I bought a case of Monster Lo-Carb at Costco and one of the cans had a pop-top that was partially open. It was an obvious packaging QC problem.

See Bad Can

When I notified Monster Beverage company (I even sent a picture of the open can), they didn't even offer to replace the can. They just thanked me.

[ 03-20-2006, 02:24 PM: Message edited by: tweaty ]

IMO and just my two cents.

I would call back and ask to speak with a supervisor. I would say that in light my prior phone call and the picture of the can's top,the bare minimum you could do is replace the product.

Also mention that due the defective can, you tossed out the remainder of the case as your felt the product may not have been safe to drink.

Tell them that you have been a loyal customer. That you have no interest other than replacing the case.

Be a little forceful and sound like your outraged that they neglected to replace your defective case.

Just my opinion. [img]smile.gif[/img]

That isn't a packaging QC problem, that is a person dropping the case and the can popping the top on it. Then again since it is a lowcarb/ sugerfree it probably got too cold and the ice popped the top on it.

You should have taken the case back to costco, (I am sure they would have replaced the whole thing much like walmart exchanges stuff all the time) rather than call Monster about it. If you insist on calling Monster do as Zabe said , ask for a supervisor, tell him your story and the name of who you spoke with and on what day/time etc. and more than likely he will at least send you some coupons for some product.

From the plant to store, beverages get banged around constantly. If your theory holds true, consumers could expect to see a set percentage of open ones in any given case of soda or beer.

This can was in the middle of the case, btw.

Presure is pressure. That can could have been in the middle of the skid being compressed by both the outside and the inside of the pallet.
I wouldn't get to worked up over it. Demanding a free one is a little out of the ordinary in my book. Accidents happen and Monster did not set out to intentionally do you harm. Furthermore, If this product was shrink wrapped you should have noticed the defect before you made the purchase. If you didn't notice it then you may have some culpibility in the damage. It could have happened on your way home, or when you put it in the shopping cart, or bringing it in the house. There are too many variables for you just to pin it on Monster.
Furthermore, like Saint said, you should have gone to Costco first before you went to Monster. Distribution agreements have built in shrinkage allowances for this type of problem. Costco is in a much better position to help you than Monster in this situation in my opinion.

I have had a few problems with some Coca Cola products in the past 2 years or so. I called customer service,I might say that Coca Cola has the friendliest customer service department I have ever dealt with. The first time I called, I asked them if I should go back to the store and deal with my problem there. Coke said no, they wanted to get my information first hand and then contact the store to evaluate the situation.

I actually saved Coke some work as they were able to get the production numbers and sell by date during my call. I have never had to request a replacement from Coke. Like I said, they want their customers to get a fair deal.

Coke does not want an upset customer returning to a busy store and try to deal with the store customer service people or manager. Why should their customer be inconvenienced?

[ 03-20-2006, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: Mr Zabe ]

Originally posted by tweaty:
From the plant to store, beverages get banged around constantly. If your theory holds true, consumers could expect to see a set percentage of open ones in any given case of soda or beer.

This can was in the middle of the case, btw.

True BUT, most of the people who put the sodas etc. on the shelf notice when there is liquid pouring out of the cardboard when they pick it up. Most of the time, not all it is taken care of before the product hits the shelf.

Judging the situation by observing your picture it is very noticable that the can has been dropped, ran into, scraped up against something alot harder than the can. This alone could cause the can to burst open like it did. Once again this is not a packaging problem, this is a can that has had physical force of some type applied to it.

Physical force applied -- true enough. I still think it happened at the plant though. It wasn't a damaged case (I wouldn't have bought it) of cans. Like I said, the bad one was in the middle of the case.

Monster Bevs packages each case with a big label on top covering most of the cans -- you could not have seen a bad one in the middle. The only telltale sign was that I noticed a few of the cans were a bit sticky. By then I was nearly halfway through the case. No-go for Costco return; they've switched back to regular Monster again.

Mr Zabe, Coke definitely has it all over Hansens/Monster when it comes to customer service.

[ 03-20-2006, 06:41 PM: Message edited by: tweaty ]

It's crazy that you are out like $1.25 I wonder how many phone calls Monster gets in a day with people complaining about one bad can?

Believe it or not large companies like Coca Cola,
want to be bothered over a small problem. They want to know if a production lot had a problem or if a pallet was damaged in a store's back stock area. For the customer it is the principle of the matter.

I wonder if Monster's over all customer complaint rate would drop if they paid more attention to the minor product problems as called in by their customers.

Granted, I do agree there will always be a few people who abuse or cheat companies out of money or product, that's the cost of doing business. To punish good customers because of the sins of a few is not good for business.

Just my opinion as a loyal customer to the products I buy and buy often. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 03-20-2006, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: Mr Zabe ]