Are you more likely to support companies that support the military?

RallyPoint Team — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 13:31:41 -0400

Thousands of private sector organizations claim to support the military, and get involved in "hire our troops" campaigns. Does this change the way you feel about them, their products or services? Please vote, and share your thoughts below:

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Sep 8 at 2015 1:34 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 13:34:34 -0400

Yes

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Sep 8 at 2015 1:40 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 13:40:28 -0400

No because I don't care. This whole "support the troops" thing is a giant marketing fad and when it's over it's back to business as usual. Don't get used to something that can and will be taken away when it suits them.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Sep 8 at 2015 1:45 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 13:45:28 -0400

Without thinking twice!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 8 at 2015 2:23 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 14:23:41 -0400

Absolutely! If two places I am shopping at have something that I want/need, I'm most likely going to buy said product from the store that supports the military, and/or offers a military/veterans discount.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Sep 8 at 2015 3:15 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 15:15:46 -0400

Yes I will

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 8 at 2015 3:36 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 15:36:05 -0400

Yes, I usually do, specially those that give us discount.

Response by PO2 Frederick Deraney made Sep 8 at 2015 3:37 PM

PO2 Frederick Deraney — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 15:37:29 -0400

Yes, I would patronage companies that support the military.
Interesting that CVS is featured for this question, I had a recent experience with CVS in regards to this issue.
Veterans Advantage is a program for Military Discounts, Benefits & Rewards for Active Duty Military, Veterans and Their Families. To receive the discount, one must pay an annual fee.
I paid the annual fee for the Veterans Advantage because CVS is one of the retailers to offer a discount with this program. However, after buying into the program, and reading the fine print, I had come to learn that CVS offers a 20% coupon off regularly priced merchandise not items that are on sale or clearance.
This is not a good deal as advertised. On a regular basis most items at CVS are already on sale, so no further discount would be given to those items. Secondly, for in-store purchases you must have a printed coupon or no discount would be given.
In my area the CVS store cashier had never heard of the program and refused the discount even though I had the printed coupon.
I know I went away from the original question, but in the interest of informing others, I would suggest to be wary of companies that claim to support the military. Granting, if a company does check out and truly does support the military, especially Veteran owned businesses, than I say yes give that business your support.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Sep 8 at 2015 4:26 PM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 16:26:47 -0400

Yes... If I can choose between a company that supports the military and one that does not, I would generally go with the one that does.

One thing for sure -- I do not support companies that openly do not support or put down the military and its members. They are off my list of places I would patronize.

Response by SGT Bryon Sergent made Sep 8 at 2015 4:51 PM

SGT Bryon Sergent — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 16:51:06 -0400

Hell ya!

Response by SPC Joshua Heath made Sep 8 at 2015 5:13 PM

SPC Joshua Heath — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 17:13:44 -0400

I said yes, but I want to be clear that I expect to see some truth to their claim. I cannot stand businesses that say they support military service members, or veterans but fail to follow through on their claims.

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Sep 9 at 2015 7:14 AM

LTC Kevin B. — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 07:14:29 -0400

I am, but it really depends on what they mean by "supporting the military". I knew of one BBQ place that showed their support by offering a small discount to service members. However, it was only offered if you were in uniform, and if you stayed and ate in their dining room. They did the same to cops and firemen. I only found out because the cashier was about to give me the discount, and a manager came running up to him saying "No, he doesn't get the discount because he's not in uniform and he's getting his food to go." I thought that was odd, but then I figured out why they had those stipulations. They wanted you to be a visible prop in their dining room (i.e. scenery). I stopped going there.

I prefer places that do something for the military and/or veterans groups, rather than simply offering discounts or other forms of freebies. I'm also always on the lookout to avoid places that use their "support" as little more than a marketing gimmick.

Response by Liyan Guo (RP Staff) made Nov 19 at 2015 4:27 PM

Liyan Guo (RP Staff) — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 16:27:50 -0500

Yes.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2017 5:35 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 17:35:59 -0400

I will accept, if offered, but honestly, I rarely ask because too many places don't offer one or it is not worthwhile - many times, I can get the same or better deal via a different avenue. (I have had cashiers notice my USAA debit card or USAA auto insurance and give a discount to me unsolicited).

The biggest reason is that many soldiers' behavior gives the military a PR "black eye" when they ask for a discount and get none or smaller than expected, and they react angrily, immature, and/or unprofessionally.