ING Sells me My Birthday

I was pleasantly surprised when I first opened my e-mail yesterday to find a note from my friends at ING. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” It said, with a note talking about a gift. A gift for me? Wow! I figured maybe they’d throw a dollar into my account or something. Heck, I was happy just for the good will gesture.

But it wasn’t, in fact it wasn’t even close. For a limited time though, I could shop at the ING store with a 15% discount! Worst birthday gift ever. I felt like someone had cut out a coupon from Acme and wrapped it in a present. I can understand holiday specials and the like, even from ING, but my birthday? Come on, couldn’t you just have been happy with the happy birthday note (3 days late) and been done with it? Do you really need to sell me my own birthday?