Birthday Freebies

 


   It's August which means that I'm getting emails from a few places I patronize offering me something free on my birthday. There are some people I know who sign up for various things so they can collect on their birthday month. I'm not one of them. Too much work. 

   I would like to take issue with two such offers that I recently received. 

   The first is from a company that makes natural hair and skin care products. I have a lot of strange allergies some of which I've not been able to nail down to a certain compound. So far, I have not had any allergic reactions to anything I've used from this company. I joined their loyalty program and I get something for free on my birthday. It used to be a vial of perfume. I like the perfume, but I never used up the vial before my birthday came around again I got another vial. Now it is a bottle of scented oil.

   The problem is that I have no use for the oil. You are supposed to use it for your cuticles, in a bath or as a massage oil. I don't do massages, generally take showers and don't have time to be rubbing oil into my cuticles. (I'm lucky if I remember to apply hand lotion.) I wind up using the oil on my hair during the winter to keep my ends from snarling just to get it used up. (I was scolded by one of their sales staff once for improperly using the oil.)

  I wish they would offer me a free travel sized product. That would be a lot more useful to me. I could get something that I already use or take the opportunity to try something new. I can't imagine that it would cost more than the useless bottle of oil. It could also have the added benefit of introducing me to a new product that I may choose to use regularly which would increase their sales. (Because I can't be the only one who doesn't like the oil.)

   The second offer came from a company that sells books. I get five dollars off a purchase. Here's the catch, I have to spend $30 dollars to get five dollars off. How silly is that!

   I have no idea why I would have to spend $30. Why do they have a minimum purchase? If that minimum purchase limit wasn't there, I would probably go to the store to see if there is anything in paperback that I like. I'd spend $10-15 dollars and get five dollars off. Since I don't really want to spend $30 dollars, I'm going to leave that offer alone. If their intent was to get me in the door, it won't work.

   There is one birthday freebie that I am going to get. There is a bakery chain that gives me a small cake on my birthday. It's about the same size as a cupcake. Every year when I get notice that I have a free cake coming, I go in and get it. While I'm there I buy one for C. It's not fair for me to have one and not him. I like their offer, I get a free item and while I'm there I spend some money. Win-win

   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Things

     C and I usually have a date day or at least part of a date day once a week. It's a time where we spend time with each other doing something fun or maybe simply having lunch out. Since Thursday was Thanksgiving and neither of us felt like eating out, we decided to go out for a hot chocolate.   Right before we left C had an idea. We should get our hot chocolate and also share a peppermint shake from Chick-fil-A. He said the the combination of the hot chocolate and the cool peppermint shake would be really good. I thought it was overkill, but agreed to do it.    After dropping a loaf of bread off at a friend's house we went through the drive through to get the hot chocolate. When I have a choice I usually get dark chocolate. It's not quite as sweet and has lots of flavour. C always gets milk chocolate. Then we went to Chick-fil-A. C went inside and picked up our preordered shake. It was topped with whipped cream and a cherry. I asked C if he wanted to cherry. He said no s
Read more

Released

   A few weeks ago I was asked to stay after a Ward Council meeting. Normally it's a meeting I don't attend, but the Relief Society president was out of town and one of my duties was to sit in for her on such meetings. I was fairly sure I knew what it was going to be about.     After the meeting I stayed behind while everyone had left. It was just me and one of the bishop's counselors. We sat in some chairs at one side of the bishop's office. He told me that I was going to be released from my calling as a Relief Society counselor. The release was going to be announced at Sacrament meeting (what the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call their worship service.) that would take place in about 20 minutes. I'm sure I startled the counselor with my expression of joy and relief at what he told me. I'm sure he was expecting me to be upset and bewildered. Usually one knows about a release at least a few days before it happens.     I had a feeling that this was
Read more

Looking for A New Project

           Earlier this year I finished the 10 stitch blanket that I've been working on for a long time. It was a very relaxing project and I enjoyed working on it. Over the summer I haven't knit anything because of lack of time. Now it's fall and I have the itch to start knitting again. I also want a project to take to Door County with me.     I know that I said I wanted to knit a pair of socks, but I'm not sure now. I'd have to teach myself how to knit using a magic loop. I'm sure I could figure it out, but I'd  really like to do something easy and relaxing like that blanket was.     One project I was going to do is to crochet all the granny squares I have together to make a nice little blanket for Willow. It would be fun and relaxing, but it would be hard to take all those granny squares to Door County with me. The same is true for the sample blanket that I want to start. (although I could take a few small balls of yarn along and some stitch patterns to m
Read more