Ruining it for everyone

Were you one of the people who took advantage of an offer for a free hip flask by purchasing a bottle of Glenfiddich?

Were you one of the people who fraudulently tried to get something for nothing?

Apparently there was a code included with bottles of Glenfiddich which offered a free flask - all you had to do was go to a web site, enter the included code and in return, you'd be sent the flask - assuming of course you had purchased a bottle of Glenfiddich.

Alan Lazerow emailed me to ask me if I knew anything about the fact that people had not been receiving their promised flasks.

I contacted Sharon Owen, one of the excellent Glenfiddich & Balvenie U.S. Brand Ambassadors, to see what she could tell me about the issue.

She responded directly to Alan, but I thought I'd share her response with everyone.

Dear Alan,

I was forwarded your question from Kevin Erskine.  Unfortunately, the Glenfiddich flask Program was discontinued as described below.  I hope this helps.

Basics of the Program:
- We began the Glenfiddich 15YO flask offer in January of 2004, and we received approximately 250-350 requests per month
- The offer had a “while supplies” contingency clause
- The offer was fraudulently posted on “free” websites, and we received 60K responses for Sept/Oct.

Glenfiddich response:
- An “end of offer” message was posted on the website
- An Email letter was sent to all 60K respondents from Oct/Nov, similar sample below
- An 800# phone number was provided to 60K respondents to leave a voice mail if they want more info

Sample Letter
“Dear (requester)

We do apologize for the early discontinuation of this program.  We have run this program consistently since January 2004 and have always had the stock available to supply our loyal customers.  Unfortunately, in September 2006, this offer was picked up on some “free deal” websites and we received over 60,000 requests in September and October 2006 alone.  Our supply was exhausted before we even knew what hit us!

Again, we do apologize to you, our loyal consumer, who the offer was originally intended for.  If you would kindly provide me with your mailing address, I would like to send you a Glenfiddich care package in appreciation for your honesty and loyalty.”

If you have any other questions, please get back to me.

Sincerely,
Sharon Owen
U.S. Brand Ambassador
Glenfiddich & Balvenie Single Malts
William Grant & Sons, USA

If you are one of those people who legitimately ordered a flask after buying a bottle, you got screwed because of the dishonesty of the masses - very likely people who have never even tried a Scotch whisky.

And just think - it only took one person who actually bought the bottle (or perhaps stole the code from a liquor store) to post it on the web and ruin it for the honest people.

Now, one could say that Glenfiddich was being a bit naive by posting a single code and trusting in the better nature of humanity. I, on the other hand, always expect the worst from people - so I'm rarely disappointed.
 

Comments

[Josh Miller]

I'm one who got theirs legitimately. It's a rather nice (if not small) flask, and while I can see why people would want to exploit the offer, it's still a shame.

[Tom Lix]

While it's a shame that this occured, Glenviddich should have known better. It cost less to provide a single code than to print a series of codes matched to an individual product as most consumer goods companies now do. Alternately they could have required the mailing of a purchase receipt, again a fairly standard procedure but there are costs involved. Glenviddich made a choice to save a few dollars, ultimately this was an expensive choice but they really have no one to blame but themselves.

[Brian]

Google has a Blog search, and you can sort by date. It's rather interesting to look at the posts and see how one post is picked up by a throng of deal-seeking blogs. I would agree that they should have used more random codes, but I also can't help but question the motives of bloggers who post about these free deals. Glenfiddich's response is appropriate considering the circumstances.