Saturday, September 26, 2009

Reallly, Really, Really Dumb Rant For Today

I often bitch about American advertisers and their sleazy marketing techniques. One consistent thing about marketers is their contempt for the intelligence of the average consumer. In fact, the entire American Marketing process is very much based on the ignorance of the customer base. That being said I'll launch into my rant for today.

Last week Mrs Greasywrench brought home a container of my favorite Dreyers "Peanut Butter Cup" Ice Cream. Since Summer finally arrived here in the Los Angeles area this month (so much for Global Warming) I had the urge for some Ice Cream. After only a couple of bowls of the Dreyers I noticed the container was half empty. WTF! I'm the only one who eats this flavor so I couldn't figure it out. Then I noticed the container was no longer the familiar one half gallon size. They're now one and one half quarts.

I immediately went on the Internet and did a google search and low and behold Dreyers has been doing this for some time. Lots of people have been bitching about this sneaky move by Dreyers. First they downsized the containers to 1.75 quarts and now they're 1.5 quarts. Of course this was done by Dreyers surreptitiously (Surprise).

Being the confrontational fellow I am, I immediately sought out the Dreyers website and fired off a flame to the Suits in charge. Their reply is below. I'm not sure if I read this response correctly but it appears the idiots at Dreyers are claiming the downsized containers doesn't really count as a price increase. What's the latest catch-phrase making the rounds on the web - "don't piss on me and tell me it's raining". Well, as far as I'm concerned the knuckleheads at Dreyers just took a huge leak and aimed it directly at my head.

Only in America would a company make a rationalization this fucking stupid and expect someone to swallow (pun intended) their ridiculous logic. The Dreyers response is below.....

"Dear Mr. Greasywrench, (name changed to protect the innocent)
Thank you for taking the time to email our company about our
new 1.5 quart carton. Let me tell you why we made the difficult
decision to change the size of our carton.

The cost of all dairy products has increased enormously over
the past few years, as have the costs of the sweeteners, nuts,
fruits and energy used to make our ice cream. Our ingredient
costs have risen by 30 to 60% over this time, but the average
price of ice cream has not really changed much.

We considered raising our prices to cover these costs, but at
some point, it just doesn't make sense to raise prices too high.
We suspect very few families would want to pay $7 or $8 for
a carton of ice cream. So as you know, we opted to drop the
size of our carton from 1.75 quarts to 1.5 quarts.

Dreyer's has been making ice cream since 1928. We hope we've
earned your trust over the years. Thank you for being so passionate
about our ice cream and for taking the time to contact us. We hope
you'll continue to invite our products into your home."

Sincerely,
Denise Hanson
Consumer Response Representative
Ref # N2252974

The lack of respect they (Dreyers) have for the American consumer is stunning. Now where's the Baskin Robbins?

5 comments:

Winfred Mann said...

Check the new 5 oz. cans of tuna, downsized from 6 oz.

Our politicians and corporations (probably in tandem)have been selling out Americans for the past 40 years. Maybe more, that's as long as I've been watching them.

Greasywrench AKA rich b said...

Winfred, the response I recieved from Dreyers was hilarious if you read it in my post. Dreyers actually claimed it wasn't a price increase if you can believe their rationalization. The funny thing was my mail arrived this morning and I got a discount cupon from....you guessed it - Dreyers. I'm gonna enjoy every last bite of their over-priced ice cream. Keep on posting on JWF. I always read your posts with interest.

Rich B. AKA greasywrench

Greasywrench AKA rich b said...

BTW, your info about the Tuna cans explains a lot. No wonder I only get two two sandwiches these days and my Tuna Helper comes off a bit weak. And yes I see the paralell with our Government.... more for less.

This may come off as being melodramtic but a second American Revolution is NOT an impossibility. The fools in Congress better wise up. It's not wise to fool with the American Voter. We are reaching a tipping point in the USA very rapidly.

Winfred Mann said...

We are stuck in an era of taxation without representation. Hmmm. Where did I hear those words before?

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