What would you do if this happened?

Jon_01

I'm posting this for a friend as he doesn't know what to do and is very angry (which is an understatement).

His wife ordered from an online store a copy of Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book.
Clearly I don't need to go into the reasons why she ordered this.

My mate took the package in and was horrified when he opened it to find that on top of the book was a voucher for £X off wine!

He was on the phone to the supplier within minutes, the persons he spoke to had to pass it up the chain and next day he had an answer that it was an automatic system and everything they sent got the same marketing stuff and that's the way they do it...

Understandably not happy he went up the chain himself and had an email basicly saying sorry and here 15 quid!

They seem totally unaware of the potential harm this could have caused and don't seem at all bothered.

I've suggested that he contacts AA, his local TV and newspapers and gets them as much bad PR as possible.

Any thoughts guys?

MamaMoo_2

As tasteless as it is, it does seem to have been an accident. Hopefully this complaint has highlighted an issue with their voucher system that they will look into. As long as they have apologised, I would just put it down to an accident and get on with things.

fannyvart

I agree with MamaMoo (great name btw! ), Its thoughtless and stupid but no doubt an accident.

WestonDave

Could it really have caused harm? If someone was so vulnerable to temptation regarding a special offer on alcohol that this might have caused harm, they'd have to stay in the house 24/7 with their eyes shut in case they happened to see an advert on a hoarding, shop window, bus or in a newspaper.

Its likely all an automated system whereby someone sets up the boxes with the marketing stuff and someone else shoves the books in without even knowing what the marketing stuff was. I'd personally have laughed at the irony and binned it. Yes it was unfortunate but they've given you back more than the price of the book and apologised. There is no real need to start a vendetta or playing the blame game.

bosseyed

I Agree with WestonDave.

The fact that 'your mate' rang to complain rather than immediately dashing off down the local off licence, voucher in hand, suggests he is slightly more immune to alcoholic tempation than you may think and thus no damage was done.

Lets be honest, if you're that vulnerable to toppling off the wagon everytime you see a voucher for money off wine, then you'll find yourself surrounded by temptation wherever you look and its only a matter of time before you succumb to something somewhere which you could then blame for your lack of will power.

somethingcorporate

What potential harm? Come on be sensible here - how many alcohol adverts are on the TV / magazines etc every day?

My thoughts are if the guy is soooo deeply harmed by such a tiny error then his problems need more than a book to solve.

It's a little bit in poor taste but is obviously a simple error. I find it amazing at the petty things we westerners get so hacked off about when in the scheme of things they are less than nothing.

pitkin2020

The box would have been packaged by hand though so it shouldn't have been put in common sense would tell you that. Someone has ordered the book to try and get some help, self help and having a tempting offer placed in the box is just cruel and irresponsible. If this person has a serious alcohol problem they maybe avoiding going out etc to avoid the temptation so to have it handed to them isn't on.

Do they stick discount voucers in for donuts and cakes to people who buy weight watchers book etc.

Your friend has done the right thing by complaining and I hope he tore the voucher up. Yes temptation is everywhere but it doesn't mean even more should be forced on you when you are trying to get help.

fb1969

I regularly order books online from a well known bookseller and I think most packages from them include a "wine club" type voucher.

My "other half" is an alcoholic and I did order an AA book for them a while ago and am pretty sure the voucher was included in the package. It didn't cross my mind for one second that they may have got hold of the voucher and used it to get alcohol and it wouldn't have crossed their mind either. Alcoholics wouldn't be bothered how much the drink cost, they'd be far more interested in getting a drink no matter what.

As others have said, this is just part of the mailing system and in this case it is unfortunate. The same could be said for any form of voucher that could be used by someone to run up large debts if they have an addiction to buying things through the post.

I cannot see any point in raising the issue any further with AA or the media. It appears that your friend was offered £15 and that is more than enough apology in my opinion.

bosseyed

pitkin2020 wrote: »

The box would have been packaged by hand though so it shouldn't have been put in common sense would tell you that. Someone has ordered the book to try and get some help, self help and having a tempting offer placed in the box is just cruel and irresponsible. If this person has a serious alcohol problem they maybe avoiding going out etc to avoid the temptation so to have it handed to them isn't on.

Do they stick discount voucers in for donuts and cakes to people who buy weight watchers book etc.

Your friend has done the right thing by complaining and I hope he tore the voucher up. Yes temptation is everywhere but it doesn't mean even more should be forced on you when you are trying to get help.

Well his alcohol problem isn't so serious that he grabbed the voucher and made a break for the off licence. So no harm done.

Its a sort of 'non situation' in my eyes - if you're so terrible an alcoholic that seeing a half price wine voucher in the post sends you on a massive bender then chances are any number of things would send you off drinking. If you're able (as in this case) to not only resist the tempation but to ring up and complain then you're obviously not that dependant an alcoholic and thus its hard to quantify any potential damage as frankly there isn't any.

Edit: To expand on the 'non situation' thing, in a way its extrapolating the worst case scenario from a fairly innocuous event. It would be like me ringing up Pizza Hut complaining they put a meal deal voucher through my letterbox and screaming at them "I''m on a diet, if I had a more addictive personality I could have used that voucher, whacked on another stone and had a heart attack and died, ITS JUST NOT ON PIZZA HUT"

geordieracer

pitkin2020 wrote: »

The box would have been packaged by hand though so it shouldn't have been put in common sense would tell you that. Someone has ordered the book to try and get some help, self help and having a tempting offer placed in the box is just cruel and irresponsible. If this person has a serious alcohol problem they maybe avoiding going out etc to avoid the temptation so to have it handed to them isn't on.

Do they stick discount voucers in for donuts and cakes to people who buy weight watchers book etc.

Your friend has done the right thing by complaining and I hope he tore the voucher up. Yes temptation is everywhere but it doesn't mean even more should be forced on you when you are trying to get help.

Im trying to keep off Kebabs pizzas and chips trouble is i get leaflets put through my door regularly even though i have a sign saying please dont.

Does it make me rush off to the local pizza house and buy an 18" Meat feast with a side of chips and extra kebab meat on top? No.

Is it a pain? yes. Do i cry about it? No.

Face it - its obviously part of Amazons mailout with whatevers purchased and as the person who picks it probably doesnt do the final packing of it with address label then you cant really say it shouldnt happen. Mistakes do.. Life is a rollercoaster so hold tight or stay indoors and do nothing instead.

maninthestreet

Do you still have the voucher???