Tag: sonic

District Manager Joe called and left me a message. He would like me to call back.  I don’t know that I will, because I really have nothing to gain from calling back.

He sort of apologized. He said the words “I apologize,” however the content of the apology was basically a non-apology.

He agrees they were incorrect to not give me the deal, but basically still thinks I was wrong to expect it.

Now, admittedly this is from a message and perhaps if I spoke to him directly and poked at the nature of what he is saying, we’d get to a different place, but really?  Should I have to work that hard to get a genuine apology for daring to expect them to honor the sale that the sign said they had?

Manager Tim lied to Joe.  Now, I am not saying he deliberately lied in order to cover something up.  Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.  However, assuming that what DM Joe said is true, the manager did tell him something that was not the truth.

The manager told the district manager that they’ve given me this deal before.  So their feeling is, they had already told me that it wasn’t a valid deal, so I was in the wrong for asking for it again.

This is NOT TRUE, plain and simple.  I’ve never had any sort of argument with them over this deal in the past, and I’ve never been granted an exception to the deal, nor anything else of the sort.  Even if I had, THEY HAD A SIGN UP!  If somebody who looked like me told them about the sign in the past, wouldn’t they have taken it down then?!

But no, they still seem to think it has nothing to do with the sign, and they don’t need to honor posted signs.

They think it is a Happy Hour issue.

Sonic Drive-In offers a Happy Hour special during the dead time between lunch and dinner, much like many other restaurants.  Sonic’s special is all drinks are half price during Happy Hour, but NO ICE CREAM drinks are included.  It says this on the sign that advertises Happy Hour.  I know this.  I have never ordered an ice cream based drink during Happy Hour expecting half price on it, because ice cream drinks are not included.  So, no, I have never ordered one in the past by mistake, and then argued with them to give me the drink at half price.  I can read.  I can read the signs and see that ice cream drinks are not included, and if I wanted an ice cream drink (and if I do want an ice cream drink, I get the Chiller, not the Cream Slush), I would expect to pay full price for it, because it is not part of Happy Hour.

I ordered the Cream Slush, not because it was Happy Hour and with no connection to Happy Hour.  When I drove into the lot, the first thing I saw was a sign that said “1/2 Price Cream Slush Treats All Day Real Ice Cream Real Fruit”.  It did not say, “All Day Except Happy Hour”.  It said nothing about Happy Hour. I ordered the Cream Slush because when I saw that sign, I thought, “Oh, that sounds interesting.  I’ll try that.”  I’ve never ordered the Cream Slush before at all.  My daughter has once, and she didn’t even like it, which is why even with the special, she didn’t order one.  I ordered it only because their sign advertising the special put the idea into my head.

Anyhow, Joe would like me to call back, and he’ll give me a coupon for a free Cream Slush.  I don’t want a free Cream Slush.  Why would I trust any drink from the Sonic at 2101 American Blvd W, Minneapolis, MN?  The manager there clearly has a grudge against people who look like me.  If I was more paranoid, I’d think that it might be against people who are not white enough, but I’m instead going to assume there really is some other person running around who looks just like me and argues with them about their clearly defined Happy Hour offering.

I guess it wasn’t about honoring or not honoring their posted advertisement for Tim.  The reason it felt like he was calling me a liar for saying that I saw it on a sign, was because he had already decided I was pulling a scam.

But you know what?  Let’s pretend I am incapable of reading (not true).  Let’s pretend I had made a mistaken order in the past, and then wouldn’t back down when they showed me the spot on the Happy Hour sign that says “no ice cream drinks” (not true, at all, I would have been embarrassed and agreed it was my mistake).  Let’s pretend I got them to make a one time only exception to the Happy Hour special in the past to give me an ice cream drink at half price (never happened).  Even if all that happened, I’d still be absolutely right to think that seeing a sign that said “1/2 Price Cream Slush Treats All Day Real Ice Cream Real Fruit” meant that Cream Slush Treats were 1/2 Price that day.

BTW, if you are local, the nearby Culver’s does offer a Happy Hour special on their ice cream treat – Concrete Mixer 2 for 1, or at least they did that day.  Also, most of the Dairy Queens around here seem to offer all drinks, including ice cream ones, for 1/2 price during Happy Hour.  Not that this issue was about Happy Hour at all, but since Sonic thinks it is, I might as well help you find some alternatives to their Happy Hour.

Personally, I’d rather happy hour with a nice cocktail.  Here are some options for that too.

Somebody asked for a better view of the sign.

 

Today my daughter asked to go to Sonic Drive-In to get one of their drinks.  I don’t eat a lot of fast food, but I do admit to really enjoying Sonic’s drinks. Most places, even if they do offer some kind of lemon or lime flavored treat, it is horribly sweet.  Sonic gets it right, and the lime slush as a real pucker factor to it.
We’d been having a nice day, and it seemed like a treat like that might be nice.  The closest Sonic isn’t super convenient.  There are certainly plenty of other places closer, but we drove the 10 miles to Sonic Drive In.

As we pulled into the lot, we saw a sign that said “1/2 Price Cream Slush Treats All Day Real Ice Cream Real Fruit”.  Bonus!  We think that sounds great.   Tempted by the sale, two of us decide to order those.

We pull up to the drive-thru speaker, and order a medium Lemon Berry Slush, a small Lime Cream Slush, and a small Lemon Berry Cream Slush.  I see the orders coming up on the information screen (how great is the info screen in drive-thrus?) and the Cream Slush drinks are listed as the normal price, so I ask,

Me: Aren’t the Cream Slushes supposed to be half price?

Speaker: No, those aren’t part of the special.

Me: But there is a sign that says they are half price all day.

Speaker: It says nothing with ice cream.

Me: No, it says the Cream Slush specifically, with ice cream.

Speaker: Hold on.

The speaker clicks off and we wait.  Finally…

Speaker: Okay. So, that was a medium Lemon Berry Slush, a small Lime Cream Slush, and what was the other one?

Me: A small Lemon Berry Cream Slush.

Speaker: Okay, pull forward to the window.

The info screen still showed full price, but I assumed they’d handle it at the window, especially since they hadn’t given a total.  We wait through a couple of other cars getting their orders, and then pull up to the window.  Tim is at the window.  Well, maybe it isn’t Tim, but that is what his name tag asys.

Tim: Okay, a Lemon Berry Slush, a Lime Cream Slush and a Lemon Berry, wait, no, that’s right, a Lemon Berry Slush, that will be $5.16

Me: The Cream Slushes should be half price.

Tim: No they aren’t.

Me: There is a sign that says the Cream Slush is half price all day.

Tim: No, there isn’t.

Me: Yes, there is.  That’s why we ordered them.

Tim: No, there isn’t. Where is the sign?

Me: Right at the front, where we drove in.  Do you want me to go take a picture of it to show to you?

Tim: No, I’ll meet you there.

I drive over in front of the sign and wait, and Tim exits the Sonic and comes over and looks at the sign.

Tim: Oh, no.  That’s a mistake.  I’ll take it down.

Me: But, you’ll give me the advertised price on the drinks?

Tim: No, I can’t honor that price.

Me: But, the sign says it is half price.

Tim: I already said I’ll take it down.

Me: But, it was up when I ordered.

Tim: I can’t give you that price.  That special ended two months ago!  I’ll take the sign down.

I asked him for the corporate headquarters phone number, and he gave me the phone number of Joe, who he said was the district manager.  Joe did not answer his phone.  He took the sign down and threw it in the garbage can.  I called 1-866-OK-SONIC, which is the number listed on their menus.  They said that they don’t help resolve problems, so there was nothing they could do but file a complaint and have it sent to store management.

I was sitting at Sonic, unable to get the drinks I ordered at the advertised price, even though I proved that I wasn’t lying after Tim told me I was.  Somehow it was my problem that they left the wrong sign up at the entrance to their lot for two months, and rather than give me the discount being advertised on their own sign, they would prefer to alienate a customer.

We left and went to Culver’s.  They honored the special showing on their sign, without any discussion at all. Apparently they are better at keeping their signs up to date, and sticking to what they advertise.

So, just be careful when you go to Sonic.  Never trust that they will honor anything they are advertising. Double check what you are paying.  Or better yet, skip it.  It isn’t like it is health food.

I took a photo of Tim and the sign.  Well, not Tim’s face, but of his name tag.  I only had a cell phone camera that doesn’t take the greatest photos, so it is a little difficult to read the sign.  That’s why I grabbed the sign out of the garbage can too.  It very clearly states that the drinks I ordered were supposed to be half price.  Now it can hang on my daughter’s wall as a reminder of why we don’t go to Sonic anymore.  I don’t care how good their drinks taste on a hot day.