Free goodies often require payment of time, attention

By Ivan Penn, Consumer's Edge
In print: Saturday, March 8, 2008

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IVAN PENN

The Consumer's Edge

. Everyone wants free stuff. We love free stuff. • Nothing captures the eye and imagination more readily than the word written in big, bold letters. FREE. • But perhaps this is where, again, we must pay close attention to the words of Big Mama, who, you know, always would remind us that "you can't get something for nothing." • Well, an emerging trend aimed at consumers is services and products offered for free or at low cost. • Airline seats. Cell phones with free service. Navigation systems. Free music. Free photos. Free 411 calls. • Now, if Big Mama, whom we trust, says nothing in life is free, who's paying the bill? • It appears that the corporate world is willing to let consumers have stuff without having to fork over cash (initially) in exchange for their time and attention.

I called 1-800-FREE-411 to try this service:

Ring. Ring.

Free 411, a computerized female voice answered.

After a brief pause, a male voice took over:

If you've been seriously injured because of someone's careless or negligent actions, you may be entitled to compensation. Connect now to the law offices of James Sokolove. For over 25 years, we have successfully helped thousands of clients …

(Then another brief pause.)

What city and state? Or say toll free.

I prefer getting my phone numbers rather than hear about a personal injury lawyer. But a few seconds of an ad or a dollar for directory assistance: Which is worse?

How about free bagels and cream cheese? Is that enough to get consumers to fly JetBlue?

Last month, JetBlue Airways and Kraft Foods teamed up to offer some 500,000 passengers free breakfast with Philadelphia brand 1/3-less fat soft cream cheese and a bagel. They called it "Breakfast from Heaven."

(Now, didn't we used to get breakfast free on an airplane?)

Unlike in the past, passengers had to endure some advertising from Kraft, which consisted of women dressed as angels (wearing all white with wings, no less).

Not all of the free gimmicks are self-indulgent, though.

There are efforts such as www.thebreastcancersite.com that urge you to click ads daily on its site. By doing so, advertisers will pay for free mammograms for disadvantaged women.

Of course, the free world has a dark side.

State Attorney General Bill McCollum in February announced that AT&T would pay $2.5-million for charging Florida consumers for supposedly "free ring tones."

"This settlement comes at a time when the digital consumer is faced with new deceptive Internet scams on a daily basis," said Brad Ashwell of the Florida Public Interest Research Group.

Ivan Penn can be reached at ipenn@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2332.