Just in time for Black Friday or Black Thanksgiving (for those heathens who really want Alex from Target to scan their cheap HDTV, instead of giving him the day off by voting with their wallets), General Motors will be giving their customers a $25 gift card if they bring in their vehicles affected by the February 2014 recall by December 1.
The Detroit News reports brochures about the gift card incentive began landing last week in the mailboxes of those who have yet to bring in their affected vehicle for a 30-minute part swap. Per GM representative Ryndee Carney, the promo went out to around 700,000 who haven’t ordered parts; those who did, but haven’t come in, weren’t eligible for the offer.
After said owners have their vehicles repaired, they will be given a code to redeem online for a $25 card from either Amazon, AMC, Applebee’s, Bass Pro Shops, Red Robin, Starbucks or Walmart, with delivery due between two to four weeks. Were all 700,000 to turn up, a total of $17.5 million would be given away in the promotion.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is on-board with the initiative, encouraging GM to do everything it can to repair those affected vehicles. A similar program was offered by Toyota in 2010 during its unintended acceleration recall drive, one that made a huge splash with response rates, according to vice president of corporate communications, Mike Michels.
“Were all 700,000 to turn up, a total of $17.5 million would be given away in the promotion.”
There is the secret of the most profitable gift card market. They bank, literally, on you not redeeming all or part of your gift
Even with full redemption, you are effectively giving the company an interest free loan between the time you purchase the card and time it is used/exhausted. I never buy gift cards or participate in pre-paid cards (e.g., starbucks card) for just this reason.
That’s why gift cards are so freakin popular. You never spend the exact amount on the card. If you spend less and/or lose the card, the retailer wins and keeps the balance. If you use the card towards the purchase of something larger, the retailer wins because you have come back to buy even more stuff!
“Sorry we almost got you killed. Here’s $25 to spend at Applebee’s.”
It’s like they are trying to kill people all over again, but this time, from the inside…
It’s like they are trying to kill people all over again.
They should really pop for the $50 cards for “the estate of …”
Harry and David gift basket
+1
You appear to be fooled by TTAC’s headline. The gift card is to encourage affected owners to bring their cars in for repair.
This reminds me of a poorly-orchestrated tent sale we conducted once. Everyone who received a mailer was naturally a winner.
The prizes? A jet ski, $1000 cash, an HDTV, or a Wal Mart gift card.
Everyone got a Wal Mart gift card.
Everyone got a **$1.00** Wal Mart gift card.
I’ve never had to dodge phone calls from so many pissed-off elderly people in my entire life.
You’re lucky you’re still alive, don’t f*ck with seniors
Two words: Grey Dawn.
Yeah, I could write a worst-selling novella about that 9-day tent sale hell.
Spoiler alert: the Sheriff was there every day but one and there were two shots fired at our building on two non-consecutive days.
I never said seniors were good shots, lucky you
Is it just me or is this insulting. If it were me, I’d throw the whole thing back in the mail and say thanks but no thanks. Only after I showed how generous and understand GM was over social media (sarcasm intended). Sorry about your troubles with our cars, here’s a nominal token gift to show we care.
That was my initial reaction, too. Then again, it would also seem GM has properly and rather astutely identified the proclivities of its average customer.
“Bring in your cheap crap car, for a card to buy cheap crap!”
GM should double down if the subject is willing to test drive a new GM.
“Sorry your ignition switch may kill you. Here’s a gift card!” is marginally better than “Sorry your ignition switch may kill you. Come back and buy another one of our cars at a discount!”
More like “Look, what part of ‘your car may kill you’ do you not understand? Will $25 get you to act in your self-interest?”
And GM is still the sales leader in the USA. One can only surmise that the average GM buyer comes equipped with standard Corning expanding foam as the filler between its ears.