Cookbook Postcards
Cookbook Postcards
April 30, 2007
The other day, I received two postcards from Food & Wine Cookbooks. When they send you a postcard for a cookbook, if you don’t send the card back within 15 days telling them you do not want the cookbook, it’s sent to you and billed to your credit card. And I have found that sending their postcards back seems to be a problem for our friends at the USPS (on one side of the card is my name and address; on the other side is Food & Wine Cookbooks and their address) who want to return the card to me as if it were addressed to me (no matter that the stamp is on the other side).
Both postcards were for the same product: their annual cookbook, which I always want. But I didn’t want two copies and didn’t want to go through the hassle of sending in a postcard (Which one should I send? Will the post office mail it back to me in any case?) So, I thought it a good idea to contact the folks at F&W and see if they could straighten this out.
Since there was no number on the postcard nor a customer service number on their web site, I used the “contact us” option and sent an email in which I cited the two postcards, the distinct account numbers on each, and asked for an explanation. Their reply, and I quote:
“You responded to two offers. Most recent was for a free offer, where you only had to pay the shipping and handling of $2.99. The other was for the Best of the Best Cookbook from a previous offer.” And they also said that if I had any questions, I should call the 800 number they gave me.
Well, I did have a problem: both cards were for the same offer rather than what they told me. Armed with their 800 customer service number, I called, explained the situation, read the representative the email I had sent and the response from customer service. After she had taken my name and address, she said that there was nothing in the system regarding any order. I explained to her again that these postcards generated orders if they were not sent back and I only wanted one copy of the book in question, not two. But, she said, there is nothing in the system. The promotion company sends out the postcards, she told me. She said there was nothing she could do. I told her, a bit tartly I must admit, that she was saying that Food & Wine customer service (who I had been told to call if I had any questions) couldn’t help me with their own product. I then asked to speak to a supervisor.
A few minutes later, she came back on the line (having spoken to her supervisor, it seems). She then asked me to repeat my full name and address since she had not written them down before. She wanted to know the last four digits of the credit card that I DIDN’T want charged for a book. Hmmm. I told her I only had one credit card on record and gave her those four digits, stressing that is the card I want charged for a book.
I told her there were account numbers on the cards I got. Did she want these so she could figure out what was going on? She was clueless about what the numbers were and took them down reluctantly for her supervisor. Which of these accounts did I want stopped for future solicitations? I HAVE NO IDEA. One is correct and one incorrect. You figure it out. You have my records and account information. I don’t.
What’s the bet I get (a) two copies of the same book, and (b) two postcards for the next solicitation?
April 30, 2007
The other day, I received two postcards from Food & Wine Cookbooks. When they send you a postcard for a cookbook, if you don’t send the card back within 15 days telling them you do not want the cookbook, it’s sent to you and billed to your credit card. And I have found that sending their postcards back seems to be a problem for our friends at the USPS (on one side of the card is my name and address; on the other side is Food & Wine Cookbooks and their address) who want to return the card to me as if it were addressed to me (no matter that the stamp is on the other side).
Both postcards were for the same product: their annual cookbook, which I always want. But I didn’t want two copies and didn’t want to go through the hassle of sending in a postcard (Which one should I send? Will the post office mail it back to me in any case?) So, I thought it a good idea to contact the folks at F&W and see if they could straighten this out.
Since there was no number on the postcard nor a customer service number on their web site, I used the “contact us” option and sent an email in which I cited the two postcards, the distinct account numbers on each, and asked for an explanation. Their reply, and I quote:
“You responded to two offers. Most recent was for a free offer, where you only had to pay the shipping and handling of $2.99. The other was for the Best of the Best Cookbook from a previous offer.” And they also said that if I had any questions, I should call the 800 number they gave me.
Well, I did have a problem: both cards were for the same offer rather than what they told me. Armed with their 800 customer service number, I called, explained the situation, read the representative the email I had sent and the response from customer service. After she had taken my name and address, she said that there was nothing in the system regarding any order. I explained to her again that these postcards generated orders if they were not sent back and I only wanted one copy of the book in question, not two. But, she said, there is nothing in the system. The promotion company sends out the postcards, she told me. She said there was nothing she could do. I told her, a bit tartly I must admit, that she was saying that Food & Wine customer service (who I had been told to call if I had any questions) couldn’t help me with their own product. I then asked to speak to a supervisor.
A few minutes later, she came back on the line (having spoken to her supervisor, it seems). She then asked me to repeat my full name and address since she had not written them down before. She wanted to know the last four digits of the credit card that I DIDN’T want charged for a book. Hmmm. I told her I only had one credit card on record and gave her those four digits, stressing that is the card I want charged for a book.
I told her there were account numbers on the cards I got. Did she want these so she could figure out what was going on? She was clueless about what the numbers were and took them down reluctantly for her supervisor. Which of these accounts did I want stopped for future solicitations? I HAVE NO IDEA. One is correct and one incorrect. You figure it out. You have my records and account information. I don’t.
What’s the bet I get (a) two copies of the same book, and (b) two postcards for the next solicitation?
posted by Bud Hirsch at 6:08 PM
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