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July 09, 2006
Why rebates will die
This story from the St. Paul Pioneer Press illustrates the Kafkaesque journey of Clareen Logan, who'd bought a cellphone online using a rebate offer that locked her into a Verizon Wireless contract.
The problem was that five different companies were involved, creating a shell game of pass-the-buck (until the newspaper asked questions, of course).
In March she had received a notice that her application was denied because the wireless bill wasn't submitted within the proper amount of time. So, as advised, she resubmitted everything, but she never heard back. She called in May and was told the company would have to pull her paperwork from the warehouse, which would take two weeks. That period elapsed, so she called again, and a rude customer service rep told her to now send everything in via fax. Logan finally asked for a supervisor, who was very friendly and assured Logan she'd call back — but she didn't. In June, Logan called again and again, leaving messages, but no one responded until the Watchdog got involved.
Companies that use rebates as a customer attractor incentivize everyone involved to keep redemption rates at their absolute-lowest levels, making rebates as customer-unfriendly as they come. Clareen's journey is one that's surely a familiar story among many, many people. But without the refund check.
(Thanks, Matt!)
Other blogs that reference Why rebates will die:
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It's not that I hate rebates, it's that I don't expect the checks to arrive so I don't take it into account when I buy.
