Shepard Ritzen's Letters

9/10/2003
Dear Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottler,

My name is Shepard Ritzen, and I was a loyal consumer of your product, Surge. In the past few years I have seen it disappear from the shelves, and move to fountains. Now recently, the fountains are drying up.

A 7-11 @ 19th and JFK was one of the last sites that carried Surge in the fountain. But they have since been forced to drop the product because, as the clerk told me, the bottler stopped producing Surge. I can only assume it is your operation that supplies Coke products to them. This situation is happening across the country, as you probably know. Once Surge disappears from a fountain, it is gone forever. I cannot ask every bottler in America to produce Surge again, but I can put in a request to my local bottler here in Philadelphia.

I loved the beverage. The taste is by far the most appealing of any soda. And I am not alone on this feeling. There is an organization that I have been following and participating in called SaveSURGE.org.

As the name states, they are dedicated to bring back Surge nation-wide. They began as a small site to help people identify where Surge was located, and they have grown in popularity, respect, and action. On www.savesurge.org , you can see all of their endeavors, trying to get Surge back, including their newsletters, sightings list, the fan's "for the love of" list, and "how to help bring it back" topics. Please take a moment check it out and see how much dedication people devote to your product.

I was shocked when Surge disappeared from cans and bottles and felt it was a bad marketing idea to abandon this product. Recently, evidence has built up that it would be a great time to bring Surge back. There is a Petition on-line to bring back Surge, signed by over 3700 people. On E-Bay, two 12 packs of Surge went for $65, and $152.50 respectively: an amount that Coke will not profit from, but one that shows people's love and desire to drink Surge. And throughout September, we are trying to group together and notify bottlers across the country of our devotion to your product.

As a corporation, you can obviously make the connection that with the examples listed above, there is a market for Surge. I hope that this letter is not just read and deleted. I hope that this letter is passed around to those who have a say in production, and that this one representative's letter will help bring Surge back to the Philadelphia area.
Thank you for your time,

Shepard Ritzen

6/2/2003
Dear Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottler,

My name is Shepard Ritzen, and I was a loyal consumer of your product, Surge. In the past few years I have seen it disappear from the shelves, and move to fountains. Now recently, the fountains are drying up. Up until last week, Surge was sold at a 7-11 at 19th and JFK.

The clerk told me that the bottler stopped producing Surge, and I can only assume it is your operation that supplies Coke products for them. This situation is happening across the country, as I'm sure you know. Once Surge disappears from a fountain, it is gone forever. I cannot ask every bottler in America to produce Surge again, but I can put in a request to my local bottler here in Philadelphia.

I loved the beverage. The taste is by far the most appealing of any soda. And I am not alone on this feeling. There is an organization that I have been following and participating in called SaveSURGE.org.

As the name states, they are dedicated to bring back Surge nation-wide. They began as a small site to help people identify where Surge was located, and they have grown in popularity, respect, and action. On www.savesurge.org , you can see all of their endeavors, trying to get Surge back, including their newsletters, sightings list, the fan's "for the love of" list, and "how to help bring it back" topics.

We all have felt it was a bad marketing idea to abandon this product, but recently, evidence has built up that it might be time to bring Surge back. There is a Petition on-line to bring back Surge, signed by over 3100 people. On E-Bay, two 12 packs of Surge went for $65, and $152.50 respectively: an amount that Coke will not profit from, but one that shows people's love and desire to drink Surge.

As a corporation, you can obviously make the connection that with the examples listed above, there is a market for Surge. I hope that this letter is not just read and thrown away. I hope that this letter is passed around to those who have a say in production, and that this one representative's letter will help bring Surge back to the Philadelphia area.

Thank you for your time,

Shepard Ritzen

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