I own a new carpet cleaning business in Norwich.
A few weeks ago I joined cleantalk forum, to ask advice and browse the discussions. I was very excited, since I am very aware that the information on the forum (as with this forum) is invaluable for a startup carpet cleaner and I saw a forum like that as being the make or brake of my business, if I am to use it to its maximum potential.
I quickly noticed all the rave reviews of a certain cleaning product (*-pow**) and was quick to get my card out and purchase some of the product. A few days later it arrived in the post and excitedly I tried it out on the job which I had that morning.
After following recommended instructions, i applied warm, agitated, let it sit for 10 minute. then rinsed it off the heavily traffic marked wool carpet (it was in particually bad condition) and was quite unimpressed with the results. Not much change at all.
When I got home i posted my results on cleantalk and asked how this particular product compares to microsplitter products by another company (this other company, was the company who I had completed courses with and had been trained with and always used their products)
A few hours later, to my suprise, I had recieved a really unkind and hostile reply on the forum from a moderator, claiming that his records showed I had not purchased the said *-pow** and accusing me of working for a competitor, in order to market their products.
I posted a lengthly reply back to that post which included my invoice number and date of purchase (a few days before) and explaining that I had trained and bought all my equipment from competing company, so have always used their products. I was now interesting in expanding my list of products, hence my order and questions.
Apparently my public replies now needed to be moderated before they where visable, so I waited for the moderators to approve. And waited. And then my reply dissapeared into thin air.
Meanwhile other people had joined the discussion - commenting that my lack of reponse proves that I work for the competitor.
I was getting quite upset by this time and was desperatly posting replies, but each one was getting deleted by the moderators, who made no explination to me or anyone else.
I sent an email to an active moderator, requesting a solution to this problem (scuse the pun) but still have not received a reply to this day.
I recieved a phonecall from an associate a few days later, who had seen the accusations on the forum. He explained that this sort of behavour is common on the forum. Apparently they do not like any good comments about other products on the market, but praise any downtalking of them.
What struck me the most is their distinct lack of respect for me - one of their own customers.
:-/
