Free samples.........or not as it turned out!

« **on:** August 07, 2010, 06:30:36 pm »

Cant really believe what has happened here but tell me if this is the norm? I was speaking to a manufacturer about his chemicals and he told me he would send me some samples down to see what i thought of them. The chemicals turned up Thursday (4 small bottles, 1/2 full) and then a invoice turned up for £15.00 today!!!!!!! Not once was a price discussed!!!!!!!!!!. Thoughts anyone?

« **Reply #1 on:** August 07, 2010, 06:39:34 pm »

send them back and invoice him p&p

« **Reply #2 on:** August 07, 2010, 06:48:33 pm »

my thoughts exactly. it has got on the invoice that if i buy £150 worth of chemicals i will get my £15 back!!!!!! !

« **Reply #3 on:** August 07, 2010, 06:49:32 pm »

No you will be out of pocket, keep them, saying you better collect them or pay to have them returned dont spend a penny of you own money, i asked Nick at solutions for some freebies and i just paid for the postage which is only fair.

Ring them Monday they may have just made an error, simple mistake you may feel silly if you go in
"all guns blazing" and it is just a simple error

« **Reply #4 on:** August 07, 2010, 06:51:26 pm »

i wouldn't even pay the postage, why's that fair, there promoting there stuff. tell ya what, i'll do a free sample clean but the custy can pay for my petrol, wear and tear, and a percentage of my tax and insurance

justin
think its time to name and shame them.

« **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2010, 06:54:06 pm »

Actually Derek you may be right most of the stuff i use was given to me for gratis and i still use most of it now so it's good business to send out completly free stuff.

« **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2010, 06:56:31 pm »

i initially rang up about a rotovac and we got talking about chemicals and he said he would send some of his down for me to try.that was it, and now a bloody invoice follows!!!!!!!!!

« **Reply #7 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:02:47 pm »

just ring and say theres been a miss understanding,
tell him you offered some samples so you thought they were free, as most companies send free stuff to try out, then tell him to either arrange for collection of the samples or quash the invoice as you aint paying it.

« **Reply #8 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:06:32 pm »

your right mate, will do exactly that. i didnt really want to 'rubbish' anyone on here but it is a bit of p*ss take

« **Reply #9 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:07:49 pm »

Its probably a mix up, there is an email out from solutions offering samples,
from memory it was 5 different ones for 15 quid, quite good really for
trying new products.

Give them a ring Monday and explain.

Andrew

« **Reply #10 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:10:22 pm »

thanks andrew, will do

« **Reply #11 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:22:42 pm »

Obviously a mix up or misunderstanding somewhere. The trial pack is priced at £15 plus vat which seems to be what you have got. If it's free samples you are after I am sure they will accommodate.

« **Reply #12 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:31:00 pm »

Quote from: justin brown on August 07, 2010, 06:48:33 pm

my thoughts exactly. it has got on the invoice that if i buy £150 worth of chemicals i will get my £15 back!!!!!! it seems a chheky way of doing things, the likelihood of me changing over to him has all but gone!

I reckon you try what he sent and you may well change your mind.

You havnt stated how big the bottles were that were half full.
A little goes a long way with some fluids.
So how much was in the bottles?

?

The newsletter Andrew referred to had 3 different offers on, one was this
Solution M-Power
Solution Fusion 8
Solution Heavy Duty
Solution Standard
£15.00+vat
Is that what you were sent??

3 years ago I was sent some M-Power to try (500ml) and paid the £5 p&p - glad I did.
Even that 500ml made me a lot of money.

However, if you reckon no costing was talked between the two of you, I reckon you should have FIRST contacted the company and discussed the misunderstanding, not broadcast it first on here.

« **Reply #13 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:38:33 pm »

I'm with Joe on this one, how would you feel if you made a genuine mistake and a custy slagged you down to hundreds of potential customers before giving you a sporting chance and asking you to rectify the problem...? I'm pretty sure you'd be gutted... I know I would be!

« **Reply #14 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:40:35 pm »

Joe, with all respect this a forum where discussions take place, and as you can see from my initial post i did not mention any names. Obvioulsly the money is not the point, it is the principal.

« **Reply #15 on:** August 07, 2010, 07:42:39 pm »

Fair enough, you haven't named names, but I'm betting we'll either soon find out or put two and two together!

« **Reply #16 on:** August 07, 2010, 08:10:28 pm »

Quote from: Colin Day on August 07, 2010, 07:42:39 pm

but I'm betting we'll either soon find out or put two and two together!

I think Joe has 'told us.'

It might have been a mis-understanding about sample packs being chargable, but all the same it does send out a warning to the rest of us to read the 'FULL OFFER DETAILS.'

« **Reply #17 on:** August 07, 2010, 08:11:12 pm »

Quote from: Joe Hatton on August 07, 2010, 07:31:00 pm

Quote from: justin brown on August 07, 2010, 06:48:33 pm
my thoughts exactly. it has got on the invoice that if i buy £150 worth of chemicals i will get my £15 back!!!!!! it seems a chheky way of doing things, the likelihood of me changing over to him has all but gone!

........However, if you reckon no costing was talked between the two of you, I reckon you should have FIRST contacted the company and discussed the misunderstanding, not broadcast it first on here.

No Joe, you do both in a cases such as this. Sort out your own situation with the supplier & also pre-advise other forum members of the potential pit fall.

Nothing against Nick - but your post leans to over protectionism

« **Reply #18 on:** August 07, 2010, 08:21:56 pm »

"Nothing against Nick - but your post leans to over protectionism."

I think it's down to pure loyalty on Joes part, Nick seems to have that effect on a lot of his customers.... Including myself!

« **Reply #19 on:** August 07, 2010, 08:26:29 pm »

i'm with franz, problem shared is a problem halfed, well its supposed to be anyhoo.

« **Reply #20 on:** August 07, 2010, 08:43:16 pm »

absolutely.............jeez. next time i'll just shut up and not post:'(

« **Reply #21 on:** August 07, 2010, 08:53:38 pm »

Am I right in saying a post has been changed.

Justin hasnt named the business, that is correct, but I am positive I saw in one of his posts where he said something like "the business has already been mentioned in a post". and the only business that had been mentioned at that time was Solutions.
Now I dont see that in any post!

and no I dont agree with Frans where he says you do both.
What if it was a genuine mistake.
I am sure Nick doesnt pack the goods and set up an invoice, so it could easily have been a clerical error. It could even be Justin didnt hear or perhaps misunderstood what had been said.

Imagine if you cleaned a carpet and after you left it rippled, the client doesnt call you immediately, but goes around the neighbours saying what a lousy carpet cleaner you were, and then rings you.
How would you feel???

I think Justin is out of order at this point in time
and
I would still like to know if a post got altered.

« **Reply #22 on:** August 07, 2010, 09:22:57 pm »

Quote from: justin brown on August 07, 2010, 08:43:16 pm

absolutely.............jeez. next time i'll just shut up and not post:'(

For what it's worth I think you were right in bringing this up, if only so we all learn to read the small print/conditions.

Quote from: Joe Hatton on August 07, 2010, 08:53:38 pm

Am I right in saying a post has been changed.
I would still like to know if a post got altered.

Why? We're all permitted to modify our posts up to a certain time point.
Granted if you'd called someone a tw-t and then after people had read it decided to change it and denie it, then questions should be asked.

It has to be said that some people get very protective over their supplier in the same way that some people hate 'x' supplier with a passion.

« **Reply #23 on:** August 07, 2010, 09:27:09 pm »

You ask "Why" Neil.

Because I reckon at one point Justin pointed to Solutions even though he didnt mention Solutions.
Now if that was the case why has he taken that pointer out?
He had in effect named the company, and now it looks as if he didnt.

« **Reply #24 on:** August 07, 2010, 09:37:24 pm »

What does it matter.

I knew who Justin was talking about from his initial post and I'm sure most others did too.

Nick's a big boy and can take care of himself - I'm also sure that as you suggest this is a genuine mix up and a request for samples has been mixed up with their current £ 15 offer.

No I don't think Justin should of posted this, he should of phoned up Monday and dealt with it direct - but it's done now.

I actually do agree with Frans - there is a whole forum available for people who will defend said company to the hilt. On here we all have differing opinions and are free to air them.

« **Reply #25 on:** August 07, 2010, 09:48:12 pm »

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Joe, lifes too short. was you a headmaster in a previous life?!

« **Reply #26 on:** August 07, 2010, 10:06:59 pm »

It would have been easier to say "yes I did" or "no I didnt".

I just made my mind up that you did.

« **Reply #27 on:** August 07, 2010, 10:18:14 pm »

joe, did what? what is the problem here? if you read my initial post i was actually asking if it is normal to get charged for 'samples'......did not want to go direct to firm if the answer was 'yes' so was actually asking for advice. in hindsight maybe i should have not posted this and if you have formed a judgement on me and have made up your mind, and i am out of order etc, etc then sorry if i upset you. but i believe you have turned this into something completely different. go and pour youself a drink, i am.

« **Reply #28 on:** August 07, 2010, 10:31:09 pm »

Is it NORMAL to be charged for samples ? Well, let's consider..............I phone your business and ask for a FREE sample of your work. just a small area cleaned so that I could judge the quality of your work. HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND ?

« **Reply #29 on:** August 07, 2010, 10:35:18 pm »

robert, there are companies that obviously do charge for samples and some dont. looks like you would have been upset to have been charged too then?

« **Reply #30 on:** August 07, 2010, 10:40:10 pm »

Quote from: justin brown on August 07, 2010, 10:35:18 pm

robert, there are companies that obviously do charge for samples and some dont. looks like you would have been upset to have been charged too then?

Well, he is from Scotland

« **Reply #31 on:** August 07, 2010, 11:04:04 pm »

Being charged for samples..................I spoke to a supplier on the phone a few years ago asking about their new products which had received some rave reviews, he offered to send me some samples to try out and I accepted, expecting to be billed for the postage.
I was billed for £86 which was a shock, as FREE samples had been sent out to people requesting them.
I paid the £86 but have never made any purchases since.

« **Reply #32 on:** August 07, 2010, 11:28:10 pm »

Evening Mr Day

I'm sure you're well aware of where the real tight wads in the UK live !!!!!!!!

« **Reply #33 on:** August 07, 2010, 11:47:29 pm »

Yes, you are quite right Joe, a post has been deleted or altered somewhere along the way. I remember distinctly reading it before I posted earlier on this evening.
I don't know why it was altered nor could I care less but it does make the thread very confusing , especially for someone who may not have seen the post before it was altered.
Personally I have found Solutions to be one of the best companies I have ever done business with, so Justin I am sure they will sort everything out to your satisfaction.

« **Reply #34 on:** August 07, 2010, 11:51:17 pm »

Quote from: Fintan_Coll on August 07, 2010, 11:47:29 pm

Yes, you are quite right Joe, a post has been deleted or altered somewhere along the way. I remember distinctly reading it before I posted earlier on this evening.
I don't know why it was altered nor could I care less but it does make the thread very confusing , especially for someone who may not have seen the post before it was altered.
Personally I have found Solutions to be one of the best companies I have ever done business with, so Justin I am sure they will sort everything out to your satisfaction.

and i think thats all justin wanted to hear really, reassurance.

« **Reply #35 on:** August 08, 2010, 09:38:46 am »

Quote from: robert meldrum on August 07, 2010, 11:28:10 pm

Evening Mr Day

I'm sure you're well aware of where the real tight wads in the UK live !!!!!!!!

Yeah.... Yorkshire

« **Reply #36 on:** August 08, 2010, 10:28:41 am »

Hi guys

Simple really.

If he said he would send you down some samples and no price was mentioned then no price is payable.

Remember there are lots of suppliers all supplying pretty much the same products.

Cheers

Doug

« **Reply #37 on:** August 08, 2010, 12:03:57 pm »

Quote from: robert meldrum on August 07, 2010, 10:31:09 pm

Is it NORMAL to be charged for samples ? Well, let's consider..............I phone your business and ask for a FREE sample of your work. just a small area cleaned so that I could judge the quality of your work. HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND ?

Well I certainly would give any of my potential custys a sample of my work, and infact often do normaly for commercial work granted and I even advertise the fact , so not such a strange request really

, and I have in the past recieved free samples from suppliers with no charge for samples or delivery.

I would suggest its a case of cutomer relations and a small price to pay.

geoff

« **Reply #38 on:** August 10, 2010, 08:18:35 am »

Trying to break my addiction and being more layed back these days.

I was scrolling down the topics and my thought was Nicks publicity machine is at it again.

I am now going to say I think t is a good offer.

Companies really cannot afford to send out 100s of Free Samples hoping 10 people will buy.

Was the question asked are they FREE.