Thursday 13 June 2013

The Bounty Mutiny

Besides the fact that this has to be one of the most cleverly named campaigns I've ever heard of, I'm 100% behind the Bounty Mutiny. My own relationship with Bounty was far from spectacular. I signed up in a haze of new motherly excitement and originally thought it would be a great idea for the photos and birth details to automatically be sent out to friends and relatives. This would free my husband up from laboriously writing out text messages and instead allow him to help me important things. Like nappy changing.

So I signed up, and inputted my details. It was a week or two later when I looked into it more closely and realised that the email would also be a hard sell tactic to all recipients. So I tried to delete the email addresses and close the account. There were many hours of technical faults and error pages before I finally gave up. I'd read in the small print that if a mother changed her mind on the day, she only had to tell the photographer and the emails would not be sent out. Easy. Like labour, right? Although, as it turned out neither was all that straightforward. Though labour certainly didn't raise my blood pressure as much.

Within hours of the photographer having visited the ward (to be fair she was very nice) and after I'd asked her not once but THREE times NOT to send the emails out, we got call from my husband's grandmother. After the congratulations she apologised profusely and said she was so sorry but she wasn't going to be buying any of the pics we'd sent to her. 'What pics!' I roared down the phone. My cool had most certainly been lost by this point. It turned out Bounty had been very free and easy with my private details and I may as well have saved my breath.


Of course I complained (usually emails stabbed out on my phone during midnight feeds). Then when I didn't get a response I complained again. And then again. Eventually someone did get back to me but the email was so brief and dismissive I briefly started scheming on how feasible it was to send them regular instalments of my newborn's nappy contents.

After one more 'I'm not happy about this' email (during which my family members received another 'please buy a picture' email) I gave up. I really had other more important things to worry about at that stage.

And my experience is nothing. There are stories of reps on the maternity wards who are hounding parents whose babies are ill, in danger or have even died.

This isn't acceptable. And if your experience was anything like mine, I'd urge you to read more and tweet about it. It'll only change if enough of us share our experience.



1 comment:

  1. Ah, I'm so sorry you had this experience - what idiots! I was much luckier, probably because it was so much longer ago and I can't remember the photographing thing happening - obviously before they went spammy and before email was invented - yes, there was such a time.
    I only remember coo-ing at my 'oh-so-beautiful' baby (actually she had stalk marks like you wouldn't believe so the reassurance was a relief) ...and the freebies, which were very good. Today it sounds as though it's a bit hit and miss depending on the person. I wonder if they're now on some sort of commission?
    Hopefully now at least they will tidy up their act.

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