Key word in that title? MAIL. Not email, mail. It’s amazing how far a simple hand-written note can go. It’s something that is becoming more and more scarce, but we decided to give it a go with a few of our favorite companies to see what would happen. We’ve read online before people mailing to companies asking for coupons, but we didn’t want to do that. We wrote personal stories about our relationship with each company and mailed them a letter to their headquarters just to see what would happen. We had mixed success, but here’s what happened with each place!
What Happens When You Mail a Company
We mailed a bunch of national chains as well as a few local chains. The national ones were chosen because we use them frequently or heard they like this kind of stuff. We sent them out and all the responses we got came within three weeks. After that, we got nothing. Here’s what happened.
National Chains:
Chick-fil-A
Time to respond: 3 weeks
What they sent: a thank you note for being a loyal customer
Chipotle
Time to respond: 1.5 weeks
What they sent: coupon for a free burrito
Publix
Time to respond: 1 week
What they sent: a thank you note for being a loyal customer
Trader Joes
Time to respond: 1 week
What they sent: a letter thanking me for suggesting a new store near our part of town and telling me how they expand
Oreo/Barberitos/TastyKake/Lowes Home Improvement/Starbucks
Time to respond: N/A
What they sent: Nothing
Local Chains:
Taco Boy
Time to respond: 1 week
What they sent: This Instagram post…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV7X3rMHZOZ/?taken-by=tacoboychs
Melvins BBQ/White Duck Taco Shop
Time to respond: n/a
What they sent: nothing
Conclusion
Honestly, not much came out of this. We spent more money on stamps than we received back in free food. The biggest hit was definitely the Instagram post from Taco Boy, which received 402 likes and 29 comments. That’s about twice as many likes as their normal posts and 15 times as many comments as they usually receive, so I’d say it was pretty successful for them and us.
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Hey there, I’m Sean, the woodworking enthusiast and builder behind CharlestonCrafted.com! Since 2012, I’ve been sharing the magic of turning raw materials into beautiful creations. I love teaching others the art and satisfaction of woodworking and DIY. I try to inspire fellow crafters to make something extraordinary out of nothing at all.