A petit conundrum. Other than not having a post ready yesterday, that is. So many sorries!!!!
You may recall my brush with Unilever over a certain dumb tea bag made out of PLASTIC (if not, you can get caught up here, here and here). At the heart of my complaint to them was a vow to not use like-branded products because of the blatant profits-first mentality.
Just when I thought the scuffle was over, when I was ready to move on (there are plenty of other fish to fry, after all), I got a coupon mailing from none other than my new friends at Unilever.
Huh. So curious that a complaint nearly always results in more of the same. Think our product/service is crappy? Here's a coupon for a free one. No! The objective here is LESS crappy, not more!
Anyway, I almost didn't look at the coupons. That's how determined I was to strike down anything they offered. But then...I did. And saw a coupon for a brand I use, never before realizing that this brand was owned by Big Corporate Giant :(
In the past I've used Simple's facial moisturizer and more recently became a fan of the eye makeup remover, which is super effective and rated only a 2 in the EWG Skin Deep database.
But now what do I do?
I know Simple doesn't have anything to do with Lipton, but at some point can we safely assume that the bad choices of one brand stretch across others in the family? Or do I chalk it up to 'nobody's perfect' and decide to save the larger battle for another day?
What to do! What to do!
Forever conflicted,
Jazzy
Last week I decided to open up a can of whoop-ass on Lipton for making tea bags out of plastic. If you didn't see it yesterday, you can read the text of my complaint here.
So whaddya know, Lipton got back to me very promptly. On the weekend no less! Here's what they said:
"Thank you for contacting us.
We do apologize for the experience you reported concerning our Lipton Tea Tea Pyramid.
When developing our packaging, many factors are taken into consideration, including ease of use as well as overall economic and environmental benefits. We design our packages to provide safe, convenient and attractive protection.
Our goal is to create all of our packages to meet or exceed consumer expectations for both performance and quality. Any changes in our packaging are based on extensive consumer research.
Please be assured that we value your comments and will pass them along to the appropriate staff. We sincerely appreciate your taking the time to contact us and we are sending a complimentary coupon flyer to you via US Postal Mail which you should receive within 7-10 business days.
Sincerely,
Your friends at Lipton"
First, does anyone else feel like they've just had a lobotomy, or is it just me? That corporate verbiage is just awful. Second, what's with the line about "...safe, convenient and attractive protection." Protection from what, exactly? The tea?!?!?! Sounds like something you'd hear from Trojan, not Lipton.
And, uh, last time I checked, there were absolutely ZERO environmental benefits to converting a previously biodegradable product into a plastic one.
I don't know about you, but I have absolutely no tolerance for this kind of bullish*t. Lipton is STUPID.
But you know what? It's hump day! Halfway to the weekend!
-- Jazzy
If you haven't checked it out, the 'Smack Back!' tab lists consumer relations contacts and links for many major retail brands. I encourage all SMACK! readers to, at one point or another, pen a letter of complaint or support to a business about their products or services. Even if you never send the letter, it's a great exercise in putting a voice to your solid instincts and opinions.
So I took my own advice! Friday's column was heavy on the 'tude over these stupid little tea pyramid things that Lipton makes out of PLASTIC. I decided to channel my anger -- the pen is mightier than the sword, as they say.
Sorry for the late post. A little tense today. I could really use an hour of yoga, high dose of dark chocolate, a roll in the hay? all of the above? Something, ANYTHING for stress relief.