After too many years on a very firm Chinese bed frame/mattress, I finally bought my girls Westin Heavenly Beds. I didn’t splurge for the king-size since the girls are pretty small people, but the “single” option turned out to be about the size of a U.S. double, and that works really well for our needs. I didn’t mind paying the price, but the promotion of buy-one-get-one-free wasn’t exactly as it appeared. It was more like buy one and the second is a 58% additional cost – at that point, I was committed to the purchase and I didn’t do more than point out that wasn’t truly a BOGO offer. “We have different promotions,” I was told.
Move forward a few weeks and it was time to replace our water dispenser. It’s an old machine that we inherited when we first moved here, and over the years the buttons and such have shown major signs of wear and tear. Also, lately it appears that the Nestle water jugs have had a makeover in protective seals – so much so that you cannot replace an empty jug without being doused with water each and every time. The timing of these combined led to the decision to switch to Watsons water, which I’ve considered for a while now anyway.
Do they provide dispensers, too? The research began. After learning more than I expected to about the types of water available, as well as the prices and process by which you need to follow to get new bottles, I had to question the details of my preferred choice: buy 13 bottles at RMB 22 each and get a “free” standing water dispenser (the regular kind, not the fancy silver kind for RMB 200 more) – all for the total of RMB 690. I realize that math is not my forte, but 13 x 22 is not 690, meaning the dispenser actually costs RMB 404. And the RMB 200 deposit for the four bottles I start with is additional. Yes, I was told, you are right. No explanation, then, of the promotion they were marketing? Nope. It’s just the way it is.
Similar to the days of exhaustion over bargaining for every little thing, these latest promotions that force you to think through what is offered only to discover it’s really not as it appears – well, it’s tiring. Sometimes I just want to be told the prices or the conditions, and then I can make my decision accordingly. I don’t want to have to first decipher the deception and then just get all bent out of shape over it.
The water jugs and dispenser were promptly delivered. The jugs are easy to plop onto the machine, the water dispenses quickly, and we’re all set up with our new system. That’s what I wanted, after all.
Yippee, what a deal!