Why I'm so effing mad right now...

by 31 replies
39
I'm on Sears mailing list. Today they sent me an email with the subject line: "WHOOPS! We made a mistake." And then the body of the email told me about how they sent me the wrong jewelry offer previously.

I got so hopping mad that I reported them for spam and then sent that garbage email straight to the trash. Tell you what, I'll NEVER buy anything from Sears again. Ever. They totally blow.

You know why? Because Sears is a big company. They're pros. There is NO WAY they could make a mistake. No way.

You just know a big company like Sears has a highly paid staff handling their outgoing emails. They have staff to write the emails. They have staff to proofread the emails. So there's absolutely no excuse for this kind of mistake.

You know what I think? It wasn't a mistake. It's just an underhanded tactic by Sears to get more people looking at their offers. The suits at Sears probably regularly visit the BH forums.

Please, tell everyone you know about this deceit...


=================>> STOP!

I'm just kidding, geeze.

Yes, Sears really did send me the "whoops" email.

And you know what my FIRST thought was? This: "Oh, they made a mistake. I bet whoever made that mistake is groveling right now to the boss."

See, mistakes like that cost the company money. And a big company like sears probably got a flood of customer service inquiries as a result. Plus, it's embarrassing.

Would Sears ever purposely send out the wrong offer just so they could follow it with a "whoops" email?

Not a chance.

And your fave (unfave?) marketer probably doesn't do it either, because it's an embarrassing, costly mistake.

Bottom line: Mistakes really DO happen.

Cheers,
Becky
#main internet marketing discussion forum #learn #marketing #sears #tactics #underhanded
  • Funny. I've received four of those this week from various major merchants. They all claimed they made a mistake in their previous message.

    Odd how I've been on these lists for months and none of them have ever made a single mistake, then they all do it 2 weeks before Christmas?

    Mmhmm...

    You may think it was really a mixup, but I'm not that gullible.
    • [2] replies
    • I got that Sears email, too. I've been on their email list for a couple of years and that's the first mistake so they're doing pretty darn well...lol.

      I'm on a lot of major retailer lists and I didn't get any other mistake emails.

      Tina
      • [2] replies
    • Bad crop of elves this year. Something to do with a late spring at the North Pole.
  • Looks like SPAM to me and not a legit email from them.
  • But Becky,

    Lol don't you know that all companies, big or small, are out to use tactics like these? Marketers sit up in their offices planning out how we can drive customers stark raving mad!
  • Perhaps they've all hired the same marketing consultant who's giving them crap advice?
  • This is a sales tactic that Sears among other companies are using. I don't think it is right, but obviously they think it will be effective.
    • [1] reply
    • BTW, great copy on the title of this post. It sure got me curious enough to click through!
  • Sometimes you do make a mistake but other people think it's a marketing ploy and will not believe it is a mistake no matter what you swear to.
    • [1] reply

    • And cynics lose out too.

      I have noticed a trend, where people are rushing through one time offers with the response "get lost your not catching me with that one time offer crap"

      Get inside the members area then pay full price for something they could have had cheaper if they actually read the oto offer.

      Robert
  • Banned
    Like you said, it could just be a marketing way for getting more people to check their offer. I get a couple of 'Whoops...' emails from internet marketers in my email as well and then they later send the correct link to whatever they're promoting. Maybe this is not the same thing but i think you should just be calm about it.
    Otherwise like talfighel said, it could just be SPAM and not a legit email from them.
  • When I got into affiliate marketing and was on every marketer's list under the sun, I'd get those "oops" e-mails and think, Well, that's nice they are admitting it and giving me a nice little bonus to apologize. Then I got more, and I started thinking, Wow, these Internet marketers sure make a lot of mistakes. Then I got more, and that's when I started thinking.
  • talfighel -- the link went to Sears, but next time I get an email from them I'll check the headers to see if they originated from the same place.


    ***

    So, to those who think Sears purposely planned this out as a marketing ploy, I ask again: Why not just send a legit follow up email, such as a reminder email?

    Cheers,
    Becky

    P.S. Thanks for all the comments -- good discussion!
    • [2] replies
    • A few months ago I got an email from one of the UK's biggest companies - a multi-billion pound phone and Internet provider - which went along the lines of...

      "We know you've unsubscribed from our list but we want to send you an offer so would you like to re-subscribe? If so, here's a link..."

      To me that one was spam, pure and simple.

      They really should have known better than to send it.

      Cheers,

      Neil
    • Hi Becky,

      In my opinion -

      Of course, sometimes 'whoops' emails are mistakes. But I also disagree with the suggestion that they all are.

      1) Because of rubber necking - a 'whoops' email gets read

      2) It engages the reader, whereas another pure 'sales' email would more likely get skipped over. The engaging 'whoops' email puts the suggestion/question in the reader's mind concerning there being a human sending the emails, rather than an automated system. The 'sales' email could easily be automated, and in the receiver's mind its easier to just delete it.

      3) It's pure guerrilla marketing. Using a tactic that has the elements this one has - IE it could be innocent, it could be guilty - can create a lot of buzz. Do you want me to point you to hard evidence of this?

      Imagine a scenario where someone's emails aren't getting the desired result - for example, the one just prior to the 'whoops' email you received. They need attention. Is it worth risking losing the most cynical prospects a to get the attention of the most receptive? Computer says 'yes'. It's a good thing to filter out the cynics full stop.

      Of course, it's a fine line between finding the right balance, or going too far and annoying the majority - or at least, making them question your integrity.

      Hi Robert,

      Perhaps it's conceivable that there are prospects out there that are educated/experienced enough and wealthy enough that they would actually prefer to pay a higher price as long as they can confirm that it was them that made the decision and that they weren't pressured or mis-sold - thus avoiding the embarrassment of having to refund.

      By hammering your prospects with unwanted sales pressure at every turn, you could be unconsciously filtering them to leave only the least educated/experienced and least wealthy. Perhaps (as a marketer) you could view 'the OTOs that they angrily skip past' as a great way to get people to pay full price?
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Neil -- that sounds like spam to me too. You asked for no further contact, they contacted you... that's just wrong.

    ***

    Roger -- thanks as usual for the insightful comments.

    I do agree that not *every* email "oppsie" truly is a mistake. Indeed, this sort of discussion crops on this forum a lot, which undoubtedly makes folks give it a whirl on their own lists.

    However, I'm guessing this is more of a "small time" marketer tactic, particularly in IM circles, where they might get the desired buzz (as you described). I doubt that non-marketers are sitting around talking about an email from Sears (and a quick Google search didn't reveal such a thing).

    Indeed, a big company would actually have to prepare their thousands of customer service agents in advance to deal with the inquiries via phone, email and maybe even at customer service desks at Sears stores around the country.

    Can you see this conversation going down? "Good morning team. We're sending out a fake email tomorrow which will tell people they can buy a piece of jewelry that they really can't buy. Here's what to say when people realize they can't get it for that price..."

    That would be a large scale conspiracy to make it happen in a big operation.
    • [2] replies
    • Hang on, Becky. It turns out that you're not effing mad right now!! I feel I've been enticed to open this thread under false pretences.

      Grrrr. That makes me so effing mad



      Frank
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
    • Hi Becky,

      I see your point and agree to an extent, but -

      I (personally) wouldn't under-estimate the amount of non IMers who might be observing and testing the tactics of big name IMers in other venues. Some of these tactics may be tacky, but tacky works in the big wide world too. And these IMers produce impressive, quick results, (particularly via inventory-less automated-fulfillment info products) - results that are likely to attract attention far and wide.

      I assumed that they would have to stand the original offer they made on the first item - for the same reason that a shop (at least in the UK I believe) which mis-prices an item is legally required to sell that item to the customer who agrees to buy it at that price.

      But it sounds like you are saying that the 'whoops' email said that the original item on offer is now not on offer. My mistake. In that case, and they have withdrawn the original offer, then it is presumeably a genuine error.

      The IM emails that get discussed here are not usually of that ilk. They are not usually because a marketer offered a discount on the wrong product and then emailed to rescind the offer and announce the correct one.
  • I know marketers do this on purpose because I've had 3 of them admit it to me in the past 2 months. I'm on a LOT of marketers' lists. You'd do an intervention on me if you knew how many. And this is for sure a planned thing by many of them. I reply a lot, and many marketers will actually respond to my replies. That's how I've gotten 3 of them to admit it was part of their scheme to improve open rates. Tip of the iceberg, unless you're incredibly naive.

    Did Sears do it? Who knows. All I know is that this is undoubtedly a growing trend among marketers, and it sucks.

    John
    • [1] reply
    • My mother asked me how many emails I get on the average day. I scratched my head, went to my computer, and ran a couple searches.

      "About 1200."

      She nearly had heart failure...
  • Looks to me, like it might just be yet another example of off-line marketers who are learning and beginning to use on-line tactics.
  • I have to say I have sent out emails and then totally genuinely forgotten something, so I send a second one clarifying the first :-(
  • It seems like too much of a coincidence. Remember that these companies do hire marketers who are good at what they do. In this case internet marketers. So that would mean that they would use the slip up thing, like most gurus do intentionally. I would really doubt that they did make that mistake. I am sure it was intentional.
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  • Actually, that made me laugh a bit. Can't believe Sears
    decided to go with the "whoops" email.

    Although ... they could get the PR people to spin this
    for them before Christmas. You know, get a news release
    out there to create a little buzz.

    I'm picturing headlines like:

    "Sears messes up - spams customers"

    "Email controversy gets Sears in hot water"

    "Jewelry customers lash out at Sears mistake"

    "Sears apologizes to public for huge blunder"

    Then, get a hapless Sears spokesperson to appear on CNN,
    let the experts rake him over the coals, apologize vehemently,
    and earn the company a few last sympathy sales this holiday
    season.

    I didn't even know Sears was still around, so I assume they
    could use the publicity.
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  • Banned
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    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hi Becky, having worked with both small and large companies I can categorically say that mistakes like this happen ALL the time in both kinds of business.

    Probably because both small and large companies tend to be staffed with people, and people are renowned for making mistakes.
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    Why I'm so effing mad right now...

    I'm on Sears mailing list. Today they sent me an email with the subject line: "WHOOPS! We made a mistake." And then the body of the email told me about how they sent me the wrong jewelry offer previously. I got so hopping mad that I reported them for spam and then sent that garbage email straight to the trash. Tell you what, I'll NEVER buy anything from Sears again. Ever. They totally blow.