A Damn Nice Gesture
Well it looks like one Midwest regional retailer will get some business from me if I ever end up out that way. As will another, somewhat larger retail chain.
The Indianapolis Colts play a first-round NFL playoff game this weekend. Up until yesterday, though, it looked like the game might not be sold out – and thus unavailable on TV locally.
Enter the Meijer supermarket chain. On Saturday, Meijer purchased the last 1,200 remaining tickets for the game.
That’s not why they’d get my business, though.
They’d get some business from me because they’ve announced they’re donating the tickets to local military members and their family.
Yeah, they’ll get a helluva lot of good press and goodwill out of that. And you know what? That’s fine with me.
I’ll also have to consider shopping at Kroger, too, from time to time. Kroger is apparently doing the same thing in Cincinnati – though they haven’t yet achieved a sellout in Cincinnati.
Kudos, Meijer. Kudos, Kroger. And thanks.
Category: Support the troops
Krogers is doing the same thing for military members and their families to see the Bengals-Chargers playoff game this Sunday.
http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Kroger-completes-last-minute-pass-moving-Bengals-ticket-sales-into-red-zone/50099fb0-1416-47e2-8939-51cafbe4280f
BCousins…thanks for posting that. I was about to change my traditional grocery shopping location from Kroger to Meijer because of that (I live in downtown Indianapolis) but now I don’t feel bad staying with Kroger
As a veteran AND a resident of Indianapolis, serious Kudos to Meijers and Krogers for doing this
This post means no disresepct for what they are doing, however, prices are getting ridiculous and this act may actually hurt many people. Great publicity with a generous bent but??
Candle: your comment 4 doesn’t seem to make much sense. Care to elaborate?
Sure, sorry for the misunderstanding. I have been budgeting the house for many years. Due to area availability,(near Ft Campbell) my local Kroger is in the Louisville (Cinncinnati) shopping district. The company is going to make profits yes, they will also raise prices. Due to our lovely governments and other assorted issues (mostly gov’t), prices for the average working person have gone insane. While the gesture is noteworthy, it seems they are (just like the government) offering things that have way less value than tangible help. Who will be helped by this gesture? Not theit bottom line I promise. Like I said no offense please.
As a postscript, we do donate to veterans causes, I just prefer to choose for myself.
Candle: no offense taken. But I’m not sure your argument is valid here.
Every retailer has a budget for advertising/PR. That’s doubtless what funded Kroger’s and Meijer’s participation here – their advertising budget. They made a calculated business decision that the goodwill and good publicity generated by this would bring them more business than another ad, so they spent their $$$ doing this instead. They’d almost certainly have spent the same amount of $$$ on other ads if they hadn’t done this.
Hell, they might even get a tax breaks when they give the tickets away (probably not, but it’s conceivable). If so, that – along with the increased business – might actually allow them to hold the line on or reduce prices a bit via passing along the cost savings from the tax break and/or economies of scale.
In short: I see this as the classic “win-win” with no down side. They’d have spent the $$$ on ads anyway, so this doesn’t raise their cost (or the customers’ costs). It does something nice for a number of military families, and gets the merchant some really good PR. And it might even help them keep prices in check through increased business and resulting economies of scale.
More power to them, as I stated I have to budget and choose carefully how I spend dollars. IMHO I would have preferred them not enriching the NFL but that is just my opinion.
Good publicity – check, goodwill from those who prefer to watch on tv – check, likely tax deduction if they use a 501c3 organization for distribution (i.e purchase tickets and donate them) – check. This was a very smart use of their advertising budget.
In any case, I advise those bengal fans and opps to dress extra warm 🙂 Indy is closed dome not quite so bad. Next time I will keep my opinions to myself 🙂
@11: Please feel free to post anytime. We don’t want you to keep your opinions to yourself. That’s what this site is all about. Just ask Hondo about that, because he and I don’t always agree and have had some healthy debates and disagreements in the past, but neither of us wants the other to stop giving our opinions. Only a couple of worthless a-holes on here do we wish would keep their opinions to themselves or just FOAD.
BTW Welcome to the board, Candle! 🙂
Candle: what Old Trooper said.
No intent here to stifle discussion, amigo. We often disagree among ourselves. So long as things stay civil – “no harm, no foul”.
And you’re correct: Bengals fans at the game best dress warm. “Package frostbite” is a truly terrible thing. (smile)
Welcome to TAH.
Shoot, Candle, we all served to preserve (among other things) the right of all to express opinions, not just those with which we agree! As long as it is well thought out, and makes sense to you, I completely support your spending your $$ wherever and however you wish to spend it. You earned it.
All I ask is that you afford me the same courtesy.
i would never ask that, sorry if it came out differently. Thanks for the welcome folks!
Looks like those 1200 Indy fans got a hell of a second half. I knew I should have watched instead of turning it off.
Hubby watched that game and is happy, y’all enjoy the rest of the games
I’m not enjoying the NO-Philly game. Philly just went up with 5 minutes left.
Any team that boos Santa Claus should be forever cursed.
I remember going to Meijer with my mom waaaaaaay back when it was called “Thrifty Acres” (yeah, I’m carbon-dating myself). I very much prefer it to WalMart. I’d much rather see my $$ going to a Michigan-based business, and I think their prices are just as good as WalMart. What Jonn said…Bravo Zulu to them.