Dear Mrs. Fields Cookies,
As I walked through the mall today my 3 year old spied your cookie shop at the entrance to the food court. Of course your shop is strategically placed so that every mother and child must walk by and be tempted with your sugar filled concoctions. Willow, just like every other child who walked by, asked if she could have a cookie and since she was sitting so nicely we decided to allow her to have one. She picked a sugar cookie with white icing and rainbow sprinkles and your sale lady happily handed it over to her.
Now here's what really annoys me about this whole situation. Your cookie shop does not have prices listed above any of your items. I guess I should have asked before committing to buy, but I assumed that your prices would be pretty on par with other treat shops and expected to pay $1.79-1.99 for a cookie. I was pretty shocked when that little sugar cookie rang up at $3.19 after it had been handed to my child. I had no choice but to pay for it since she had already given it to her and I would have looked like a royal bitch if I had told her no after I had already told her she could have it. For $3.19, I could have walked right across the food court and bought her 2 cookies or a fresh baked pastry from Panera, baked her 2 dozen cookies, or purchased a kids meal at McDonalds for the same price! I'm sure that your prices are not clearly stated because the majority of people are not willing to pay $3.19 for a single cookie. (Also your buy 6 get 2 free promotion is a joke with prices that high. $20 for 8 cookies?!) I'm disappointed in you Mrs. Fields Cookies and we certainly will not be buying other treats from your shops, next time we'll be visiting Panera instead.
Thanks,
Jessica
right on. this is the kind of marketing that drives me crazy. i hope you'll take the time to write a letter to their corporate offices too...AND cite your blog post when you do so!
ReplyDeleteI have had similar experience in my home country. My son wanted an ice cream and since my sister in law was also coming with us so I bought three cups. I was almost choked when I found out how much I should pay. If converted to dollar it was around $5 each cup. I promised myself not to buy there again. It wasn't even a proper outlet but only a small stall!
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Shame on that salesclerk for handing it over before it was paid for - that's coercive! And she should have asked your permission first before handing it over in any case. Kids need to see that someone needs mommy's permission before giving them a treat - they'll be less likely to accept treats from strangers without parental say-so, even if you're not present.
ReplyDeleteBesides - that salesclerk didn't know if the cookie would be saved for after a meal, and by handing it over to a child who might immediately eat it, they've effectively put the kibosh on a nutritious meal.
By all means, please let Mrs. Field's corporate know about this - they should train their salesclerks better.
Heck, even the sample/demo people at Costco's know all this - the parent must accept the sample, not the child.
And next time, don't worry about the "royal bitch" thing. Just turn it around on the sales clerk as you hand the cookie back -
"Sorry honey, that lady was MEAN to HIDE how SUPER EXPENSIVE the cookie was before giving it to you. That's like lying!"
or "Sorry honey, that lady was MEAN to give you a cookie before you eat your dinner - She knows if you eat a cookie before your dinner, that you can't eat your healthy food, and you might get sick!"
That salesclerk knew full well that she'd be making YOU the 'bad guy', so be merciless!
Wow, that's ridiculous! I mean they're good cookies, but not THAT good!
ReplyDeleteYep, highway robbery, but I still get suckered into buying them too!
ReplyDeleteWowzers, that better have been the best cookie ever!
ReplyDelete