Can I share something mildly annoying that isn’t a big deal, but still managed to surprise me? But I want to start by sharing something else first.
I recently bought something online (phone case) that needed to be returned, so they sent me a return shipping label by email.
I contacted the Lutheran Center and asked if they could print the return label for me as I don’t have a printer. They said sure. When I went to pick it up, they said “Oh good, you’re just in time for our presentation on senior scams & swindles!”
I had no place else to be so I said okay. I sat there and tried to look thoughtful as a retired bank security manager lectured us on different cons and how they target seniors. I inwardly sighed and thought “This kind of stuff doesn’t happen to me, I’m too savvy.”
Okay, jump to this week. I drink my fair share of coffee, and for the last couple years have used a subscription service from Keurig. Once a month they send me my month’s supply of k-cups. I get three 24-ct boxes and two 10-ct boxes. With a 10% discount & free shipping, it costs around $45.00.
This past Thursday, I got my order. Exactly one hour later I get an email notice from Keurig:
FOR OUR COFFEE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY! CHANGE YOUR NEXT ORDER TO ‘SHIP NOW’ BY MIDNIGHT TOMORROW AND SAVE 30% OFF YOUR ORDER!!*
I thought “No thanks, I just got this month’s order—and I already have plenty in stock as it is.” But I couldn’t stop watching that countdown to midnight clock. You can’t beat an additional 30% discount.
I changed my May order to SHIP NOW.
So here I am, a couple days later with yet another case of k-cups. But when I checked the invoice to see how much I saved… there’s no 30% discount! It’s $45.00, the same price I always pay!
I went back to that 30% email and noticed that asterisk in the promo. When I read the fine print at the very bottom, it said The additional 30% discount only applies to Starbucks coffee products.
Wait, what? I’ve never ordered Starbucks products—why did they hide that in the fine print? To see if yahoos like me would double their order? Well, they got me.
It’s no big deal, I just have to remember to cancel my next order before it ships automatically in May. But I still feel like they tried to pull one over on me, a loyal customer at that. Have you ever encountered a “soft scam”?
It happens to the best of us, you know. Even us so-called savvy types.