19 If It Is Free, Would You Not Take It?

"Hey ..." I called out to the man who had walked away from the shelves with two Dove shampoos. He seemed not to hear.

"Excuse meEe..," I said louder, now reaching out with my hand. He turned around. Hubs and I excitedly showed him our plastic-wrapped pillow and informed him that he qualified to get one free too. I pointed to where he could collect it.

He smiled, nodded 'yes-yes' and walked towards his shopping cart. I looked on in bewilderment as he continued his shopping elsewhere.

Dove Jigsaw Piece Pillow

"Why wouldn't anyone want a free pillow. Perhaps he thought me out to scam him!"  I ponder in amusement.

It was comical, really. Here I was, thrilled to get a free cute pillow for purchasing over RM30 worth of Dove products. I wasn't even buying it just to get the freebie. I use Dove shampoo and was already aiming for two large bottles when I noticed a promotional sign on top of a large metal wire mesh container with the pillows and details how to redeem it. As easy as picking one out for yourself and putting it in the cart. Nothing more. 

Here this guy was, sauntering away without looking back. I wished I had thought of it then. I would have asked cheekily -- if you're not taking it, could I have it instead ?

That's the thing about shopping, with me at least. I'm always on the lookout for bargains. In some supermarkets, freebies are self-collect. It's easy to walk off with a packet of Milo and not realise that you get a free container with that. It only takes a bit of my time to read the promotional notices that are usually displayed around the shelves.

In the case of Milo, there was a triple promo going on the weekend I was in Tesco! One, the price had gone down! Hubs was quick to grab a few 2KG packs. Two, we qualified for freebies - mugs and a large container. I don't quite remember the details as it was weeks ago. Anyway, as one product promoter placed the items into my cart, another one stopped to pass me some forms. "You're eligible for a free Milo jacket," she said.

My Awesome MILO Container

I thought the day was going way too good. Before I knew it, we'd paid for the items and driven home, completely forgetting about the jacket! I let it go, kicking myself every time I thought about it.  

MILO Mugs

I gave my dad the pillow. The milo container? It now stores delicious made-in-Brunei prawn crackers which I deep fried the day before - still crispy, which means it's airtight.