When I was engaged, I made it a point to attend every bridal show that was remotely advertised. In the frenzy of the moment, I signed up for every "contest" and "drawing" without question. The possibility of obtaining anything for free seemed extremely desirable when checks were regularly being written in the thousands for different vendors. Maybe my judgment was clouded just a bit. Not to burst any blushing bride-to-be's bubble, but you are not special....everyone is a winner.
You would think that by graduating with a marketing degree that I would have realized the smoke and mirrors tactic. After several glasses of included champagne, samples of buttercream cake, and visions of the perfect wedding dancing in my head, I let the pen take over. Every vendor had managed to obtain my contact information. I had to eventually stop answering any phone numbers that were unrecognizable. My voicemail was peppered with enthused congratulations of being randomly drawn for prizes.
Obviously, I had stepped right back into my fairytale land as I found myself excited to claim my prize at a hotel after a long day at work. My wonderful fiance, the realistic one, knew that I would have to learn for myself. He attended with me, bless his heart. I walked into the conference room, eager to claim my free honeymoon and enjoy my "complimentary dinner for two."
Since it took a while to find the place, we had walked in late....on a cooking demo. I was furious and wanted to walk out except that there was only about two rows of couples and the room was so small that I would have been egregiously rude. I really knew that I had been duped when I discovered our free meal was just tiny spoonfuls of food cooked from the demo. The pots and pans did look beautiful.....however I cannot and do not cook! They also happened to cost about the same as a gently used Honda Civic. We did get free vouchers for a vacation, which I believe were accidentally tossed out with the mound of brochures and catalogues that I so dutifully collected.
I started to see the parallel that I was the dinner that had been eaten by the sales deparment. First, they gathered all the necessary ingredients (brides) to the main event. Next, they tenderized us with champagne and seasoned us with the hope of prizes. After we were all gathered into the pan to claim our prize, they turned up the fire and grilled us until we bought something.
What is for dessert? A customized wedding cake for just under a grand.
No comments:
Post a Comment