Am I Being Unreasonable?

[cstanion]

My name is Chuck and I work for Smokingpipes as the managing editor, so I'm responsible for the poor wording of that promotional material. A previous draft included the specification of a new Savinelli but it somehow got lost in the revision process. My mistake. Not the first or last I'll make. I could amuse you with some of my larger mistakes, but I'm trying to maintain some self-esteem before a meeting today, so maybe another time.
Anyway, many apologies. You're right and we should have been more clear with that message. We will certainly honor the offer, though. Just give us a call and tell customer service that Chuck says it's OK and they'll send you a tin of Savinelli tobacco at no charge. I truly am sorry you went through all that, and all because I wasn't paying close enough attention. My apologies.
Best regards,

Chuck Stanion

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Now that's customer service if I've never seen it before. Not very often you see someone provide that kind of service and answer this day and age. Even though I trust in SP's reputation and would always consider them as a prime shop for my smoking wants and needs, this really makes me want to do even more of my online shopping through SP's.

 

[cstanion]

One new wrinkle--just found that we can't send just tobacco, because a free tin has to be shipped with another product, as a value-added thing. The red tape and legal issues will drive you nuts. But next time you order something, we'll be happy to include that tin. We'll get it to you one way or another.
Chuck

 

[perdurabo]

Gotcha Chuck.

 

[sablebrush52]

Actually, you're not being unreasonable. The smoking gun here (see how I got that in? :D) is the absence of exceptions in the promotional copy. "Implied" anything is rubbish. If there are exceptions to the promotion and they are not explicitly enumerated in the ad copy, they do not exist. That's the law. It's called "truth in advertising" law and it's why you no longer see all sorts of wild, phony, and occasionally life threatening claims in ads. It's also very amusing to see how advertisers work around the law's edges to continue to deliver misleading information to a gullible public. Having worked on hundreds of commercials I've seen this up front and personal. So if there are no explicit exceptions listed in the ad copy, you're entitled to that damned tin and you have every moral right to storm the Bastille and demand your just reward from these abusive crooks.
Ahh, I see that while I was having fun typing this up, the issue was resolved. Good! Back to breakfast.

 

[perdurabo]

See that was extremely easy. That’s why Smokingpipes.com is the best in the business.

 

[perdurabo]

Great point Sable.
Hence if I buy a product that claims to improve blood flow and help with an erection, but my dingus falls off instead, I can sue for false advertising.
Sorry you asked for it :nana:

 

[thomasw]

Smokingpipes rocks

 

[sablebrush52]

Great point Sable.
Hence if I buy a product that claims to improve blood flow and help with an erection, but my dingus falls off instead, I can sue for false advertising.
Sorry you asked for it :nana:

Absolutely, though you might have to show that your dingus was any kind of working order in the first place.

 

[perdurabo]

True

 

[briarbuck]

Whats amusing is people expecting a small B&M to have a team of lawyers reviewing ad copy. No wonder people want to get out of the biz...jeez.

 

[sablebrush52]

Whats amusing is people expecting a small B&M to have a team of lawyers reviewing ad copy. No wonder people want to get out of the biz...jeez.

A small B&M that owns an iconic pipe maker, the exclusive US distribution rights to another, as well as a well known maker blending a large array of pipe tobaccos. What small B&M would that be? It's not that difficult, just be straight with your customers and you have no worries.

 

[briarbuck]

I am failing to see where the vendor isn't being straight. Seems obvious (to me) that there is a difference between new and used inventory. Would you expect $$$ back on a used car just becasue a dealer has dealer-incentive on new inventory? Margins, return policies all may be different new v pre-owned.
I may have (prior to purchase) inquired if the same deal would apply to used pipes, but I certainly would not assume that would be the case. I know the customer is always right, it's just sometimes they aren't.

 

[shaneireland]

Guys,
I'll echo Chuck here and say that we usually do have a disclaimer (we've been running these sort of promotions for years), and it just slipped through this time. I looked at these images as well and neglected to catch the error, but we're updating the images now to avoid any confusion during the last few days of the promotion.
Chuck is also right about the red tape, but I don't want anthony416 to have to wait until his next order to get the tin. If you let me know which one you'd like, I'll get it shipped out on me.
Shane Ireland

Director & Pipe Manager

Smokingpipes.com

 

[crashthegrey]

Multiple errors, multiple apologies, and everything fixed. What a great retailer. Seriously, this is a company worth supporting, in my opinion.

 

[sablebrush52]

I am failing to see where the vendor isn't being straight. Seems obvious (to me) that there is a difference between new and used inventory. Would you expect $$$ back on a used car just becasue a dealer has dealer-incentive on new inventory? Margins, return policies all may be different new v pre-owned.

If you offer a promotion on cars, then it's a promotion on cars, whether they are new or used. If you offer a promotion on used cars, then it's a promotion on used cars. If its' a promotion of new cars then it's a promotion on new cars. The expectation that someone will somehow read your mind and guess what limitations you intended but failed to mention is absurd. It's also the lame excuse often used by those attempting to commit a fraud.
The vendor has made good by honoring its promotion as written. They're a stand up group.

 

[woodsroad]

Kudos to Smokingpipes and Chuck. Those of you who read fine print (seems to be about half of us) will recognize Chuck from the masthead of Pipes and Tobacco magazine, where he held the editorial bar high above par for many years.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

If you offer a promotion on cars, then it's a promotion on cars, whether they are new or used. If you offer a promotion on used cars, then it's a promotion on used cars. If its' a promotion of new cars then it's a promotion on new cars. The expectation that someone will somehow read your mind and guess what limitations you intended but failed to mention is absurd. It's also the lame excuse often used by those attempting to commit a fraud.

Exactly! Just because a few people may read between the lines and think it's obvious, doesn't mean that to others. It would have to be an assumption one way or the other. Looking plainly at the original ad, I'd have thought in my mind, "Buy a Savinelli, get a free tin". Doesn't matter if it's an estate or new. An estate Sav is still a Sav even though it's not new. It's on the seller to create the disclaimer's that specifically detail what the offer does or doesn't cover. Kudos to the folks at SP's for remedying the situation. Just makes me want to shop there even more, knowing what they'll do to make a customer satisfied.

 

[bigpond]

Standards of reasonableness are open to interpretation and I would argue that your average pipe shopper at spc would expect this promotion to apply to new pipes rather than all pipes. Not every shopper is average or reasonable, hence the dilemma. In fact, SPC has run this promotion without exclusionary copy at least once before. I purchased my one and only sav during such and wondered at the time if I could “game the system” for a few bucks. I thought the better of it and paid the extra $15 for a new pipe. This doesn’t reflect on the op, just to be clear.

 

[woodsroad]

If you put the pipe in your cart, and you don't see a free tin, then to me that would mean that you aren't getting a free tin.
But maybe that's just me.