Unusable incentives

[RitaR]

I\'m curious how others deal with a situation where they are offered an incentive, follow all rules, protocol, may payment on time, in full, needed to fulfill their end..

What do you do if you then find the incentive is totally worthless for the purpose it was offered, and can\'t be used?

Do you feel you "paid" by meeting all the requrements thus have a voice over your feelings? And something should be done by the offering party.

Or do you think you shouldn\'t be able to say much because it wasn\'t actually dollars out of your pocket, and thus you aren\'t worth the honesty which was offered?

Or Should do you just put up with being kicked in the teeth and ignored by the original incentive offer?

How would you feel?

What steps wouldyou take?

Woud the price of the item change things, say from $60.00, to say $400.00?

Would you feel it fair to openly say what\'s happened and ask others for their situations and input..?

RitaR

[michaelalan]

Totally lost? .... Is it from this site you refer?:cool:;)Incentive? Rules? Elaborate a little more, what are you refering to please?

[RitaR]

frankly yes it is.. it wasn\'t me though.. I got what I was told I\'d get by reps and on board here by dealers... after a lot of dealing.. this is another ówner of a machine.. she\'s afraid to post about it.. I feel for her. lol, I\'m already toasted, may as well get darker.. ROFLMHO.. that is said with a lot of humor at my end!

RitaR

[michaelalan]

Time lost is Money lost, and if it\'s causing loss, I\'d speak up and let the cat out of the bag....:cool:

[HeidiKaisand]

Rita,

You certainly know from personal experience that I will do everything in my power to follow-through on orders. Can you please tell this customer to contact me directly and discuss the personal situation with me? As you know there are always more sides to the story and I want to make sure this customer is getting accurate information.

Heidi Kaisand

National Sales Manager

heidi@apqs.com

[RitaR]

Hi Heidi,, yes, I do, but this person has contacted you and others, who she was told to contact, and has heard Nothing back.. Since her last emails on Tues.

I\'m sorry.. I do have a big mouth.. but....

Incentives WERE offered here on site.. and now turns out unusable..

RitaR

[quiltmonkey]

Rita, you\'ve started a message here with a lot of undertones and inunuendos that hint to things but don\'t get specific, and anyone (like me) who is not involved with this situation, and don\'t know any details, have absolutely no clue what you are talking about, but when I read this I take it as being somewhat odd that you would post a mystery-filled message like this? That seems quite odd, so not sure what your reasons are to post this message in public like this. I am a little confused by the intention of it. So, that said, I can only suggest that if someone is not happy with the product they purchased, including the "Unusable incentives" they recieved, then they need to deal with it directly with the person who sold them the product. People like us who don\'t know the specifics and can only read between the lines of what you\'ve written, which to me don\'t read very well, and frankly make me a little uncomfortable, so people like myself cannot really help with the situation.

Good luck. Same goes with you. If you are not happy and you feel "toasted" but feel you might as well get a little darker? What??? This comment to me is very strange. That said, I also wish you happiness, Rita. If there is a problem, deal directly with the people who know, via phone, not email. Some things need to be dealt with on the phone.

PS: Nobody elected me to be the "quilting message board police" but don\'t stir the pot and air dirty laundry in public, please?

[michaelalan]

I don\'t know what to comment on, so I\'m gonna say, I\'m still lost, however Public Floggings are more to my liking, you can bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the show....ROFLMAO:P

[Mary Beth]

Rita,

Maybe like Heidi suggested, your friend should call her instead of email. I have sent two emails to my DH at work this week and he didn\'t get either one. Maybe there was a miscommunication and all can be solved, happily, if your friend will just contact Heidi.

I\'m sorry she is having this problem and I hope she gets things straightened out soon.

Michaelalan...:DPublic Floggings:D:P

[chickenscratch]

I think we need more information here if we are expected to make any kind of comments.

[mrsbishwit]

I too am confused as to why this was brought up as it was, (beating around the bush with out actually stating what the problem is and that it is being brought up by a third party who is not directly involved).

Perhaps Rita still has some unresolved concerns that stems from her own encounter and feels the need to fight this battle for the other individual with the hopes of being able to put to rest her own feelings about what she encountered.

Wth that being said I think that the individuals who think they have been wronged by their purchase or whatever should bring it up themselves to APQS directly via the phone.

I would also like to say that I have been dealing with APQS for over 3 years now and have always found them to be very prompt with getting back to me as well as honoring everything that they said they would. I have also never heard of a large company such as APQS haggling over incentives or price for a product, this is usually associated with flea markets and garage sales and not with a large company who has set prices etc...

[michaelalan]

I love Psychology....ROFLMAO again:P:D:P:D:P:D;):cool:

[quiltmonkey]

Mike!

[michaelalan]

I want you all to know that I am truely rolling on the ground screaming with laughter, this has brightened my day before I have to go off to work...... I have no idea what were all talking about, but reading this thread from top to bottom makes me belly ache, and I\'m laughing loud, it\'s good for the soul!!!!Screaming with Laughter over something I haven\'t the foggest about makes it worth sticking around and seeing what developes>>>>FlOG-ON:P:D:P:D:P:D:):cool:

[yeoldeforest]

You two remind me of those guys on the superbowl party who sit there and laugh at each other back and forth!!!

[michaelalan]

I prefer to be know as one of the Hecklers from the Muppets, :P:D:P:D:):cool:

[PattyJo]

I think that a phone call or 2 would wrap this up in a hurry instead of stirring up a pot and slopping it all over the place. Life is too short to major in the minors and an incentive is a minor. My nickels worth

[barbm]

Patty Jo,

So good to see both of you in the photo! Hope Bill is well on his way to better health.

Prayers for you both,

[chickenscratch]

Mike, which heckler are you? The one with the monicle or the other guy? I loved those guys. They were great.

[Susanri]

its true 17% of all email never go through!

those muppets are funny!!

[RitaR]

My apologies.. As others were told, AND I WAS told by various dealers and reps.. this would come with a machine, that would be included, since we do this that means that thats there... when it came right down to it.. It was NOT included, It did NOT come with the machine, since theydon\'t do this any more that means that that is NOT there on the Lenni... I had been told in what I took to be honesty, several times, BY MORE than One person, then I had to waste a lot of time, my time, struggling phone calls not returned, to find the rep isn\'t there any more.. then emails, then phone.. over getting what I was told I would get, in print here, on the phone, in person.

Was that right?? Was it buyer friendly?

The item was advertised in June, with a good incentive..

The incentive was sent with the item.

The incentive will not work on or with the item..

The buyer bought in good faith, and now finds it can\'t work.

The buyer HAD and HAS contacted the people she needed to and was advised to contact, etc.. and she waited and waited.

They are now contacting her.

So

1.The incentive, it doesn\'t doesn\'t matter what it was or who posted/offered it.

2. The product involved, does NOT matter.. it was A Purchase of Something with an INCENTIVE.

I asked,

2. How would you feel?

3. What would you do?

(4. Incidious, veiled hints, inuendos, ??? )

Sorry I guess I should have attached the OT Situation.

I\'ll let others complain or comment or ask for.. then I won\'t slop all over my kitchen or the chat.

Just remember, when the system doesn\'t work as they say it will, and as it should? What is left..? AGAIN it doesn\'t matter WHAT the item was, NOR WHAT the incentive,, it was SITUATIONAL.

Thanks for the input.

RitaR

[ffq-lar]

Forgive me Rita if I step in here to do a little clarifying.

I think Rita\'s friend bought a Lenni with a Hartley Fence as an incentive.

The Fence will not fit on the Lenni table.

Was the customer mis-lead by assuming because the Fence was included that she should be able to use it? Would you have been disappointed in that situation if you spent time and money phoning around to see what would make it work and being told it never would? Would you then need to try to sell the item? What kinda incentive is that?

I assume that the Hartley Co. provides the product to APQS either free or at a reduced price. (Or who knows, maybe APQS buys them outright--but I doubt it!) This is the incentive part--having and using the product will make you prone top purchasing more Hartley tools (and good stuff, I might add.)

Rita\'s friend may want to sell the Fence here and take the money and buy lotsa thread. But I can\'t fault her or Rita for wondering if anyone thought this through in Iowa!

I\'m done now...

I love APQS.

I love Hartley tools.

I love Rita.

And Shana.

And the Muppet hecklers.

And anybody else who will let me love them!

[mrsbishwit]

Rita,

If you are unhappy with the incentive (the Hartly fence) then that is what you shaould have said and then APQS shouldrectify this with either 1)a different incentive to replace the fence or 2) contact Hartly to come up with a fence that would fit the lenni table and then ship it out at a later time, or 3) give you the equilavent of the value of the hartly as $ off the machine.

However are you sure that the incentive was meant for the leni at the time? sometimes the monthly incentives that are posted on the site are just for the millie and the liberty and not other machine purchases.

When one posts on this site one should be as clear as they can when putting forth a question so that others can fully understand the situation, leaving open ended questions only creates more questions never solutions or answers.

[quiltmonkey]

I don\'t know, Rita.

This is how I see things: What was "told" to you and others and what was "written" in the sales contracts to you and others are two separate things. All I know is when I purchased my machine (before I paid for it), I worked through the dealer and we got everything in writing. It was called a Proforma sheet, or an "order form" from my sales rep that listed all the goodies that came with the offer to me -- in other words, all of the "incentives" or whatever you want to call it. These were in writing on my order form - before I purchased my machine. I reviewed this form to ensure it was accurate and that it listed everything we agreed to, and it did. I consider that a contract. And, subsequently, I recieved everything that was listed on my "order form" when my machine arrived. So, they fulfilled their contract, right? I agreed to and paid for what was in writing. I recieved all of those items on my sales sheet.

So I ask you this: What is on this person\'s order form? Was everything that was listed on the order form (or Proforma) including the incentive that this customer agreed to, provided to this customer prior to the payment? If the incentive was not listed on the proforma sheet, then the customer should have been wise and mentioned it prior to paying for the machine. If the incentive was listed on the proforma sheet as part of the agreed package, but customer did not recieve that incentive, then the customer needs to work through those details with the sales rep to get this fixed.

All I know is that in the past, the APQS sales incentives changed every month. Sometimes they offer free thread, sometimes free shipping, sometimes free Hartley fence, etc. But, that needs to be an agreement between the customer and the sales rep and must be listed in writing on the sales slip (proforma sheet) prior to payment because these incentives change often. What was listed one month changes another month. So, the catch here is to ensure that the incentive that you, the customer agreed to, was listed on that proforma sheet or sales agreement.

I think what I am trying to say is that you (the customer) agrees (in writing ) to pay for a certain incentive package. Make sure that you read closely on the form at what you are paying for before paying for it. Incentives change all the time. This is a major purchase and you need to be clear that your incentive is in writing on the sales sheet.

That said, since I still don\'t know the specific details about this customer\'s siutation, in life sometimes things need to have adjustments or substitutions. Everyone\'s sale or situation is specific to them and it\'s not a "one size fits all" type of thing for everyone buying a machine.

I am sure that APQS will go to great lengths to make their customers happy. Why in the world would a company like this ruin a relationship with a customer over an incentive? Like I said, each situation is unique. The deal you got may not be the same deal that she got, or that I got or someone else got. You can\'t compare these.

I would never call a fellow quilter to compare my "deal" with someone else\'s deal that they made...that is none of my business. A deal is a separate individual agreement between one single customer and the sales rep/company. Kinda like buying a car...I might make a deal to buy a car for $3,000 less than the next guy buying the same car, but that\'s the deal I made on the sale, not the deal he made.

[chickenscratch]

Okay, now this makes more sense.

If I had purchased the Lenni with the Hartley Fence as the incentive and received a HF that would not work OR not received the HF at all I would contact the company. I would not be happy, if it had been promised in writing that I would have it. HOWEVER, if a sales person told me it would be included and then I did not get it, I would go back to the sales person to ask about it again. THen I would follow up however it became necessary.

I agree, Rita, that it wouldn\'t matter what the product and the incentive were, you\'d go about solving it in the same manner.

NOW< having said that.... If your friend got the Lenni machine with table, won\'t a HF that would fit an ULT II fit on it? From what I understand from a couple of the APQS sales staff, it is the exact same thing, except the ULT II head has been gutted out to make room for the new gears and stitch regulator, so on and so forth.

Has your friend requested clarification about the incentive? Has your friend sent a registered letter required a return signature? If so, what response was given.

As with any unresolved issue, go to all lengths to settle it. Keep a good paper trail, put things in writing instead of phone calls, take pictures if necessary, then follow up legally if you have to.