Cravens

British Gas have recently sent out a nice piece of direct mail to their electricity customers. To help save energy and show their commitment to the environment, they sent everyone a box of four energy-saving lightbulbs.

Lovely idea, and a nice bit of PR for the company. Save energy, save money, save the environment, all for free.

There was a problem however. The box in which the bulbs were posted out in was too large for a standard letterbox. This meant that the free bulbs were returned to the sorting office, giving customers a hefty trek to collect them (probably in a car, just to offset any carbon savings made by the lightbulbs).

British Gas are already struggling against negative perceptions in the light of recent price rises. What should have been an exercise in adding value to their customers in fact became an extra chore and inconvenience, simply due to an incorrectly sized box.