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Why does Microsoft insist on "giving" out stuff with no actual value?

M

Majine

Banned
I got an e-mail thanking me for participating in the Halo 5 Beta, which I have nothing against, but it mentioned EXCLUSIVE GIFTS which turned out to be a facebook cover photo with the same art that the game has, and a poster of a spartan I'm guessing they expect me to print out myself.

This of course isn't the first time. We all remember the birthday "cake" they sent out. I'm content with them not giving me anything, but when they try to, it gets weird and they look like such cheapskates.
 
They love making sure you know your place.

You're only worth to them is some cheap clip art an intern threw together in five minutes before they buggered off to lunch.
 
Illusive_Juan said:
Only thing worse than not getting free stuff is complaining about free stuff you didn't expect/ask for.
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Disagreed. I don't want your free stuff if all you're going to give me is 20 microsoft points for my birthday.

That's like walking up to a stranger and giving them stale bread.
 
y4K7YEm.jpg
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Selling this on ebay.
 
Because it's cheap for them and for every Gaffer that thinks WTF when they receive a digital poster, there is another kid that loves that shit to death. You and I don't care for these things but there is that kid that sees it and thinks, "wow, Master Chief is so cool!"

Edit: I should add that then that kid shares his crazy fanaticism with his friends and it comes back to help them in the long run with cheap advertising.
 
TalonJH said:
Because it's cheap for them and for every Gaffer that thinks WTF when they receive a digital poster, there is another kid that loves that shit to death. You and I don't care for these things but there is that kid that sees it and thinks, "wow, Master Chief is so cool! I need that in Minecraft"
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ftfy.
 
I miss the good old days when , because I awnsered a few surveys on the Playstation Website, I was somehow promoted to the Gamer Advisory Panel and I had Playstation Caps, CD cases and demo disks mailed to me for free every now and then. I even had a socom ration and cloth patch once...
 
Is OP that guy who got pissed off at his neighbor for greeting him good morning everyday?
 
Because they're not really meant to have value to you, they are items that have value to them.

Think of them less as free gifts, and more as promotional marketing items to increase other peoples exposure to the product, :P

A bit like the free pens at a bookmakers.
 
This reminds me of a time my dad was giving a homeless person the remaining money he had in his pocket. The man didn't think it was enough/found it insulting and decided against taking it.

Its free, its extra. It does no harm at all. Whats the problem?
 
tempest3 said:
This reminds me of a time my dad was giving a homeless person the remaining money he had in his pocket. The man didn't think it was enough/found it insulting and decided against taking it.

Its free, its extra. It does no harm at all. Whats the problem?
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Was your dad giving the dude literally 2 cents? Cos that's how cheap MS were being with these "rewards".
 
tempest3 said:
This reminds me of a time my dad was giving a homeless person the remaining money he had in his pocket. The man didn't think it was enough/found it insulting and decided against taking it.

Its free, its extra. It does no harm at all. Whats the problem?
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In the case of when they gave people 20 MSP, it was more like giving a homeless person the paper wrapping of a hamburger and ask them to fill it with food themselves.
 
You know, they wanna make sure you feel like a first class citizen. :P

Seriously though, it's just a small thank you. Doesn't always have to be free games and stuff. It's free if you want it and if you don't you leave it. No reason to complain.
 
TalonJH said:
Because it's cheap for them and for every Gaffer that thinks WTF when they receive a digital poster, there is another kid that loves that shit to death. You and I don't care for these things but there is that kid that sees it and thinks, "wow, Master Chief is so cool!"
Click to expand...
No, I mean maybe, but that's not the reason.
Osiris said:
Because they're not really meant to have value to you, they are items that have value to them.

Think of them less as free gifts, and more as promotional marketing items to increase other peoples exposure to the product, :P

A bit like the free pens at a bookmakers.
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TimeEffect said:
They aren't gifts. They want you to market for them.

The real gift is free labour.
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Yes
 
It is sort of strange. I got my happy birthday message from them yesterday. I basically read it as "Don't die this year so you can keep buying shit for Xbox". I suppose they think it makes them seem more personable or something.
 
This is why I unsubscribe from promotional mailings from every company. All those "special offers" are the same concept. I find them obnoxious in general.
 
Yeah I did think it felt a little bit patronizing when earlier this year they sent me an email acting like they did me a favor when really they just sent me a JPG for free advertising. Didn't leave me feeling gracious.

I think the problem is more their presentation/wording than what theyre "giving" us. They should just downplay it. Instead of wow free gift for you just click here to claim! they should just be saying Happy Birthday, here's a birthday wallpaper.
 
Wow, just...wow. You complain because you received free stuff/rewards. Look, it may not mean much to you, but maybe it means something to others.
Thank you Microsoft (or any other company) for taking the time and effort to send your thanks to me, your customer. I appreciate it!
 
For such a rich company they are stingy as fuck. I guess they live by "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves" or whatever American equiv there is.
 
The biggest crime is that it borders on spam.

I got a message for PlayStation congratulating me on getting a certain trophy in GTAV, "Off the Plane", telling me to buy Shark Cards.

It's all marketing, at the end of the day. I don't get annoyed by it but I also know it's personal based on some computer deciding to send it.
 
Daximuss said:
Wow, just...wow. You complain because you received free stuff/rewards. Look, it may not mean much to you, but maybe it means something to others.
Thank you Microsoft (or any other company) for taking the time and effort to send your thanks to me, your customer. I appreciate it!
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Who? I want to know their GAF names. People living in NK who have nothing wouldn't care about that.
 
Just saying those things most likely aren't meant to actually be printed/used even though they tell you to. They are essentially advertisements for you to keep buying their stuff. It's more psychological
 
Majine said:
I got an e-mail thanking me for participating in the Halo 5 Beta, which I have nothing against, but it mentioned EXCLUSIVE GIFTS which turned out to be a facebook cover photo with the same art that the game has, and a poster of a spartan I'm guessing they expect me to print out myself.

This of course isn't the first time. We all remember the birthday "cake" they sent out. I'm content with them not giving me anything, but when they try to, it gets weird and they look like such cheapskates.
Click to expand...

So since they seem intent on giving something to say "thanks" and keep the brand in your mind, what would suffice?
 
Stealth_Cobra said:
I miss the good old days when , because I awnsered a few surveys on the Playstation Website, I was somehow promoted to the Gamer Advisory Panel and I had Playstation Caps, CD cases and demo disks mailed to me for free every now and then. I even had a socom ration and cloth patch once...
Click to expand...
Wth i was in GAP and didnt get crap. Wait i think once i got a psp demo disc lol
 
This is the same company that sent people a whopping twenty five cents worth of Microsoft Points as a birthday "reward" and acted like they should be grateful. They then changed it to a paper cake they expect you to waste ink printing out and then tweet to them with their hashtag as free advertising, and now they're doing the same thing with a printable "selfie frame" for you to hold around your face. Seriously.

Sometimes nothing is better than something. Sending nothing is fine, but sending twenty five cents and acting like it's a gift is saying "this is how little we value you as a customer."
 
lol at all the people saying that OP shouldn't complain because 'free is free'. As if any old crap given to somebody should be accepted with open arms and without criticism. I need to get rid of an old mattress, mind if I drop it off at your place? Also, I'd love all your email addresses so I could put you on a few free mail-forwarding lists for emails about jokes, cat pictures, and magic tricks.
 
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