![]() ![]() I live near Ben & Jerry's global headquarters but despite telling them this, and how much I enjoy their Netflix and Chill, they declined my offer to come visit and pick up some samples.So I contacted the UK team and they agreed to send me a freebie in the post. But after sending them my address, it turned out I was emailing the US team. I told Burt's Bees how much I love their coconut and pear lip balm and they replied offering a voucher.I received a nice email acknowledging this, but no offer of free goodies. I told Hovis their "best of both" had stopped my husband and me arguing over which loaf we bought.But as well as confirming they had no plans to bring them back anytime soon, M&S also said they couldn't send me any vouchers. My mum has been missing the M&S Om Balls since they were discontinued.I've been addicted to Pot Noodle since my student days, and the team behind the Unilever brand sent me £5 to spend on my favourite snack.My cats once staged a three-day hunger strike when I tried to swap from their Royal Canin kibble but when I told the company this, they just suggested I create a loyalty account to build up points.I told Pataks how much we enjoyed their butter chicken meal kit and they sent me a friendly reply and £4 to put towards their products.I emailed Cushelle to compliment their toilet paper and they sent me a 50p voucher… Arguably less than the cost of the postage.Cadbury's: Their drinking chocolate is a staple in our household, and I told them so but just got a generic reply from Mondelez.Combining it with Nectar prices got us four free bottles of the stuff. The team behind the brand sent us a £6 voucher to get some squash on them after I told them how much we enjoy it. ![]() Ribena is sacred in our household (after my husband introduced it to me at the age of 26).They thanked me for the feedback but said they had no coupons they could send. I told Pepsi I loved their sugar-free drinks.As it is now around £6 for a medium meal, this worked as £30 in free food.īut I started thinking: doesn't everyone love being told they are great? Would it work if, instead of complaining, I told brands how much I liked their stuff? So I opened my cupboards and fired off emails to some of the biggest companies I could find telling them why I liked their products and asking straight up if they had any vouchers they could send me because it had been a difficult month. Both times their customer services team replied offering me free medium meal vouchers (three for the Coke debacle and two for the fight). In the past month, I have complained twice to McDonald's customer services: once because they gave us a weird Fanta-coke hybrid and once because my order was wrong but there was a fight in the restaurant so I couldn't get it switched. It's not a totally new idea to me - I once complained to KitKat because my chocolate bar was missing the wafer (my kit had no kat) and got a £5 voucher for more chocolate. I recently watched Queenpins on Netflix and (the obvious illegality aside) was intrigued by the idea that complaining could be a guaranteed way to get coupons and vouchers. My three caveats are this: I am never rude about it, I never lie or exaggerate, and I take a different approach if it's a small business. If something has gone wrong with my food, or an online order, I won't hesitate to send off a quick email. ![]() I love complaining - it is usually a surefire way to get a freebie. By Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist ![]()
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