Not honoring winning bottle caps

[MoreWineII]

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I gotta go get gas at lunch so maybe the gas station store will redeem them.


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Trip report?

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Well, I didn't make it to the gas station, but I did get a free pizza when the one I ordered to go was taken by somebody else. Also, the waitress had a really nice rack - that whole experience more than made up for this morning's setback.

[Stuey]

Some background

I own a convenience store, but it is in Canada so I doubt the business practices of the pop distributors are exactly the same. In the past there have been times when I refused winning pop liners and numerous other coupons for a variety of reasons. The important part is to explain to the customer what those reasons are when they come to redeem the coupon.

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So I've hoarded up four of those winning Coke caps where you win a free one-liter Coke product and I finally decided to redeem them before I forgot or they expired or whatever.

I go down to the little convenience store near my work where I buy a Coke frequently. I grab four 1 liter Cokes, which are bigger than I expected btw, and a bunch of candy and gum and [censored] (since I'm getting like $8 free of Coke product, I figure I can splurge on the other stuff.)

I bring my stash up to the front counter and this exchange followed. I should note that she was an Asian lady and didn't speak English well if that matters:

Me: Hi, I have these winning bottle caps from bottles I've bought here that I'd like to redeem for these 1 liters I have. <font color="blue">The company making the product is running a contest, the retailer has the option to participate or not. The company has the right to refuse to deliver product for sale to non-participating retailers. They don't want to do this as they would end up selling less so they give the customers fail safe options like the mail it in yourself one. So as much as you think it matters where you bought it, it does not. They person owns the store and he can do what he wants, unless it is a franchise in which case the big bosses set the policy.

Should the retailer post a sign stating the policy so customers know before they buy? Again we do what we want and what we know will make us the most money consistently over time. Posting signs saying "check the date on your milk before you drink it cuz if you get sick there is no way you can sue me for it dumbass the date is there right in front of you to read." are negative and not good for business. </font>

Her: I don't take those back.

<font color="blue"> This is where the trouble starts, she should explain why. But if she has trouble with the language you can understand why she does not explain. She should get someone to write it down and then give the explanation to customers when the situation arises. If we were in her country imagine how lost we would feel. I can only speak one language and have respect for anyone that knows more than that even if they butcher the language. Hell I do it to my native language as you have surely noticed. </font>
Me: Huh?

Her: No. I don't care. (???)

Me: Wait, so you sell the bottles with the contest on them, but you won't accept the winning caps back?

Her: Yeah.

Me: Okay. Well I'm not going to get all these Cokes then, I'll put them back.

So as I put my Cokes back, I started thinking. And the more I thought about it, the more irritated I got until finally I just put all of the [censored] back and walked out of the store.

Did I overreact or am I right in thinking that's pretty lame that she sells the contest bottles but won't redeem the winning caps? <font color="blue"> I don't think you acted badly it was just a misunderstanding. I would like to know if you plan on going there again in the future. If you plan on going back then I think your actions were a little dumb. Like putting the items back this one time is going to teach her a lesson when you return next week and buy your normal amount. Seems counterproductive, customers do have power over retailers. But very few have the self-control and long term resolve to use that power effectively. That is why several places survive strictly on their location. I am not saying it is right but knowing the reasons can make you think differently about where to place the blame. </font>

Do most places redeem them or what? I feel timid, scared, and confused now that I got shot down by the evil asian lady.

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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So the reasons that she might have for not taking the bottle caps are as follows.

1. The pop distributor might not deliver her pop. She might go to a cash and carry wholesale and buy it. This would mean she has to do one of the following to redeem the caps.

(a) Take them to a store that redeems them and make zero profit on this transaction that takes lots of time and effort.
(b) Mail them in to the company. Many companies will not accept this method unless the number of caps being redeemed is large. The dates might go old by the time she gets enough to mail and she has to pay postage. The company does compensate for some of the handling charges but it is not a moneymaking situation. Breakeven at best and if she has trouble with the language she will struggle to figure all this out.

2. If the distributor does deliver to her she might still have reason to not redeem the caps.

(a) She is unaware that they will take them. They never ask for them you have to force them to take them.

(b) These delivery guys can be jerks. They work hard and hate their jobs. They do not want to do extra paper work to figure out the refund. They will make excuses as to the reasons they can't do it. Hoping that they will not be delivering your route next week when it is time to redeem them again. Stuff like, you need a full case, your order was not big enough this week, you should have said that before I filled out the invoice, it is all crap to avoid the math which they struggle with. Sad but it is the way of the world. They are good guys but everyone has their comfort zones. It is why we all have different jobs.

I could go on for hours but you get the point. All three sides of this argument have some strengths and weaknesses. Best course of action is act like a human and good chance you will be treated like one. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[ChoicestHops]

You played it wrong. The correct response would have you going back and accumulating alot of various, worthless [censored] throughout the store. You then place them on the counter, and ask her one more time if she accepts the winning caps. When she tells you no again, you leave all the [censored] on the counter for her to put back.

[slamdunkpro]

I had the same issue here in the US.

I called Coke, and they said that if the store accepts and displays the advertising of the contest they are obligated to redeem the winning caps

But is Coke going to go squash the merchant? No. They did send me a coupon for a free case of cans which me grocery store took.

[Boris]

you were nice to put everything back. I would have just left it on the counter and walked out.

[ILL34GL3]

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You played it wrong. The correct response would have you going back and accumulating alot of various, worthless [censored] throughout the store. You then place them on the counter, and ask her one more time if she accepts the winning caps. When she tells you no again, you leave all the [censored] on the counter for her to put back.

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What if she accepts the caps at that point? Would you buy all of that extra crap then?

[MoreWineII]

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I would like to know if you plan on going there again in the future. If you plan on going back then I think your actions were a little dumb.

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I doubt it. I work near downtown so I have lots of convenience stores around to choose from, this one just happens to be the easiest to get to. But this incident wasn't the sole reason for withdrawing my business. Her prices are too high even comapred to other quickie stores. And she does annoying little things like talking on the phone while cashing you out, stocking the shelves while people wait at her counter, never letting you know she appreciates or even acknowledges your business, etc.

I've never gotten a great vibe from the store and I don't mind walking a couple of extra blocks if the prices and service are better.

[Stellastarr]

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So I've hoarded up four of those winning Coke caps where you win a free one-liter Coke product and I finally decided to redeem them before I forgot or they expired or whatever.

I go down to the little convenience store near my work where I buy a Coke frequently. I grab four 1 liter Cokes, which are bigger than I expected btw, and a bunch of candy and gum and [censored] (since I'm getting like $8 free of Coke product, I figure I can splurge on the other stuff.)

I bring my stash up to the front counter and this exchange followed. I should note that she was an Asian lady and didn't speak English well if that matters:

Me: Hi, I have these winning bottle caps from bottles I've bought here that I'd like to redeem for these 1 liters I have.

Her: I don't take those back.

Me: Huh?

Her: No. I don't care. (???)

Me: Wait, so you sell the bottles with the contest on them, but you won't accept the winning caps back?

Her: Yeah.

Me: Okay. Well I'm not going to get all these Cokes then, I'll put them back.

So as I put my Cokes back, I started thinking. And the more I thought about it, the more irritated I got until finally I just put all of the [censored] back and walked out of the store.

Did I overreact or am I right in thinking that's pretty lame that she sells the contest bottles but won't redeem the winning caps?

Do most places redeem them or what? I feel timid, scared, and confused now that I got shot down by the evil asian lady.

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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I would of done the same.

[Russ McGinley]

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You played it wrong. The correct response would have you going back and accumulating alot of various, worthless [censored] throughout the store. You then place them on the counter, and ask her one more time if she accepts the winning caps. When she tells you no again, you leave all the [censored] on the counter for her to put back.

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What if she accepts the caps at that point? Would you buy all of that extra crap then?

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That's why they call it a bluff.

[Leo99]

I wouldn't have even put the bottles back. I would have left them on the check out counter.