CHALLENGE Butter

Some of you may be following my adventures in couponing. Recently I was out of butter, and I had a coupon for Challenge brand butter so I picked some up. I did not read the fine print on the label and we were very surprised when we opened it for waffles one morning and saw specks in it! The specks turned out to be garlic and herbs - a fine idea in general, but not for morning sweets. So I wrote to them on 4/27.

Hello! I recently purchased Challenge butter for the very first time because of a coupon I had, so I wanted to let you know that aspect of your marketing is working!

What I also wanted to make you aware of is that when we opened the butter were quite surprised to see all the specks in it. I had bought Tuscan Style and did not realize it contained other ingredients like garlic and herbs. It is not a bad idea to include those things, however I failed to read the very tiny type on the small banner on the left. Unfortunately this style of butter doesn't work too well for waffles in the morning! HA! Now I am not sure what I was expecting with Tuscan Style butter, but having no other experience with your brand it didn't occur to me there might be other ingredients. I think you should redesign the label so newbies like me won't buy the wrong kind by accident.

Shana

A+ for Cequent

I am super impressed with Cequent Performance Products right now. They mailed me a brand new brake controller to replace the one that failed. WOO HOO!

Thank you Kelloggs!

The caller left a message for us saying they wanted to know what we paid for the case so they could issue a refund. So I called Andy's to ask what their normal rate is for a case (I bought it before they went on sale this month) and they told me $41.20.

So I called Worthington and they wanted to know the amount, I told them $41.20, and they asked if I still had the recipet, which I did not. I asked if it would be helpful if I mailed them a can and the gal said no, they don't usually collect food, they have been working on it and if they think they need a can from me they will let me know.

A+ for Worthington's customer service!

Kellogg's - Worthington FryChik Original

Below is my complaint, submitted today.

Typically this is the vegetarian meat substitute that my family uses most often, so we buy it by the case. The first can from this case that we ate, we were put off by the consistency. Thinking perhaps it was just that can, we have continued to eat from the case. They have all been unsatisfactory to the point that I would not purchase another case of this food. Did you recently change the recipe? To be more specific, these seem smaller, and very tough. Harder to cut with a fork than earlier versions. Drier, throughout. We have plenty of cans left, if it would be helpful we could mail one back to you. Thank you for your time.

Cequent Performance Products

Cequent Performance Products
47774 Anchor Court West
Plymouth, MI 48170


To whom it may concern,

I purchased your Reese Brakeman Compact brake controller in May of 2008 from Olson Brothers in Walla Walla WA. They installed it into a 2006 Ford Explorer, Eddie Bauer edition. 

We used it within a week of installation to haul our camp trailer. No problems. I used it a second time in June 2008 to haul the same trailer a couple hundred miles and back home again. 

I did not have a need to pull a trailer again for awhile due to life events.

In Feb 2010, I hooked up to a horse trailer. When I connected the brake controller, I could not move the trailer. The only thing we could determine was that the brake controller was very hot to the touch.

In March 2010 I hooked the Explorer up again, this time to my camp trailer. The brakes locked up as soon as we were connected, and again the brake controller became hot to the touch.  I then realized that it must be a problem with the brake controller. I called Olson Brothers to schedule a time for them to inspect it and see what was happening. 

Olson Brothers confirmed that the brake controller was in fact defective, but they were not willing to reimburse me or even give me a credit towards a new one since they stopped carrying your product a year or two ago. And, agreeably, it is not their fault the product failed. They suggested I take it up with the manufacturer. They did tell me that this is a good brand of controllers and most people who have them really like them. I can't say that I agree, considering my personal experience.

I am mailing the defective product back to you because it is of no use to me. I am upset enough to write this letter and pay the postage to get the point across to you that I am disappointed. I only used it twice in it's lifetime and it was on a newer vehicle. I would appreciate it if you could make things right, perhaps a replacement brake controller or some sort of reimbursement or credit. I am not sure what your policy is.

I tried to fill our your online contact form but when I hit submit it did not go through. I tried again with the same results. Since I never received a response I am assuming that your contact form on your website is also defective.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter,

Shana Bobbitt

Thumbs up for Nallys!

I just have to give a shout out to Nally's (aka Bird's Eye Foods). I was hunting online for coupons and could not find any for Nally's chili beans. We eat their vegetarian variety at least once a week and I noticed the price has gone up this past year from .98 a can to $1.22 at Wal-Mart. Nally's responded and said they could only send me coupons in the mail once and after that I would have to find them online or in print.

Today the mail delivered their coupons. A thank you card for the correspondence and support, along with FOUR $1 off coupons with NO EXPIRATION DATE!

Thanks Nally's - YOU ROCK!!

Maxwell House, print advertisement

Sunset magazine, April 2010, page 31 is a Maxwell House print ad. A woman is holding her baby, probably 4-6 months old, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead. Across the center of the ad is a checklist. The first item CONNECT WITH OFFICE in unchecked. The second item CONNECT WITH JEREMY is checked. The woman is holding a mug, suggesting she is drinking her coffee with her baby instead of her co-workers.

I couldn't help myself, I had to write to them.

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I have a concern over your recent print ad, featured in Sunset magazine, April 2010 on page 31. The woman is holding her baby and also a mug of what I assume is your brand of coffee. She is "connecting with Jeremy". While the moment is tender, I can't help but think that baby is going to reach for the mug and get burned, as every parenting thing I have ever read will tell you to never hold your baby and a hot beverage at the same time. I guess it just surprised me that you would advocate this in an ad. I don't drink coffee but I do enjoy a hot beverage sometimes, and I am a mother, so this ad jumped out at me as promoting a dangerous activity.

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The auto-reply was instantaneous.



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Follow up ~

Thank you

I feel badly that this blog has been composed primarily of gripes, so today I am going to change that.

Today I wrote to a company for being awesome.

That's right, no complaint, just a thank you for a good product.

Progresso Soups - have you tried their creamy tomato? So robust and full of flavor! A perfect compliment to the grilled cheese sandwich I had today on sourdough.

I got an immediate automated response, we'll see if they contact me otherwise.

Starbucks, part 2

Submission:
I ordered the Gingerbread Latte decaf and it was not as good as I expected. Last year I remember finding chunks of ginger in the bottom of the cup when I was done and this time I did not. Did you change your recipe? Today's cup was quite bitter and reminded me of a typical coffee with a little ginger syrup (?). I am not really fond of coffee in general and prefer the flavored drinks, like the pumpkin latte. I was not real happy with today's drink and am hoping it was out of the ordinary.

Response 12/11/09 ~



Update 12/22/09 ~

A letter and two coupons for a free drink. I think the card is pretty neat, it says something about how your cup should never be half empty, and then on the inside it says to enjoy a drink on them (any drink, any size). Can't wait to use this since it's been so very cold!

Levi's

Perhaps I did not submit my comment correctly, but I hate calling numbers. The website seemed to be kind of devoted to the website and not the product. Oh well, we'll see what happens.



Since I couldn't submit a photo with the online form, I think I'll mention that I have one if they ever reply.



Update 12/11/09 -
Response.


I replied with the photo.

Starbucks, part 1

Follow up:


Submission:
My husband and I went through the drive-thru and ordered 2 decaf pumpkin lattes. When we got home we realized that only one cup was marked decaf. The other cup was indeed caffeinated. This is unfortunate because my husband has a shoulder injury from a car accident that causes his shoulders to be tense. Drinking caffeine increases his discomfort, but he is stubborn and wanted to enjoy this beverage that we had paid for. I have not been very impressed with the quality of service at this particular Starbucks location. I made one other submission today of a complaint regarding this same location.

Update (12/28/09):

Another two coupons for a free beverage. Yeah! I like their customer service!

Boniva

Today I contacted Roche Therapeutics, Inc because the print ads for Boniva are not in focus. I am curious as to why. We'll see if I get a satisfactory answer.

Here is my submission to their online contact form:
"I was just curious why in the print ads that I have seen for Boniva with Sally Field, Ms Field is not really in focus in the photo."

Here is the automated response:
Your response has been received by Genentech and we will respond to you shortly. Your Inquiry Reference number is 14978

Little Debbie

I entered an online drawing for a free box of the new Little Debbie cupcakes. I won! Got a postcard coupon in the mail today. I'll pick some up and report back on how I like them.

Dairy Queen

While I really appreciate the coupon, I think it's really lame that I have to spend money in order to enjoy my free birthday treat. I replied and told them that, but I am not expecting a response.

ABC

I have been really unimpressed with ABC's episode player. The last time I tried to watch a show I had the following annoyances;

1) Click to continue after each commercial
2) After clicking, the show started over from the beginning
3) Twice the commercial (sound) started replaying after I clicked to continue, over top the show

AARRGH!

So I wrote a letter. And discovered that ABC also limits how many words you can write to them.

Here is the automated response. We'll see how it's handled from here...

General Mills

Originated by Consumer: I opened a box of Frosted Cheerios and the inner bag was not sealed. I have the bag and the box for you to see if you would like me to mail it in. This was a single-serving size box that came in a pack. I do not know UPC or any other code because these boxes are provided at my place of employment.



The outcome: 2 coupons for $1 off (each)

Dreyers

This is supposed to be a lime fruit bar. I wasn't sure about the discolored top so I took a photo and wrote to the manufacturer, in this case Dreyers.



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Coupon received July 27, 2009, one coupon for a free box of Dryers brand popsicles.

Kellogs

Thank you for the response. Here is the photo. I am sorry to say I threw out the can last week.



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July 22, 2009

Hi Cathy,

I have not seen any coupons and was wondering when I might expect them? Thank you for your time.

Shana

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Coupons recieved July 27, 2009 - five coupons for free Worthington products up to $4.50 in value.