I love collegers. I really do. They are generally enthusiastic, resourceful, and dedicated to living for ideals, rather than the sometimes cruel reality that life tends to hand you.
But I made a mistake confusing resourcefulness with exploitive opportunism. In June of 2014, (2.5 years ago) we decided to run a print advertisement in CWU’s Observer. It was a full page ad, highlighting High Five Hefe and other general vagaries.
I believe about 4,200 copies were printed; perhaps a few more because this particular issue was the final printing for the 2013-2014 school year.
You’ll notice on the ad itself, there is a very awkwardly shaped coupon for a 25 cent pint, should the person choose to cut it out. I thought it was equal parts amusing and cumbersome to create a coupon like this. It seemed that a 25 cent pint was a really good deal, and we knew that colleger budgets are tighter than most; regardless the redeemer would have to work to get it. I also thought, we’d only get a handful of coupons redeemed. I was wrong. Oh, and also you might also notice a lack of expiration date on this as well. This is important.
What I failed to recognize is how resilient certain humans are when it comes to getting a good deal. These aren’t easy coupons to cut out. I would have given up after one maybe two.
To date, 385 25-cent coupons have been redeemed. That is equivalent to about $1600 in beer value. On the plus side, this is our highest redemption rate of any coupon in the history of Iron Horse Brewery.
This is where I start to have questions.
- Why the hell didn’t I put an expiration date on these?
- Why are we still getting these redeemed, today?
- Did a select few horde the papers from 2.5 years ago, cut them out and keep them for a rainy day?
- Does someone have access to that file and is printing this particular paper at will? I’m not accusing, my brain is just asking these questions.
- Do the redeemers have any remorse about this?
- Are we obligated to keep honoring these coupons due to Sloppy Jared’s lack of expiration date. Also, you should totally go eat a Sloppy Jared. They are delicious.
At the end of the day, I’m not mad at the people who are still redeeming these 2.5 year old coupons. In fact, they are smart for persisting or insisting on their continued use. However, today, December 1st marks the official end of those coupons. We will no longer accept them, because, 30 months seems to be an adequate redemption window. So, if you are coming into the pub, looking to redeem a 25 cent pint. I’m sorry. Sloppy Jared failed you by not setting clear expectations from the outset. Also, I’m not sorry, but I still have great affection for you.
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