I received the following email from reader Caroline the other day, and thought is would make a great topic!
Hi Mindi,
I was just reading another blog and thought of your couponing ethics series. If a company offers a money back guarantee/rebate and says they will refund your money (or double your money) if you are not completely satisfied with their product, isn't it wrong to take advantage of that if you don't have any issues with the product? Or maybe companies expect people to treat it more like a traditional rebate? It just gave me something to think about!
Thanks for the question Caroline!
First let me say this: I think that Satisfaction Guarantee Rebates are an important part of the Manufacturer/Retailer/Customer relationship. It alerts companies to the need to make changes in their manufacturing process, possible "glitches" in the production line, or just an all-around shoddy product. Unlike "Try-Me-Free" offers (such as the current Tyson Skillet Creations one) or a Seasonal Promotions (like the Kellogg's Fuel For School Rebate), I believe that Satisfaction Guarantee rebates are designed to solicit feedback from the customers.
And of course, I have used these kinds of rebates. I've taken produce back to the store when it started to grow mold the next day and "corrected" them when they tried to just give me a refund rather than their "double your money back" guarantee (ahem - Giant!). I've also called a company to complain when a product or service didn't meet my expectations, knowing full-well that their response would be to send me either a refund or a coupon for free product.
But what about using a Satisfaction Guarantee rebate just to get your money back on an item that you like? Or an item that you want to try? Is it wrong to utilize a rebate of this type just to get your money back or to turn a good deal in to a moneymaker after coupons and store promotions?
I've always felt that there are enough opportunities to save money with coupons and deals alone. With all of the Kraft deals that have been around this summer, I could easily use this rebate and this rebate to reduce my costs even more. But the problem? My children LIKE the Kraft Mac & Cheese crackers and I am pretty fond of the Kraft 2% Cheddar. In order to use those rebates, I have to do something that makes me uncomfortable: lie to the company.
So while I will never "call out" individuals or sites who promote the use of Satisfaction Guarantee Rebates as a way to make your deals even sweeter, I thought I would let you know why you won't see me posting those rebates as part of the weekly deals that I post.
(but now I'm thinking that a "Rebate Roundup" post is in order, because there are plenty of rebates of all kinds out there!)
What do you think? Would you use a Satisfaction Guarantee rebate just to get a free product? Do you think that companies expect that people will do this and just consider part of their cost of doing business?
Julie
I'm with you 100 percent on this one. I always cringe when I see someone promote a Satisfaction Guarantee rebate as a money making opportunity.
Kate
I agree with your ethics. It seems to me that you are cheating when you use a Satisfaction Guarantee rebate as a money making opportunity. I imagine that some companies come up with the guarantees as marketing "gimicks", but I don't think it is honest to use them in a way that they are not presented. I would rather people use their creativity in a positive manor to save money.
Gail
If you are unsatisfied with a product, then by all means utilize the procedure the company has in place to rectify it. However, if you are buying a case of Mac & Cheese each month and trying to make money off of the Satisfaction Guarantee rebate, that is wrong if you have been eating it for the last 3 weeks - obviously you like the product.
One of the reasons I cringe at some of the people who have couponing or other frugal type sites.
Daisy
Absolutely not! It is dishonest. Plain and simple. If you have no issues with a product (other than price, sorry but you caste THAT vote when you bought it!) - you are simply not entitled to any money as a result of satisfaction guaranteed. I can't imagine anyone rationalizing this - it is stealing and it is so not okay.
Tirade
Any smart company knows the there will always be a few people who will abuse the Satisfaction Guarantee, but offering such a safety net to wary consumers brings in enough business to cover any money lost to scammers. If the rebates were cutting too deeply into profits, then they wouldn't offer them in the first place.
Plus, I don't think there are too many people out there who would go to the trouble of finding the rebate forms, printing them out, filling them out, getting postage stamps, mailing them, and waiting a few weeks for a check in the mail just to save a dollar or two. I'd wager that the people who do this are a small minority, and that the majority of customers find the whole thing too time-consuming and tedious to turn it into a regular habit. It's much easier to print a counterfeit coupon or to email a company with a complaint in hopes of getting free stuff than it is to deal with the hassle of rebates.
Kim
"It’s much easier to print a counterfeit coupon or to email a company with a complaint in hopes of getting free stuff than it is to deal with the hassle of rebates."
That's very true. I bought some food that I really didn't care for that had a satisfaction guarantee, but I felt like it was too much trouble to do all the steps to send it back (I fed it to the dog instead.) I did, however, not hesitate to email the RedStar yeast company last week when my yeast stopped working. They emailed me right back with a response and promised to send me some free coupons. I then felt really guilty when I discovered that the problem wasn't their yeast but rather my not paying attention to the temperature of the water. I actually emailed them back to take back my complaint, but they never got back to me. It won't stop me from using the coupons, though... but I wouldn't email them repeatedly just to get more coupons.
Manisha
I personally would never use a satisfaction guarantee to get money back on something I liked. I don't know. It just doesn't sit well with me.
Robin
Hi,
I would not use the money back guarantee if I did not have a problem with a product. I agree with Daisy, it is dishonest! I will call or E mail to complain, but I have also called or E mailed a company to compliment a product. That also can get you coupons or free products. So, if we will take the time to complain we also need to let a company know when they are doing a good job as well.
Thanks
Adriana
I completely agree - I think it's dishonest, and I wouldn't do it.
And I also wouldn't call out anyone for doing it since it's a personal choice, but I won't read them. If I come across a blog that advocates it, I take them off my list and never visit the blog again.
GINA
I have called a company to let them know that my product has not lived up to its promise or has gone bad in a sealed package far before its date. But these are things that companies appreciate, essentially a chance to redeem themselves - Showing they have great customer service and standing behind their product. I would never want to see this go away it's bad enough that customer service lacks in so many companies, but those who abuse these will surely push companies to stop a curtsy such as this.
As a business owner, people abusing this terrifies me. This act could help bankrupt a small company like mine, so those of you who would do it please think twice, you don't know who is on the other end.
Hey Mindi, I once bought a watermelon from Giant left it on the counter over night the next morning I found this thing split open and oozing white fermented liquid, I brought it back to Giant with a receipt - I never got double money back, I just learned that policy from you.
Kristin
ITA 100% and have wondered about some of the "Promotions" I've seen other places.
CJ
There is nothing wrong with blogs listing satisfaction guarantee offers as long as it's clear it's a satisfaction guarantee. I feel that price is a factor of being satisfied with a product, so if the product is overpriced and that is the reason I'm dissatified, then I don't feel bad about sending in for the rebate.