Flatter Your Favorite Brands For Coupons
Faye over at "The Dollar Stretcher" doesn't wait for desirable coupons to appear in the weekly circular. She writes directly to her favorite brands asking for coupons. The results are surprising.
Since September, I have been sending emails and making toll-free phone calls to manufacturers who make the products we like. The email I send is nearly the same for each company. First, I let them know how much our family likes their product. Then I mention that I am a stay-at-home mom who needs to stick to a budget. Next, I politely ask if they have any coupons available. Finally, I thank them again for such a great product. Here are the results of my little coupon request experiment:To increase your chance of success, avoid letters that start, "Dear Porsche, we love your cars..." — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGEREmails and phone contacts made: 74
Companies that sent coupons: 51
Companies who refused: 20
Companies that have not responded yet: 3
Face value amount of coupons sent: $200.30
Looking for Great Grocery Coupons? Try Flattery! [The Dollar Stretcher]
(Photo: eschipul)
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Comments:
I tried this with Trojan and Durex, but they didn't believe the whole stay-at-home mom with kids who love it thing.
heck, i wrote a thank you letter to JetBlue a couple of months ago and they:
a)wrote me back
b)sent me cute jetblue magnets, quantity two
c)sent a voucher for $15 for "future use with our thanks."
my good food coupon experiences have included Stubb's BBQ Sauce ($1x5...mmmm) and Stonyfield Farm Yogurt, who replied to a small grouse about the price on the west coast with a veritablr flurry of coupons.
I wrote to Donatos Pizza telling them that I would love to have a Donatos store by me that would deliver. There used to be one close to my house, but they went out of business.
Their reply included an offer of a gift card, which arrived a few days later. It was worth $10.
Another time, I had a can of Campbell's Double Noodle soup that was a little messed up. The broth was very strong and a lot of the noodles hadn't gotten cut up. It really didn't affect the taste at all, but I emailed them all the info from the top of the can for quality control purposes. I got $5 in Campbell Dollars.
been doing this for years. companies love this shit. last thanksgiving season, after Dunkin Donuts stopped the pumpkin-spice donuts, I emailed them telling them the store that I go to every morning and let them know that every day of the week, I buy 2 cups of coffee and 3 donuts. they sent me coupons for free coffee and donuts for a week and they even had pumpkin spice donuts at my dunkin donuts for another 2 months. i checked other stores and they didnt have the flavor of donuts so it must've been just at my store.
I once wrote to Pepsi telling them I drink entirely too much of their product, which is true. I asked them to send me a t-shirt. I figured this was a reasonable request because I am a loyal customer, and Pepsi would benefit by turning me into a walking talking Pepsi billboard. They politely told me to buzz off.
@Mike_: I used to work for Pepsi Bottling Group HQ, and it was crazy the amount of swag they threw us. I hated the job, but I walked out of there with my arms full of all the swag they gave us. If you really want free stuff from Pepsi there is a sure fire way to get it. Call corporate HQ and ask for PR, tell them you would be interested in touring a bottling or productions facility (if you are in fact interested). On the tour they are sure to give you stuff.
Yup, done this myself a few times. A couple of times involved complaints, but others were just "thanks for not being a shitty company" letters, and coupons rained down like manna from heaven.
She should have mentioned to include an address -- for the companies that don't have email coupons.