Tuesday, May 20, 2008

HEY GANG!!

This came across my email today from Richie publisher of PEZ heads newsletter and head of our PEZ group....
I wrote in...




Hi Everyone,

Most PEZ collectors know that Wendy the Snapple Lady is a PEZ collector. Recently she was fired from Snapple. (see story below) I don’t know about you, but when I think of Snapple I think of Wendy. She is the face of Snapple products. As PEZheads, lets see if we can make a difference.

All I am asking you for is a minute of your time. Please go to the Snapple web site (here is a quick link)

http://www.econsumeraffairs.com/am_bev/contactus.htm?F1=snapple&F2=Snapple_Tea_Blend

fill out the form and ask Snapple to bring Wendy back.

Thank you….

Here is the story from the “We love Wendy” group on Facebook.

On March 5, 2008, Wendy "The Snapple Lady" Kaufman was invited to lunch by a VP of marketing for Cadbury Schweppes, the most recent owner of Snapple. He not only told her to pick the restaurant, but he also informed her that it'd be a fun and casual lunch. Unfortunately for Wendy, however, the meal would prove to be anything but.

Just after she ordered, Wendy was told that her existing contract with Snapple had been terminated. They did give her another one at the meal, but it was a case of corporate posturing: they only wanted Wendy to sign it so she'd be tied up both personally and professionally for the rest of her life, for zero dollars.

Obviously, this was an offer that she had to refuse. It was horrible, like getting served divorce papers after 18 years of marriage. No consideration of Wendy's history with the brand, no notice for Wendy and her family's sake, no severance package, no thanks for her years of loyalty to the brand or for loyal fans of the brand, no announcement to the public for her to say goodbye officially - nothing at all. Wendy was devastated. It wasn't so much that she was fired, but the meanspirited way in which she was discarded that stung so much. Feeling completely depressed, and having had no contact whatsoever with Snapple, Wendy had no idea how to handle the situation at hand. What was she supposed to say to all of the fans who approached her every day and said things like, "Hey, it's The Snapple Lady!"

Last week, Fox News contacted Wendy to ask for a comment about Cadbury Schweppes' decision to make Dr. Pepper Snapple a publically traded company. You can imagine how shocked they were when the always bubbly and gregarious Wendy had no comment on the matter. But they were even more shocked when she told them why. That day, producers invited Wendy to appear on air to announce her firing from Snapple. Viewers were outraged and Fox's Neil Cavuto was so upset that he discussed it further on the following night's program.

Would Snapple have experienced so much success without Wendy's presence? Probably not. But perhaps more importantly, will Snapple continue to experience success without its much-loved spokesperson? Not if legions of Wendy's fans have anything to do with it. Whether executives at Cadbury Schweppes like it or not, Wendy will always be The Snapple Lady

3 comments:

Robert Pope said...

And the lesson is this: whatever you do and whoever you do it for, do it to the best of your abilities, get the most money out of it you can, and never, never forget that there's no such thing as "loyalty" in ANY kind of business. Sad but oh, so true.

The Penciler said...

Sad part of corporate America. I have to agree with what Robert says. Be passionate about your work not the people you do it for.
By the way, when is Pez going to come up in your strip? or did i miss it already?

zero hour said...

oh you did not my little kilted friend.....some on the way soon! thanks for the reminder!


back to work now...for "da MAN!"