Talk Me Down From the Ledge... I'm so Peeved Right Now.

[pamperedlinda]

wow! That is just not nice at all.
As we say in the south "bless her heart!"

 

[Nanisu]

Well, here's another thought...an honest letter? "Dear ___________" My records show that you have used my sample newsletter system now for over a year. The sample is meant to be just that--a sample--to see if you would like to subscribe. It is NOT meant to be something to be used every month for free. Tasty tidbits is my business, and my family depends on the income. In addition, what you are doing is quite frankly unfair to those who DO pay for the service. I appreciate the fact that you love my newsletter, and I appreciate your switching to a paid subscription. If i do not receive a paid subscription from you by_________, I will need to block your email address from the free sample service. Thanks for understanding that this is my business, just as your Pampered Chef business is your business. " Maybe this might work? Just telling her you are willing to take the steps to block her might do the trick.

 

[Sheila]

Odds are, she'll just start creating bogus e-mail addresses to get what she wants each month.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I would simply send her a note stating the following:

Our records show that you have signed up for repeated free trials. Please be advised that there is only one free trial per person. We charge a nominal fee to cover the expenses of providing this free trial to you. Please visit this link if you want to continue to use this service ...

If I got an e-mail like this I would definitely respond along the lines posted above.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I like what Nanisu posted regarding what to say in the e-mail.

For the record, I wouldn't be offended if the sample was an old one. I'd just want to know how I could subscribe immediately.

If you have to use your consultant number to log in, I can't imagine how someone can do this with such frequency.

 

[ShellBeach]

Can you make the "sample" something that can not be modified?
1) Make it a .pdf where if I am not mistaken, you can secure it with a password as well
2) Then place a diagonal watermark on the sample that says "SAMPLE" from corner to corner on the pages
3) Any place personal contact info should go, put in a fictitious consultants info but large enough to not be able to cover easily with a simple mailing label

I am sorry to hear this has happened. Some people have no morals. In fact, I am about to look at your service again myself as I need something that is much more eye catching.

This is a great idea! It shows potential customers exactly what they'd be getting, but stops it from being free every month without paying for Joy's hard work.

Or - always use last month's info as the sample. It would still be fairly current, but of no use:angel:

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I, too, would make it the last month's newsletter. That way it wouldn't mean a lot of extra work for Joy. If somebody REALLY wanted to they could work hard to make last month's newsletter work for the month ahead ... but they would have to do a lot of work and this is what Joy's newsletter helps us avoid!

 

[pamperedlinda]

An older newsletter is a good option, but what about the unlimited 15-day free trials? They could still get the current newsletter with that.

 

[smart2cook]

I am very sorry this happened to you Joy. I agree with the others. I am so sorry that it always takes one bad apple to ruin it for the whole bunch. You must protect your business.

 

[pampered1224]

I too think using an older newsletter(s) as the sample(s) is a good idea.
Post several old ones. Do not change samples ever unless you put out some magnificent change in the format. I personally would get rid of the free trial period. No one does that anymore without credit card info. If we can not make up our minds from the samples, then so be it. It would be a lot less work for you. I certainly can not go to Kinkos and ask for a sample of one of their signs and use it for a few months before I decide. All I can see are sample pictures. Office Depot will not copy something for me just to see how it looks. Then make sure I have 1000s of them for free to mail out to see if my customers like them! They are gonna charge me the 39 cents for each copy. Essentially that is what you are doing by giving that 15 days. You are giving away your business.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Maybe there can be 2 versions of the website: One for regular subscribers, the other for people on a 15 day trial. The trial version would be exactly what the subscribers saw last month. That way they can see what the newsletter looks like, even e-mail it to themselves to see how it looks. Then if they want to send the "sample" out they'd have to make a lot of modifications.

I have to say I have struggled with whether to invest in this newsletter ... until somebody told me what they were paying for Constant Contact. They thought it was a bargain over direct mail. I thought it was INCREDIBLY steep. But then, they are a bookstore while I am a hobby consultant struggling to make a profit. And when other newsletter services sent me a sample that was YEARS old and not down-loadable, honestly, I got a bad taste in my mouth for that service. It was standardized for another company and didn't show me what a Pampered Chef newsletter would look like. I took that to mean I'd have to design it myself. So that's what I did for a while without using their service.

However, if I saw a newsletter for your service that was a month or two old ... I would still see what the newsletter looked like.

 

[mountainmama74]

Well, here's another thought...an honest letter? "Dear ___________" My records show that you have used my sample newsletter system now for over a year. The sample is meant to be just that--a sample--to see if you would like to subscribe. It is NOT meant to be something to be used every month for free. Tasty tidbits is my business, and my family depends on the income. In addition, what you are doing is quite frankly unfair to those who DO pay for the service. I appreciate the fact that you love my newsletter, and I appreciate your switching to a paid subscription. If i do not receive a paid subscription from you by_________, I will need to block your email address from the free sample service. Thanks for understanding that this is my business, just as your Pampered Chef business is your business. " Maybe this might work? Just telling her you are willing to take the steps to block her might do the trick.

This. I really do think you should send this.

 

[PampChefJoy]

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new month and she just signed up AGAIN... I figured out how to make it so you cannot sign up with the same email address and ip address...so she used a different email address (not hard to figure out - she just added a 1 to the end of her old one). I went ahead and deleted her access but not sure if she had a chance to get what she needed in the few hours that she's had access.I know you think I should confront her but part of me thinks it's not even worth it because if she's gone to these lengths, changing email addresses etc, she knows it's wrong and she's trying to bypass the system and I cannot make a threat like you can't sign up again because she's obviously figured out the way around that. I can say "don't do it again" but is she really going to pay attention to that? If all I can do is email her and say I know what you're doing and it's wrong... well, I'm just not sure it's going to elicit any kind of response from her, let alone an apology. Maybe I should send her a paypal invoice, though... hehe.

 

[Nanisu]

Publish her email here...we'll take care of her for ya

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Sheesh, Joy. I didn't understand it because I've only signed up for the free trials and not the samples ... and I thought that once you enter your consultant ID that pretty much "outs" us to you.

I would make the sample as generic as possible ... Jane Consultant, 123 Any Street, etc. And maybe old stuff in it too.

I know in the past I've signed up for another free trial because I intended to sign up at the end of the trial period but didn't ... and so much time passed that I was out of the system, or so I thought. So I said, "Oh, OK ... I'll sign up next month."

 

[gailz2]

I don't know how many free trials/sample requests you get each month, but maybe you would consider stopping that feature for a month and see what she does. Otherwise, just use an old version as a sample, like others said. With the holidays coming, she just may decide to pay for the service--we can hope.I've used your newsletter for several years and LOVE IT! So sorry there are dishonest consultants out there trying to take advantage of you.

 

[NooraK]

Here's an option: How about making the "Free" trial such that you refund the membership fee to clients who are not satisfied and do not wish to continue?

 

[pamperedlinda]

I think you should email her and let her know that you know what she is doing and that it is wrong. She's either thinking she's beating your system, or she knows that you know and she's playing a game with you because she thinks you can't stop her....or she's reading these postings and laughing at you/us.....seriously. I would email her and tell her she needs to stop stealing and just buy a subscription. After that she will either cooperate or continue to make up new email addresses and steal from you. You won't lose anything by confronting her, she's already getting what she wants from you; you may just guilt her in to doing the right thing and pay you....or maybe she will just go away.

 

[pampered1224]

Joy, I am going to be very blunt here. Stop complaining about it and do something about it. YOU AND YOU ALONE have control of this. If the issue is that you are literally giving your service away because of the 15-day free trial, then get rid of it! And here is some more news for you, she is not the only one doing it. You already know some other people out here who are doing it too without intending too! So as you focus solely on this one lady, how many more are doing it without your knowledge? Or how many more will because you have now advertised that it is OK because you won't do anything about it? Think about it, I may as well give away cookware sets to get bookings! close the frickn' loop hole in your system and be done with this discussion.
You have two choices here:
1) Let everyone walk all over your hard work or
2) Remove Free Trial option

 

[PampChefJoy]

Give me the hundreds of dollars it's going to cost to hire someone to re-program the system. I don't know how to change the programming for the 15 day free trial myself.Sorry you have to listen to me complain.

 

[Shelly Flanagan]

The sad part is that there are so many dishonest people out there. I would never have thought to try to "re-sign up" for a trial offer. Cheating must be something they do on a regular basis if they tried to sign up a second time just to see if they could. Some people amaze me, and not in a good way!

 

[babywings76]

Confront her. You have nothing to lose. She is in the wrong and stealing from you. It's too bad you don't have a way to change your programming on the free trial. I would only let people see the previous month's issue for their sample and not the current one.

 

[cookingwithlove]

Give me the hundreds of dollars it's going to cost to hire someone to re-program the system. I don't know how to change the programming for the 15 day free trial myself.

Sorry you have to listen to me complain.

You are welcome to vent all you want and sometimes we just need to complain a little. You have a good business with your newsletters and you offer a great service. I loved your newsletters and emails when I used them. Whether you accept it or not you are a businesswoman and you control your business. Yes, people will take advantage of you if you let them. What is your plan to take care of it? You do not want to confront her and you do not want to change the services you offer. What are your other options? You can offer a true "sample" of the newsletter. Or you can continue to let people take advantage of you. I think what John is giving you is "tough love", because he does care about your business.

 

[esavvymom]

The sad part is that there are so many dishonest people out there. I would never have thought to try to "re-sign up" for a trial offer. Cheating must be something they do on a regular basis if they tried to sign up a second time just to see if they could. Some people amaze me, and not in a good way!

Certainly not MONTHLY! I might have done it a second time if I did it once long ago, and then many months or years later, I'd come back shopping again, then maybe a second time.


And it never hurts to ASK your programmer how much it would cost to just disable the Free Trial, and replace the sample with a standard default item. That should not be some serious coding. He/She would just be going in and making a couple of edits in existing code.

 

[smart2cook]

You have the right to vent just like the rest of us. Is there anyway to block a person from receiving more than one Free Trial period by their Consultant ID? Seems to me that needs to be your key use for monitoring and keeping people from stealing from you.
I too agree that you should confront her and include a bill! She does know what she is doing and so far has gotten away with it.
I am so sorry this has happened to you. I hope that you find a simple solution to prevent this from happening again. Hugs.

 

[CooknSteph]

Joy, I am going to be very blunt here. Stop complaining about it and do something about it. YOU AND YOU ALONE have control of this. If the issue is that you are literally giving your service away because of the 15-day free trial, then get rid of it! And here is some more news for you, she is not the only one doing it. You already know some other people out here who are doing it too without intending too! So as you focus solely on this one lady, how many more are doing it without your knowledge? Or how many more will because you have now advertised that it is OK because you won't do anything about it? Think about it, I may as well give away cookware sets to get bookings! close the frickn' loop hole in your system and be done with this discussion.
You have two choices here:
1) Let everyone walk all over your hard work or
2) Remove Free Trial option

First: I would say to Pampered 1224, Stop reading this thread if you don't want to hear Joy "complain".:yuck:
Second: I say to Joy, I am with the magority on this, truley make it a sample or embed it so it can not be changed to include he name number, ect. with the service.

 

[pcsharon1]

Well, that was rude..................we all come here to complain from time to time. As far as I'm concerned this is a big complaint that is fully justified. Joy is being ripped off by someone who has figured a way around the system. People have become very negative lately. I haven't been on here as much lately because I have a lot going on in my life right now. As do most people. But when I do come on and there are ten new threads and someone was rude in five of them it's frustrating.

Vent away, Joy. I love your service and totally agree that you should just make the sample an old version that never changes. Just pick a random month - July 2011 - make it your sample from now on. I think the majority of us understand that good things get taken away from us because of a few bad apples. And quite frankly, unless they've read this thread, a new person would never know that they used to be able to get a current newsletter as the sample. They would just assume it had always been that way.

Maybe you should send her an email in the tone of assuming she misunderstood the policy "Maybe you misunderstood that my sample newsletter for free is a one time offer. Having used the service for the last year you understand why I would be concerned. I would be happy to accept payment for the last year and the current year together"

 

[pchockeymom]

I do not find Pampered 1224's response rude at all. In fact, when I read it, I sensed a big hug wrapped around the hard truth written. After all, there are 3 pages of suggestions, all good, helpful and valid. Clearly some are unavailable due to the cost. That said, S**t or get off the pot!! If you merely want to vent without truly getting help resolving the issue, then make that clear and vent away. If you want a resolution, do something! Anything! It sucks that you're in this situation, that people, even PC consultants, are unethical, but it's life so if you want a change you have to deal with it. But do something.

 

[DawnH]

“The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won't work - if you won't.” -Zig Ziglar

 

[PampChefJoy]

Well, I have just a couple things to add and then I'm going to stop on this topic. It is HARD to be in this business by myself. There are exactly 5 others that I know of that run a similar service and we don't talk to each other, and we surely don't have a message board to commiserate or build our business with like PC consultants have with Chef Success. I tread a fine line by coming her to air out my dirty business laundry with this group because, yes, she may be here lurking and reading and laughing, and yes, you are all my customers or potential customers and I am ALWAYS questioning whether or not something I am saying is in my best business interest or appropriate to share from a vendor-customer standpoint. I am jealous that CS is all that to you as consultants and I have nothing similar to lean on when I have a question in running my business. I am sorry to those of you who feel it's inappropriate for me to vent here. I love suggestions, though I may not be able to use them (for monetary or other reasons). I "get" your tough love messages, I do... but I guess it's not really what i was looking for when I started this thread. I don't want to name names and I don't want you to all email her. Evil as it might be, I know that's not the most business-ethical thing to do.I do wish people were more honest, but I know that one bad apple shouldn't spoil the bunch too. I am taking steps to protect myself by changing the programming even though it is hard to find someone to do so and even harder to afford to do so in light of how much business I have lost over the last year with HO's own newsletter. I'll manage somehow, but I won't post my troubles here anymore. To those of you who offered up your suggestions and support, thank you for your kind ears. I appreciate more than you know.