Rebates

Since PayPal and PayPal Mobile are fairly recent additions to our reward payment toolkit, all I can say at the moment is that we are currently developing programs for numerous companies and applications, including text-to-reward with mobile carriers; validation of purchase with various online retailers and numerous consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers who are looking for a 'cool' new way to issue a reward quickly and securely.

Our company was not involved in this program, so I cannot help you directly, however, I took a a quick look on the Coke Reward program and found the following:

"Q: My Account Reward Status shows my reward as being fulfilled, but I haven’t received anything. What should I do? A: Just ask Hank, our virtual help rep. Simply click the ask Hank icon to get started. Generally, it's a good idea to wait 8-10 weeks before checking."

As with any proper reward program, they have offered a way to reach a resolution of an issue. Good luck.

Delay Cards (a postcard sent to communicate that it will take longer than 30 days to fulfill an order) are necessary to satisfy the FTC’s Thirty-Day Rule for mail order purchases, however this rule does not specifically apply to rebates – at least not yet. We have not seen widespread use of them in the rebate business to date, likely because postage and print could add unexpected costs to a manufacturer’s budget.

That being said, we agree that an essential element in providing an exceptional consumer experience is to communicate their rebate status before they even begin to wonder about it. We’ve worked very hard to create cost effective ways to communicate, including eMail, text messaging and by keeping our self look-up website and 24/7 call center updated in real time. We recommend that you clearly offer opt-in permissions, phone numbers and website addresses on the original coupon for consumers to reference.

So, although it’s not mandated (yet), we strongly recommend and encourage you to budget for pro-active communication with your customers.

I’m glad you asked, as he’s an important visual representation of our dramatic differentiation from the rest of the rebate industry. You’ve heard the jokes about how horrible the rebate experience is - it even made Dilbert, where they referred to devious rebate marketers as “stinking weasels”. If you consider how poorly the industry has treated the consumer by making him wait months for his reward and not supporting the offer with proper call center support or communication - essentially leaving him on his own to ‘hope’ he gets a check, it’s no wonder why retailers like Best Buy said ‘enough!’.

Our business model is completely different. We are a transaction-based consumer service company. We make it cleartoconsumers who submit that we actually intend to send their reward and do so as quickly as possible to ensure an exceptional rebate experience. That’s why we process submissions in days, not weeks (or months) and staff a fullytrained call center 24/7, offer free customized self look-up websites, plus have additional support options such as eMail or text messaging.

And we support it all with robust, real-time, on-demand web-based reporting for clients.

Frankly, we simply felt that someone had to take a stand to stop the self-destructive cycle of not respecting consumers who had submitted rebate claims in good faith. So, to answer your question, the guy with the bag on his head represents everything that the industry has done to create such a negative feeling amongst consumers and retailers toward rebates.