Six Flags gives in again when media gets involved.

First it was the 23 used tickets at SFOG, and now this which occured at SFDK.

Click here.

Isn't there some sort of right up that comes with the Season Pass when you buy it?

Yeah, but if there is no actual disclaimer on the ad that persuaded the customer to buy the pass in the first place, then it will be determined as misleading. If the ad says "5 free tix for friends," then in the same breath or on screen at the same time, there better be the disclaimer that they are valid on certain days only.

And when buying a pass at a supermarket, they don't get the value book, just a voucher for the pass to be processed at the park. The voucher may have terms and conditions of that voucher itself, but not for the perks that come with the pass.

Seems to me that SOMEONE should have reviewed said commercial and preemptively fixed the problem before the ad even aired. The confusion created was in no way unforeseeable IMO, and the customer in question made a faulty, but not unreasonable assumption based on the information that WAS given in the ad.

Clearly an on-screen "Bring-a-friend-free is limited to certain days in the operating schedule" would have gone a long way to protecting the park in this case...

Sometimes I hate people.

Geez. YES, THEY'RE FREE TICKETS, it's NOT misleading. Just because there are date restrictions on it doesn't mean the tickets aren't still free.

Whatever happened to double-checking, calling in to MAKE SURE, and to read up on things? And whatever happened to people just not being IDIOTS? Does everybody run to the local newspaper nowadays with a sob-story to have little quirks like these fixed? Ughhh.

I agree, but I also agree with Gator and think Six Flags should of been more clear in their advertisements. A disclaimer wouldn't have hurt, even for the people who refuse to read the fine print. Otherwise it's buyer beware. ALWAYS double-check and read ALL the fine prints, no matter how much they hurt your eyes. ;) If you read any Six Flags season pass coupon book there is all kinds of fine print in there! It's annoying but it will save you a headache if you take the time to read them. Actually, you will get a headache from reading that stuff anyway! I have. :(

At least the boy and his friends were happy and had a good time regardless. Kids were happy. Parent was happy. Six Flags was happy and avoided another negative image.

Still, I think stuff like this CAN be abused. Hell I have seen the unnecessary whining and complaining at some coaster events! We have all seen people who want something for nothing just because of a small inconvenience, whether it's at an amusement park or a grocery store. They usually make an ass of themselves.

In this case, however, I am glad they just honored the tickets and let the kid celebrate is birthday with his friends. Chances are they will go back, especially since dad bought season passes. ;)

-Tina

I'm kind of with you on this one, K. I get small print disclaimers and truth in advertising... blah, blah, blah. :) But this doesn't hardly sound like an innocent consumer who was taken advantage of by some misleading advertising.

I mean really... does it really seem reasonable to think you can score $540 worth of tickets for $150? Yeah, he checked the web site for details after he made the purchase. Seems to me, the bells should have went off in his head when he created his plan.

Isn't this the very basis of good advertising? Make what you're offering sound as good as possible. I thought all effective, well done advertising was 'misleading' in this sort of way.

Nothing dishonest about it.

They offered 5 free tickets. You got 5 free tickets good for certain days.

Where's the mystery?

Honestly, who hears that and doesn't understand there's gotta be a condition involved? And even if you're interested, who doesn't look into it (especially in this particular situation) before making the purchase?

Sigh...

If the advertising fails to establish trust, or worse, destroys it, then it is a failure. This was a failure.

Trust for whom, though? Some guy who was trying to score a practically free birthday party at a major amusement park for his kid?

Honestly, I don't think his expectation was reasonable and I don't really even believe he was mislead by the ad. If I had to guess, I would say he saw an opportunity and seized it.

Jeff said:
If the advertising fails to establish trust, or worse, destroys it, then it is a failure. This was a failure.

If I were Six Flags, I'd rather run advertising that gets people interested in buying season passes.

How much do I really have to trust a company whose main advertising campaign is an old man dancing to the Vengaboys?

OK so there's plenty of fine print AFTER the dude got his tix. That won't cut the mustard, because on the actual ad that he saw (the one that convinced him to part with his hard-earned $$$) the details were not spelled out. I doubt that the intent of SF's ad was to mislead, but in this day and age, you have to dumb-down everything in order to cover your ass.

I don't see too much fault with the advertising, actually. It's when the dude says he demands the free tix to be good on any day is where customer service fails. If they just give him what he wants when he wants it, then there would be no story. He never would have gone to the local news with his tale of woe, and SF would never have been cast in yet another negative light. The company I work for will ALWAYS give people what they ask for (often more), even if it may well be a scam. We'd rather diffuse the bomb before it ends up on the evening news.

Also, this dude wasn't looking to get something for nothing, or attempting to exploit the system. He was attempting to save the most money possible within the rules as he had interperted them. Wouldn't you? Now, I probably would not go to the news with a sob story if I hatched a plan like this and it went awry, but that's just me.

Lord Gonchar said:
Honestly, who hears that and doesn't understand there's gotta be a condition involved? And even if you're interested, who doesn't look into it (especially in this particular situation) before making the purchase?

Sigh...

This and kRaX's entire post sum up my take on this 100%.

Soggy said:
I doubt that the intent of SF's ad was to mislead, but in this day and age, you have to dumb-down everything in order to cover your ass.

And to me, that sums up exactly what is wrong with our culture these days. Until we stop that trend and actually hold people accountable to their own stupidity, we will never end the cycle of needless disclaimers and fine print.

Also, this dude wasn't looking to get something for nothing, or attempting to exploit the system.

Actually, I think that's exactly what he was trying to do. I can't get past the idea that he thought it was reasonable to receive $450 worth of tickets for free just for purchasing 3 season passes. And that dollar estimation is assuming he would have been otherwise bright enough to purchase the tickets online. I'm not so sure of that.

The other thing to think about... how long did this ad run? How many other people were confused by it and bought a season pass thinking they get 5 free tickets without restriction? If he is the only one, how can we possibly take the issue seriously?

We haven't seen the ad, and given that, I think it's a little harsh to be questioning this guy's motivation. I'm not willing to concede that he knew what the fine print was.

Carrie, I agree about your cultural statement 100%, but that topic is best left untouched, it would lead to the longest thread ever... The fact remains that if the number of people who misinterperate your ad (print, radio, tv or whathaveyou) is greater than zero, then as a company, you better be prepared for the consequences.

The thing about the $450 price tag is that there was probably no way the guy would actually pay that much for the group to go. If there was no other option, then the party would have likely gotten moved to Dave & Busters or the like. The fact that there was a possibility for the group to go to Six Flags for $150 made it a doable thing, and would make dad a hero in the eyes of his kid.

We all know that places are hurting for business and offering pretty deep discounts. He just sought out and found a really good discount. Is he technically wrong for the way he was trying to cash them in? Yes. Does he have a strong arguement in his favor? Also yes, and enough of an arguement that he did in fact get what he was looking for.

***Side Note*** If there are 5 free tickets and the stipulations are [from the article] They can only be used one at a time and only on certain days. Those days are Mother's Day, Father's Day and a Sunday in September. That's only 3 days. How can 5 tix be used, one at a time if they are only good 3 days out of the year? It's been a long time since I bought a SF Pass, so I may be missing something here. Or do they mean 'any' Sunday in September?

http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/tickets/SeasonPassValueBook.aspx

Bring a Friend for FREE on these select days:

Mother's Day: Sunday, May 10
Father's Day: Sunday, June 21
Any one weekday in June
Any weekday during Spring Break: Monday, April 6, Friday, April 10, Monday, April 13 - Friday, April 17
Any one Sunday in September: 6, 13, 20, 27
Bonus Holiday in the Park Bring-A-Friend Ticket

Only one free ticket may be used per passholder per day. Keep in mind, you will need to pick up your value book at the Season Pass Processing location when you validate your pass and take your picture. Please check the park map for location. In-park discounts and free friend tickets valid only at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

EDIT - to format text.

Thanks, Moosh.

Also, thanks for not nailing me with a "Let me Google that for you!"

I don't think it's harsh. It's just an opinion. And I think it's far better to think he was calculating in his maneuver rather than assume he wasn't bright enough to know better.

They showed the ad in the news video clip. It said buy your season pass now and get 5 free tickets. And he did get 5 free tickets. In the world of numerous commercials about the restrictions and blackout dates associated with credit card rewards, he never questioned the fact that these tickets would be restricted. That doesn't add up to me.

He was banking on 15 free tickets in order to hold a birthday party for his son and his friends. That's a major responsibility in planning and letting the kids know about the party. And he never thought to check about the free tickets until after he purchased the passes.

I guess I just want to believe he is smarter than that.

Jeff said:We haven't seen the ad, and given that, I think it's a little harsh to be questioning this guy's motivation. I'm not willing to concede that he knew what the fine print was.

Now I have to ask myself, where was it that I actually did SEE the ad? Because on-screen, big as day, I recall seeing the words "5 FREE tickets" with nary an asterisk or even word of disclaimer anywhere to be seen. Were his expectations unreasonable? Have to admit the vet at MiA comes to mind. Reasonable to me means "check what seems too good to be true"...but if it's my business, I'm going to go the extra mile to NOT lose money to this sort of confusion caused by MY failure to check the ad and make sure it isn't misleading.

Gonch is right, the ad does bring attention - but I'm not entirely sure that "all press is good press" when it comes to advertising that costs you goodwill, customers, or even some gate revenue.

edit: Then I would have my mole come to the intrawebs and start threads on every forum proclaiming loudly "Six Flags no longer giving in when media gets involved"....what Stephen Colbert and Senator Al Franken refer to as "kidding on the square". :)