Thank you Hain Celestial and Pati, for listening to one of your consumers.

The Mystery Book: Sarah Fader Private Investigator Strikes Again!

The other day I received a curious package in the mail. It came in a bubble wrapped envelope with my name pre-printed on the label. There was no company listed on the return address, but instead a random P.O.Box in St. Cloud Minnesota. The package was labeled "time sensitive."I was confused and slightly frightened. Despite my fear, I ripped open the package and found this:

Needless to say, I was perplexed and a little more scared. So I decided to to further research on the origin of this book. I took a closer look at the return address and noted the zip code in Minnesota. I googled post offices in the St. Cloud area and got the appropriate office on the phone.

"Hello," I began tentatively. "I received a random package from your post office from P.O. Box 3000. Can you tell me who owns P.O.Box 3000?"
"Oh, that is from a marketing company." said the friendly Minnesota postal worker on the other end. "They send out a ton of packages. You musta signed up for somethin' and they got your address."
"Okay," I said now even more confused "Can you tell me who this company is and how to contact them?" I was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"They are called FSI, Fulfillment Systems." The friendly worker continued. "I don't know their number. You would have to look it up."

I thanked the lovely Minnesota postal worker and continued on with my investigation. I located the website for FSI and emailed them a query regarding their mystery book. I received a response a few days later stating that they wanted more information regarding the numerical code on the package. So I decided to call them up.

I spoke with Cathy and after some research she determined that the origin of the package traced back to....Earth's Best Baby Food. Some weeks ago I had signed up for the Free Baby Body Care kit. (**See previous blog here**)Well there was some confusion and Earth's Best sent me the wrong free item! Instead of the Baby Body Care kit they sent me a free book, which was also being offered as a separate promotion entirely.

Cathy apologized for the mistake and offered to send me the Baby Body Care Kit as previously requested. As I hung up with her a thought occurred to me. My friend Gry had previously collected over $75 worth of Earth's Best coupons in order to receive the Baby Body Care kit. When she sent in her coupon stash she was told that the offer had expired. Well, I thought, I might as well ask if they can throw in a spare kit for Gry!

So I called Cathy back and she generously agreed to send not one but TWO Baby Body Care Kits along!

I have to say, my private investigation skills were at an all time high this week. I figured out the origin of the mystery book and got two free gifts in the process.

Bogus Free Cooking Class Part II - The Joys of Having a Jewish Mother

My mom read my blog about my experience with Hain Celestial and was angered by the customer service that I received. She called the company's 800 number and spoke to Patty, a supervisor at their company.

She informed Patty about her daughter's poor customer service experience. She also told Patty about her daughter's mom blog where Earth's Best was mentioned positively several times.

My mom is a retired Public Relations professional who is ready to bring out her arsenal of marketing tricks at any moment. This moment was no exception. She told Patty that she was not only my proud mother, but she was also the editor of my blog.

Additionally, she informed Patty, that as a consumer of Earth's Best and someone who speaks to the public, it would be wise to have me on their side.

Patty was taken aback by the public relations savvy Jewish mother she had on the phone. She had a moment of silence and then told my unphased mother that she would "report this situation to her director." so it could be "resolved as quickly as possible."

Thank you mom. I don't know what I would do without you. You amaze me everyday with your crafty P.R. techniques.

So when you're in a bind, call upon a Jewish mother to help you out. They always seem to know what to do in a moment of crisis.

Since my mom and dad are virtually in separable (unless my mom is on the phone being her P.R. self and my dad is watching with awe) I am including a picture of both of them. Liz Fader (my mom) is on the right.

Bogus Free Cooking Class

The other day, I was in the kitchen unloading my excessively healthy groceries. I went to put the organic sugar on the shelf when I noticed a sticker on the back of the bag; it read:

"FREE COOKING CLASS."

Well, you can imagine how excited I was. I love free things and I love to cook! So I read the terms and conditions of the offer. It told me that I needed to collect $10 worth of proof of purchase UPC labels from the Hain Celestial company. This company includes: Earth's Best, Arrowhead Mills, Spectrum, Hain and many more sub-headings.

I might as well hold stock in Earth's Best at this point, so it was an easy feat. But then, to my dismay, I lost the label advertising the cooking class! So I did what any internet savvy person would do; I googled the class. I found the offer advertised in three seconds, here.

When I went to the site, I immediately realized that I could not cash in on the offer, because I lost the sticker which contained the secret code that enabled me to take the class! I thought to myself:

I can't just give up! It's a free cooking class!

So I contacted the Hain Celestial customer service department at 1-800-434-4246. I spoke to a representative and explained the situation to him:

"Hello, I am interested in taking this free cooking class. I've collected the relevant amount of UPC labels, but I can't input the code for the class because I lost the sticker. Is there anything you can do for me?" I pleaded with this man.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have the capability to generate another code for you."
"But sir," I continued to plead "I have the product that had the sticker on it. Can't I just read you the UPC number? Can you find the code that way?"
"Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Why don't you just buy another Hain product? Then you can get another code for the class."

Well, now I was infuriated. This man was telling me that my hard work of buying loads and loads of healthy food was going to waste! And he was sugesting that I go out and buy another product when I had already fulfilled the terms of their offer!

I demanded to speak with a supervisor.

The supervisor got on the line. I re-explained the sitaution to her. In my opinion, I am still entitled to this free cooking class. I have the appropriate amount of UPC labels, so what if I lost the sticker associated with the products. I have the products themselves. I told her that the other representative sugested that I buy more product to compensate for the loss of a plastic sticker. She was sympathetic, but not much.

"I'm sorry that the representative said that to you. I can send you some coupons for Hain products. But you must understand that there are rules and regulations to any offer. We cannot generate a code for you."

I told the woman that I have a toddler who could have potentially eaten the sticker, or ripped it up. I don't know where this blasted sticker was! But did she care? No. She simply asked for my mailing address to send me copious coupons so I could buy more product.

I don't want coupons. I want my free cooking class which I am entitled to.

Adiri Bottles For Breastfed Babies

To my dismay, my son stopped taking a bottle at 5 months old. He now exclusively breastfeeds. I used to be able to nurse him and also give him breast milk in a bottle. But no longer.

I was discussing my bottle issue with the mother of a 13 month old. She told me about these bottles made by Adiri which simulate the breast. Apparently breastfed babies really like them.

So I emailed Adiri to ask them for a sample bottle to try. I said the following:

To Whom it May Concern:

I am the mother of a 11 month old, and I am heavily considering buying the Adiri bottles. I am still nursing and having difficulty giving my baby a bottle. He won't take one.

I currently have blog where I am beginning to review baby products. http://oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com/

Would it be possible for your company to send me a sample Adiri bottle to try?

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Sarah Fader

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I went back to business as usual, and before I knew it, I had a reply from a Adiri! It went like this:

Dear Sarah,

Thank you so much for your interest in Adiri. We would be happy to send you a Stage 1 bottle to review. In order for us to help track our bottle requests, we ask that you please complete the attached form so that we may send your sample out.


Best Regards,
Julie
Adiri.com
http://www.adiri.com/products_html/natural_nurser_faq.asp
CPSIA Certification : http://www.adiri.com/docs/CertificateofConformity.pdf

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I was thrilled! I filled out the form immediately, and I am eagerly awaiting my sample bottle in the mail.

Check back here at oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com for my review on Adiri bottles.

Complaining About/Praising Products

I'm the sort of person that gets excited about a product that I really like. On the on the other hand I am also the kind of individual that gets upset when I feel a product has let me down. I recently rediscovered the concept of calling various companies to let them know what I thought about their products. I used to do this often before I had my son, and now that I have a child I have acquired a new found fervor in contacting corporations to let them know what I think.

For example, I recently was making a box of Annie's Home Grown Macaroni and Cheese for my son. I really like Annie's Home Grown products because a lot of them are certified organic, they are delicious and (most importantly) my son loves them. I went to open the cheese packet and found that it already been slit open a crack. Being a nervous mom, I called Annie's Home Grown to inquire about this open package. The representative was so pleasant and helpful on the phone. He apologized immediately and offered to send me coupons for Annie's Home Grown products.

And it's not just Annie's Home Grown. I've found that many companies I have contacted have granted me coupons for my trouble. When I called Stoneyfield Farm Organic to tell them about a puncture in the safety seal of one of their smoothies, they sent me nearly 20 coupons for my trouble.

Companies respond not only to criticism, but also to praise. I wrote to Entenmann's to tell them how much I enjoyed their 8 Rich Frosted Donuts. They sent me two one dollar off coupons in the mail in exchange for my praise. A similar situation occurred when I called Laura's Lean Beef to tell them about how much I enjoyed their lean steaks. I recevied coupons in the mail from them as well.

The moral of the story is, when you like a product, tell the company. When you have a problem with a product, tell the company. Chances are you will be rewarded for your efforts.