Good Grief! I Got an Internet Violation Notice From the Ho...

[pcchefjane]

I used your Valentine email today and already have an order! Loved your cute graphic and all! Love you and your fabulous work!

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Have you seen the e-mails that are available through Customer Connection? Lamest things EVER. You can't change them. You can't personalize them in any way.Unbelievable ... don't the Pampered Chef Police have anything better to do with their time? Don't they realize they are tying our hands?

 

[heat123]

I used your Valentine email today and already have an order! Loved your cute graphic and all! Love you and your fabulous work!

What email do you speak of? I need to send out my NL this week! Never mind I thought it was something I missed from her sending an email but figured out you were talking of the postcard on TT. I think.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

Joy,
my subscription is due, been busy with sick kids and other family things but will send my renewal in, if you have to shut down i don't expect a refund.
Hope you were able to sleep last night
Hugs
Teresa

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Joy ... you are friggin AWESOME ... I sent in the request for a sample and got one within SECONDS.Tell ya what .. I'm going to send an abbreviated version of "News from Di's Kitchen" (an invite to our sneak peak party this month, and say, "I'm trying something new ... let me know if you like it." If it's well-received I will FOR SURE subscribe!I got other newsletter tips at NC ... it would be interesting to know whether they're cracking down on those too.

 

[legacypc46]

Have you seen the e-mails that are available through Customer Connection?

Lamest things EVER. You can't change them. You can't personalize them in any way.

I'm not a huge fan of these either...mostly because in order to keep my customers up to date, I'd have to send MULTIPLE emails. The CC emails only let you share one announcement at a time...worded just the way they want it.

I get at least 2 emails a week from another DS company...I hate it (unfortunately, the consultant is a friend and very prone to disappointment, so I suck it up). I promise my customers they'll get no more than two emails a month from me: an update on the outlet and a newsletter/update on specials.

 

[cmdtrgd]

Joy - how many subscribers do you have?I think we all should start an email and calling campagin to keep TT!

 

[amy07]

I'm not a huge fan of these either...mostly because in order to keep my customers up to date, I'd have to send MULTIPLE emails. The CC emails only let you share one announcement at a time...worded just the way they want it.

I get at least 2 emails a week from another DS company...I hate it (unfortunately, the consultant is a friend and very prone to disappointment, so I suck it up). I promise my customers they'll get no more than two emails a month from me: an update on the outlet and a newsletter/update on specials.

I wonder if it's the same one I get all the time:yuck: gets very annoying! There is ALWAYS a one day sale, sometimes 2x/week!!
like the products, but I'm not much of a "collector" anymore

hijack over

 

[KimoMakano]

I have a question for all of you who use TT newsletters.

Do you guys forward/send them Inline or as Attachments?

I have spoken with a couple customers who have not recieved my emails and was wondering if it was because I sent them Inline.

Sorry for going off topic but want to get the most out of this awesome service.

 

[janetupnorth]

Tasty Tidbits isn't going away...I'd wait to e-mail, etc. until we hear what is actually happening so when something big happens, we have a voice. No need to cry "wolf" when nothing has been announced to us. We are just assuming...Joy fixed her site so she isn't in danger.

 

[Flamingo]

use IContact it put all my emails in the inbox. I have a friend that never got my email and she got the test one i sent from IContact last night and you can track it also. If you use them then please say my name in the registration process. Andrea Daniels
THANKS!!!!

 

[pcchefjane]

What email do you speak of? I need to send out my NL this week! Never mind I thought it was something I missed from her sending an email but figured out you were talking of the postcard on TT. I think.

Yes it was. I put in "10% off and free shipping if an order is placed by Feb 14th" and already got an order...

 

[pcchefjane]

BTW, if HO has someone monitoring CS, why do the eBay and internet violators stay on so long or never caught? I would think they would be much more interested in that than a newsletter that stimulates more business!

 

[janetupnorth]

BTW, if HO has someone monitoring CS, why do the eBay and internet violators stay on so long or never caught? I would think they would be much more interested in that than a newsletter that stimulates more business!

HO has plenty of people on here...once in awhile I get an e-mail from them about what I said.

Anyway, do you realize the process involved?

1. Report violation
2. Investigate violation to see if it is a violation
3. Contact offender and ask offender to remove
4. Offender removes or fights...

That can't happen in a hour!

Also, do you realize the NUMEROUS sources of violations? The internet is a huge realm. Not only is there E-bay, Amazon, Craigslist, etc., there are TONS of forums, messageboards, blogs, personal sites...

As fast as you find one, ten spring up.

I've worked on this for my company with violation of images and let me tell you, it ISN'T a quick, easy task!

 

[PampChefJoy]

Joy - how many subscribers do you have?

I hope you will respect that I choose to keep the # private for now... I really don't have anything to hide, but I think there are people that do the simple math and figure out how much income it generates, and then have an opinion on whether or not I'm deserving of that. As you all know, running a business involves much more than just cashing the commission check and spending it. I will say that it DOES help with our household income, especially since my husband took a pay cut last year to change into a job that makes him 200% happier. Sacrifices, ya know... and I do spend an enormous amount of time on it, and I reinvest with things like upgraded software and contracted programming like building out TTConnect. The sample requests being answered immediately are one of the new perks that my developer programmed.I will also say that although I am grateful for my subscribers, and that my base has grown tremendously over the last year, that I don't think we'd make a dent in the # of actual consultants, and I honestly don't think any sort of grassroots effort is going to help.

 

[pcchefjane]

Sorry...just felt that HO's time would be better spent catching them than harassing someone like Joy, you know? eBay sellers seem to be the worst with their overpriced stuff that they put "NIB" on to make people feel like it is a new product. I had another consultant tell me about her "deal" on the Catalog Tote that she paid $10 + $7.50 shipping... Hmmm...sounds like overpriced to me since she could have gotten it from HO on a supply order with other items at the time for $15 plus $4.25 shipping (last summer) and had HO to back up the product. Without her newsletters, most of us sure couldn't do it on our own. You can just look at the flyers some people make and pass out and see how bad they look...because, like me, they don't have the software or expertise to make them look professional!

 

[pamperedlinda]

......I honestly don't think any sort of grassroots effort is going to help.

I was thinking the same thing....think back to Nancy's....and she probably did a whole lot more business with PC than you do (no offense meant to you Joy).

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I was thinking the same thing....think back to Nancy's....and she probably did a whole lot more business with PC than you do (no offense meant to you Joy).

Yeah - Nancy even had a booth at conference...and we know what they did to her.

 

[PampChefJoy]

Tasty Tidbits isn't going away...I'd wait to e-mail, etc. until we hear what is actually happening so when something big happens, we have a voice. No need to cry "wolf" when nothing has been announced to us. We are just assuming...

Joy fixed her site so she isn't in danger.

I have removed what they asked me to. I am prepared to make further changes, both in the way I operate and the end product, in order to comply with guidelines (if we can find our way out of the gray area and into some firm statements). I chatted with my programmer last night and I already have a quote from him and a plan to implement should I decide to go that route but I am also waiting on another option... hopefully I can make some decisions next week. (This weekend I'm going to Las Vegas and trying to forget all this!)

I do believe I can continue to provide writing services for my subscribers, though the end product may be affected by policy (if they say no more images, recipes)... if that changes, that would be something that would be out of my hands. The newsletters have always been written to be compliant with policy -- when the recipe rules changed, I started using ONLY recipes that were available to the public (no copying out of cookbooks) and I use the disclaimer at the bottom of each recipe about copyright, test kitchens, etc. But if they change how consultants utilize the info, my newsletter would probably be a different animal... hopefully you'd still love it

 

[pamperedlinda]

So long as you come up with the words, I can make it pretty The words are the part that takes the longest!

 

[PampChefJoy]

Do you think Merchandise Mart went after Doris when she started purchasing kitchen products there and then resold them to the public and kept the profit, when the public could have bought directly from them?MAN I am feeling a bit cheeky today.

 

[Kathy's_Kitchen]

Amen to that! I think most of us would be able to put in our own images and such...and for those who can't, they can always come here for help!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Do you think Merchandise Mart went after Doris when she started purchasing kitchen products there and then resold them to the public and kept the profit, when the public could have bought directly from them?

MAN I am feeling a bit cheeky today.

Well, actually, the Merchandise Mart is only open to vendors. It's wholesale, not retail, so the public can't buy directly from them.

 

[PampChefJoy]

Well, actually, the Merchandise Mart is only open to vendors. It's wholesale, not retail, so the public can't buy directly from them.

I thought I read that it was open to retail... maybe it was some other store...

Oh well, bad analogy!! :blushing:

 

[pamperedlinda]

Joy - I just sent you an email. Can you get email now or only when you get home?

 

[PampChefJoy]

Joy - I just sent you an email. Can you get email now or only when you get home?

Where did you send it? gmail or through here? don't see anything...

 

[pamperedlinda]

Where did you send it? gmail or through here? don't see anything...

I sent it again. It was the tastytidbits.net address, I just sent it to the one in your signature .

 

[christinaspc]

Hi Joy, I just wanted to let you know me and my director and our advanced director all sent and email to pc after my advanced director talk to a lady at home office and hoping it helps your battle. All good words of course we all love your newsletters. I am now fighting my own battle trying to get advertising approved. Best wishes

 

[PampChefJoy]

Thank you to everyone. There comes a small amount of clarity of thought after thinking and crying over this for 2 days. Without any other guidance from anyone at HO at this point, I have come the following conclusions:- I have done what they asked as far as the public site/free flyers.
- I DO want to continue to write and provide marketing tools for my subscribers. I think I have something to give back... I don't want to stop helping.
- Although I believe I was operating within the SPIRIT of the policies, there is a gray area with respect to the actual execution of said policies... therefore, in order to avoid long term complications, I am going to slowly build up an image collection that will not infringe upon HO copyright and start incorporating those instead. (This is where I will probably need everyone's help contributing images because I don't own every single product!)
- Logo will be pulled from the newsletter because I obviously can't recreate it on my own.
- If recipes are copyrighted and can't be included, then I will find them elsewhere. They won't be the same tested recipes and you probably shouldn't demonstrate them at shows, BUT I can dissect a recipe and make suggestions for tools to use with it. After all, we sell our products not our recipes!
- The website will most likely be reborn as something slightly different than you know now, but if you trust me, I will come up with something even better!
- I am currently choosing NOT to further pursue clarification with home office because I don't feel I need to "ask permission" from them to run a business that I intend to operate within their rules. Really, it feels like "mother may I" and I really like to think we are all beyond that. I hope.HO may further clamp down eventually and I will deal with any new restrictions as they arise, but for now, it will be not business as usual, but "business even better" because I am newly inspired to think outside of the box and I have some great ideas of how to dress things up even more!Lastly, if you haven't already done so, please don't bombard HO with this. As I have said, I seriously doubt that it will make much difference and I really want to try to fly under the radar if possible. I appreciate your support. Nobody's ever offered to create a petition for ME! But we haven't been told no yet, and we don't know what the next move is, so to make a stink about it is premature. At this point, the only thing they've taken away is the free flyers and I can certainly share those here on CS or start to host my own message board for that.Should you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me or PM me! Again, I really appreciate all the kind words! It's been a crazy couple of days but I really just want to get back to business as usual!

 

[KristinS]

Though I have always had mixed feelings about the quote, this certainly does seem to be one of those times, Joy, where it's truly easier to ask forgiveness than permission. I applaud your ability to take a step back and analyze the situation from a professional perspective. I'll be patient - as long as you need, I'll wait!I also agree that it might make HO take an even *closer* look at you if people keep bombarding them with messages about your site. Seems like that's just never a good thing.

 

[candiejayne]

I would love to help with images for you. Maybe we can even set up a thread here that will allow people to post their images for you to see. Since we have to post smaller files, the ones you pick, maybe we could email you the larger files.

Let us know what you need! We'll be glad to help out.

 

[bethsbiz]

Sorry, I actually disagree with not contacting home office. This is a very real issue and Joy may not be the only newsletter designer being affected. I continue to be troubled by some incongruities in what they are allowing on other sites. I think the newsletter subject needs to be addressed by home office and NOT with a potential Merrill option. Diplomatic support of Joy/Tasty Tidbits and others like her who help our biz every day need to go to HO.

 

[candiejayne]

I think we need to respect Joy's wishes and not contact them. It's not our business to decide how to run. I think she may be right, that if a lot of people bombard them, they may look into things deeper, and make things stricter to where it won't work for anyone. We are in a lets wait and see whathappens state. We don't have control over anything right now, except how we ourselves act.

If you feel the need to contact them, then please don't mention Joy or TT. It could be detrimental to her business, and others who have similar businesses. She's out to help us, so we shouldn't do anything that won't help her.

 

[PampChefJoy]

Sorry, I actually disagree with not contacting home office. This is a very real issue and Joy may not be the only newsletter designer being affected. I continue to be troubled by some incongruities in what they are allowing on other sites. I think the newsletter subject needs to be addressed by home office and NOT with a potential Merrill option. Diplomatic support of Joy/Tasty Tidbits and others like her who help our biz every day need to go to HO.

I totally understand if someone else feels the need to get further clarification on this... I am just saying that I am not seeking it myself. I will not be angry with anyone who feels the need to take matters into their own hands.

I do, however, feel that we may force their hand and the result may not be what you want... hence my hesitation on drawing more attention to the matter. It's not that I'm not a fighter, but there are some circumstances where I choose to pick my battles wisely. This is not one of those situations where I want to stir the pot.

 

[chefann]

Joy, whatever the outcome is, I want you to know that you're awesome and we truly appreciate all you do. I finally bit the bullet and subscribed yesterday, and I love that I already have the recent newsletters from before I signed up in my box. That's a great feature! (Now to just get it sent out to my customer base...)

 

[janetupnorth]

Hey Joy - I'll offer my Peanut Butter Cup Trifle Recipe to you!

 

[NooraK]

Joy, I completely understand why you will not be able to include the logo in future versions of the newsletter. Would you be able to create some sort of a tutorial for us to show how we might be able to add it ourselves? Or any other pictures for that matter. If we knew how (if it's not TOO hard), we could then also add pictures of ourselves at shows or something, too.

I'll be happy to help out with pictures, although my collection of products isn't the largest or up to date...

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Joy I sent you an email yesterday - this is the second one on renewing my sub. Did you get it? The link you sent me for my renewal does not work anymore. Thanks!

 

[PampChefJoy]

Joy, whatever the outcome is, I want you to know that you're awesome and we truly appreciate all you do. I finally bit the bullet and subscribed yesterday, and I love that I already have the recent newsletters from before I signed up in my box. That's a great feature! (Now to just get it sent out to my customer base...)

I saw that Ann! Thanks for the support!

Yes, I LOVE having everything downloadable now... it's available to you right away, 24/7, AND now I can make different versions available without actually having to email everyone every version. (Like one with and without the host of the month blurb, etc), plus all the other quick "postcard" type emails that may not appeal to everyone. I didn't want to do that before because I didn't want to send individual emails everytime. This keeps your inbox less cluttered too -- you just "order up" what you need when you're ready to work on it

 

[prepchef]

Joy,

I spoke briefly with Linda Bowles yesterday. I stated that
- we as consultants need quality, usable monthly news letters.
- the company does not provide that.
- Customer Connection sucks and is unusable.
- HO needs to hire you for the position!
- If consultants are allowed to use copyrighted material to communicate to our Hosts and Guests, then you should be able to write one for us.

She listened and didn't have much to say (she was eating her lunch). She did say that she hears about the Internet and Newsletter issue everywhere she goes. And that Donna is THE person who does the research on violations and that she is the one to talk to.

It was a great meeting!

 

[PampChefJoy]

Joy,

I spoke briefly with Linda Bowles yesterday. I stated that
- we as consultants need quality, usable monthly news letters.
- the company does not provide that.
- Customer Connection sucks and is unusable.
- HO needs to hire you for the position!
- If consultants are allowed to use copyrighted material to communicate to our Hosts and Guests, then you should be able to write one for us.

She listened and didn't have much to say (she was eating her lunch). She did say that she hears about the Internet and Newsletter issue everywhere she goes. And that Donna is THE person who does the research on violations and that she is the one to talk to.

It was a great meeting!

Donna is the one that told me to focus on my PC biz... She did not want to be helpful in directing me to do it within their guidelines.

 

[prepchef]

Thats a bummer. She did mention that there Donna does have a manager, but I don't remember his name.

 

[PampChefJoy]

As I am hearing from some other sources, the answer may be that I'd have to resign as a consultant to remove any potential conflict of interest or other violation going on. Although I don't really see anything in the policies about consultants not being able to profit from other consultants... I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who writes and is still a consultant... but I am practically retired anyway, so giving up my consultant status is not a big deal.I still keep hearing her voice echoing "You really shouldn't be doing that...." (spoken in the way your grandmother would address you for climbing up a tree... -- and now that I think about it, she's probably the one that monitors this board, since she spoke of it specifically... in which case, I say publicly -- it really isn't hers or anyone else's job to police how much I work my pc biz... completely separate issue from the newsletter... I really didn't appreciate being admonished)If she is THE person that is in charge of it, why did she only take issue with my free flyers page and not everything else (the service)? And why did she say Merrill has a newsletter when clearly they do not?

 

[prepchef]

Wish I knew those answers for you.

 

[PampChefJoy]

Okay, could one, JUST ONE, person email HO and ask them:

Is it okay for me to hire an assistant to write promotional emails for me to send to my customers, using the logo, images, and recipes from the Pampered Chef?

 

[Flamingo]

Did anybody do this for Joy?????

 

[lauradahl]

I totally understand if someone else feels the need to get further clarification on this... I am just saying that I am not seeking it myself. I will not be angry with anyone who feels the need to take matters into their own hands.

I do, however, feel that we may force their hand and the result may not be what you want... hence my hesitation on drawing more attention to the matter. It's not that I'm not a fighter, but there are some circumstances where I choose to pick my battles wisely. This is not one of those situations where I want to stir the pot.

And you did not pick this battle....We understand you are a fighter and sometimes it's how the fight is fought that makes you come out on top. As I read thru this thread, there are many angles to which you could approach it, but I agree with you about the "stir the pot" thing....that's just not a good approach!

 

[PampChefJoy]

Thank you.I am still on the fence about the images because I truly believe that in acting as your "assistant," I can produce the email for you using the tools that PC authorizes you to use.I am seriously contemplating sending in my resignation letter in the next few days just so my intent is clear (that my service does not involve me being an active consultant).

 

[kcjodih]

Joy, did anyone send the email that you asked for? Let us know! I know that I'm one of many that would be willing to send it but as mentioned we don't want to inundate them.

 

[PampChefJoy]

Joy, did anyone send the email that you asked for? Let us know! I know that I'm one of many that would be willing to send it but as mentioned we don't want to inundate them.

I have not heard back from anyone, so I don't know... if anyone has already, would you please post or PM me and I will post that it's been done...Thanks.