Claim: Porsche dealer offers "buy one, get one free" promotion.
Example:[Collected via e-mail, April 2007]
Glen Fergusson - Sales and Marketing manager for a brand new Californian Porsche dealer. Has lost his job and faces possible legal proceedings as the company strives to reclaim the costs of the 18 Porches given away free under Glen's Opening day "buy one get one free promotion." "I admit I
didn't really do the numbers properly on this one" said Glen who told reporters that he had "seen the concept work really well for coffee stores" and in terms of numbers you could argue that Glen's campaign
worked. As the new Porsche dealer sold 18 Porches in the first hour of the store opening.
It took the head office a full hour to realise what was going on and subsequently shut the store.
Local man Bruce Stepper took out a second mortgage on his home after getting a promotional flyer in his mailbox. "I am ecstatic - I brought a shiny red Porsche today, got another one free and I have sold just sold it on EBay, all up I end up getting a Porsche 911 for $5000"
Origins: In March 2007, this tale about a hapless sales and marketing manager
who marked his first day at a Porsche dealership with an ill-starred "Buy one, get one free" promotion began landing in the snopes.com inbox.
Short and sweet, there was no such promotion, no gormless "Glen Fergusson," no ecstatic bargain hunters magically enriched by an ill-considered marketing ploy — the tale was a bit of fiction cooked up by the New Zealand humor site stuffed.co.nz. The story, which was posted there on 27 February 2007, was authored by one of the site's wags.
Barbara "dream machine scheme" Mikkelson
Last updated: 11 April 2007
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/business/deals/porsche.asp
Sources:
