ornoth_cycling | Is It In You?

It’s been five years, so it’s probably safe to tell the long-suppressed tale of my Gatorade Escapade.

Prior to 2012, I could walk to some shop like GNC and find two-pound tubs of Gatorade’s special Pro Endurance Formula powder/mix in my preferred flavor (orange). It worked out nicely, because one of those tubs would last nearly one full season/year.

Then GNC stopped carrying it. It was kinda a specialized thing, and I couldn’t find it stocked anywhere. So I did what any normal bitnaut would do: I went directly to Gatorade’s online store.

Figuring I’d save on shipping costs, I ordered a two-year supply: two of those two-pound packs. That’d be perfect, right?

However, someone in Gatorade’s fulfillment department didn’t look at the “quantity” field when picking and packing my order, so they only shipped one of the two packs I’d ordered. I called customer service, who said they’d ship me the other pack free of charge. So far, so good.

Imagine my surprise when, a week later, a seventeen pound box arrived on my doorstep. A package containing not the one missing tub of Gatorade, but six of them! Thanks to their use of the ambiguous term “pack”, instead of shipping me one tub, they’d shipped me one case (six tubs) of Gatorade!

It was like they’d given me a “Buy 2, Get 5 Free” sale. In dollar terms, I spent $58 and received $203 worth of product! Score!!! I’m sorry PepsiCo, but I kept it all.

From the grocery store, you probably know how big a pound of flour or sugar is. I’d basically ordered four pounds of Gatorade powder, and received fourteen pounds! If I continued using it at the same rate of one tub per season, that was enough Gatorade to last me seven years!!!

So here I am, four and a half years later, having consumed six of the seven canisters, with a full one still left to use. I might not need to buy any sport drinks until 2018.

But when I do, I know exactly what brand I’m buying and from where. It might have cost them in the short term, but Gatorade has earned lifetime consumer loyalty from this rider!

And that’s the story of my Gatorade Escapade.