You Can Catch More Vinegar with Honey than with Flies

One of my favorite pastimes is saving money on groceries. There's the tactile pleasure of clipping coupons (it's as relaxing for me as knitting was for Rosey Grier); there's the thrill of the hunt when I'm in the grocery store, tracking down the hidden bargain; there's the satisfaction of knowing I only spent, say, 62 cents on a box of dishwasher detergent that normally costs $4.99.

For most of my supermarket-savings career, I've concentrated on the coupons you find in the Sunday newspaper. But as the price of groceries has skyrocketed lately, I've started seeking out new sources for cents-off savings, and I think I've come up with a winner.

Now, I have started writing to companies whose products we use and like, simply to compliment them. I don't ask for coupons, and I don't complain. I just tell them that I like their product and I wanted to drop them a line to let them know.

I don't send a letter via snail mail, because at 42 cents a stamp, I'm losing money if I don't get a response. Instead, I go to a company's website and click on the "Contact Us" button. There's always a "Contact Us" button, and there's always a place for a narrative comment.

Since I started doing this a couple of weeks ago, I've heard back from two companies -- Sara Lee (I was complimenting them on Hillshire Farm sausage, which I haven't had a coupon for in a while) and H.J. Heinz.

Sara Lee sent me 75 cents in coupons (50 cents off a frozen Sara Lee product, 25 cents off Hillshire Farm sausage), and today I got this from Heinz:

"We appreciate your kind words. As a way of thanking you for your continued patronage, we are sending coupons to you through the regular postal mail."

How great is that? You say something nice, and you get rewarded. I mean, we've all heard of people who griped about something and got their money back, but that's joyless. It may be hard for some of you to believe, but I'd really rather be nice.

It's true: you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. But it's also true that you can catch more vinegar (the Heinz brand, anyway) by being as sweet as honey than by being as annoying as a fly.