Senior Sunday

I'm starting a new meme. Won't you join me? Share your stories and I'll post them here!

Let me begin. Last week, I was opening a new container of Tide pods.

I COULD NOT open the lid! Could not!!! First of all, there was a really heavy duty tape that was nearly impossible to pull off. I couldn't pull it off, so I just sliced it. Next, there were these two white "buttons" on either side of the wide part. You were supposed to press in the buttons and twist at the same time to open the lid. ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME! First of all, my little hands could barely reach the buttons, much less press them in and turn at the same time. I tried using both hands to push in the buttons. Of course, that left me with no leverage to turn the thing. Now I needed to find another person to hold the container while I pressed and turned. Oooops, no one was home!!! I said "FTS" to myself---or maybe out loud!!!

I banged it, I threw it, I stomped on it. I could not get that sucker open!! I finally took my heavy duty Cutco scissors that can cut through pennies! Funny, when the guy gave me that demonstration 25 years ago, I laughed to myself. "Yeah, right. I need to cut through pennies!" Little did I know this was preparing me for Tide containers to come!

The scissors did the trick---but not before massacring the lid of the container!

That's okay, I don't need the lid anyway. I just wish I'd thought to take a picture of it before Margarita was here and emptied the trash!!

Anyway, immediately after this frustration, I decided that I wasn't going to take it anymore. I went straight to the Tide website and lodged a complaint. Here's my email to them:

First off I want to say that I have used Tide for 50 years. Today, I discovered that I am unable to open the tide pods container. I get that you are trying to childproof your products, but you have also "senior" proofed your products. Being older and with small hands, there is no way to be able to reach both buttons, press and turn at the same time. I basically had to destroy the container to get in it. I'm just letting you know how unhappy I am with this situation.

The next day, I got this response:
 

Hi Barbara,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out and especially for your long time love and dedication to Tide. It is such a pleasure to know that we have a loyal fan like you on our side - that's for sure!

I am sincerely sorry to hear about the difficulties in opening our Tide Pods. This isn't anything we'd expect or want for you to have happen. I am, however, glad that you took the time to let us know. Now, I can help you and get a report to my Quality team.

Please know that our consumer feedback is the best kind of feedback that we can get, Barbara! With that being said, I've made sure to save and forward your comments to my Packaging and Design Team for further review and consideration.

In the meantime, I'd like to make it up to you anyway that I can. With that being said, I have a $10 prepaid Tide card coming to you. This will arrive in 7-10 business days and if there's anything more that I can do, please let me know - I'm always happy to help! Some folks find the bags easier to open. 

Best Regards,

Lisa 
Tide Team

Now that was a surprise. I didn't do it to get something. But, I'm glad I did. I emailed Lisa back:

Yes, I’ll go back to the ziplock bags. I got the tub for the economical value.

Sending this email forced me to recognize that I am a senior! I am very active and don’t consider myself weak or decrepit. But, opening containers is such a problem for me that I decided that from now on, I would let companies know. This was the first email I’ve sent. I keep saying that ALL companies need to have me test their products!! 

Thanks for your consideration.

I love my Tide!

Barbara

Hmmm. If I'm going to get free stuff, I'm definitely going to let companies know when I have a problem---like the bottled water company whose caps are so small you can barely get a grip to open it. Or, the salad dressing bottles with the pull off tabs that are so stuck that I have to stab it with a knife first and then peel it off. Or the medicine bottles that require you to get the box open, hold the cap down and turn, stab another tight foil seal and remove the cotton before you ever get to the medicine. Or the peanut butter jars that I have to stab too. So many things. ALL the things. So much stabbing. I'm becoming quite adept at that Pyscho motion! Let's just hope this packaging doesn't make me pyscho!

Oh, and then there's the Enclave that I always had a problem seeing out of for all the blind spots. Darn, I guess I'm a little too late for that one. If I contact them now---7 years later, do you think I'll score a new car? Might be worth a try!