POST FROM THE MAIN BOARD

This is a copy of a post on the main board. I did not write it but I agree with it. Go to Sam's Club and buy some. They have about 6 left. I bought 2 boxes. Joanne Original Post by Pottermom 88 at 2:50 PM PST on 02/13/2005 This thread has been viewed 141 times Toledo, OH - RNY (04/27/2004) I had posted this on the Michigan Board and have copied it here for anyone who wants to join in the campaign to keep this product available across the country. I emailed SAMS Club a few days ago and asked them to make a commitment to keep this item in the store. I had traveled there myself and this product is every bit as good as everyone has said. Well, I was less than impressed with the response, I am sorry to say....here is the entire email: Thank you for your message. The item will be carried until the end of march. Thanks! Sam's Club Member Services [[email protected]] No commitment, no promises, no offer of hope that this will be considered or implemented. Well, as a writer, I launched a response, and here is the content of that email: Well, I appreciate you taking the time to respond, but I guess my goal, along with that of thousands of other gastric bypass patients, is to convince you to carry it all the time. We have a network of people who pass along where products can be found and I can guarantee you that people are scoping out your stores, finding out whether they are in stock, and reporting back to an extremely active national message board concerning which SAMS to patronize, how many are in stock, etc. etc. We are actively lobbying Meijers as well as several other major chains in the hopes that you all will see the merit of this product. If you discontinue it at the end of March, just when the warm weather is arriving, you will do yourself and all of us a tremendous disservice. Just yesterday someone came onto the board and said the closest SAMS was 75 miles away from her, but she was going to make the trip, get a membership, and buy Sugar Free Philly Swirls based on the word-of-mouth praise of all the patients in the country. You know while she was there she wouldn't stop at one box or one item. I went to my local SAMS yesterday for one box (I don't have a large freezer or it would have been many more) and I left with $80 worth of additional merchandise! Please do more than maintain the status quo. Pass our praise and requests on to the people who make this decision. We are mounting a newspaper campaign - that's how strongly we feel about this product. Please let us assure the public, via newspaper and our huge message board, that this product will be found on your shelves for a long time to come. If you want to see for yourself, please go to www.Obesityhelp.com and look around. There are 50 individual state message boards, a national board, and product recommendation forums, nutrition, surgeon forums...and all of these are buzzing about this product. Please don't disappoint us, especially when there are so few products which meet all of our health and nutrition criteria. Thank you for listening and taking the necessary action. My question and request is this: what other avenues can we explore in terms of supporting this product and getting retailors to take notice and stock it? I am reminded of several sitcoms over the years that when they were terminated, the outcry of the public forced the producers to re-consider and bring shows back. I don't want this product to go because we might never get it backinto nationwide stores so it is convenient to everyone. We have a very powerful forum here, a huge collective voice, who can make something like this happen. Are there people in our midst who work in PR or newspapers who might be able to direct our efforts? I am a writer and can write - I just need to know where and how. If you think it has merit and would like to move it to other state boards, please do. The email address above is the one which came with SAMS' response and it said I could reply to it, so if you are inclined to write, I say have at it! Knowing the caliber of people here, I have every confidence you will make your voices heard in whatever way you are comfortable. Maryalice Ohio