Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.
As most of you know by now, CBS’ resident curmudgeon, Andy Rooney*, died last Friday. One of his classic pieces was on the nasty terms that companies hide in the fine print.
Here then, 17 years before Mouse Print* was born, is a few minutes with Andy Rooney*: [warning: CBS is embedding a commercial ahead of Andy’s piece.]
*MOUSE PRINT: *rest in peace.
Thanks to Donna H. for the idea.
Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.
Save-a-Lot is a limited assortment supermarket with great prices compared to conventional supermarkets. In an effort to reach more people, it has been running a promotion whereby if you “like” them on Facebook, you will be given $5.
A corresponding promotion has also been sent via email to customers promising a $5 off coupon. After contacting their customer service department to find out if the offer had any strings attached (and not having received a response), MrConsumer decided to “like” them on Facebook anyway.
And here is what they give you and disclose ONLY AFTER you “LIKE” them:
*MOUSE PRINT:
The coupon requires a $25 minimum purchase in order to get the $5 off.
So the offer really is (1) “Like” us on Facebook, and (2) Spend $25 at our store, then we will give you $5 off. That is a far different offer from being promised a straight $5 off in exchange for giving them a Facebook “like”.
It is not like Save-a-Lot doesn’t know how to disclose the fact that their offer is contingent on making a $25 purchase. Here is how they promote the same $5 coupon BEFORE you join their shopper club (demonstrating that when they want to disclose the $25 purchase requirement in advance, they know how to do it):
Mouse Print* asked the company why they omitted the minimum purchase requirement in their advertising, whether they would fix their ads now that the issue has been brought to their attention, and whether they would give those who signed up already a real $5 off coupon.
Their media person replied:
“While we understand there may have been some miscommunication regarding the terms of the offer, it was never our intention to mislead our customers. In fact, the offer is in line with our other offers, and we have received an overwhelming positive response to the $5 off $25. However, we will do our best to correct the issue.”
UPDATE:
Save-a-Lot just updated their Facebook promotion to tell it like it is UPFRONT — that the coupon the customer will receive requires a $25 purchase to redeem. Hats off to Save-a-Lot for correcting their ad, and doing the right thing.
Updated every Monday! Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.
The latest products to downsize have keep the same old package, but decided to put less product inside.
P&G has just downsized its largest containers of Cascade dishwasher detergent ActionPacs.
*MOUSE PRINT:
In surprisingly large print, the company decreased the number of loads you get from each container from 110 to 105. The trouble is that most consumers have not memorized the number of loads that each size container of Cascade provides, so they are not likely to recognize they are now getting less for the same price.
Also downsizing but keeping the package the same is Mrs. Freshley’s.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Here, instead of getting 12 Buddy Bars in each box (six packages of two), you now get only eight (four packages of two) — a decrease of one-third! Most people, including MrConsumer would not have noticed this because the boxes are the exact same size. Mrs. Freshley’s indicated that in fact they make both eight bar and 12 bar products, but that it is the retailer who decides which to carry. In this case, it was Dollar Tree which apparently decided it could make more money selling the eight pack for a dollar.
Thanks to Cathy B. for spotting the Mrs. Freshley’s change. She also notes that Mrs. Freshley’s Swiss Rolls are being cut similarly, but the box is smaller.