I joined an un-named company that offered for me to post a coupon on their page. It had to be a good coupon too (50% off cupcakes type deal) and of course they get a % of the sales. I figured why not, to get some advertising and help others and it's a pretty popular site, as I've gotten a lot of phone calls.
Anyways when I talked to the sales guy, I told him that I only wanted it to be for cupcakes with basic buttercream and basic cake flavors (chocolate, yellow, R.V etc) because I didn't want to get in over my head. I also told him he needed to put on the ad that they needed to call ahead of time to schedule a pick up date and time for their cupcakes because I was a custom bakery and I only bake per order, I rent a kitchen and don't have cupcakes on hand.
Well they posted none of that. I have been having people calling wanting to pick up their cupcakes in a matter of a few minutes. Not to mention, they put the wrong address on the ad. They put the kitchen I rent from not my office where they pick up the cupcakes. (I do have permission from my health department that I can bring my finished cakes, cupcakes etc. for customers to pick up from my office, as I don't want to have to pay $20 an hour for every hour I wait for customers to pick up orders). Now I've had to inform customers of that as well.
Now it gets even better: The sales guy that I had set up this ad with calls me 10 minutes after I close today and leaves a message asking for 4 dozen cupcakes for an event he is attending tomorrow! He did purchase them, but come on now! Obviously he was too occupied with getting a sales comission rather than listening to what I wanted in the deal! I'm not going to call him back tonight, as I am closed and absolutely over booked this week with so many things Not to mention I am a mother of 3 and this is their last week of school and it's crazy busy! Sorry for the long vent. I feel better now lol!
50% off, and you get to pay him some money on top of that? Exactly why I do not take calls for advertising, offer coupons EVER, or anything remotely related to "making deals". Hell no.
I just think it is awful presumptiuos of someone to call and leave a message without talking to a person to confirm that you can even do it!!To me that is Rude!!Sometimes those coupon deals are just a hassle and they figure that entitles them to call whenever...I would simply explain all the stipulations when a customer calls about that coupon.Hopefully it will end soon.
I would re-iterate to the sales guy the things that you told him when you purchased the ad, and then I would explain to him that you are either not going to participate in the next go-round because of the issue, OR, tell him that you want to see a copy of how the coupon/ad is placed before it's ran before you participate again.
I would then contact his supervisor.
I know you were just venting and maybe you didn't want advice, lol, but I would be p!ssed if I was running around ragged because this guy was only concerned about himself and making a sale.
Maybe I'm just being a big, bad wolf??
Poor you.
I have learned the hard way that most of the time, freebies or discounts or giveaways do NOT increase revenue. My business comes almost completely from my website and word of mouth. There have been a few isolated business helps from other areas but MOST of the time, its not from giving stuff away for free or cheap.
Giving stuff away for free or cheap does nothing but give people free or cheap stuff...and if they're anything like me, they're just out there shopping the deals, not planning on buying again once the deal is over.
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice! I actually just wrote them and resent them a copy of my contract that I signed stating that it needed to be in the ad, so hopefully it will be changed. I have told the customers all of the stipulations and they seemed ok with it, but I don't think they can get a refund after they purchase. : ( But they have until December to redeem so I'm sure that helps them. I just feel embarrassed and I will not be doing this again that's for sure. The ad posted on the most busiest weeks I've ever had too!
Very frustrating for you. I guess it's a lesson for everybody to ask for a copy of the ad so you can proof read it and make any necessary changes before it goes to print (and if you do make changes, ask for a second proof so you can check it again).
In my previous postition I was responsible for placing all the ads for the retail store I work for. I always got proofs, and there was usually something that had been stuffed up and needed correcting. And if you forgot to get/check the proof you could pretty much guarantee they'd stuffed something up on you. Then YOU'RE the one dealing with customers who want the 'Whatever special for $x they saw in your ad' - try telling customers "No sorry, that was a newspaper misprint": you can't, it doesn't go down well! So YOU end up losing money because you have no choice but to honour the 'deal' that was advertised, just because the paper stuffed your ad up. Grrr! (Obviously I still get angry just remembering it, LOL)
Wow! They already contacted me back apologizing and stated they will be correcting the ad tonight. I'm shocked and very relieved! Whew! That was a close one lol! Kelly learns yet another lesson. Hopefully all of my flub ups help others to not make the same stupid mistakes I do because trust me I have made soooo many this first year of starting my business, I should write a book lol!
I'm glad to hear they are making it right!! I understand that people make mistakes but it sounds like this guy was just trying to sell the ad. There are way too many people out there that would LOVE to have that job and they would do it right
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