Can anybody blame poor little ole me?
Its not very often that I am in the mood for coffee.
And so with much enthusiasm and anticipation, I wanted to use one of my HSBC credit card transaction slips worth more than Php 3K (the minimum is Php 2K) to redeem a tall Starbucks beverage of my choice plus a free add-on. Woohoo!
I had done it previously and was nonplussed to find out today that even though I remember reading it being said that the "Redemption Period is from April 15 to August 30, 2010", there was this other limitation not emphasized nor pointed out very clearly - you must redeem within 60 days from transaction date. That last part I didn't see in HSBC's statement of account where they proudly bannered this particular promo.
Unfortunately, what I wanted to use today was a transaction dated April 15, 2010 and of course it would not be honored anymore according to these "conditions". I called HSBC to confirm as well as give feedback with this particular development.
Not that I was looking for exemption in my case but couldn't they at least have some initiative and put this info out with ALL of their announcements?
First the guy in the call center who was the lucky one to receive my question tells me this came about because the vendor stipulated this 60-day limit due to the promo extension (it now says on their site the redemption period is till October 31...but I'm looking at it with a jaded eye!) Then when I asked when did the extension actually start he backtracks and now tells me it wasn't because of the extension that this 60 day redemption period was added. Bleargh!
If you look at their ads its also a little misleading but hey, thats marketing right? At first glance it makes you think with your Starbucks beverage you have Php 2K worth of groceries...or maybe even a Php 2K dinner. Well, that is somewhat true..in a sense. Except that you are the one paying for the Php2K or more *wink*
*Sigh*
...oh well, at least I have two more slips, both falling as a June transaction. They would still be candidates for that free beverage. And at least it never got to the point that I tried to reach Php 2K by buying more just to get a free Starbucks drink.
*gloomily stirs a cup of 3-in-1 coffee with a over-generous shot of goat's milk and cream*
And yes, there have been a lot of complaints also....so kudos to the Starbucks folks who were still smilingly turning away people even though I know from what I heard there were already a lot of customers going in and complaining. It can't be easy to smile and tell them how things stand.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it also makes me remember when we had Starbucks as a business case study. I got the impression the Starbucks folks were those who go beyond the regular bounds of duty in satisfying their customers who needed their caffeine fix. Stories of even opening a store early, or even giving away drinks for free? Not here, no sirree. Its a crisis these days...so cough up the moolah to pay for your brew *grin*
That type of catchpa is often to be found on Cellphone prepaid call cards. You have 90 days usage, each time you use it the 90 days re-starts from that date.
ReplyDeletehmm...but isn't that good? I mean if the count for 90 days restart from each time you use it...then you really have more than 90 days...or am I reading it wrong?
ReplyDeleteNo Cat, you read it correctly, what they don't say however is that the first 100 SMS (Text messages) are free of charge and don't count as calls, that part only lasts for 90 days from purchase.
ReplyDeletefirst 100 SMS for free? hmm...still good :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's what we normally called a hidden catch Cat. Sad to say most promos are written in big bold letters but when it comes down to exceptions it's either no explanations or they are hidden and written in a very small letters. It happens to me several times so since then i've learned my lesson... if something isn't clear for me i always asked "what's the catch" before i purchase something..business, business ika nga..ingat!! kuya Rom
ReplyDeleteGee Cath, i felt soooo bad for you!...the urged for that morning rush starter!...oooooh!...they need to have a better communications, rather than ah, e, etc...those tiny 'lil footprints, misleading at times, are almost always the culprit of any transaction. everywhere, i would say!!!...
ReplyDeleteHay, there's ALWAYS a catch with these promos.
ReplyDeleteBanks always get us with their fine prints, don't they? (Let alone the confusing provisions they put on their ads.)
ReplyDelete"Caveat emptor." This is an age-old adage in trade meaning, buyers beware! Pero ewan ko, marketing gimmick or adage or whatever, it is plain and simple dishonesty by the trader. Period. If anything, it only serves as a warning that only you can really take care of yourself. These kind of incident tells me that cynicism is really a virtue.
ReplyDeletehaha..uso talaga yan...few weeks ago, a telephone company was phoning our house and offering a good service and price, by bundles (phone, internet and cable) which we already have from another company. They were trying to beat the price and although the price is reasonable, they don't have all the things we needed, lalo na sa cable, kelangan mag add ka pa ng another few bucks...anyway we said no to them. After a week we received a letter and the offer was $10 for the phone with one feature of your choice, $10 for the highspeed internet and $10 for the cable. I was so excited, so ang babayaran lang namin is $30/month for that package, compared to $119/month for the same service. So, eto na, Ron (excited) phoned them and ready to take the offer....and guess what, they said they just changed the offer this morning, but they can offer another one. &%#@)*!! kaka received lang namin ng letter which they wrote 2 days ago, nagbago agad??? HAHAHA
ReplyDeletewarning also on this promo - talking to the Starbucks staff - the girl told me, that if you do buy on August 31, that will also be the last day of redemption..wala na yun by Sept 1...
ReplyDeletethey really should get their act together coz this is not the same as saying the redemption period is until Oct 31....logically if we were to follow it..the August 31 can be redeemed till Oct 31, right?
and do they always say the "catch" *wink*
ReplyDeletethanks Angie...eto..consuelo na lang dito sa kape at home...hehehe...
ReplyDeleteI was the "cat" who got caught by the "catch"...tsk..tsk..
ReplyDeleteoh, don't remind me...I tried my best, but I couldn't read all the fine print on the contract I had when I bought the condo I am slaving myself to the company and the bank for...
ReplyDeletegrabe talaga...yung mata ko muntik nang maging fish-eyes...
oh gone are the days when even the brand for a particular something - be it service or product could really mean what its supposed to mean...
ReplyDeleteso pano? binagsakan nyo ng telephone? hehehe
ReplyDeleteAnd what's wrong with my fish eyes?!?!? LOL....hugs, dear Cat.
ReplyDeleteWish I could take you out for the best coffee in town, plus whatever dessert you want to drown with it.
Call center employees usually don't have the authority to offer courtesy gifts to appease a disappointed consumer. However, if you don't mind sending snail mail to the president of the bank (even if he/she is not the one to actually read your mail), you may get some small token of appreciation for your effort. Usually works here....pero mahal na ang postage namin dito.
ReplyDeleteEven when you take steps to be very careful, sometimes you still get frustrated. I received an ad in the mail and I took the time to call and ask a lot of questions that were important to me and actually got lied to. Of course, I didn't know the rep was lying until the technician came to install the necessary connections. He was snipping cables while I was questioning him and I realized...Hey!!!!!! that's not what I was told on the phone!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI started to raise hell, but soon felt bad for the guy because it was not his doing. After talking to his supervisor on the phone and establishing that the service offered by the phone agent was not what I was going to get, I sent the installer on his merry way. Azar!!!!
Salamat sa infomation na ito. Send mo ito sa mga dailies para mabigyan ng attention.
ReplyDeletehonga, sino bang dapat e-emailan na writer sa newspapers...gone are the days I used to read along with my dad yung Phil Star...
ReplyDeletesame thing with citibank's free movie pass. one month from transaction din...dami kong nasayang.
ReplyDeletebanks and their promises..... don't get me started on their taglines!
ReplyDeleteand how many times have I been woken up from my blissful sleep by some bank or insurance company trying to sell me something? am tempted to install an answering machine...but now I've opted to ignore it or just pull out the plug on my phones these days...
ReplyDeleteif they want to get in touch with me, they can try my cell...at least magbayad sla ng extra...hmph!
Thank you Mommy Peachy!
ReplyDeletefor the purpose of my imagination's satisfaction, I'm going to order the dessert first..maski yung coffee wala na...pero doble lang dessert servings....*wink*
hmm...maganda sana if ok lang thru email..
ReplyDeletekaso baka attachment file lang ang token of appreciation...mwahahaha!
hence the reason I make sure to write down na usually the name of the person I talk to when calling up banks, cable offices, utility offices etc. and write them in my diary in case I need to refer to some case na di ayos...hay..asar nga...
ReplyDeleteBaka picture ng dessert ang ipadala.....na may *scratch 'n sniff*....lol. Hmmmm....puede rin *lick 'n sniff*....parang yung flavored glue that they use for some stamps and envelopes.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing...and I did have the name and direct line number of the woman that I talked to. In the end, I decided that more time and energy spent on the issue was not worth it to me.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Cat. (^_^)
ReplyDeleteCath, yung promo ng mga mobile companys they are sometimes a good deal, but some banks they are only use to attract gullible customers, iyong madaling lokohin, dali ra mailad.
ReplyDeleteoh my..I've never tried that....licking the back of stamps I mean...and tasting flavored glue...
ReplyDeleteI prefer to lick my finger and swoosh it across the surface...at least am sure malinis ang finger ko kaysa stamp or envelope surface..hehehe...*wink*
that is true..parang put it all down to experience na nga lang...hence I do give a hard time to agents and call center peeps I talk to for service and complaints...
ReplyDeletefunnily, the other day, my credit card renewal dumating sa akin from MBTC, which I wondered about kc I've cancelled it last year na...tama na yung isa I concentrate on para points...e insistent talaga yung gay agent...*grin* pero its the same story as last year..nangyari tuloy is parang they gave me another card for free...
strawberry shortcake with all the trimmings...
ReplyDeleteat tsaka durian cake..!
at tsaka...
*isip ni Mommy Peachy - isang dessert lang...hindi yung whole display ng cakes!*
Are you really sure of that?
ReplyDeleteits a dog eat dog world today...daming gimmicks, promo etc.
ReplyDeleteam more of sad than pissed with this particular promo though - because in my case, I do use my credit card for most of my purchases (unless it has add-on..in which case its better to pay in cash)..so getting the cuppa was just really a freebie...
timing lang talaga gusto kong maglaklak ng kape at that time coz I was walking back na from the office...
yes, coz I know where my finger has been *grin*
ReplyDeletebut I don't know where the stamp went through...
Check again. Or make sure they canceled it. Before you know it, may bill ka na with the cost of renewal as your payable. And if you don't settle/clarify it asap with them, it will be charged interest. Tapos your payable will get bigger and bigger. Then your name will be flagged with other credit card companies as a delinquent.
ReplyDeleteYou sure you're awake all the time?
ReplyDeleteyep, as long as may paper bill naman (this is the reason why I don't enroll online), I see that happening..and to MBTC's credit, they have actually cancelled the membership charges and the fees incurred for not paying it...
ReplyDeletee bahala na sila...ang puhunan ko lang naman laway...they have records of my calls wherein I said i-cancel...gusto lang talaga may isang customer pa with their credit card..a pity..maganda naman sana yung CC nila...at may Pal Smiles points din sana...pero I've decided to be practical ...mahirap if solo earner :-)
there's a bigger possibility for me to know where my body has been than where that stamp has been...
ReplyDeleteMabuti meron kang paper documents. Did you know that call-center voice records are kept only for 3 months? And that call-center agents move from one center to another as frequently as they they change their boy/girl friends?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised na bilis turnover sa call center...
ReplyDeletecan you imagine one of these young ones staying at a call center at the same level for 5 years? hehehe..
Sa mga ganyang mga bagay, I just give it a shrug so that my soul doesn't get vexed. But not GWIZ. Aabot pa yan sa presidente ng kompanya. Ayos naman ang resulta. : )
ReplyDeleteas they sometimes say - its not the money..its the principle of the thing :-)
ReplyDelete:-(
ReplyDelete