When you combine the craze for Stanley tumblers with one of the nation’s largest fast food chains, the result is bound to be chaotic.
Just as the excitement around Stanley Quenchers was beginning to calm down, Taco Bell announced the release of a limited edition Baja Blast-themed Stanley tumbler to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Baja Blast. And yes, chaos erupted.
Fans eager to get their hands on the exclusive Stanley tumbler had to stay vigilant on the Taco Bell app on August 13 for a chance to snag the freebie. However, chaos quickly followed: Taco Bell only planned to give away 100 tumblers.
The giveaway has since ended, but that didn’t stop frustrated fans from flocking to Reddit to vent about how the contest unfolded. Several users reported that they logged into the app right at the 2 P.M. PST start time, only to be greeted with a “404 error” message, indicating that the website had likely crashed.
“The issue wouldn’t be as big if they actually made a working drop that lights up on time and tells you if you got it or not instead of a 404,” one user posted.
Another Redditor remarked that with only 100 tumblers available, “Nobody stood a chance.”
In a separate Reddit thread, one person went as far as to accuse Taco Bell of hosting “fake giveaways,” while others expressed similar doubts about the authenticity of the promotion.
“I’m not even convinced it was ever actually available. This might have been completely flubbed,” another comment read.