Six Flags gives in again when media gets involved.

redman822 said:
...if they don't want to list their fine print in the ad, then they had better make sure that it is known and shown at their alternate points of sale which were also clearly listed in their advertisement.

Agreed, but do we know for sure that the info isn't available there too?

And none of this changes the fact that the guy bought something without looking into what he was buying based on nothing but an advertisement. How does that not sound ridiculous?

rollergator said:
Where would the parks be then?

Probably right here.

I wonder if this guy bought a sham-wow or a topsy-turvy when he saw the commercials on TV.

HA! Nice one, Gonch!

Lord Gonchar said:

Probably right here.

The bar has been raised. :)

I'm with George on this one... I don't think it's reasonable that anyone should have to research the deal. We're talking about buying a season pass, not signing for a mortgage.

And don't even sit there and tell me that you read the fine print on everything you buy either. There's all kinds of crap on the back of my season pass, I don't know what it says. Look at the typical Vegas show ticket these days, and there's a book there. I don't read that either.

So planning a birthday party and dropping $150 based on nothing but 2 seconds from a Six Flags commercial is reasonable?

Given the situation, wouldn't you at least make sure your plan was going to work?

No, I don't read the fine print on everything (not even our mortgage ;) ) Ironically (or maybe not so), I don't read the fine print on commercials either. I mean seriously, ever try to read the paragraph at the bottom of the car commercials? But even still...

1. I wouldn't have whined when burned by my own stupidity.

2. In this situation (trying to do a B-day party on the cheap) I would have looked into it further. It's called planning. Perhaps I'm too responsible that way?

This guy did nothing but base his entire purchase/plan on a two second sound bite from a 60 second TV spot. (for the record, I wouldn't buy into...well, just about anything based on one line from a TV spot either)

Are you guys really trying to say you'd plan on doing a birthday party for 18 and drop $150 based on nothing but the info in that commercial? And if so, that some fine print changes anything because clearly the guy would have read the conditions as they flashed by on his TV, but neglected to anywhere else he could have and should have encountered them?

The point is that the 5 free tickets were the whole reason for his purchase, yet the only info he had was the voice over and graphic declaring, "5 free tickets for friends!" Wouldn't you look into it further? Wouldn't anybody?

...and he got five free passes, just not in the way he erroneously assumed he would - just like that disabled vet that made assumptions about admission at Michigan's Adventure. (and if I remember correctly, he was deemed an no good bum trying to get something for nothing)

What will you discover!?

That you can never underestimate the stupidity of people.

In an age where some parks are giving away the gate for $8.88 and everyone fighting for leisure dollars is discounting to ridiculous levels, yeah, I think it's safe to make the assumption that the guy did. It's ironic that your industry observation blinders are both forcing your perspective and preventing you from having any.

Exactly, Jeff. There are plenty of places fighting for their existance these days. And I'm not just talking about the entertainment industry, just look at your local strip-mall.What was once a full house now probably has several empty stores.

Companies like (and unlike) Six Flags are clammoring to bring butts through the doors, so this guy finding what looked like a great deal seems pretty much in line with anything else being offered in some places. Where SF truly failed was when they didn't just honor the tix after he made a stink about it. Going to the news just escalates the whole situation and gives Six Flags yet another unwelcome black eye.

I dunno. I still say it's only an issue because of what they guy was trying to do and anyone with common sense would have planned better given the specific nature of the situation.

The free tickets were the whole point of his purchase. You don't leave that to chance.

SF was guilty of not adding a disclaimer to the adds and then further kicked themselves for not handling this with out getting the media involved.

While I do agree that I would have done more research and even emailed the park for confirmation. I don't think it was a far stretch that this guy expected to have the offer honored.

I'm with Gonch on this one. I don't know how I can give the guy credit for knowing the current trends in industry pricing (and therefore can say this offer seemed reasonable) and then suggest he was not savvy enough to understand standard season pass perks or to even look into it further before making his decision.

I do know that there were more commercials airing than I can count regarding the credit card companies offering perks like trips and such that poked fun about the block-out days and restrictions that came with them. I guess he just didn't put that concept together with this one.

And I also stand by the fact that it is not reasonable to plan a kids birthday party for 18 people and not do your homework first.

Let me reiterate (or clarify, your choice). I don't necessarily think the park did anything WRONG per se, they just left a bad loophole that one customer snuck through. Since the loophole was successfully exploited, clearly SF needs to stop giving away tickets "without restriction" to passholders. All I'm saying is that *if it were me* running the SF ad campaign, the place in the commercial where it says "5 free tickets" would most definitely, without a doubt, include a simple *ass-terisk* with the words "some restrictions apply".

Then when this guy shows up with a dozen-and-a-half kids in tow, I'd simply explain the restrictions (while reading them to him in case of illiteracy), and let him go ahead and cry to the media until he's blue in the face. I still would hold firm on the offer, though, and I'd be the one with the "preponderance of evidence" on MY side.

First off Carrie, he is a guy. So when it comes to planning a birthday party, I can see this.

The other thing is he saw the offer on the tube, then was told to get the free tickets at the park by the grocery store. This while not SF fault reinforced the idea that he would get free tickets without issue.

^ Bingo. That would have been all it would have taken. One simple *

What gator said. Given the GP's tendency to go running to the media about the slightest perceived grievance, it would do all companies good to make sure they can back up whatever they offer, and whatever restrictions come with it so there are no fuzzy areas that someone other than the company gets to interpret in a way different than the company intended.

Beyond that, I'm in the Gonch/Carrie camp. Considering corporate bashing is now the favorite pasttime in this country, do you really think a theme park company is going to hand you 15 tickets no strings attached? And you wouldn't ask what the catch is?

I drove past a Curves on my way to work today that was advertising "get the rest of the summer for free." Does that mean you can go there everyday until Labor Day, then say see ya later without paying a dime? The sign didn't have any asterisk on it. What about Comcast offering 3 free months of cable? Just from the commercials, I can't tell you what you have to commit to to get those 3 months, but I know there's something.

This is the same thing that happened when the new iPhones came out, and some people who had upgrades coming or signed up for new or renewed plans got to pay less than the people who didn't. The people who had to pay full price thought they should get phones at a discount without extending their current contracts. So let's run to the TV station, whaaah, whaaah, whaaah, life is so unfair.

That iPhone thing annoyed me, because in the US, most phones are subsidized by way of your contract. Your phone isn't "paid for" in a couple of months, that's why they have contracts.

I think it's sad that we have to protect people from their own stupidity.

I also think it's sad that this one incident gets the attention. What about all the people who saw that ad and weren't confused or 'mislead' in the slightest? According to the article SF has been running this promotion for 10 years without confusion. The exception becomes the rule.

And I still have a problem with the way this played out. He checked the website after buying the passes, but before going to the park. I can't excuse him - he knew to check. Who buys something then researches the details?

On top of that I also have a problem with:

"The first person told me I misunderstood. I said there's nothing to misunderstand, the commercial says you get five free tickets for friends," said Oliver.

And he did get them. Sure, the commercial didn't say you couldn't use them anytime, but it never said you could use them anytime either. I just can't get past the idea that when something is ambiguous like that, I look into it. This guy did too...just after the fact. And when you've made a mistake and you're out $150, what do you do?

Obviously you blame someone else. :)

RatherGoodBear: I'd be willing to bet on each of your examples there is a disclaimer on screen or somewhere on the bottom of the poster the restrictions are spelled out or at least says "restrictions apply." It's as simple as that. If a disclaimer was on the ad, the dude wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

I have to guess that this promotion which has been going strong for several years has a new commercial every season. This year somebody screwed up and forgot the disclaimer. If 15 free admissions on one day is the only price they have to pay, that's nothing. I figure if they ARE willing to give up the gate 5 times for every season pass sold, then there's no gate revenue lost by letting it happen all at once. I realize that passholders who actually use all 5 of the free friend tix are few and far between, but that's their strategy.

Then there's the argument that SFDC would have sold nothing at all if he hadn't seen the passes + free tix because the regular cost would have pushed a day at Six Flags out of the price range he'd be willing to pay.

Stick me in the Gonch/Carrie camp. In my defense, I think I learned better when I got the pass one year only to see the restrictions afterward on the free tickets (I didn't check beforehand), but honestly, I didn't get the pass for those tickets, so it was a moot point. Even so, though, they told me I'd get x number of free tickets, and I did, so I don't see a valid justification for this guy's argument. Yes, an asterisk might be nice, but what you have to accept is that SF offered exactly what it advertised.

One thing I'd like to draw attention to is the assumption that an asterisk would have tipped this guy off and inspired him to do research. There's no guarantee that short of coming out and saying, "Get five free tickets, each only useable on select days" this guy would have found out about said restrictions.

All that aside, though, it comes down to an issue of whether or not Six Flags delivered on that which they advertised, and ultimately, they did. They said five free tickets. They offered five free tickets. A disclaimer would have been a nice touch, but as far as delivering on their promise, I believe Six Flags did.

If this guy does need

Disclaimers on offers he

Mst hate politics.

Soggy said:
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.

Okay, this sort of mentality is partially at fault for our crippled society.

"I SEE IT THIS WAY, therefore I SHOULD GET IT."

"THAT'S NOT HOW I INTERPRETED IT, SO I'M STILL RIGHT."

Jesus.

Can people stop backing up those that exploit the system and somehow as a result spoils the experience for the rest of us? Certain individuals need to take some effin' responsibility and READ THE FINE PRINT.

If you have to snap up a bunch of season passes with the intention to nab $400-some worth of free tickets to throw a birthday party for your kid, you need to just shut your wallet and throw a backyard BBQ pool party instead.

Hold on a minute... I don't think that this is a social commentary on society at all. Business has in fact trained us to work the system and not make anything obvious. If you have a bank account, a credit card, a cell phone, cable TV or health insurance, you know this to be true. With most every other business you deal with, you have to figure out how to exploit them so they don't exploit you.