Today I’m shopping at Fred Meyer when an announcement over the loudspeaker catches my attention.
“In two minutes, we’ll be giving away free products in the back of the store. Only one per adult customer. Remember, in two minutes…”
Not one to turn down free things, I decided to head to the back of the store with my 4 year old in tow. I was thinking it’d take but a minute to get my free things, and we could finish up our shopping.
I was skeptical when I noticed the back of the store had a display set up with mops, cleaners, and a mirror. Hmmmm. It reminded me of the Sham Wow demonstration booth at the fair, but hey, free stuff was promised, better stick around.
A gal who I shall refer to as the Presentation Lady dashed up to the booth saying she needed to make one final announcement and that she’d be back in “one second.”
“One second?!” my son skeptically exclaimed. Actually, if I had been smart, I would’ve taken the cue from my son that Presentation Lady may have a knack for exaggeration.
Presentation Lady told us we must come in close. We all came in close. No closer, she said. We came in closer. No closer still, she insisted. Apparently she wanted us all within arm’s reach. So she could easily hand us our free stuff, she explained.
She pulled out a bucket and told us that the first thing we were about to receive was truly very special. It’s a special kind of cloth that you can use to clean your glasses, CDs, electronics, what have you. She tells us such a cloth would retail for $5-7, but guess what. Today, just for us, it’s free. Not only that, it’s our “ticket” for a “special surprise” that only we will get. Because of course we are super special for being the first people to hear her talk and stand within arm’s reach of her. I try to use it to clean my glasses, but it doesn’t seem to do much.
I’m beginning to really wonder what the real surprise is at this point, and have a hunch I’m about to get snookered into watching a presentation first.
Presentation Lady tells us about these amazing towels that only require water to clean. They’re made by some intriguing company called Euro Clean. She messes up a mirror with hairspray, toothpaste, and hair gel. Then she demonstrates how her towel with water cleans it right up. Only it doesn’t. The lady next to me says, “hey it’s still smudged.” She’s right. It’s visibly worse than before she started. I’m getting impatient.
But I’m also curious because behind this lady are all kinds of mops and cleaning rags. Things that I could find some use for. I am hoping they are the free surprise that’s coming, so I put up with her.
Presenting Lady then asks my son to draw crayon on the floor so she can demonstrate her amazing Euro Clean mop. My son feels nervous about this at first, because crayoning up the floor is a big no-no in my house. Sure enough her mop removes the crayon from the floor. But we also know that stains freshly left are also the easiest to clean. I wonder about the crayoning my kids did on the wainscoting in my dining room a couple weeks ago that I’ve not removed yet….
Then Presenting Lady decides to do a little more exaggerating. She says how spendy paper towels and cleaning products are.”A roll of paper towels is usually about $1.50 – $2,” she cautions. “And Windex is $2 – $3 a bottle.” I want to interject that she is clearly delusional and/or not hip to using coupons, but I kept my mouth shut. I just want her to move along at this point so I can get my Secret Special Surprise that only I and the 10 other Special Fred Meyer shoppers have been chosen to receive.
Presenting Lady goes on about how her Euro Clean mop is superior to other mops, like a sponge mop. I wonder who even uses a sponge mop anymore? Do they even sell these in the stores? She then shocks her audience by saying using a Swiffer and refills will cost about $300 a year. OK. I’ll take your word for it, Lady.
I ask her how her mop is better than the steam mop I bought a couple months ago at Fred Meyer. It would seem to me my mop is doing more sanitizing since the water is steaming hot, I tell her. Well, this mop uses less water, she tells me. But of course, she tells me she’s never used a steam mop. Imagine that. But less water. Now that is something to consider. Good grief here I am wasting an extra cup of water to clean my floor. That little tidbit rocked my world.
Now comes the part where it’s clear Presenting Lady is wrapping up her little talk.
Get to it already! I’m thinking. Where’s my Super Secret Surprise? That and my son is so bored he’s untied one of his shoe laces and both of mine just to pass the time. I’m also beginning to wonder if we’re going to need a potty break soon.
Now she tells us there is a special deal. This mop is normally $39.95, but as a representative, she’s authorized to provide us – and only us – with a special deal of $29.95. No shipping or handling. Imagine that.
Even better, they have a – wait for it – buy 5, get 1 free – sale running right now. Why on earth one would need 6 mops or be stupid enough to gift them at the holidays is beyond me. At this point, Presenting Lady’s pitch is so infomercial I completely tune out. My brain is numb.
Until she mentions the surprise we’ve been waiting for TEN MINUTES to hear.
Ready?
Our surprise was we get a couple of those amazing cleaning rags if we spend $29.95 and buy the mop.
Yes, that was the “freebie” I’d been waiting for. And at this point, I am completely furious. I am like the woman-in-the-YouTube-video-going-off-because-she-didn’t-get-coupons furious. And now I know exactly why she wanted us close. So we’d feel uncomfortable if we wanted to leave. It was a trap. At that point I’m too mad to care, so I do leave. I seriously grab my son’s hand and stomp off. Mad at this woman for deceiving me, and mad at myself for being deceived. The woman who made the remark about the mirror being smudged leaves too.
I’m stunned at how others are still standing around Presenting Lady. Were they paid to be there? I don’t get it. “Wake up, people! There is no freebie! You’ve been duped! Run for your lives!” I want to scream.
The moral of this story is this: If you see a demonstration for Euro Clean at your Fred Meyer or anywhere else, RUN. Do not be swayed by the lure of something free, being told you’re a special customer, or that good things are coming. I assure you nothing good is coming.
While that little presentation may have been a waste of ten minutes, I did end up with two things for free. A scrap of cloth (which did not clean my glasses properly, but may come in handy as a diaper wipe) and inspiration to write this post. So I suppose I didn’t entirely leave empty handed.
Photo credit Nicolas Raymond
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
Are you serious?! I’m shocked that Fred Meyer would even allow this kind of presentation. I probably would have gone straight to the Customer Service counter to let them know how much time I had just wasted! I’m so sorry you endured that, but hey, at least you have a new diaper wipe!
Actually Stephanie that was my first inclination. I seriously dumped on the very first FM employee I found – told her there is something really scammy happening in your store over there – and told her I wanted to talk to a manager.
In my opinion, you are right on. This reflects poorly on Fred Meyer.
Have you met the store manager? I’ve met her a few times and really like her (much more involved than the old store manager). I bet she’d love to hear about your experience.
that stinks – but I have fallen for those things in stores too.
One note the crayon on the wainscoating – use a paste made of baking soda & water, with a soft cloth/wash rag. It will remove crayon from walls, sharpie from plastic kitchen sets, sharpie from a wooden desk, loads of things.
I will try that! Thank you.
They had a similar lady at FM in Anchorage as well but they were selling knives. The lady was a piece of work…
Now that would scare me…
“Come in closer…no closer….I need you within arm’s reach so if you try to leave I can stick you with a knife…”
You had me cracking up while I was reading this! Absolutely hilarious. I would’ve been furious too.
Maybe you should consider making your own “Where is my freebie?” video.
I actually thought about that!!!!
Hmmm. Would people want to see that?
It reminds me of the time share presentations! “It will only last 1 hour and you get 2 free nights!” After a whole day of presentations, you assess were the free nights really worth it?
Shopping with kids is hard enough without infomercials! Hope the rest of your weekend goes well!
Funny, we were actually chatting about that on my Facebook wall yesterday. The difference though would be this: with the time share pitch you know 1) how long the thing is 2) that you’re going to be pitched and 3) what you’re getting. Had I known those things up front today, it might have helped me make an informed decision about whether or not my time was worth it. (It wasn’t, clearly.)
Sigh, I fell for part of the exact same pitch. I made off with my super eye glass cleaner which is still in the packaging in my glove compartment so full of anger and spite I’m afraid it’ll scratch my glasses. Luckily I didn’t go in close, clearly I couldn’t just walk away from the “car cart” my son was driving along with our coats and my purse which was obviously too heavy to stand and hold for too long (I was all about not letting them draw me in closer). I realized pretty quickly we weren’t sticking around for it as my son was about 2 1/2 at the time and even shoe laces weren’t going to keep him happy for that long. I was pretty hacked, irritated that Fred Meyer let it happen and irritated that I walked away feeling duped.
Goo Gone is also a fantastic remover of all things kid related. Not goof-off which is a scary pungent chemical that has its uses but not around kids. Goo gone is just the orange oil stuff that’s gentle enough I have one bottle near each sink and I use it to wash my hands when I get something particularly difficult to remove on them. Anyway, squirt a little on a towel and it’ll slide that crayon right off and leave a fresh orange scent.
Thanks for informing us. I was in fm and heard the same announcement. I didn’t go but a part of me was indeed curious but I knew my awake 4 month old wouldn’t last. I kept repeating the mantra “nothing is truly free” and apparently in this case that was true.
I think there really ARE things for free! Heck, I post him here on a near daily basis. As a blogger, I also get things for free to review and/or giveaway. But this was not one of those instances, sadly.
I got sucked into the SAME Euro Cloth presentation at a Sears in Virginia YESTERDAY! Only my presentation lady used a bottle of coke and a piece of carpet. I was shocked at the number of people who put their hand up that they wanted one. Like 1/3-1/2 of the people that were standing there. I was like “really!”
So please tell me…did you have a moment when you wondered if any of them were paid to be standing there????
This Exact same thing happened to me a couple months ago, except that my son was having none of it. About the same time I started to think it was a racket, he made a dash for it, and I found myself grateful to have one of those, “Busy,” kids that everyone is always staring at.
Thanks for revealing what the big freebie was. Now I can quit wondering.
I’d love to hear if you follow up with FM. It definitely seemed like it had their endorsement-it was being announced over their speakers, for Pete’s sake. I don’t know why I didn’t think to complain. I know everyone has to make a living, but this was a total bait and switch.
It seemed like a FM event at first – I thought she was a FM employee until she told us she was specially authorized to provide her amazing $10 off sale.
Honestly, I fault FM more than I fault her. I trust FM for a good shopping experience and this threw me for a complete loop.
I was so reminded of “A Christmas Story” when I read this. Ralphie was so happy to have his Little Orphan Annie Decoder Ring and sits by the radio getting all the numbers to the code. Decodes the “Secret Message” BESURETODRINKYOUROVALTINE! A stinkin’ commercial!
That is EXACTLY how I felt!! EXACTLY!!!!
I fell for the SAME thing at my Fred Meyer, except it was a salsa maker type thing. Exact same “come closer”. Ugh. I felt so stupid for falling for it. Glad to know I’m not the only one to fall for it. My 16 month old was having a fit in the middle. At least that gave me an out.
I got sucked in once as well! I got the free little cleaning cloth and then the product demo I suffered through was some lint roller thingy without the sticky tape part. I could get a floor sized, regular sized, no 2! regular sized rollers with the free gift of a pocket roller for 29.95!
My family fell victim to a sales pitch like that at Sears once, and again at Fred Meyer. Although after getting my free “cleaning” cloth at Fred Meyer I was ready to walk away, but then the lady said she was going to show us “Mr. Sticky”. My sister in-law had blogged about her “Mr. Sticky” a few days before, so I had to see exactly what it was. We were told that our cloth was our ticket for a special deal, which wasn’t that special (we got 3 sizes for the price of 1) but we did end up buying (and loving) the “Mr. Sticky”.
My husband and I just laughed so hard while I read him your story. I’m so sorry about your time waste, we had seen the display at the Oregon City Fred Meyer and avoided it like the plague. I must admit I was picturing knives cutting through soda cans. I do need to thank you for the wonderful story, we needed a good laugh tonight.
Fell for the same time-scam at our Fred Meyer. Oh man, it was awful. Closer, closer. Except after the first few minutes I was so bored I said to my daughter, 16, who was the one who’d insisted we check it out, let’s go, this is a waste of time. My son who is 13 said, no we can’t go, it’ll be rude. And my daughter said, no, please, let’s stay, this is funny! Look at all the people believing what she says! Look at what a liar she is! It’s completely bizarre! You don’t see things like this every day! So we stayed. It took so long. I have to say the presentation lady did seem to make a lot of people very happy – while ripping them off – and she sold a LOT of products. Every time I see that little cloth though it makes me mad.
Oh Angela I am laughing so hard not because you fell for it but because I TOO was in the same boat. My surprise was a lemon juicer, also at Fred Meyer! I sat there listening to the promo every one oooo aahhh for this chopper thing that I knew would break over time. How do I know this? I owned one! The lady was good too because some people bought 5 of them!
That exact same thing happened to me a few months ago at Fred Meyer, only it was a demonstration for a food processor or something. We got a free little plastic juice thing at the beginning. And my feelings about it were exactly the same as yours, and I left feeling really frustrated while half the people there stayed and bought one.
Darci that is the exact one I saw. PEOPLE BOUGHT SO MANY! I wanted to say…have you check the price on Amazon?
Same scenario at a the Vancouver Salmon Creek Fred Meyer, but I sent my husband to listen whilst I finished grocery shopping. Then he towed me over to see whatever the product was (I don’t remember because I was NOT impressed). I was VERY disappointed and angry with Fred Meyer for allowing this sort of scam.
By the way… Crayola has a phone number on the side of the box. Their helpful customer service department helped me get red crayon out of my husband’s white dress shirts after a son added it to the dryer.
I’ve heard the exact same announcement at our Fred Meyer! I was in a hurry so I didn’t head over but I was definitely curious. It sounded a little scam like just from the intercom announcement but at the same time I really like Fred Meyer so I was hoping it wasn’t. After reading your experience though I have to say I’m disappointed Fred Meyer would allow that kind of solicitation at the store. Especially since from reading the other comments it sounds like it’s at a lot of different Fred Meyer stores.
I went through that same kind a presentation a couple of years ago. I wasn’t happy with it either.
Ugh, I fell for the “Mr. sticky” one too, except that they sales guy actually said we’d get a small “mr. sticky” free…then he later explained “if we bought the mr. sticky.” I didn’t even care, I went right up to him at the end and said-okay, I would like my free small mr. sticky: he said “oh, it’s only if you actually buy the big one.” Now whenever I hear that announcement I want to warn the poor schmucks waiting around for it to begin.
Okay, so I’m curious about the steam mop you have! Can you share? I hate mopping on my hands and knees and am in need of a good mop. Sorry about being duped, I work for Kroger and am appalled by the demos happening in FM. I will have to say something….
They did this at my FM on Black Friday! I almost went running because I was in that “mode”, but then something made me stop thinking it sounded fishy! Man was I happy when I walked by a few minutes later and saw an infomercial in progress! Very deceiving, I don’t approve of FM allowing this to go on in their stores
My store was running these demonstrations for a while back in the fall. Every time I went to the store, I would hear that annoying announcement on the loudspeaker that the free items would start in two minutes…one minute…etc. I went over once and left about a minute into it when I realized it was basically a live infomercial. The next time I was in the store, I had a good laugh with an employee about how annoying that overhead announcement is because the poor cashier has to listen to it all day long.
I saw this happen in my Fred Meyer, but don’t remember if it was for the same products. At first I thought it was something the Fred Meyer store was handing out for free, so I went to investigate. Once I saw the presentation table, I figured this was no freebie, but I stood back and observed for a bit. Sure enough it was a sales pitch.
I have a tendency to be skeptical and also become bored quite easily. So I tend to avoid those situations if at all possible. But it is annoying and I felt it reflected badly on Fred Meyers for letting that take place in their store.
My husband and I both were at the presentation waiting for a free gift and also received a cloth that was worthless! What a waste of time for us as well! The least she could have done was to GIVE us a mop for the time we used watching this crap!!! Never again…I’ll continue useing my vinegar and water on my hands and knees to keep my wood floors looking great!!
We should complain to FM~
Hi all, quick update. I spoke with the Fred Meyer store manager this morning. While she was definitely friendly and appreciative of my feedback, I get the strong sense from her – as well as your comments above – that this is a corporate wide thing. So, she said she’d forward my comments to corporate. If you were equally frustrated by this demonstration being offered at Fred Meyer, can I encourage you to take a moment and voice your complaint?
https://customer.fredmeyer.com/comments/comments.aspx
Same thing, but with the Mr. Sticky….which you can get online for the same price as the “special” price!
A Portland, Oregon Fred Meyer had this Presentation young buck/dude doing one for a Vegetable slicer type deal. My mom and I waited with kids in tow for some “surprise” Nonetheless, we walked away w/ a .02 cent plastic juicer, the kind you stick in a lemon to get the juice out. WOW! One dude bought the slicer, I thought it was actually a good deal… esp. yesterday as I sliced potatoes to use in a casserole. However, I think I was so frustrated w/ the “come in closer” line, gemics, etc. I wasn’t going to buy a darn thing from him. A true waste of time. Not going to happen again! That’s the plan anyways.
They did that at my Freddie’s about a month ago, but it was for knives! Ugh! What a waste of my free time away from the husband and kid!!! Irritated.
They did this at my Fred Meyer back in November or December? Only it was a Mandolin chopper deal. We got to keep a dinky little plastic apple core that does not work, as our “ticket.” I felt really bad, because my mom was wating for me. We were tired from shopping, but we both love free stuff. Lame… is all I have to say!
It reminds me why I don’t go into a K-Mart anymore……I am always chased down by someone with a clipboard wanting to sell me windows or siding. Give me a break – all I want to do is concentrate on what I went in their for and get out!
I agree that a demonstration shouldn’t trick you into buying anything by offering free stuff. They should say upfront what they are doing. I hate all the deceit and trickery that sales people throw at ya. With that said, it can be fun to watch demonstrations. I like them at the fair. You can learn about new cool inventions to make life easier. I think the euroclean is pretty cool. I bought the cleaning cloths from Fred Meyer. Demonstration didn’t bother me because I expected their wasn’t a grand prize at the end. If I went into it expecting a free mop then ya I’d be disappointed to but they never give away stuff that big unless it’s a drawing you enter or something like that. I didn’t buy the mop since I have a swifter I use that I started using hand towels attached to swifter with light soap and water. It has worked well for me. I like the concept of the euro clean cloths though. I have do far used them on my plasma tv and it’s all shiny and clean, my stove and counter tops and mirrors. I had no problem getting them streak free with only water. I like the idea of no chemicals in the house. I even used cloth and attached it to my swifter and my kitchen floor looks beautiful. The one thing I wonder is how it can sanitize. I know the fibers are supposed to puck up the germs but it seems hard to believe. I am impressed with how well it can clean my hardwood island countertop in my kitchen. Normally food that I’s stuck on J have to spray and let sit for awhile but this cloth can clean it right off. Have any of you actually bought the product and tried it? Do you think it can really sanatize? That’s my only concern. Shellie
The gal said it sanitizes because you wash it in the dryer. I’m sorry, but that means the CLOTH is sanitized, not that it will sanitize my floor! NOT buying that argument. Honestly, this is why I far prefer my steam mop. It only uses water and the heat is what sanitizes. There are no chemicals or replacement pads to buy. I see the big puffs of steam come up when I clean and that makes me feel that I’m attacking germs! I am not a fan of using lots of chemicals, but I’m also not a fan of not getting rid of the germs. I don’t think a cloth can do that.
As far as fair demonstrations go, the difference is I know what to expect. They made it seem like this was something else, that’s what I took issue with. Had they said “we’re doing a demonstration for a mop over here in 2 minutes,” I would not have written this post. And maybe it’s because I am a blogger or couponer or both, but I do get things for free (yes, and more than a 2X2 inch glass cloth). It’s not out of the realm of possibility IMHO. I also wrote this post because I was disappointed Fred Meyer would choose to host such a demonstration in their store. I feel it reflected poorly on their brand.
Yep I felt for it yesterday at the BJs store. What Dumd $%^& Iam..
I HATE this company SO much. I work at an undisclosed FM location, but not for FM. My company leases space for an optometry office. I have spoken to FM employees and the demonstrators in the past when these demos are going on about the volume of the announcements. Well, they are back, and loud as ever.
I finally called FM again from my store when my Dr complained that he couldn’t even hear his patients inside the exam room with the door closed. They toned it down for a couple of days, and then POW, right back to screaming. I marched myself over and told the guy that it’s hard for us to maintain a professional, Dr.’s office environment with him screaming. The dude was upset that I did it in front of the crowd of people he was telling to “come closer.” Well, I don’t appreciate every time he interrupts me when I’m with a patient, or on the phone.
Well, I’m sorry to say that FM doesn’t give a poo-poo about the situation. A little later the “manager on duty” came in and told me that I had “no right” to confront the guy directly, and that I have to go through FM. Well FM, then teach them how not to SCREAM on your PA!!!!
BTW- seriously? It sanitizes? Would you wipe up raw chicken juice with it, and then roll out a pie crust on that counter? No? I guess it must not sanitize then! A little common sense please!
I still think about this crazy demonstration and get angry wondering how on earth a clean towel could possibly sanitize anything!
I forgot to mention- A lens cloth to clean your glasses costs $1.99, not $5-$7.
I used to work for this company doing those demonstrations. A little context:
The company tends to hire struggling actors who are all put on 100% commission, and everything they say is pretty much scripted. They are also required to constantly make calls to “trainers” in between pitches when they do not sell enough. They are in the stores by themselves doing shows every 45-50 minutes for 7 (sometimes up to 12) hours at a time, surrounded by employees who hate them. Oh yeah, they also have to drive up to an hour (sometimes less, sometimes a lot more) to get to the stores, and they not compensated for travel in any way.
The manipulation goes beyond just getting people squeezed in so they won’t leave and making them think there will be something free at the end, it goes very far and involves subtle things like using questions to train the crowd to raise their hands so they will be more likely to raise their hand when the merchandise is being handed out. People who are good at this can consistently sell to most people in the crowd every time.
Of course it also involves being loud enough in the announcements that you get a good crowd for every show (most shoppers are in the grocery section where you need to be louder because of the fridges and machines.)
Now, for every person who complains and gets angry about these demonstrations, there are at least three people who enjoy them and are even excited about the products. When I did these shows there were many people who clearly saw through the pitch but watched anyway and formed their own opinion about the product. I liked those people, they were both smart and understanding. There were other people who looked like they didn’t want to be there, and complained about the show. I didn’t understand those people. The other kind of people was the stupid ones who the pitch was designed for. They were excited about the free gift, then they were excited about what I was selling. They had fun.
Oh, and beyond the manipulative and dishonest sales techniques, the products are actually fairly decent. The cloth does pick up bacteria. Probably not enough to sanitize a counter with raw chicken juice, but it does clean very well. They are still cheap products, but compared to similar products you can buy in stores, they are sold at a lower price. So there is that.
Working for this company, you start off unaware that the script you are reading is filled with lies, then you are uncomfortable with the lies, then you get used to them and stop worrying about it because the job takes too much out of you for you to not be making any money doing it -I guarantee you that having to listen to that announcement all day is nowhere near as sanity-grating as having to make it.
It is a corporate-wide contract with Fred Meyer, and they make a lot of easy money by having the demonstrations there so I don’t think a few complaints will do much.
And really, if you can’t tell what it is by listening to those announcements and seeing the booth, then you’re in trouble, because you live in America, and the scope of advertising, brainwashing and psychological cues in the media right now dwarfs this kind of marketing completely.
Well, that’s all I really wanted to say. I’ll take questions now or whatever.
Wow…thank you for sharing your insight! What you described is pretty much how it comes off. That these people have been trained to pretty much lie and manipulate a crowd. No surprises here, really. Including the poor pay.
This sounds….like a pretty crappy job. It reminds me of the time I worked (very, very briefly) as a telemarketer. I was terrible at it, because I have a hard time selling people things they are clearly not interested in. Please understand that in my world, there ARE such things as freebies. In the course of my couponing, I have received many things entirely free without having to listen to a silly pitch including food and household items. Might be hard to believe, but it’s true. Click on the “freebies” category of this blog and you’ll see a nice little collection of what I’m talking about.
Can I stop this sort of thing? No. But I can warn my readers to save their time. Just last week, I heard this pitch again come over the loudspeaker. Sheesh. Thanks for taking the time to share your story.
to all you cry babies, remember I dont care where you shop or what you watch on tv, your sold and lyed to everyday of your lives (GET OVER IT!)
“LIFES A PITCH, THEN YOU BUY”
OMG
this happened to my mom yesterday! the SAME exact thing, with the same exact product. she was as telling me how it took like 1 hour for the guy to finish. she said she got scared because the guy was like SUPER aggressive and bossy, and she felt like if she didn’t buy it, he would murder people or something. i made a point that i will always remember this XD
Yeah – it is a little freaky….
PS I’d tell your mom to return those products if she didn’t really intend to buy them!!
Wow, thanks for your blog post; only wish I had seen/read it before I fell for this today at my local Fred Meyer store. It must have been the same presentation lady since everything you wrote was almost word for word what she said. Unfortunately, I stayed and then actually purchased one. (I will be returning it.) I got home and something in the back of my mind kept telling me I think I’ve been snookered and went online. It took quite a bit of researching to finally find your post. I couldn’t find much of any reviews on this product. I did go to glassdoor.com to see what employees said about the company and the three reviews were not good. So thank you for confirming what the voice in the back of my head was saying all along as I got sucked into Presentation Lady’s marketing techniques. Thank goodness for people like you that take the time to write your experience and help set some of us straight.
i got duped in sears a month ago. just used it for the first time in my bathroom and you know what? works nicely! lol
HA!!!! I JUST returned home from my local grocery store, King Soopers, in Denver, Colorado, and ranted to my husband about my lost 10 minutes. But I couldn’t help googling the product to see what it’s deal really is. This link caught my eye. Nearly a year later and the spiel I received has barely changed. You are hilarious and captured everything I felt!! Thanks!
Sounds like I got lucky – didn’t see the demonstration, but a girlfriend did and passed the eyeglass (microfiber lens cloth) cleaner on to me. It is the best I’ve ever used on my glasses so I went to the website to order more. You get 10 lens cloths for $5 – not bad, but the S&H is $12.26 on an item that will cost them $1 on the outside to mail. So ridiculous I can’t find words – guess they’re going to do without my order.
Me and my girlfriend had the same exact scenario in our Fry’s. Quite awesome you wrote this blog post up.
HA! You know what’s funny? I wrote it quite some time ago, but people keep “finding it!”
LOL!!! I just got home from my Freddy’s after seeing the demo for the mop! I was looking for reviews and stumbled across your blog and I find it hysterical cuz I thought the presentation was so stupid! However, I have to admit I’m a sucker for infomercials
so I did buy the mop only because I’m not happy with the swiffer anymore and have been looking for a decent, sturdy mop to sweep up my dog’s hair, etc. I also had my hubby look at it and he said it was sturdy (she said it was stainless steel instead of aluminum). I also have a steam mop but obviously for the sanitizing/mopping and not for collecting all the ‘stuff’. I dont know which is more ridiculous, the demo or them saying those who received the freebie (the cloth) to not come back for more. I feel bad for the demonstrators too, it is a job and I’d rather see them do those than collect welfare. Thanks for the laugh!
I came across this same exact presentation today at FM store in Portland, OR.
She was selling the magiccloth by Euro Clean, stating that it won’t be in stores for another 9 months. The two big cloths in a packet sell for $21.99 (expensive!), but the special offer allows us to buy 2 packets for the same price! yay! but wait, if we buy them, the magiccloth mop comes along with the set!
I lost the right timing to leave the demonstration table since we had to be so close to her, so I just received the mop with the cloths.
I wasn’t sure if I should think of this as a great deal or a scam, so I looked up on my phone and came across your post. thanks for the wake up call!!
I just discretely left the mop right around the demonstration area while she was announcing “in two minutes, come to isle 9 for a free gift, one per adult…” again, the same line you’ve heard.
I had to laugh because all the lines she used was exactly the same from the one you heard a year ago. They must be receiving the same training to lure people into these “great deals”.
I just returned home from a local King Sooper store in Denver, Colorado and guess what I spent 10 minutes doing ?? ..you guessed it… and yes, it was the EXACT same sales pitch.
Next time I will leave my husband at home. He is so gullible and purchased one as a ‘surprise gift’ for me. I didn’t even know he bought it till we got home and he was like TADA.. “look, honey I bought you one because they work SO good!!” OMG I want to puke (and then make him wipe it up with the mop afterward)
Sorry Lady, but youre dead wrong. The cloth is just like ones I buy for $4.00 at walgreens and it is the best thing for cleaning lenses and screens. the presentation is 10 minutes, so you were paid at the rate of $24/hr to watch a presentation. How old are you? Do you still believe in Free? Well Santa has a boatload of gifts for you on Christmas. I like the cloth and actually went to the presentation twice so i could get another one for my car.
Hi Steve, do you work for this company?
And yes, I do believe in free. While I heard the announcement go over the loudspeaker last week, I was busy buying four “free” bottles of Got2B hair care down the other aisle. $12 worth of freebies without having to stand in line or watch a lame presentation.
Don’t believe me?
http://thecouponproject.com/2012/03/awesome-unadvertised-deals-at-fred-meyer-free-got2b.html
Bought for the hell of it! Got some free stuff! How ever! They need to improve the handle. When applying pressure it collapses. Also after all the turns the thing makes it actually came right out of the mop part. Reminds me of the big push brooms. I would not recommend this product to any one that is week or past the age of 55. You need some strength to push it when it is wet. Not to mention that when you are pushing on it, if it doesn’t collapse, it feels like it’s gonna snap in half.. I have a two story ceiling in the living area. No surprise here! It doesn’t reach the cob webs. Liars all of them. The dusting clothes work well. About the same as a brand new package of 3 bought at Target.