Posted on 05/27/2008 3:43:43 PM PDT by Mrs. P
When this story came around the homeschool email loops this past weekend, several homeschool parents saw no reason to take offense at this promotion, either, although others did.
IMHO, the company messed up by not carefully selecting the right words. I used to work in sales and marketing, and I wrote/edited/proofread copy for ads and brochures. Never, ever, ever use negative words (such as “no” or “not”) in an advertisement. You’re supposed to put a positive spin on everything.
Instead of writing, “No home schools will be accepted,” the company would not have angered so many people so much so quickly if it had simply left out that line. It wasn’t even necessary to add that line because the policy was covered already in the previous line: “...children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6...”
Let’s put it this way: They didn’t go out of their way to add: “Entries for children in grades 7 or above will not be accepted.” For some unexplainable reason, they went out of their way to add the line about homeschooled students. Those six little words messed everything up for them, imho.
At most, they should’ve buried the policy in the small print, and still they should’ve written it politely: “We regret that entries from homeschooled students cannot be accepted into this particular contest, but we look forward to including homeschoolers in future promotions.” There. So simple.
I think heads are going to roll in their marketing department... lol. I can hear the screaming now. (In fact, I remember clearly how it usually went down.) ;-)
Amen sister..........!
You are exactly right, they messed up with the language they used. It read to me like they were out to advance an agenda, and right away I was suspicious and motivated to fight back. They could have avoided most of the trouble over this if they used your wording!
Here is the nice letter they sent to HSLDA:
Subway Apologizes
HSLDA is pleased to pass along the following apology from Subway restaurants.
To HSLDA:
We at SUBWAY restaurants place a high value on education, regardless of the setting, and have initiated a number of programs and promotions aimed at educating our youth in the areas of health and fitness.
We sincerely apologize to anyone who feels excluded by our current essay contest. Our intention was to provide an opportunity for traditional schools, many of which we know have trouble affording athletic equipment, to win equipment. Our intent was certainly not to exclude homeschooled children from the opportunity to win prizes and benefit from better access to fitness equipment.
To address the inadvertent limitation of our current contest and provide an opportunity for even more kids to improve their fitness, we will soon create an additional contest in which homeschooled students will be encouraged to participate. When the kids win, everyone wins!
Except Quiznos has the WORST salads ever. I made the mistake of getting a salad there for lunch and the lady working there took a piece of american cheese and melted it on top...not only did it look totally unappealing, but what the heck kind of salad is that? I have been going to pho soup places for lunch or going to one of those creative salad places...leaves quiznos and subway in the dust, IMHO.
“Our intention was to provide an opportunity for traditional schools, many of which we know have trouble affording athletic equipment, to win equipment.”
On a scale of "least to most" funding available, where do they think tax-supported public schools, private schools and home schools are? I would think home schools are pretty low on that scale.
~shaking head~
Like the numb skulls who think "socialization" is a "problem" for HS'ers.
I should call them and tell them to hire me. LOL. I think you're right - that line does sound like they're advancing an agenda.
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