Policy? What policy?

President Bush built a coalition and invaded Iraq, removing a potential threat. Regardless the coalition partners and UNSC resolutions, he was widely condemned as acting unilaterally. What was really being condemned was the implementation of a stated policy of preemption.

President Bush built a coalition and an engaged North Korea in diplomatic negotiations through the six-party talks, allowing the potential threat to grow. (For a great example of this process, read James Kelly's remarks from two years ago. Diplomats certainly can't be considered men of action.) Although "complete, verifiable, irreversable disarmament (CVID) was stated as the goal, some analysts disagreed. They believed our policy was "...aimed to avoid catastrophic failure, not to achieve success..."

It's now obvious that the policy of the United States was to allow the DPRK to conduct a nuclear weapons test. For you non-policy analyst types out there, remember that the policy is always what you do, not what you say the policy is. Kinda like judging people on their actions, not what they say. But I digress...

The interesting question is whether our "unilateral" strategy of preemption is still on the table.

Is our policy to preempt, have a surrogate preempt, or wait for an attack?

Ping Golf Announces Military Rebate Program (But they still don't get it ...)

According to the Augusta Chronicle, Ping Golf has announced a first-of-its-kind mail-in rebate program for military purchasers.

This is okay news. The publicity from the article, and surely the blogosphere, should be able to take some credit here. Without it, I doubt that the company would have reacted so quickly. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of mail-in rebates. First off, it's a pain. Second, twice, with Dell computers and Canon Printers, I've had rebates that never appeared or were sent back because I "hadn't provided the correct doucmentation." I later learned that this is a typical scam of the contractors that handle the rebates. Another problem, mentioned in the print article but not the online version, is that the rebate will require a photocopy of the military ID... is copying your ID card legal? I seem to remember a prohibition somewhere, although it's not mentioned on my old gray one.

Anyhow... Ping sees this rebate as support...

According to a statement from Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim, the rebate is a continuation of Ping's support of the military.
"For the last year, we've been looking for additional ways to support the troops," Mr. Solheim said in the statement. "On three occasions we've sent hundreds of free clubs for the troops to enjoy during their limited leisure time, but we wanted to provide them additional benefits.
"The reaction of some individuals to the issue reminded us it was time to do more," Mr. Solheim added.

That's great news about the free clubs. But it helps to illustrate my point. I agree with one of my commenters who wrote that the corporate suits probably view this a catering to another special interest group. That's the way it feels. More evidence is in this line at the end of the article, from our old Ping spokesman...

"However, military golf course pro shops such as Gordon Lakes, which had their accounts dropped, will not have them re-opened at this time, Mr. Gates said"

This tells me this company still has a major disconnect between the "Corporate Citizenship" side - giving free clubs to charities, and the business side, dealing with acquiring, servicing, and retaining customers. This is obvious, otherwise they would have announced that they are restoring the accounts of those vendors at the same time they announced the rebate. They see them as separate issues.

They still don't get it. As I said earlier - it's not the money. It's the personal connection, the improved customer experience, the good feeling that you get in the shop when a vendor offers you a military discount. You don't get that with a rebate. Ping hasn't won me back yet.

Full text of online article below.

Text of 10/4/2006 Augusta Chronicle on Ping Article


Ping begins rebate offer for military
By David Westin | Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
In a ground-breaking move, active-duty and reserve members of the U.S. military now can receive rebates on Ping golf equipment.

It is the first time Karsten Manufacturing Corp., which makes Ping clubs, has offered a discount of this nature. The Phoenix, Ariz., company was established in 1962.

The company announced its "Thank You Troops" rebate program Tuesday. It is retroactive to Monday, said Bill Gates, Ping's director of distribution and associate general counsel.

According to Bonaventure Discount Golf owner L.D. Waters, who has been in the business since 1955, this is the first time a golf-equipment company has offered a mail-in rebate.

Mr. Gates said the mail-in rebate is a dollar amount based on the purchase price. For instance, he said there would be a rebate of $80 on a set of eight Ping irons.

The cost of that set at Bonaventure Discount Golf is $748, so the rebate is 10.6 percent off the retail price.

Mr. Gates said there is a $30 rebate on Ping drivers, but the rebate on wedges and putters is still being determined.

The rebate plan helps defuse a controversy that started last week which involved Bonaventure Discount Golf and Gordon Lakes Golf Course. The two golf shops revealed that Ping discontinued their accounts because they violated their unilateral policy with Ping by discounting their clubs below the brand's improved fitting, Internet transactions and pricing policy. The discounts were given only to the military.

The public outcry, which was spearheaded by Mr. Waters, a former Marine who served in two wars, resulted in Ping's creation of the rebate program.

According to a statement from Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim, the rebate is a continuation of Ping's support of the military.

"For the last year, we've been looking for additional ways to support the troops," Mr. Solheim said in the statement. "On three occasions we've sent hundreds of free clubs for the troops to enjoy during their limited leisure time, but we wanted to provide them additional benefits.

"The reaction of some individuals to the issue reminded us it was time to do more," Mr. Solheim added.

Mr. Solheim disputed some media reports that the military was targeted because of the discounts, but added that "a lot of good is coming from the issue. We have the highest admiration and respect for those fighting for our country."

Under the mail-in Ping rebate, the military customer would send in his receipt with a copy of his military photo identification card to a fulfillment house. The house processes the rebate and returns the discount "typically within two to three weeks," said Pete Samuels, Ping's director of communications.

Mr. Waters said Ping's response "was better than nothing" but took issue with the way the rebate is being administered. He thinks the merchandiser should give the rebate immediately to the customer, then be credited on future purchases.

According to Mr. Gates, Ping wanted to go the mail-rebate route because "we don't know what the retailer may be charging for the product. We want instead to provide the rebate from Ping directly. So it doesn't matter what they're charging out there."

C. Britt Beemer, the chairman of the consumer behavior marketing firm America's Research Group, said in an interview Tuesday that only about 30 percent of customers take advantage of products they buy that offer rebates. He said the percentage grows as the price of the item goes up.

"After $50 or more, it changes significantly," Mr. Beemer said.

He said some companies prefer mail-rebates over coupons because it saves them money.

Mr. Gates said Ping wants to get the word out about the rebates to the military immediately.

"It's our plan to have company executives meet with military personnel to figure out the best way to communicate this program to the troops," Mr. Gates said.

However, military golf course pro shops such as Gordon Lakes, which had their accounts dropped, will not have them re-opened at this time, Mr. Gates said.

The rebate won't affect Mr. Waters. He said he'll never carry Ping products again, and is currently liquidating his $100,000 stock.

Through Tuesday, he's sold more than $60,000 of his Ping merchandise.

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
From the Wednesday, October 04, 2006 edition of the Augusta Chronicle

Looks Like the Associated Press has Picked Up the Ping Golf Story...

Yup... San Jose Mercury News has the story. Nothing like creating a good feeling for your customers.

Update: The Golf Channel Forums have it too...

Tokyo Rose - NPR News or New Lows in Moral Equivalency?

When I first heard this Scott Simon story on NPR, I was sure that they couldn't stoop any lower, National Public Radio's Scott Simon comes in with a story calling Tokyo Rose, Iva Toguri, a true American Patriot.

I even wrote what I thought was a well reasoned post blasting his moral equivalency. But I was interested in the comment that the World War II Veterans committee had given Miss Toguri an award. Had the veterans softened in their dotage or was there something more to the story?

The committee's journal, the WWII Chronicles, published what appears to be a well researched article about Toguri in their Winter 2004 edition. (PDF file here)

From that article I found that Tokyo Rose was more myth than fact. The Army even found that "Tokyo Rose" was no one person. It was a term GI's used to describe the English language broadcasts delivered by various women. It looks like the radio shows broadcast by Miss Toguri, written by Allied POW's, were really offering a subtle fom resistance in the same great American tradition of Pete Bucher's confession and the crew of the Pueblo, with their Hawaiian good luck sign.

Learn something every day.

Hat's off to you Iva. Rest in Peace.

Ping Golf Gets a Blinding Flash of the Obvious

From the Sunday Edition of the Augusta Chronicle

Karsten Manufacturing Corp. is formulating a plan that will show its support for active-duty military personnel who buy the company's Ping golf clubs...

Hmm, I wonder what could have prompted that?

...came under fire last week for cutting off the accounts of two Augusta-area golf shops that discounted Ping clubs. The discounts were limited to the military.

Came under fire. Touche' Nice choice of words. I like this writer.

(The Ping guy said) We're going to have something we're going to roll out to fully show our appreciation (for the military)," he said. "We look forward to the opportunity to work with military leaders for the best way to communicate this appreciation."

Yeah, we f..ked up, now we're gonna try to fix it. I think they're still missing the point though. Working with "military leaders" doesn't cut it for me, because this is not an issue affecting "the military." It's something much more personal. If they understood, they would have backed off from reaffirming that

...that it cannot make changes in its pricing policy for a particular group...Mr. Gates said the new plan will not be "an exception to the policy. Right now, we need to maintain the consistency of our policy. But there are other things we can do that ... will show our appreciation to the military."

Of course it can change the policy. It's their policy. There are plenty of other big businesses who give military discounts. United Airlines, Alamo car rental, Carnival Cruise lines, Disney (Shades of Green anyone?)

The reason companies give Military discounts are twofold.

(1) If helps to check their "good corporate citizen" block. It shows we support the troops, we "...show our appreciation to the military." Yay.

(2) It works. It brings customers in who might not otherwise buy the product. Now here's the point that Ping, a successful business, has forgotten. It's doesn't work simply because of the discount...that tangible ten percent that you keep in your pocket. It works because of the good feeling that your military customers get from it. The feeling that, "hey, these guys appreciate what I'm doing." What I'm doing. Not "the military." Me. It's a personal personal connection between the company and the customer. A connection that many companies would pay for. In fact many do. Usually around ten percent.

Blackfive
Technorati
Cozy Corner
The Jump Blog
are following this too.

Full text of the Sunday article below.

Full Text of Augusta Chronicle Follow-up Article on Ping

Ping works on plan for military
By David Westin | Staff Writer
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Karsten Manufacturing Corp. is formulating a plan that will show its support for active-duty military personnel who buy the company's Ping golf clubs, a company official said.

The Phoenix, Ariz.-based company came under fire last week for cutting off the accounts of two Augusta-area golf shops that discounted Ping clubs. The discounts were limited to the military.

"Right now we're looking at different options, different ways to determine the best way as a corporate citizen to demonstrate that appreciation to military personnel," said Bill Gates, Ping's director of distribution and associate general counsel.

Ping plans to respond with a plan for the military as early as this week, Mr. Gates said.

"We're going to have something we're going to roll out to fully show our appreciation (for the military)," he said. "We look forward to the opportunity to work with military leaders for the best way to communicate this appreciation."

Mr. Gates said company officials were still working on the plan and would not give any details.

The Augusta-area shops in question - Bonaventure Discount Golf and Gordon Lakes Golf Course - violated their unilateral policy agreement with Ping by discounting their clubs below the brand's improved fitting, Internet transactions and pricing policy.

Ten percent discounts on Ping clubs were limited to retired and active-duty military at Gordon Lakes and active military at Bonaventure. The money lost on the discounts came out of the pocket of the two shops, who owned the Ping products.

Mr. Gates said ownership didn't matter, explaining that Ping's policy was created to "protect our brand."

In protest, Gordon Lakes marked down its Ping equipment by 50 percent and sold all of it. Late last week, Bonaventure started marking down its $100,000 in Ping inventory by as much as 30 percent to active-duty military. The remaining equipment goes on sale at 30 percent off to the public starting Monday.

Bonaventure owner L.D. Waters, a Marine veteran of two wars, and Gordon Lakes head pro Bill Fumai were critical of Ping for what they considered a lack of regard for the military, especially during a time of war.

Told that Ping is now working on a way to give the military a break, Mr. Waters said "anything they'll do, any break they'll give the military, I'm all for it.

"Believe me," Mr. Waters said, "the good part of this is Ping is going to come up with something. It might be as much as 15 percent off for the military. It might be a rebate or they might let the merchandiser do it."

Mr. Waters and Mr. Fumai weren't the only ones upset about being dropped by Ping for giving military discounts. Retired and active military in the Augusta area, and other residents, called or wrote Ping in protest.

An e-mail to The Augusta Chronicle pointed out the area's military ties to the Masters Tournament, noting that "Arnie's Army," the name for Arnold Palmer's fans, came from Fort Gordon servicemen who followed him at Augusta National Golf Course.

In the golf business, a pro shop at an area country club that still has a contract with Ping dropped its prices on three styles of Ping putters by as much as $45.

Other media picked up the story.

"We certainly understand that," Mr. Gates said of residents' concerns. "We have had some calls. We understand people feel very passionate about this issue, and we do, too."

Ping has said from the outset that it cannot make changes in its pricing policy for a particular group.

Mr. Gates said the new plan will not be "an exception to the policy. Right now, we need to maintain the consistency of our policy. But there are other things we can do that ... will show our appreciation to the military."

Mr. Gates defended Ping's record with the military, saying Karsten Manufacturing Corp. holds jobs for those stationed overseas, employs veterans and has sent free Ping clubs to Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq in the past.

"We have never targeted the military in any way," he said. "We've had hundreds of closures of accounts that had nothing to do with the military."

Mr. Waters isn't surprised Ping is working on a plan for military customers. He said when the issue came to light it would be "an easy bet" that Ping would make some concession within 30 days.

"It was a disaster and it's still a disaster," Mr. Waters said. "They're getting more bad publicity every minute they don't do it. It doesn't matter what they do, some of the damage has been done to them. Too many retired military are really mad about this thing."

Whatever Ping does, Mr. Waters said, will force other golf equipment manufacturers to follow suit with military breaks.

"If Ping does it, Titleist has got to do it, and TaylorMade has got to do it," Mr. Waters said. "It will be a good thing for the military. With all these big companies, they can't have one doing it and the others not."

Indeed, Mr. Waters said he already has received a call from a major golf equipment company saying if he kept the receipts from the military discounts he gives on their clubs, they would give him credit on his next purchases.

No matter what Ping decides, once Mr. Waters unloads his stock of the brand, he won't carry it again, even if his account is re-opened.

"I've told everybody I won't sell Ping's ever, under no circumstance," Mr. Waters said.

Mr. Waters said it wouldn't matter if Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim came to Augusta to talk to him.

"I'm through with them," he said.

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.


From the Sunday, October 01, 2006 edition of the Augusta Chronicle