BMW advertise their cars as 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'. I would suggest that no car can really meet this claim fully.
Over the weekend I visited a local National Trust property where the majority of the parking is on grass areas. Being a Bank Holiday weekend it was not surprising that the tarmac surfaced car park was full and the grass areas were in use. The recent weather meant that the grass had become muddy at the entrance to the car park but was on the whole in quite good condition.
I drove in and parked up with no problems, but as I was getting out of the car I became aware of two BMW drivers starting a heated discussion with the parking marshal and objecting to where he wanted them to park. Their claim was that if they parked there their cars would be stuck. This despite the parking area being only slightly on a slope. Apparently they felt they could not reverse up this minor slope so if the cars in front (in a double parkied row) didn't move then they were going nowhere.
This does not sound like an ultimate driving machine to me!
It is true that in slippery conditions rear wheel drive cars can have issues with traction but no one else was complaining.
Front wheel drive cars like mine are better in these situations but are by no means perfect, primarily because they use the same wheels for driving and steering.
Four wheel drive cars also have problems, such as increased fuel consumption, weight and technical complexity.
So is there an ultimate driving machine? I suggest there is not, simply cars which are good in specific areas.
Perhaps BMW should append a disclaimer to their advert - Terms and Conditions Apply
Showing posts with label Misleading Advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Misleading Advertising. Show all posts
Monday, April 1, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
How to Promote the UK - Badly
The other day the media in the UK made a fuss about how Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were launching a promotion for the UK in Europe.
How did they start this promotion? Not by showcasing our products for one.
The tour started with them driving around Berlin in a Mini. Not the original Mini, manufactured for many years in the UK but in a modern Mini made by that well known manufacturer BMW (I seem to recall they are German).
To add insult to injury, whilst the Mini is presently made in the UK, BMW are planning to move more production to Europe, leaving Oxford simply as the spiritual home of the Mini.
Being the spiritual home of the Mini does nothing for our economy, but promoting it will doubtless help BMW and hence Germany as the home of BMW and also the countries making the Mini, presently Austria produces some models and there will be new production in the Netherlands.
Some will apparently remain in Oxford but I doubt that will last long and the UK will get sidelined as a minor parts supplier soon.
If we are promoting the UK, can we at least do it with a true British product please!
How did they start this promotion? Not by showcasing our products for one.
The tour started with them driving around Berlin in a Mini. Not the original Mini, manufactured for many years in the UK but in a modern Mini made by that well known manufacturer BMW (I seem to recall they are German).
To add insult to injury, whilst the Mini is presently made in the UK, BMW are planning to move more production to Europe, leaving Oxford simply as the spiritual home of the Mini.
Being the spiritual home of the Mini does nothing for our economy, but promoting it will doubtless help BMW and hence Germany as the home of BMW and also the countries making the Mini, presently Austria produces some models and there will be new production in the Netherlands.
Some will apparently remain in Oxford but I doubt that will last long and the UK will get sidelined as a minor parts supplier soon.
If we are promoting the UK, can we at least do it with a true British product please!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Supermarket Price Matches
In these difficult economic times it is not surprising that the supermarkets are upping the game when competing against each other. The latest weapon appears to be price matching. So far I have seen two ways of doing this.
With Asda, after shopping you have to visit their website, enter some details from your receipt and if using their rules your shopping would have been cheaper in their competitors then they give you a voucher to use when you next shop with them.
So far so good and after an initial problem whereby they failed to make it clear that it only applied to grocery items it seems to be working. I even managed to get one of these vouchers after getting a basket of shopping in which they considered there were enough (minimum of eight) comparable items.
There is of course the issue of comparable items and these are quite often branded items, which you may not buy, especially if buying on a budget. The other issue of course is that you have to take action to get your voucher by visiting the website, printing off the voucher and then taking it and the original till receipt with you when wish to redeem it (looks like they are at least valid for a month though).
Sainsbury's have now taken up the idea, but they make it simpler in that they do the sums for you at the checkout. Here when you finish the process the till prints the voucher for you. I think they do however only offer this on branded goods and not on own brand so perhaps even less chance of meeting the criteria if you shop to a budget.
Why don't they just reduce their prices to match their competitors so there is no need for all this messing around? I can think of two simple reasons immediately and I am sure my readers can come up with many more.
The one the supermarkets will quote is the frequently changing prices will be difficult to manage in terms of shelf edge pricing tickets having to be regularly updated. This is a bit of a cop out because I have encountered issues in all the major supermarkets where the shelf edge price is at odds with the till price due to an error or oversight. This is also easy to address with technology. It has been some years now since I met electronic shelf edge pricing in a retail organisation I worked with which meant that the price displayed on the shelf was driven from the same data as the tills. This also simplifies the introduction of special offers etc.
The second, and the one that they won't tell you is that there will be two groups of customers who help fund this.
Customers whose basket of goods doesn't meet the criteria for the price match and therefore they pay the higher price, which earns revenue that would not be there if the price was kept in line, and customers who qualify for the price match and either do not check (in the case of Asda) or do not redeem their vouchers.
These two groups will help cover the costs of the scheme.
As a footnote, sometimes I shop in Asda when it would cost more in fuel to go to my usual store. Every time that I have met the criteria for the price guarantee it turns out that my usual store (Tesco) would have been cheaper! Therefore I qualify for the voucher (and use it).
This means I revisit the more expensive store to use my voucher - crafty marketing eh?
At least I am reassured that my choice of Tesco for my major shop is the right one for me.
Legal disclaimer: Choice of supermarket is personal and for my profile and in this area Tesco is the best choice. Other supermarkets are available.
With Asda, after shopping you have to visit their website, enter some details from your receipt and if using their rules your shopping would have been cheaper in their competitors then they give you a voucher to use when you next shop with them.
So far so good and after an initial problem whereby they failed to make it clear that it only applied to grocery items it seems to be working. I even managed to get one of these vouchers after getting a basket of shopping in which they considered there were enough (minimum of eight) comparable items.
There is of course the issue of comparable items and these are quite often branded items, which you may not buy, especially if buying on a budget. The other issue of course is that you have to take action to get your voucher by visiting the website, printing off the voucher and then taking it and the original till receipt with you when wish to redeem it (looks like they are at least valid for a month though).
Sainsbury's have now taken up the idea, but they make it simpler in that they do the sums for you at the checkout. Here when you finish the process the till prints the voucher for you. I think they do however only offer this on branded goods and not on own brand so perhaps even less chance of meeting the criteria if you shop to a budget.
Why don't they just reduce their prices to match their competitors so there is no need for all this messing around? I can think of two simple reasons immediately and I am sure my readers can come up with many more.
The one the supermarkets will quote is the frequently changing prices will be difficult to manage in terms of shelf edge pricing tickets having to be regularly updated. This is a bit of a cop out because I have encountered issues in all the major supermarkets where the shelf edge price is at odds with the till price due to an error or oversight. This is also easy to address with technology. It has been some years now since I met electronic shelf edge pricing in a retail organisation I worked with which meant that the price displayed on the shelf was driven from the same data as the tills. This also simplifies the introduction of special offers etc.
The second, and the one that they won't tell you is that there will be two groups of customers who help fund this.
Customers whose basket of goods doesn't meet the criteria for the price match and therefore they pay the higher price, which earns revenue that would not be there if the price was kept in line, and customers who qualify for the price match and either do not check (in the case of Asda) or do not redeem their vouchers.
These two groups will help cover the costs of the scheme.
As a footnote, sometimes I shop in Asda when it would cost more in fuel to go to my usual store. Every time that I have met the criteria for the price guarantee it turns out that my usual store (Tesco) would have been cheaper! Therefore I qualify for the voucher (and use it).
This means I revisit the more expensive store to use my voucher - crafty marketing eh?
At least I am reassured that my choice of Tesco for my major shop is the right one for me.
Legal disclaimer: Choice of supermarket is personal and for my profile and in this area Tesco is the best choice. Other supermarkets are available.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Annoying Sales Calls
Am I the only one who has noticed an increase in so called 'information' and 'survey' phone calls?
Tired of being pestered by sales calls I signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which companies based in the UK are supposed to check their phone number database against so they don't call numbers which are subscribed to the service.
Trouble is, companies are getting wise to this.
Some are employing call centres outside the UK which are not subject to the same rules - this is complying with the letter of the law so to speak but certainly not the spirit.
The other way round that is increasing is by claiming it is not a sales call, merely a survey to determine opinions or an information call. These types of call are not apparently restricted under TPS as a shirty call centre agent told me last night.
In reality however, they are sales calls. For example, I had one purporting to ask me about my views on personal and home security. Before partaking in the call I pressed the agent and they did admit that as most people would admit to being concerned about say being burgled, the call would then go on to how they, an alarm company, could help you. Even after I advised the agent that I had an alarm with which I was very satisfied they still tried to sell me their product, claiming a number of ways in which it was better than what I already had (in their opinion).
Last night the call was on the subject of mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance on loans and credit cards - purportedly an information call but what these people do not seem to realise is that we are wise to it. If it was purely an information call and they would earn nothing from it, then why would they run up phone bills and pay agents wages - I cannot see these companies being truly altruistic.
Despite saying that I had not had PPI (white lie but no worse than theirs) and that I was not interested in the service or 'information' they persisted. Doesn't that sound like they have sales targets to achieve?
I think in future I should follow the approach demonstrated in this YouTube video - it may not terminate the call any quicker but you may feel better. Substitute No for Yes if you wish!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33BCEPMGggU&feature=related
Tired of being pestered by sales calls I signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which companies based in the UK are supposed to check their phone number database against so they don't call numbers which are subscribed to the service.
Trouble is, companies are getting wise to this.
Some are employing call centres outside the UK which are not subject to the same rules - this is complying with the letter of the law so to speak but certainly not the spirit.
The other way round that is increasing is by claiming it is not a sales call, merely a survey to determine opinions or an information call. These types of call are not apparently restricted under TPS as a shirty call centre agent told me last night.
In reality however, they are sales calls. For example, I had one purporting to ask me about my views on personal and home security. Before partaking in the call I pressed the agent and they did admit that as most people would admit to being concerned about say being burgled, the call would then go on to how they, an alarm company, could help you. Even after I advised the agent that I had an alarm with which I was very satisfied they still tried to sell me their product, claiming a number of ways in which it was better than what I already had (in their opinion).
Last night the call was on the subject of mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance on loans and credit cards - purportedly an information call but what these people do not seem to realise is that we are wise to it. If it was purely an information call and they would earn nothing from it, then why would they run up phone bills and pay agents wages - I cannot see these companies being truly altruistic.
Despite saying that I had not had PPI (white lie but no worse than theirs) and that I was not interested in the service or 'information' they persisted. Doesn't that sound like they have sales targets to achieve?
I think in future I should follow the approach demonstrated in this YouTube video - it may not terminate the call any quicker but you may feel better. Substitute No for Yes if you wish!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33BCEPMGggU&feature=related
Monday, October 10, 2011
Pressure Selling
I have just received a replacement credit card for one that is expiring.
As is standard nowadays you must activate the card in order to confirm it's safe receipt. I am all for that and it should hopefully reduce fraud a little.
What I do object to however is the fact that with many card issuers they delegate the task of handling these calls to one of the 'Credit Card Protection' companies. They activate the card for you and then launch into the sales pitch about how many calls they take each day from people who have lost their cards or had them stolen.
Without pausing for breath they then go on to say that they will send you a registration form for their product to provide protection against all these things such as loss of cards, loss of passport, loss of mobile phone, loss of cash, loss of house or car keys, and also the theft of any of these items. They say that one phone call will enable you to ensure that all your providers are notified.
I thought the government had already given one of these companies a reprimand for this type of selling but clearly it continues.
What they omit to mention is that many people have home insurance which covers against some or all of these. More importantly they forget to tell you (and it is in the small print but boy is it small) is that you are only covered for the other items IF your credit cards are stolen or lost in the same incident. Even then there are some pretty strict rules regarding reporting the loss or theft and then there are a number of organisations (and I believe the mobile phone companies are amongst these) who will only take the call from the owner and not a third party. Many more require you to confirm in writing yourself. So what are these companies offering - a handsome profit for themselves.
It is time banks and credit card companies got back to being suppliers of the service we want and not marketing gateways for many others.
As is standard nowadays you must activate the card in order to confirm it's safe receipt. I am all for that and it should hopefully reduce fraud a little.
What I do object to however is the fact that with many card issuers they delegate the task of handling these calls to one of the 'Credit Card Protection' companies. They activate the card for you and then launch into the sales pitch about how many calls they take each day from people who have lost their cards or had them stolen.
Without pausing for breath they then go on to say that they will send you a registration form for their product to provide protection against all these things such as loss of cards, loss of passport, loss of mobile phone, loss of cash, loss of house or car keys, and also the theft of any of these items. They say that one phone call will enable you to ensure that all your providers are notified.
I thought the government had already given one of these companies a reprimand for this type of selling but clearly it continues.
What they omit to mention is that many people have home insurance which covers against some or all of these. More importantly they forget to tell you (and it is in the small print but boy is it small) is that you are only covered for the other items IF your credit cards are stolen or lost in the same incident. Even then there are some pretty strict rules regarding reporting the loss or theft and then there are a number of organisations (and I believe the mobile phone companies are amongst these) who will only take the call from the owner and not a third party. Many more require you to confirm in writing yourself. So what are these companies offering - a handsome profit for themselves.
It is time banks and credit card companies got back to being suppliers of the service we want and not marketing gateways for many others.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sales Truths
Isn't it amazing how much difference there is between what a sales person offers and what you actually get?
My most recent example is with a well known company called BT, you may have heard of them. In late August this year I received a phone call from BT about their broadband offerings. Apparently I could switch my broadband supplier to them immediately and sign up for BT Total Broadband, or if I signed up for BT Infinity I could have the high speed of their new fibre system but would have to wait until 1st October for this.
Knowing people who have been lucky enough to get BT Infinity and the speeds they report, I was excited. Fortunately however I did not contact my existing broadband supplier to start the switch over process at any point.
The sales person who called was very keen that I sign up there and then, I wouldn't be receiving another call when BT Infinity was available. I enquired and was told that whilst I could wait until I was ready to switch, the 'wonderful offer' would have expired so I would have to take on the standard contract terms - a risk I was prepared to take.
As I say, I am glad I didn't sign up then, because although I have seen the installation of new BT cabinets in the local area and engineers connecting them to the existing cabinets, when I check on availability ( I was told available from 1st October 2011 ) I find that BT Infinity is NOT in my area and is presently expected to be available from 31st December 2011. Somewhat of a discrepancy!
What would have happened if I had contacted my existing supplier to terminate the contract ( which you have to do to get the MAC code for the new supplier ) - I would have been cut off without any broadband.
I would then have had to resort to my 3G dongle - which only offers about 1.5 meg and of course costs a fortune if I exceed my monthly data limit.
It is another case of buyer beware - it is not always a good idea to sign up to 'special offers' by phone even if they are from a supposedly reputable company!
As an example of a previous instance try this - I once worked for a company implementing an Oracle system. In 1997 when the salesman made his pitch he was specifically asked about a particular feature and confidently said this was available in the current release of the day.
After installation it was necessary to place a support call with Oracle to ask how to configure it, only to be told it was NOT available but may be in the next release.
I understand from my former colleagues that even now in 2011 it is still NOT available, and I think even the promise of a future release has been dropped!
My most recent example is with a well known company called BT, you may have heard of them. In late August this year I received a phone call from BT about their broadband offerings. Apparently I could switch my broadband supplier to them immediately and sign up for BT Total Broadband, or if I signed up for BT Infinity I could have the high speed of their new fibre system but would have to wait until 1st October for this.
Knowing people who have been lucky enough to get BT Infinity and the speeds they report, I was excited. Fortunately however I did not contact my existing broadband supplier to start the switch over process at any point.
The sales person who called was very keen that I sign up there and then, I wouldn't be receiving another call when BT Infinity was available. I enquired and was told that whilst I could wait until I was ready to switch, the 'wonderful offer' would have expired so I would have to take on the standard contract terms - a risk I was prepared to take.
As I say, I am glad I didn't sign up then, because although I have seen the installation of new BT cabinets in the local area and engineers connecting them to the existing cabinets, when I check on availability ( I was told available from 1st October 2011 ) I find that BT Infinity is NOT in my area and is presently expected to be available from 31st December 2011. Somewhat of a discrepancy!
What would have happened if I had contacted my existing supplier to terminate the contract ( which you have to do to get the MAC code for the new supplier ) - I would have been cut off without any broadband.
I would then have had to resort to my 3G dongle - which only offers about 1.5 meg and of course costs a fortune if I exceed my monthly data limit.
It is another case of buyer beware - it is not always a good idea to sign up to 'special offers' by phone even if they are from a supposedly reputable company!
As an example of a previous instance try this - I once worked for a company implementing an Oracle system. In 1997 when the salesman made his pitch he was specifically asked about a particular feature and confidently said this was available in the current release of the day.
After installation it was necessary to place a support call with Oracle to ask how to configure it, only to be told it was NOT available but may be in the next release.
I understand from my former colleagues that even now in 2011 it is still NOT available, and I think even the promise of a future release has been dropped!
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