Office supplies - pushy salespeople

[akara]

I work in a small office and am responsible for ordering all office supplies.  I perpetually receive phone calls from companies trying to get me to buy stationery, and their approach is so underhand so often that I feel I should mention it, in case anyone else gets caught out by these people

The company will ring and ask to speak to the buyer of office supplies (fair enough, that's me).  They will then either say they are introducing themselves, or that we have dealt with them before (which I am sure is not true, but I have only been here six months, so I can't verify that).  They then start by saying they are offering a free gift to new/loyal customers, which is their way of confirming my name and the company address.

Having established the 'free gift' is being despatched, they then try one of two tactics.  One is, prices are about to go up and they have put aside so many boxes of paper/envelopes etc. at the old price for our company.  Second tactic, they have a sale - two for the price of one - of said paper/envelopes etc - one day only.  Regardless of tactic, their next question is always, "do you need any toner cartridges to go with this order?".

At this point, I have to say very firmly that I don't want ANY stock, and am not placing any order, otherwise I end up with stock being delivered that I haven't ordered, at prices I never agreed (learned this the hard way).  At this point the salesperson switches off the charm and hangs up with a chilly farewell.  Needless to say, the promised 'free gift' never arrives.

I am getting very annoyed that sales people are using such underhanded tactics to get me to buy goods.  In some cases I feel that I am actually being lied to, and this makes me angry.  I have now decided not to buy any stationery from anyone apart from our current suppliers, regardless of how good the deal might sound.

I wondered if anyone else has ever come across a similar phenonemon - UK or otherwise.

Akara

[Jackie G]

Akara

I had a similar problem in the UK several years ago and yes, you don't get the free gift (usually something cheap and nasty anyway!) because you don't place an order.  I think you have to let it slide off like water off a duck's back and not take it personally!

What I used to do was keep a notebook handy and note down who called in or phoned and on what date.  One particular company called in and phoned 4 times in one week so I phoned to ask to speak to their sales manager.  I explained who I was and said that their company was banned from doing business with ours (this was my sayso, I didn't check with my boss cos I didn't have to!) and could they please therefore not send anyone to us.  It worked for a little while but then they started calling again - and I had it all noted in my book anyway! - one day a guy tried the 'I'm new, I'm nice' approach but he got short shrift and went away.  I think they eventually got the message but it drove me nuts at the time.

To be honest, if I hadn't started writing it down, it wouldn't have been quite so obvious - the 4 contacts in one week was a bit much and even without writing down I think I would have noticed that one!, but there were others who used to try about twice a month and it would be 'We've not been in touch for a while...' - 'well actually, you called me last week' which always got a surprised reaction.  They had to back down when I named times and dates tho!

It'd be interesting to read how other Hub users deal with these kinds of calls.  Admittedly sometimes they come at the time when you DO actually need what they're offering on special, and it would be stupid to turn them away unless you had a very good reason - like unreliable service etc.

Jackie
www.iqps.org
DeskDemon Forum Board Staff

[ControlledChaos]

Akara

I used to get this in my last job, I was promised free gifts, vouchers etc which never arrived!!

I explained to them that the stationery contract was put out for tender each year and therefore if they gave me their name and address I would ensure that they were included in the mail-out.  That way if they phoned again I could let them know that they were on my list of suppliers to contact.  Also, I used to ask them to come and visit me with a view to doing business in the future - it was surprising how many excuses were given then as to why they couldn't come out to see me.  I explained that I would not do business with anyone who I had not met with a representative of their company and who had left me with some samples!!

Val

[peana]

Anyone else had the one where they send you something you haven't ordered, refuse to collect it (or pay postage to return it), and then threaten to sue you for non-payment?  They're unbelievable!

[gordon]

I've had a few similar experiences with companies selling franking machine rolls.  Companies would ring up without saying who they are but would just say something like "we are taking your next order for franking rolls, how many do you need".  Fortunately I caught on to what they we doing as they weren't my suppliers.  My standard reply is to say that I only order such rolls from the manufacturer of the franking machine and ask them not to call again.  This has worked with some companies but not others, the persistant ones eventually do stop ringing when I threaten to report their selling tactics to Trading Standards!

[carrielgreen]

Yeah - i also get calls about franking ink, which i unfortunatly fell foul of once - our machine doesnt use ink in bottles... and i got a box of 12 bottles.

I take calls for all types of office equipment, IT - hardware and software, Stationery ect.... I just tell the caller sorry not interested as we have recently taken out a twelve month contract for product service XYZ. It seems to do the trick, i also dont take calls from people who ask for the Stationery buyer, IT Buyer ect. who ever takes the call tells the caller that Mrs Diana Prince is responsible for that area of the business but she's on holiday/trainging/away from the office for long periods of time..... She's a fictional employee but it makes us laugh when she gets mail or calls.... )