Being both bored and annoyed by the claims on my bottle of hand lotion, I decided to write a letter to Jergens. If they didn’t want letters, they wouldn’t provide a url for comments, right?
The burning question was this: would they take this letter seriously, or figure it was tongue in cheek?
It didn’t take long before they responded…
I think I’d like to write some more letters. Any suggestions for new targets with odd claims?
How about writing Whitehall Robbins, makers of Preperation H, and say the their suppositories taste like shit.
Funny, meek. What’s that old joke about not chewing the gum for sale in the men’s room because it tastes like rubber?
I just got a check for $4.00 for finding a cherry pit in a can of Oregon brand cherries. They label had some kind of semi hokey reward message on it, and the 4 bucks was my reward. (Actually, I was disappointed. I was kinda hoping for a stuffed cowboy-cherry doll or something. I guess I just have to be happy with the cash-ola!)
Anyway, I once wrote a letter to Wrigley gum complaining about a stupid commercial they were running on tv (“Get your skis shined up. Grab a stick of Juicy Fruit. The taste is gonna move ya.” Ugh.). Now whenever I complain about the crappy commercial, I have to add that they did send me 6 packs of tasty gum! They also sent me a story board of the commercial to explain, I guess, why the commercial was so annoying, in detail!
I also once wrote a letter to Imperial Sugar complaining about the paper bag packaging. I could hear the sugar rattling around in the folds of the bag, but couldn’t get it out (I know, it’s petty, but it bugs me.) They kindly sent me a pound of sugar in a plastic bag.
And, finally, my sister wrote to Hershy chocolate just to say she like a particular candy bar and got a thank you note with six candy bars! Woo hoo- riches!
I’ve sent some other letters, but can’t recall them now.
I foresee a new hobby in your future! Or a book!
Oh, I highly recommend this past-time. Invariable, whether a complaint or compliment, I end up with at least a coupon for whatever I’ve praised/ridiculed. I really like getting free stuff.
Never got free candybars in the mail though. Better email and gripe about the yucky s’mores candy bars they’re selling now. Should net me a couple of anything better than s’mores.
Part of my experiment will see if you catch more flies with honey or vinegar: I plan to write both positive and negative letters to see if the response is different, since I already knew that most letters to companies yield free stuff. I suspect that the nature of the letter makes no difference, but we shall see.
I called the 800- number on the back of a Campbell’s Supper Bakes® box to let them know that a sample had leaked and gone moldy. The phone-serve personoid took down the lot number, and I got a packet of $2.00 coupons, good for any Campbell’s or Banquet products for 2 years, much more than I paid for the original product.
My hat is off to them.