I get about a zillion credit card offers in the mail, with increasingly juicy offers. The latest one, an envelope from Chase, promised a whopping $100 cash back after my first purchase. Sounded like a sweet deal, so I ripped it open...only to find that the offer INSIDE the envelope promised only a measly $50 cash back. Hmm. I decided to get the card company on the horn:
ME: "Hi, your envelope promises $100 cash back. Can I get that deal?"
THEM: "No. The offer is for $50 cash back."
ME: "So you say $100 on the envelope just to get suckers to open it up?"
THEM: "We have escalated this."
ME: "What does that mean?"
THEM: "We've escalated it."
ME: "Huh?"
THEM: "Do you want the offer or not?"
ME: "I think what you're saying is that you have no intention of honoring the $100 promise you advertise?"
THEM: "We have escalated it. It's a $50 offer. Do you want it?"
ME: "Uh. No."