Like most college students, I jump at the opportunity for free food. Add in a 90 some degree day and the fact that slushies are one of my favorite things ever and on July 11, (Free Slurpee Day) you have one very excited 18 year old.
However, just as college students love free food, we are not too keen on the idea of that expected food becoming unavailable. Whether it's going into the freezer and realizing our parents finished off the ice cream or going into the cafeteria and realizing the fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies has been decimated. You take away the free item and you have one very disappointed and opinionated young adult.
7-Eleven promotes free Slurpees from 11 am until 7 pm on July 11 (7/11) every year. This happens to be one of my favorite days of the summer for that reason, but not this year. I arrived at the 7-Eleven on Chestnut Street in Emmaus only to be met by a poorly written and crooked sign on the front door reading something along the lines of "ran out of cups, no more free Slurpees". Sure, the promotion goes until they run out of cups, but should that even happen? Ritas gives away free Italian Ice on the first day of Spring and I have never heard of a Ritas running out of cups for free ice. I could be mistaken, but I doubt it.
You would think a store such as 7-Eleven would realize the popularity of their Slurpees on this day and properly stock their cups accordingly. A promotion such as free Slurpees on 7/11 is designed to bring customers into the door and to get them to realize that on a hot day, a Slurpee is what they need. Not to mention the numerous kids that beg their parents to buy them a candy bar to go along with their free frozen drink. However, the plan backfires when you have customers arriving at your doorstep, attempting to read the sign, and then returning back to their cars without stepping foot in the door.
So a big hats off to you 7-Eleven for poorly stocking cups, losing customers, and finally giving me something blog about. I hope you enjoy the complaint letter and I look forward to buying gas and slushies at Turkey Hill.