It Pays to Squeak!

A few weeks ago....maybe it was a month ago already, one of the couponing blogs I read(can't remember which one)alerted me to the FREE Double Stuff Oreo Cakesters Coupon that was available to members of the Kraft First Taste program.
Since I am a member of that program I went to the site, from a different computer from mine that didn't have printer capabilities, just to look.

A few hours later, I was able to access the site again from my computer, so I could print the coupon out.
Well, at that point, the coupon was gone.....yep, all I could get was some link to more information about this new product.
No coupon.
Nothing.
Oh goody.....

At that point I started steaming.
Not a good kind of steaming either.

I signed up for this Kraft First Taste Program about a year ago.
At the time I signed up there was an 'offer' to try a new Oscar Meyer Deli Creations product.
I promptly signed up for the offer.
No coupon printing link appeared, so I figured they would snail mail me a free item coupon.
And that didn't happen either.

I went to the site again a month or so later and saw that there was now a SURVEY available for me to fill out.  A Survey about what I thought of the OM Deli Creations product I got a Free Coupon for, that I had supposedly bought and eaten.
Well, since I figured they wouldn't let me have another FREE ITEM Offer unless I filled out the Survey for this item, I went and paid out of my pocket to buy one of these Deli Creations, ate it and filled out their survey.

Then in Jan. 2010 I had an 'offer' to try DiGiorno 200 Cal. Portion Pizza.  I filled out to get the FREE Item Coupon and again, no print your coupon link nor anything snail mailed.
Again, a Survey appeared for me to fill out a few weeks later.
I ended up buying this item, for full price again, so I could fill out the survey and be eligible for more offers.

So this Oreo offer/non-offer was just the topping on the cake-ster!

I emailed Kraft and just laid into them about the totally inept way this program is/was handled.  I told them if they were just going to keep 'offering' me products but not following through with free product or discounts at the very least, they should NOT expect me to spend a DIME out of my own pocket on their products and then spend my valuable time filling out their lame surveys.
I am usually a pretty low-key 'don't make waves' kind of gal but....
Oh, I was hot!

I figured....mega corporation wouldn't give a rats hiney about this email, so, yah....I would not get a response.  At least I felt better venting about it.

Well lookie at what showed up in the mail about a week later.....

 A "we're sorry you never got your coupons" letter and 3 'Free Item' Coupons for an Oscar Mayer product, a DiGiorno product and a Nabisco product.

This certainly made me feel better.
Not sure if I'll still have issues with this program in the future since I don't know if it's me, the website or my computer that causes this hassle.

Has anyone else had problems accessing the offers online for this First Taste Program?
If not, then I'm just a moron who can't figure it out or I have an old lame computer.....I'd like to think that it's the latter choice. ;-)

At any rate, I'll find out whether I'll even bother with this program in the fullness of time.
But it shows that sometimes it does indeed pay to be the squeaky wheel.

Be the wheel.
Be the squeak.
Get the goodies!


Sluggy