Wonderful Waterloo 'Money' Rewards Program

[KevinL]

Who's the dapper fellow in the portrait?

[UrbanWaterloo]

That's Dr. John Scott, the first warden of Waterloo County. Here's his bio from the Regional Hall of Fame:

When a very bad cholera epidemic was raging in Galt in 1834, a man who loved the practice of medicine as a profession and politics as an avocation, Dr. John Scott, of Toronto, who had been born in Selkirk, Scotland, in January 1814, came to reside in the community. He helped his father become established in Blenheim Township. In the fall of that year he opened a practice in the nearby colourful village of Berlin.

His interest in politics led to his selection as the reeve of the first council of the village of Berlin and, naturally, Scott used his influence to have Berlin chosen as the county seat. He was the first warden of Waterloo County and the county coroner, and one of the most esteemed men of the circle in which he moved.

[WWMoney]

Reward Substitution

Unfortunately the Kitchener Market has discontinued their gift certificate program. As a result the item has been removed from our rewards shop.

While at the market, I discovered the City of Kitchener has a gift certificate program. As of today you can now redeem WW$5 for a $5 City of Kitchener Gift Certificate.

The City of Kitchener gift certificate may be used to purchase any product or service provided by the City*, including:

• Swim passes, lessons or books of tickets at any of the City's indoor or outdoor pools
• Registration fees for City of Kitchener sports and recreation programs
• Skating fees including books of tickets
• Gas and water charges
• Tax payments
• Gas furnace and sewer repair payments
• Parking charges
• Cemetery charges
• Tickets purchased at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex box office
• Souvenirs at the Kitchener City Hall Welcome Centre
• Your Kitchener Market

*Excludes green fees at Rockway Golf Course and Doon Valley Golf Course

I've been told this includes Kitchener Market vendors. It's great we'll be promoting this product to a wider audience, however there's one word of caution that must be mentioned before you select this item. When a block of certificates were picked up recently it appeared as though there's only been a few hundred sold during their lifespan. You'll notice they're still using the old phrasing "Your Kitchener Market". Therefore it's likely public awareness of these gift certificates is low and you might be questioned when using them (I'd imagine more by a market vendor than by a city staff member). All I can say is try another vendor, location, or if you're really having a hard time redeeming the certificate, let me know and we'll exchange it for another reward of equal value or refund the item onto your account.

Also realize the reason we're offering a City of Kitchener gift certificate instead of an 'easier-to-redeem / more-well-known' Wal-Mart gift card is because this program is meant to promote local businesses/institutions. Sometimes you just have to fight a little harder to promote local things.


Reward Addition

You can now redeem WW$25 for a $25 M&M Meat Shops Gift Card. Their head office is in Kitchener and there are 9 retail stores in Waterloo Region.




Mailing Address

When selecting to have your rewards delivered, please make sure you've entered your mailing address at the bottom of this page: http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/pro...do=editprofile.


Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 5.9% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.18 per post.

[WWMoney]

Reward Additions

You can now redeem WW$25 for a $25 Home Hardware Gift Card. Their head office is in St. Jacobs and there are 19 retail stores in Waterloo Region.




You can now redeem WW$25 for a $25 Central Fresh Market Gift Card. They're located at 760 King Street West, Kitchener.




You can now redeem WW$25 for a $25 Vincenzo's Gift Card. They're located at 150 Caroline Street South, Waterloo.





Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 5.5% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.19 per post.

[KevinL]

Hurray for all the new participants! Great to see the local involvement.

[The Comeback Kid]

This is awesome! Way to get Vinnie's on board!

[BuildingScout]

This is awesome! Way to get Vinnie's on board!

No, no. One would never call Don Vincenzo "Vinnie".

[The Comeback Kid]

No, no. One would never call Don Vincenzo "Vinnie".

Ha! That's hilarious. Did you know, ahem, Mr. Vincenzo? He passed before my time.

[BuildingScout]

Ha! That's hilarious. Did you know, ahem, Mr. Vincenzo? He passed before my time.

Yes, back in the day when he had a small but already very well supplied store on Bridgeport. Always a true gentleman, often speaking a mix of Italian and English, to which always I responded in kind with whatever limited Italian I know much to his bemusement.

[MonkeyGirl]

Both Vincenzo & Rita were the sweetest people ever. My parents started shopping at the original store on Bridgeport way back. I have memories of the big chocolate Easter eggs hanging above the deli counter and the huge jars of candy. There was always a slice of mortedella waiting for me. Ah, the things you remember.

[WWMoney]

Reward Addition

You can now redeem WW$25 for a $25 Canoeing the Grand Gift Certificate. They've been in the area since 1991 and are located at the Freeport Bridge,
3734 King Street East, Kitchener. Canoeing the Grand provides river trips from as far north as the Elora Gorge Conservation Area to as far south as Paris, Ontario.




Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 5.2% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.20 per post.

[WWMoney]

Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 5% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.21 per post.

[WWMoney]

Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 4.8% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.22 per post.

[WWMoney]

Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 4.5% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.23 per post.

[WWMoney]

Rate Increase

I'm pleased to announce a 4.3% payout increase. Effective immediately WW 'Money' is now being awarded at WW$0.24 per post.

[markster]

I gotta say, it's starting to feel weird (in a good way) to be earning nearly a quarter every time I post.

[KLM]

I gotta say, it's starting to feel weird (in a good way) to be earning nearly a quarter every time I post.

yep, I agree too

[bcwessel]

Is there a list of places where Uptown and Downtown BIA dollars can be redeemed?

[Trogdor]

I gotta say, it's starting to feel weird (in a good way) to be earning nearly a quarter every time I post.

Haha agreed! I was recently thinking posting could be my new part-time job...

[WWMoney]

What should really feel weird are the California-duo (Facebook & Twitter) collecting your time and opinions while you earn nothing. They treat you as a product with no payment. Their advertising revenue goes back to the San Francisco Metro Area, not back to Uptown/Downtown merchants.

This isn't to say globalization or that strip of land on the West Coast is inherently bad, it's just unless we have large divisions/headquarters in this area, then the company provides no benefit to Waterloo Region. This is why Toyota, with 4000+ well paid employees, is a net benefit to the area, while Wal-mart, with ~1000 low-paying jobs, is not. Wal-mart would need to move it's Canadian headquarters to the area in order to be a net benefit to Waterloo Region.

By Canadians jumping on the American website bandwagon, we're essentially saying no to Canadian content. It's like saying we'd rather watch NBC/ABC/CNN than CTV or the CBC. Sure I do watch CNN, but I also spend time on the Canadian channels. The problem is the internet skews too heavily American.

Wonderful Waterloo is proudly Canadian and based in Waterloo Region. We're like the Harmony Lunch's of the world competing against McDonald's. It's a tough battle, but somebody has to do it if we care about the region's economy.

WW is taking a co-operative approach by rewarding it's members with revenue. This concept, that the internet should pay you, goes back to my time as an AllAdvantage.com member, when I'd get $100-monthly cheques for displaying an advertising bar while surfing. Others even received cheques approaching $1000. Their problem was an unsustainable payout rate. Wonderful Waterloo's goal is to have a high, but sustainable payout rate to members.

If 2011 was all about promoting LRT, then 2012 has been about promoting Crowd-sourced = Crowd-paid.

Uptown/Downtown Dollars

There isn't a single list of redemption locations, but here's the category list for Uptown; and places to eat, shop, and services provided Downtown.