UKNM: RANT ALERT - shortsighted 'net' experts

[Severina Publications]

X-Priority: 3 (Normal)

X-MSMail-Priority: Normal

X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0)

X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300

Importance: Normal

In-Reply-To: <

397F08A7 [dot] 7293041Asensei [dot] co [dot] uk

>


OK, I'm mad - so if you don't want to listen to a Nikki rant, then delete

this now :o)


Still here?


So it goes like this:


Wednesday, 3pm: Phone call from local recruitment agency who dabbled in web

design, got some big contracts, decided they couldn't do them and were

looking for another local company to take them off their hands. Very nice

lady that phoned, INSISTED that we had to go see them the same day as they

were talking about giving us �30K of business. Finally Chris, our sales guy,

managed to talk them into the fact that we couldn't drop everything to go

and see them, but we'd be happy to fit them in the next day.


Thursday, 5am: Nikki remembers she has breakfast meeting at 7am and gets out

of bed.


Thursday, 7am: Nikki goes to dullest networking breakfast meeting in history

of breakfast meetings.


Thursdya, 9am: Nikki & Chris go to see said company, who then spend three

hours quizzing them about whether or not they're suitable for the client,

whether Severina Publications can handle the projects, yada yada yada


3 hours later: Nikki & Chris leave with promise of business specs being

faxed back that afternoon - could company have detailed breakdown of prices

we can do job for by close of play. (Remember folks we're talking about 4

jobs here, worth about �10K each)



Thursday, 4:30 : Nikki sends proposals as asked, after spending whole day

getting prices together, talking with designer, etc.


Nothing more heard until the following Tuesday


Following Tuesday: Hi, it's Ms XXXXXX here from XXXXXX recruitment, we've

got your proposals and we're happy with your prices and the commission you

want to pay us for passing the business your way, but we're a little

concerned that your graphic designer doesn't work inhouse.


Nikki assures her that this is not a problem, we work very well with our

graphics guy, and it doesn't matter where in the country he is bcos this is

the Internet, right, and distance doesn't matter?


This monring: We call to see how things are going and get "Sorry, we decided

to go with another company bcos they had their graphics guy inhouse"



My points are:


1) We TOLD her in the first place that he wasn't in our office, he was a

teleworker and we liked it that way - that was the point at which she should

have said 'ok, not interested'


2) So f**king what if he isn't in our office? He's practically on call for

us 24 hours a day, he never brings anything in late, we always run on time

and none of our other clients have ever cared that he isn't sitting 3 feet

away from me when they speak to me.


3) I could have lied and said we had this great team sitting in our office,

but I didn't - I told her the truth, that our graphics guy worked from home

and the situation works very well for us.


This is the year 2000 for god's sake - we're supposed to be aware of

technology and know how to use it - the internet is a global experience, not

just a local one. I can do business with people in America, New Zealand and

China (and have done) and THEY don't care where my bloody designer is!!


Have others experienced this kind of backward mentality or shortsightedness

in the UK? It seems to me that many companies in the US use teleworkers

successfully, so why would this be frowned upon here?


Or do YOU yourself frown upon teleworkers and think she had a valid point?


I'm a big believer in fairness, and that's why i'm so het up about this -

it's not the fact that we didn't get the business, it's the unfairness of

why we didn't get it.


Maybe I should lie in future and invent a 12 strong design team working from

custom built offices.............


Thanks for listening - oh, sorry, did I wake you up ?? :o)


Regards


Nikki Pilkington

Severina Publications Limited

Because Internet Marketing Is More Than Just Great Design

T: 01327 871093   F: 01327 871907

E:

nikkiseverina [dot] co [dot] uk

W: http://www.severina.co.uk

ICQ: 9330127



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 ScreamingMedia the leading global technology platform for

 the aggregation and distribution of digital content over the

 Internet, is now operating in the United Kingdom.

 Get relevant and customised content to attract visitors

 to your site and keep them there.  Click Here!


 http://adcenter.in2.com/cgi-bin/click.cgi?tid=31036

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  To unsubscribe or change your list settings go to

http://www.chinwag.com/uk-netmarketing or

helpchinwag [dot] com