It seems a lot of us have been duped by a company called 'Click Management' who purport to give a one-month no obligation trial to have your details appear at the top of Google when specified keywords are entered in the browser. They then send you by email a one-year contract and charge your credit card. They fail to deliver the service. All attempts to cancel fail, and they threaten legal action if you manage to stop them debiting your card (and this isn't straightforward - see below).
The key element of the scam is that they get you to give them your credit card or, worse still, your debit card number. They accept no other method of payment. Herein lies the moral of the story. Never give your debit or credit card number as a means of payment to a telephone caller. And don't believe the old saw that if you pay by credit card for anything that you are protected. Try getting the credit card company to stop them continuing to debit your card, let alone refunding monies. They can't or won't. Appalling. Insist on a standing order, or credit invoice. Then you remain in control.
Monday, 26 April 2010
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Miracle at Westminster - FHL Rules Repeal Abandoned
After my blog entitled "Commercial Racism" lambasted the Labour government, they were last night forced to drop these plans along with two other measures as the price for opposition support for the Finance Bill. Lobbying does work, it seems, and a lot of praise needs to go to those who campaigned relentlessly on behalf of self caterers and the Tourism industry generally, including our friends at Visit Scotland, Visit Britain and the ASSC.
But we must not relax. Labour have pledged to re-introduce it if they are re-elected. Everyone in the Tourism sector should avoid voting Labour. Not just self caterers. The disgraceful conduct of this government in attempting to repeal the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) Rules without any consultation is indicative of a wholesale disregard and contempt for this industry and the many small businesses that underpin it.
In making the re-introduction pledge they have made a major political blunder in my opinion. Better to have said nothing and accepted the defeat with good grace. They may then have hoped that some otherwise Labour supporters might have short memories and retained their votes - and not just from Tourism professionals, but from cider drinkers, too! As it is, we must be ever more determined to keep out those who have shown no compunction in betraying the trust of a whole industry to safeguard it for the nation.
But we must not relax. Labour have pledged to re-introduce it if they are re-elected. Everyone in the Tourism sector should avoid voting Labour. Not just self caterers. The disgraceful conduct of this government in attempting to repeal the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) Rules without any consultation is indicative of a wholesale disregard and contempt for this industry and the many small businesses that underpin it.
In making the re-introduction pledge they have made a major political blunder in my opinion. Better to have said nothing and accepted the defeat with good grace. They may then have hoped that some otherwise Labour supporters might have short memories and retained their votes - and not just from Tourism professionals, but from cider drinkers, too! As it is, we must be ever more determined to keep out those who have shown no compunction in betraying the trust of a whole industry to safeguard it for the nation.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Missing a Trick - Using a Database to Improve Service
Kenny Harris is President of the Scottish Chapter of the Professional Speakers Association and my sponsor in the PSA. Reading one of his highly entertaining blogs (http://www.kennyharrisblog.blogspot.com/) about the ‘database trick’ pressed my Victor Meldrew button.
The ‘database trick’ is the use of a database to record information about people – guests, customers, whoever – and using it to ‘remember’ them when they come again or call you so that you can appear omniscient about them and make them feel special. The point here is that it is not ‘cheating’. Well, it is really. But there is no need to pretend you really remembered them. It is still good customer service in that you bothered to do it at all.
Anyway, my ‘gromp’ (grumpy old man rant) on this topic is about buying items in certain (electrical) retail stores, in particular one (or two) I am going to call ‘Dixies’. They have to take your name and address every time you buy. I’ve lost count of the times I have lost my rag with the poor old assistant and lambasted him/her with my “haven’t you heard of databases” speech. “I’m an existing customer. Why don’t you know my address? Why don’t you know everything I’ve ever bought from you? Why don’t you know I give this bloody speech every time I come in to your stores and have security stop me at the door!?”
I spend a lot of time advising small businesses of ways that they can use the same methods and techniques that larger businesses use but spend millions on. Here’s one that a small business can do but a large respected national retailer seems unable. No doubt they have a reason. But they’ve lost me – in more ways than one. I’ve stopped buying there.
And yes, I’ve written and told them.
The ‘database trick’ is the use of a database to record information about people – guests, customers, whoever – and using it to ‘remember’ them when they come again or call you so that you can appear omniscient about them and make them feel special. The point here is that it is not ‘cheating’. Well, it is really. But there is no need to pretend you really remembered them. It is still good customer service in that you bothered to do it at all.
Anyway, my ‘gromp’ (grumpy old man rant) on this topic is about buying items in certain (electrical) retail stores, in particular one (or two) I am going to call ‘Dixies’. They have to take your name and address every time you buy. I’ve lost count of the times I have lost my rag with the poor old assistant and lambasted him/her with my “haven’t you heard of databases” speech. “I’m an existing customer. Why don’t you know my address? Why don’t you know everything I’ve ever bought from you? Why don’t you know I give this bloody speech every time I come in to your stores and have security stop me at the door!?”
I spend a lot of time advising small businesses of ways that they can use the same methods and techniques that larger businesses use but spend millions on. Here’s one that a small business can do but a large respected national retailer seems unable. No doubt they have a reason. But they’ve lost me – in more ways than one. I’ve stopped buying there.
And yes, I’ve written and told them.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
The Rates of Change - Rateable Value Assessments
Businesses all over the country are at this time receiving Revaluation notices in respect of business properties from their regional assessor.
The evidence is that, as widely predicted and feared, the new rateable values assessed are orders of magnitude higher than the old ones. The increase in costs that this will trigger is potentially crippling. The Scottish parliament has helpfully introduced Small Business Relief (SBR), which in recent years has reduced the burden of business rates substantially, in some cases completely. But the effect of this increase in rateable value will be to push most businesses beyond historical SBR thresholds. Even those maintaining current levels of entitlement will be vulnerable to any changes in policy on this relief in the future such that the impact of the rateable value reassessments would only be delayed.
Even if SBR remains untouched, this increase in rateable value will be the basis for assessment by Scottish Water for businesses for whom the installation of water meters is impractical, and for all businesses for the next few years during the transitional charging period where water rates are assessed on a combination of actual metered use and rateable values. The increases in recent years by the water companies alone have been nothing short of obscene. A potential further doubling of these costs overnight is taking obscenity beyond pornography in its distastefulness. And this at a time when property-based businesses are badly affected by other Machiavellian instruments of torture, such as the current government’s repeal of the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) Rules that mean many self catering holiday businesses will seriously have to consider ceasing trading.
In fact, the rateable values being assessed on self catering properties will be particularly unreasonable. Many of these “cottages” are not previous domestic dwellings being re-used, but are purpose-built conversions of old outbuildings as holiday lets, which by design are not intended for permanent occupation. In particular, the living space is often very small relative to the number of beds and only works acceptably for short occupancy in the knowledge that guests, as holiday-makers, will spend most of their stay away from the accommodation. Yet the rateable values now being placed on them will result in charges sometimes greater than those of domestic rates paid on family homes many times their physical size.
Of course, such assessments should be appealed. In this case, though, I am strangely hopeful that many deserving cases will be heeded.
The evidence is that, as widely predicted and feared, the new rateable values assessed are orders of magnitude higher than the old ones. The increase in costs that this will trigger is potentially crippling. The Scottish parliament has helpfully introduced Small Business Relief (SBR), which in recent years has reduced the burden of business rates substantially, in some cases completely. But the effect of this increase in rateable value will be to push most businesses beyond historical SBR thresholds. Even those maintaining current levels of entitlement will be vulnerable to any changes in policy on this relief in the future such that the impact of the rateable value reassessments would only be delayed.
Even if SBR remains untouched, this increase in rateable value will be the basis for assessment by Scottish Water for businesses for whom the installation of water meters is impractical, and for all businesses for the next few years during the transitional charging period where water rates are assessed on a combination of actual metered use and rateable values. The increases in recent years by the water companies alone have been nothing short of obscene. A potential further doubling of these costs overnight is taking obscenity beyond pornography in its distastefulness. And this at a time when property-based businesses are badly affected by other Machiavellian instruments of torture, such as the current government’s repeal of the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) Rules that mean many self catering holiday businesses will seriously have to consider ceasing trading.
In fact, the rateable values being assessed on self catering properties will be particularly unreasonable. Many of these “cottages” are not previous domestic dwellings being re-used, but are purpose-built conversions of old outbuildings as holiday lets, which by design are not intended for permanent occupation. In particular, the living space is often very small relative to the number of beds and only works acceptably for short occupancy in the knowledge that guests, as holiday-makers, will spend most of their stay away from the accommodation. Yet the rateable values now being placed on them will result in charges sometimes greater than those of domestic rates paid on family homes many times their physical size.
Of course, such assessments should be appealed. In this case, though, I am strangely hopeful that many deserving cases will be heeded.
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