STOP Complaining – IT WAS FREE!
I am getting back up on my soap box here! With the recent “Oops” situations with Brita over their Rebate, The complaints on companies Facebook pages when they are offering a FREEBIE or a Coupon, and now the Kingsford Charcoal Coupon, and seeing how rude people are acting over all of this, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!
People, These companies DO NOT HAVE TO OFFER US ANYTHING! Realize that! If you get a FREE product, or if you get a coupon, be happy you did! If you did not, OH WELL, be happy for others that did! Again I will say, these companies owe us NOTHING!
If so many “Fans” keep acting like this, and filling their Facebook pages, emails, and ringing their phones of the hook with negative comments and actions, WE WILL see NOTHING being offered by these companies, So who is getting hurt in the long run?
With the Brita Rebate, the company tracks how many Rebate forms are downloaded and printed. There were blogs uploading the PDF file to their own pages, which in turn the company does not know how many were printed. From what I am seeing with the Kingsford Charcoal coupon, THERE was a legitimate coupon through coupons.com for a short period of time, but there were also illegal coupons out at the same time. The ones that were printed on coupons.com are legitimate and will be honored and the stores you use them at will be reimbursed.
In both situations (Brita & Kingsford) the company is honoring the coupons or rebates. Was there really a need for all the negative threats on their facebook pages? COME ON FOLKS, they are just coupons!
And as far as Facebook pages offering limited freebies or Coupons. With the internet, and the hundreds of thousands of people’s rushing to their pages to get them, YOU WILL HAVE pages crashing from too much activity, it is just how it works! If YOU CHOOSE to sit for hours trying to get a coupon or freebie at a site, and then are unable to because either they run out or they have technical difficulties, that was YOUR choice to sit there and wait!
Bottom line, If you are that upset (human nature sometimes), LEAVE THAT PAGE, No need to leave a nasty comment and ruin it for the rest of us in the future. If you are like me, leave a comment and say, “Thanks for the chance!” If you get the Freebie or Coupon, MAKE SURE YOU THANK THEM!
Alright, I am stepping back down off my Soap Box…For now that is 🙂
~ Micki
Owner of Midwest Coupon Clippers (Our Blog)
Wisconsin Coupon Clippers – Nationwide (Our Facebook Page)
AMEN~ Very well said! I couldn’t agree with you more and thank you for posting this and saying what so many of us are thinking!
VERY well put and I feel the same way.
YOU ARE SO RIGHT!! Seriously people need to think before they post. I am very very thankful for any coupons, freebies, giveaways, contest anyone has. If I get one, great, super but if I don’t well better luck next time. So many people are hurting financially these days and I think the ones who complain need to get a life!! 🙂
Very well said!!!! *stands up and applauds!!!*
GREAT post! I completely agree! I have had people complaining about giveaways lately in addition to the coupons. I posted 4 giveaways and one was a bottle of vitamins – I had someone complain that it was “lame and stupid” to giveaway vitamins. It’s not like they were being FORCED to enter! LOL
WOO HOO! You go! That was AWESOME!
And another huge AMEN!!! Good grief people! Be thankful! I am so glad that this subject was addressed! I see it all over facebook…..be thankful!
Its crazy. People going crazy because they don’t get a $1.00 coupon or a free item that is worth $2.00. If I don’t get it I know it wasn’t meant to be and go on with my life. I have had it several times filling out the form and when I hit send they have reached the limit. O well maybe next time. People need grow up.
i say if you know who was giving such a fit delete them before they ruin it for all…just sayin I LOVE THIS STUFF it saves my family of 7 so much and thank you and all the other blogs for doing this for us bc you dont have to and you choose to
I will respectfully disagree with your post about these companies. When I print a coupon, and take it to the store I am spending my resources and time to get their product. Lets not forget that these coupons are part of their marketing budget designed essentially to get you the consumer hooked on their products. When companies make statements that are non-specific, like Kingsford did, it makes people confused, angry and upset. They have these coupons and just want to know, Can we use them. Kingsford has yet to post anything on their facebook page about the issue. In fact their customers are doing it for them, which is inexcusable. As a blogger, who makes money from your site, you should understand the need to be upfront, honest and quick in responding to customers. When companies are upfront about facebook coupons with limited quantities (first 1,000 only) then we as consumers have to make the choice to go for the prize (being a coupon). We can’t complain if we can’t get one. HOwever, on the flipside these companies who issue coupons and then have technical problems because they did not adequately prepare is ridiculous. This is especially true when it happens over and over again. This company has a track record of not honoring their coupons/rebates. In the case of the pdf file.. stupid them. They should have known better, it is not the consumers fault the company did not secure their access to the rebate form. In fact, I truely believe that had it not been for the customers complaining on facebook the issue would have been ignored by the companies and they would have not honored the rebates. It is no different than the SOPA bill not moving forward due to the immense response to the issue online. The internet is a powerful consumer tool, and don’t kid yourself about what these companies think they can do the little consumer. It takes a herd now to get these companies to stand up to their mistakes. They think they are too big for anyone to do anything to them, and they are finding out their are WRONG.
I agree completely. These companies post blogs post, send emails for “giveaways” then they only giveaway 100-300. COME ON. They have a fanbase of over say 20,000 pre giveaway announcement and 50,000 after the announcement. Then they get mad because people complain about the few coupos, samples offered. If they truly only have a few hundred then why make a big deal of the giveaway, just, choose a few hundred of the curent followers and give the giveaways to them.
JUST MY OPINION
Then people would complain that it was unfair to just randomly pick and choose who they give them out to, and if it wasn’t for everyone how do they really know they were given away. I’ve seen comments just like that, it’s ridiculous.
Companies don’t just have these coupons, they are outsourced to other companies. Which go numerous channels, the company I used to work for printed coupons(dot) com coupons. That cheap looking paper coupon costs them a bundle….printers don’t come cheap or the postage, tech support, semi driver. There is also the web design to make the coupon and quality checks…lets say I’ve seem quality checks fail…big time. If you make a mistake should all your friends and family ban talking to you for life?? You might not have even know while trying to figure out the mess. Why post something while they have no idea what coupons is doing and under written contract(yes, there are confidently, so they sometimes can’t speak, even workers like we were were bound) If you noticed coupons never responded at all but no one jumped them. Not all companies have a budget to spend on coupons, next time it’ll be easier to spend it on a print ad or tv commercial. You have food budget right?? Same thing with companies, so refuse to buy from them but remember the neighbor who’s a truck driver, may be the one who drove there loads at some point. Your cousin in another state may have did web design for them, ect and when more jobs go out of the country. Look in the mirror..
Thanks for that and I bet it felt good! I try to remember to thank but alas I do forget! I have had experiences where traffic to the site has caused issues. I am not upset I didn’t get the $5 bounty coupon or whatever it may be. ( I did get one once). Go with the flow is what I say. To many people are being nasty and rude because all they want is free. I barely make a living and could seriously use all the help I can get (currently make under $400 a month). Yet I do not complain because I cannot get the Mac-n Cheese Q. Life happens. Take a break, relax, it will be around again sometime soon!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POST! I agree 1000% and I’m so glad that someone else has said what I’ve been saying for so long! Those people that post on these facebook walls and say these hateful messages are the reason that other company’s have stopped doing it or WON’T EVEN ATTEMPT to do it. I always thank the company for their giveaways and freebies even if I don’t get something cause just like you said they DON’T HAVE TO GIVE US ANYTHING!
Thank you.
I understand the frustration,but i agree the comments are despicable,people like that make us as a whole look bad!!
Thank you for standing up and saying what we all think.
I think it’s one thing if you don’t get a freebie because they ran out or the site has issues. I agree with you in that stance, but if a company puts out a coupon or a rebate and then doesn’t follow through, that shows a lack of integrity on the company’s part and that’s something else entirely. It’s about honesty and integrity of a company. As far as freebies and coupons offered go, you win some, you lose some, but if the company is honest…no biggie either way. Just stand behind what you do.
This is what I just posted on the Astor and Black site after the freakout and rude comments over running out of supplies.
I am so disgusted with people. They didn’t have to do this. No company is under any sort of contract to offer samples, or any sort of free product, much less a tshirt. What probably happened, is that they had NO idea they would have such a huge turnout, and in a matter of the 10 minutes whatever administrator is in charge might have left the computer. Imagine how many responses they could have gotten in that 10 minutes alone. To be so disrespectful to a company that came out and said HEY guys, we appreciate the support, we are going to do our best to meet the demand, but we just aren’t sure that’s going to happen, is respectable. They could have ignored it. Said oh well, any of these things and they didn’t. They are holding themselves accountable and offering some sort of incentive to those who missed out. I managed to apply, and I have no idea if I got one. Will I be bummed if I don’t? Of course, because I’m a broke college kid whose raising a kid by myself which means that I could ALWAYS use free clothes. Am I going to bad mouth this company over it? NO! Because I didn’t have to spend any money, or really even put forth any effort. STOP complaining!
And thats really how I feel about it.
Well said. I think this goes back to this disgusting sense of ENTITLEMENT in this country and the fact that people hide behind their computers to say/write things they would NEVER say to someone’s face!!
I appreciate all the work, time and effort you all put into this blog!
I love this post. I get so annoyed with people complaining and whining over free stuff. It’s the companies choice to give away however many products, coupons, etc. that they want. They are not obligated to do so and even when I don’t win I feel happy and grateful to have the opportunity to try.
AMEN!!!!
AMEN!!! I swear we have got to be related in some fashion lol. I just said this in my coupon group after the Purex nightmare! In fact, much of the wording is identical or very similar. I for one appreciate these companies TRYING their best to help us save money! Every little bit helps these days! <3 my coupons and savings 🙂
So well put, I borrowed. (shared)
AMEN!! Get over yourselves people, its kind of a game? sometimes you win (ie get a coupon or freebie) and sometimes you do not. I really do not understand the feeling of entitlement that so many seem to have. The world does not revolve around you, no matter how much you “need” something. And the world definitely does not “owe you a coke!!” Times are tough for many. That means more people are jumping into the coupon and freebie game. And you are not necessarily more needy than the next!!