Have an idea? Forget it!

Have you ever written to a company to tell them how much you like or dislike their product, or even to make a suggestion? With the Internet, this has never been so easy. Before you had to actually write the letter on paper, address the envelope, pay for a stamp, and mail it. Now things like this are available to us at the click of a finger.

A few years ago I wrote to Kellogg's. My family, especially Rick and the boys, all love Pop Tarts. However, they only like a handful of flavors. I don't care for them much, but every once and awhile I'll crave a chocolate one. Anyway, since we buy so many of the darn things, I thought I'd email the company with a flavor suggestion. I thought good flavors would be orange creme (like a Creamsicle) and lemon. Rather than email me back and say thanks for your suggestion, they sent me a snotty reply saying they had professionals who made these decisions. They even went as far as saying they don't accept suggestions from customers. I was like -- WTF? No response would have been nicer than that. All I was saying was that my family enjoys their product and I listed a few flavors I would like. Then I get that kind of reply back? So, I got ticked off and boycotted their product for awhile, which didn't last long because my kids really like them. It really just rubbed me the wrong way, you know?

Since that snotty email to me, I've kept my eye on what flavors these so-called professionals have come up with. A few have been Banana Split, Blueberry Muffin, Chocolate-Vanilla, Strawberry Milkshake, Vanilla Milkshake, and their newest -- Grape. Grape? Gross! And tell me, why come out with Blueberry Muffin when they already have a blueberry flavor? Do yourself a favor and eat a blueberry muffin instead. It's much better for you. So, as you can see, they left me feeling kind of bitter. It's not like I was forcing them to make the flavors I suggested and I certainly wasn't going to sue them if they did, wanting to be reimbursed. Who knows. Maybe that's why they don't take suggestions. But their response to me was so rude, when all they could have said was, "Thanks for your suggestion; we'll keep it in mind." How hard would that have been? I was reminded of this whole thing they other day when I saw the new grape flavored Pop Tarts at the store. That sounds about as gross as Strawberry Milkshake Pop Tarts. No thanks -- I'd rather make a real strawberry shake with fresh berries.

Have you ever written to a company with compliments and/or suggestions? If so, did you get a good reply? Everytime I think about this, I get mad. I would have rather not gotten anything from them, rather than be put down and told that professionals know what they're doing more than the customers who buy their stupid product. What a bunch of idiots.