No, this post is not about the gift that Lori and I gave the bride and groom, nor is it about any gift that the bride and groom gave their guests. This short story is not about the wedding at all, but about a promotional offer we redeemed on our way to Detroit.
On Friday morning, we left for our day of travel. We had plans to make a few stops including one to the Step2 Factory Store in Streetsboro, Ohio. I had been to the store about a month and a half ago when Lori was asked to present at a conference. The Step2 Factory Store is located on the grounds of the Step2 factory and sells the company's products at a discount. When I had been there in April, I signed up for their e-mail list. About two weeks before this trip started, we received a coupon in our e-mail for a free gift with a $20 purchase. The e-mail also stated that many items in the store were on sale - $20 off. Lori and I had decided that we would buy James a wagon. Normally, $79.99, it was now on sale for $59.99. This wagon was the main reason we opted for a small SUV on this trip.
The Step2 company makes children's toys, outdoor storage, mailboxes and garden accessories (benches, carts, etc.) using a high density plastic. Rubbermaid has a division that directly competes with Step2. Rubbermaid's division produces mailboxes, trash cans, and outdoor storage, but Step2 seems to have the edge on children's toys.
When we arrived at the store, we found the wagon that we had wanted to buy and a motorcycle that we thought James would really love. The motorcycle was $24.99. In addition, we found a cute little toy for James' friend Morgan who will turn three years old in just a few days. We bought the toy for James to give to Morgan as a birthday present.
When we got to the counter and paid for our three items, the bill came to $109 and some change. We were then shown a basket full of miniature stuffed animals to choose one from as our free gift. The stuffed animals were no more than three inches in height. In a store they would probably retail for about $2.49 ($0.99 at Walgreens), but realisitcally, they cost less than $0.50 to manufacture - thus the fifty cent gift. I am not sure which animal Lori chose, possibly the lion, but it will probably end up in the Goodwill box without every having been played with. It was a big disappointment and a good thing we didn't stop here just to use the coupon.
Personally, if you are going to give away a free gift and only give it away the one company store which requires most people to travel more than 100 miles, you should make the gift worth while. For that matter, give away some of the items you have on clearance. The three foam dinosaur puzzles which normally sell as a set for $14.99 and were on clearance for $2.00 would have been an excellent gift. You get rid of merchandise you are trying to move out and customers feel like they got a worthwhile present.
13 years ago
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