I won tickets from Boston Pizza! So why do I feel cheated?

I went to the Prince Albert location of Boston Pizza this past Saturday afternoon to watch the Riders-Alouettes game. While watching the game I indulged in two pints of Molson Pilsner. As the promotion that Boston Pizza has been running for the past couple of seasons states, every time you purchase a Pil, you can enter a draw to win tickets to the next Rider home game. I filled out the forms I was given, and placed them in the draw barrell. Though the game was disappointing, there was a happy ending for me. I won the draw!

I am grateful for the tickets I received, and I'm sure I'll have a great time at the game. But I won't be going to the game I'm supposed to be going to. The next Rider home game is this upcoming Saturday, the 27th of July, against the Edmonton Eskimos. I was given tickets to the following home game, on August 16th versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Frankly, there are some very good reasons why the latter game actually works better for me. For one, I'm scheduled to work this upcoming Saturday. I work in a small office, and at this time there's only one other employee I can switch shifts with. It's possible, but the more advance notice we give each other, the better. Also, for travel and accomodation arrangements, the more time there is in advance to make plans, the better. In the handful of CFL games that I've attended, including two Grey Cups, I've never seen the Riders take on the Ti-Cats. The lone game I attended last year featured the Eskimos as the opponent. One disadvantage of the Ti-Cat game for me is that it takes place on a Sunday evening. I work at 7:30 on Monday mornings. The Eskimo game being on a Saturday gives me plenty of time to get back home and get plenty of rest for the coming work week.

When I received my tickets, I immmediately questioned why they were for the following home game, and not for the next one, as the promotion states. I was given the simple answer of "We already gave those tickets away." When I asked how this happened, they were unable to provide me with an answer. I believe there are two possibilities. It could very well be a simple, innocent mix-up, or it could be that the tickets were somehow inappropriately allocated.

Here's why the situation looks bad for the Prince Albert location of this fine restaurant chain. Of all the games that this situation could happen with, it just so happens that the festivities surrounding the game on July 27th include a reunion of the 1989 Grey Cup winning Roughrider team. Twenty years later, it's still a big deal around here. It's among the greatest moments in Saskatchewan sports history, and even in Canadian sports history. There will be an autograph session before the game, and a ceremony at halftime. Most of the players from that team will be in attendance. With almost any other game, and any other game day promotions, I would not question my prize. It's not hard to see why there is some potential for the situation to be manipulated for someone's personal gain.

All I'm asking is for is some tranparency. If there was a simple mix-up, that's certainly understandable. It's disappointing, but forgiveable. If this situation arose because of inappropriate actions, I trust that Boston Pizza will deal with the situation appropriately.

This kind of crap happens all the time with promos! While I have never had an experience with the restaraunt chain you speak of it is well lnown that management and/or staff of bars/restaraunts often seem to end up being the recipient(s) of the promotional prizes. About the only suggestion I can give you is to contact the corporate (head) office of the business involved and seek an explantion. If that doesn’t get you a satisfactory explanation you may try contacting Molsons directlly.

P.S. You can also bring this to the attention of Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority! I do know that falsely conducting promotions is illegal in this provinve so a toll free call to Consumer Affairs at the Department of Justice will likely yield results.

Ron C is correct when he says that staff often get the benefit of these free promotions.

Remember when Pilsner had all of those Rider t-shirts in the beer cases? I actually saw bar staff from a small town bar rip open pilsner beer cases and take out the t-shirts and then tape the boxes back up with duct tape that was probably stolen from their boss' storage room. That is pure theft, but folks think because it is free for someone, then it is not theft... like when my dad steals all the ketchup and mustard packages when he goes for coffee in the morning. For some reason the old fool refuses to see it as stealing...

There are reasons why cashiers who sell lottery tickets win more lotteries than the general population....

The sad fact is that some employees steal and they steal not only from their bosses but from their customers as well. Employee theft outnumbers customer theft I am told, almost 50 to one in terms of dollars stolen. Sometimes I feel in my own business that I am actually paying some people to steal from me...

Contact Molson's directly, but first if possible find a disgruntled staff person in that establishment to verify what you suspect. You may not find one, but it will help your case. Either way, write Molson's (be sure to thank them for the ticket you did get) and they will most certainly talk to the establishment.

I worked at a store and this stuff happens all the time lol

and why are you laughing about it?

it’s a criminal act!

no laughing matter here.

It happens is what I am saying. However I should clarify where I worked there wasn't theft like in the small town bar Oxbow mentioned. But employees do get certain perks I guess one could say at some places that abuse the main purpose of a promotion. This happens in all sorts of businesses though, does it not? And it isnt like customers dont get certain breaks that they shouldnt at the same time. It is a two way street. Just so happens that in this case it would appear that Saskfan4life didnt get a fair shake.

Alright, time for me to man up. I admit I posted this to stir the pot a little. After I posted, I contacted BP's HQ by phone, and after getting passed around a bit among higher ranking personnel (national customer complaints rep, national marketing manager), I was put through to the marketing manager for Saskatchewan. She is responsible for the CFL promo in the province.

I explained the situation to her, and even she admitted it looked bad. Then she told her side of the story. Because of what BP's saw as a "glitch" in the CFL's scheduling, i.e. back to back home games instead of a nice home, away, home, away pattern like it is for most of the rest of the season, a decision was made, which she was in on, to give the tickets for the July 25th and August 16th games away a bit early. I'm not sure I quite understand their reasoning, and I certainly don't agree with the decision, but that's definitely a better answer than "We already gave the tickets away." What she said tells me that everything is on the level, and it's not some shady local employee skimming prime tickets.