File under: really bad ideas
Got an email yesterday from a fellow local blogger:
First, let's dispense with the low-level stuff. Gas at $3.77/gallon is up a whole lot more than 1.8% over the past year. It's up about 1.8% over the past 3 weeks. (It was $3.55/gallon when i got in the car to drive to the mountains 3 weeks ago. According to the DoE, it's up almost 60 cents a gallon from last year, about 20%.
Second, as Toastie pointed out, how the hell do you get Raleigh-Durham out of 3615 N. Roxboro St.? Glen Allen, VA is not called out as Richmond/Glen Allen? This event is happening in Durham.
And that brings up the biggest deal of all. Surely i am not the only one who sees what a clusterfuck in the making this is. Free 40 dollar gas cards to the first 200 customers? And what do you do if, say, 600 people show up for this event? Who's managing the lines? This is gonna be worse than Filene's Basement at 6am on the day after Thanksgiving. I was at a Smoke-In in Washington Square Park in 1979 when the Yippies were tossing free joints to the crowd. Joints which you could have bought on the other side of the park for a buck each, and you wouldn't believe how people were stomping on each other to snag one of them. Our police have better things to do than manage the crowds at an ill-conceived publicity stunt for Verizon. Let's hope someone is already n the phones to Lisa Johnson at Idea RC letting her know what a stupid idea this is.
UPDATE: Kevin beat me to it.
Just in time for Memorial Day travel, the Verizon Yellow Pages and Superpages.com are giving away free gas to consumers across the nation in 24 locations, including Raleigh/Durham. A $40 pre-paid gas card will go to the first 200 vehicles at each location.
According to AAA, the average price of gas is up 1.8 percent compared to last year – with the national average gas price at $3.776. The gas giveaway will help ease the strain on consumers' wallets right before this busy travel weekend – AAA is reporting that about 31.7 million people are expected hit the road over Memorial Day weekend.
The average regular gas price in Raleigh/Durham was $3.77 on Monday, May 19, 2008.
WHEN: Thursday, May 22, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE: Shell
3615 N. Roxboro St.
Durham, N.C. 27704
WHO: The first 200 vehicles at the station listed above.
DETAILS: Participating areas include Huntington Beach, Calif., Oxnard, Calif., Long Beach, Calif., Redlands, Calif., Ontario, Calif., Manteca, Calif., Denver, Colo., Washington, D.C., Wilmington, Del., Tampa, Fla., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Ft. Wayne, Ind., Timonium, Md., Durham, N.C., Philadelphia, Pa., Bethlehem, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Dallas, Texas, Grand Prairie, Texas, Ashburn, Va., Glen Allen, Va., Virginia Beach, Va., Everett, Wash., and Kirkland, Wash.
CONTACT: Lisa Johnson/972-453-6507/lisa.c.johnson@idearc.com
First, let's dispense with the low-level stuff. Gas at $3.77/gallon is up a whole lot more than 1.8% over the past year. It's up about 1.8% over the past 3 weeks. (It was $3.55/gallon when i got in the car to drive to the mountains 3 weeks ago. According to the DoE, it's up almost 60 cents a gallon from last year, about 20%.
Second, as Toastie pointed out, how the hell do you get Raleigh-Durham out of 3615 N. Roxboro St.? Glen Allen, VA is not called out as Richmond/Glen Allen? This event is happening in Durham.
And that brings up the biggest deal of all. Surely i am not the only one who sees what a clusterfuck in the making this is. Free 40 dollar gas cards to the first 200 customers? And what do you do if, say, 600 people show up for this event? Who's managing the lines? This is gonna be worse than Filene's Basement at 6am on the day after Thanksgiving. I was at a Smoke-In in Washington Square Park in 1979 when the Yippies were tossing free joints to the crowd. Joints which you could have bought on the other side of the park for a buck each, and you wouldn't believe how people were stomping on each other to snag one of them. Our police have better things to do than manage the crowds at an ill-conceived publicity stunt for Verizon. Let's hope someone is already n the phones to Lisa Johnson at Idea RC letting her know what a stupid idea this is.
UPDATE: Kevin beat me to it.
Labels: bad marketing
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
2 Comments:
good lord, i'd be terrified of being knifed or something trying to get a card...
no thanks, i'll just pay
By
Vera, at 9:55 AM
So did anyone get knifed? Were there any major traffic accidents, say more so than a street side fund raiser. Were there any inconveniences to anyone that really needed to go to that location during the two hour event? I don't know about your area, but ours gas giveaway went very well with off duty police officers directing traffic and plenty directory staff members on hand to service the appreciative early birds. After the 200 cards were given out to those who waited all morning to be the first, the "late" arrivers were told, and that was that, no complaints. Remember Christmas? Who stood in line to purchase a $250 video game called Wii. Were the gratitude, even if you did not participate.
By
Bartholemew, at 2:39 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home