One of those posts about awful business practices
So I entered a stupid HP-sponsored photo contest ...
And then forgot about it. Completely. Until they e-mailed me telling me I'd placed fifth and won $50 in Snapfish gift certificates. I thought "oh, that's cool" and then wondered which photo I'd entered, 'cause I frankly thought THAT much of this contest that I couldn't even remember what I'd submitted. Upon trying to access the contest site, though, I found that none of it worked anymore -- the pages were still there, but none of the images existed, and when you tried to access the winners list, it merely returned a Snapfish-i-fied page error saying that the problem had been sent to customer service. Uh huh.
So I contacted the organization who was in charge of the contest ("The Young America Corp"), only to receive a dismissive response that they weren't actually in charge afterall. E-mails to HP's customer service went unanswered as well, so I finally up and e-mailed Snapfish's customer service (they "hosted" the site, and provided prizes, but they previously claimed to not having anything to DO with the contest). Three days later, they said the problem was too severe for support level 1 and sent a message to higher-up support staff. A week and a HALF later (today), I got a message from a "Susan" who merely said "I'm sorry for the delay in replying to your email. Please let me know if you are still having an issue with your Snapfish account." Um, right. Thanks.
However, she must've done something after all, because parts of the site now worked. Enough so that I could see the following THRILLING results:
1) Firstly, the site loads slow as frozen dirt. With that, images still only sporadically work. But more importantly, dear LORD. 100 people received "9th place" all together?? Same went for 8th and 7th, then, ya know, it's only 50 people as we climb up towards the top. Good to know this was an exclusive pool of winners. Especially since this was one of SEVEN contests they ran simultaneously with different themes. I'm obviously deeply invested in this contest, but I should further note that the e-mail from them said that I placed 5th, but apparently I ACTUALLY placed 9th .... or, in other terms too complicated for HP, 763rd.
2) Know what DID take 5th place, though? This charming photo of some fis---- OH RIGHT, that's from FINDING FUCKING NEMO. Further check marks for quality control, Snapfish. I, too, could've just grabbed a photo off my favorite DVD and been handed $50 in free prints. I'll remember this for next time. Maybe gay porn would even get me into the top 3.
3) I guess you're right. This ACTUAL fifth place winner, entitled "Funnel Fun" IS a much better fit for the contest category "Far Far Away" than most of what I'd seen. Few things say "exotic place" as much as a funnel on your kid's head. Kudos photographer: I'd almost give you credit for taking the theme to a new level by commenting on the glazed over look in the boy's eyes and saying how he's off in his own other world, but I can't stop thinking that maybe he speared you with the funnel and you won't get your $50.
Three cheers for poor customer service, an awful site, and a ridiculous joke of a contest. "Awards" section of my resumé be damned.
And then forgot about it. Completely. Until they e-mailed me telling me I'd placed fifth and won $50 in Snapfish gift certificates. I thought "oh, that's cool" and then wondered which photo I'd entered, 'cause I frankly thought THAT much of this contest that I couldn't even remember what I'd submitted. Upon trying to access the contest site, though, I found that none of it worked anymore -- the pages were still there, but none of the images existed, and when you tried to access the winners list, it merely returned a Snapfish-i-fied page error saying that the problem had been sent to customer service. Uh huh.
So I contacted the organization who was in charge of the contest ("The Young America Corp"), only to receive a dismissive response that they weren't actually in charge afterall. E-mails to HP's customer service went unanswered as well, so I finally up and e-mailed Snapfish's customer service (they "hosted" the site, and provided prizes, but they previously claimed to not having anything to DO with the contest). Three days later, they said the problem was too severe for support level 1 and sent a message to higher-up support staff. A week and a HALF later (today), I got a message from a "Susan" who merely said "I'm sorry for the delay in replying to your email. Please let me know if you are still having an issue with your Snapfish account." Um, right. Thanks.
However, she must've done something after all, because parts of the site now worked. Enough so that I could see the following THRILLING results:
1) Firstly, the site loads slow as frozen dirt. With that, images still only sporadically work. But more importantly, dear LORD. 100 people received "9th place" all together?? Same went for 8th and 7th, then, ya know, it's only 50 people as we climb up towards the top. Good to know this was an exclusive pool of winners. Especially since this was one of SEVEN contests they ran simultaneously with different themes. I'm obviously deeply invested in this contest, but I should further note that the e-mail from them said that I placed 5th, but apparently I ACTUALLY placed 9th .... or, in other terms too complicated for HP, 763rd.
2) Know what DID take 5th place, though? This charming photo of some fis---- OH RIGHT, that's from FINDING FUCKING NEMO. Further check marks for quality control, Snapfish. I, too, could've just grabbed a photo off my favorite DVD and been handed $50 in free prints. I'll remember this for next time. Maybe gay porn would even get me into the top 3.
3) I guess you're right. This ACTUAL fifth place winner, entitled "Funnel Fun" IS a much better fit for the contest category "Far Far Away" than most of what I'd seen. Few things say "exotic place" as much as a funnel on your kid's head. Kudos photographer: I'd almost give you credit for taking the theme to a new level by commenting on the glazed over look in the boy's eyes and saying how he's off in his own other world, but I can't stop thinking that maybe he speared you with the funnel and you won't get your $50.
Three cheers for poor customer service, an awful site, and a ridiculous joke of a contest. "Awards" section of my resumé be damned.