Ping cancels accounts with local golf stores(For military discounts)

Augusta Chronicle ^ | 09-28-06 | By David Westin

[ASA Vet]

PING Ping

[Kakaze]

It should be interesting to see if there are protest in the galleries this weekend.

The PGA should be ready for alot of signs and verbal protest.

We are now a ping free zone....My dad was going to treat himself to a set when he retired next spring, guess thats out now.

[sgtbono2002]

If a store buys a product, it is up to that store what they sell that product for. If there is an agreement otherwise its a pretty stupid one IMO.

If these people want to cut their own throat I suppose thats their right.

Sounds like Muhammed Bill Gates has a problem with the military.

[ASA Vet]

I wonder if the company will do anything to redress this stupidity.

Probably too late already for them to recover.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

I just pinged Rush with the article.

We will see if this has any legs,

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

From the article Ping didn't tell them to stop, they arbitrarily quit doing business with them with no warning. Most businesses would contact the vendors with a notice of what they believe are violation of agreements, and let them decide to discontinue the practice or "suffer the consequences." It appears this didn't happen. That's where the leftist smell to Ping's decision comes from.

[jigsaw]

Ping Contacts (from their website):

Call us toll-free 8-5 Monday-Friday MST at 1.800.4.PING.FIT (1.800.474.6434).

In Canada, our toll-free number is 1.800.352.7464.

Our stamped mail address is:
PING
P.O. Box 82000
Phoenix, Arizona 85071-2000

[SeeRushToldU_So]

Get some........

There may be only @ 1,000,000 active members in the military. There are millions of us that are ex military.

Screw Ping and the horse that rode in on.

[kittymyrib]

This will cost Ping far more in the negative publicity it generates than the piddly amount they were losing in the discounts to military. And that this edict should come from someone named "Bill Gates" is really ironic!

[machman]

This is not news. Ping will cancel your account for ANY discount. There have been stories where they cancel big dollar accounts when they find out they have given $5 off a new club that somebody has hit once or twice.

It is right in their agreement, NO DISCOUNTS, NO EXCEPTIONS. Yes they are Nazi's about it, but its a free country, and they are a private company. You don't like the policy, don't buy their clubs.

[somniferum]

"It's something we put in place to protect our brand," said Bill Gates, Ping's director of distribution and associate general counsel."

This is what happens when you let lawyers run companies.

[Lil'freeper]

Ping

[Dixie Yooper]

"This is not news. Ping will cancel your account for ANY discount"

You are right, any catalog that sell golf or any equipment will have certain manufacturers that will not allow their prices to be published. They always have "call for price" under every product. This is their way of not allowing their products from being used in a price war between retailers.

[Cagey]

They've got some .............................

[ASA Vet]

the piddly amount they were losing in the discounts to military

Ping wasn't losing anything.
The retailer was giving the 10% discount from his profit margin.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

A smart business would have at least done something to get ahead of the PR disaster this can become. Not arguing their policy but there were better ways of handling this.

A press statement at the time explaining that their no exception policy was completely against any discounts and not the military would have helped. Now they're in the position of having to do damage control.

[gumboyaya]

Cobra - better and cheaper.

[Phsstpok]

The agreement is unwritten because it is an obvious illegal restraint of trade.

These outlets should sue Ping big time and they'll win big time. In the meantime the US Attorney should begin a criminal investigation against Ping under the RICO statutes.

This is ENRON and WorldCom type of gamesmanship and wordplay to try and skirt the law by not having a written contract. "Well, if we don't have a contract you can't charge us." But you admit it in a letter and public statements, dufus!

[stevestras]

Huh?

I agree this was a bad PR move, but a company certainly has a right to sell products to whomever they choose. They aren't price fixing, just trying to protect other retailers from the price wars.