Tag Archives: business

Shop Small Business

29 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by in My Thoughts

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It’s the small businesses that keep this country chugging along. This weekend, think outside the big box and show your support!!

shopsmall

Here are some of the specials for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and/or Cyber Monday.

Please note:  Some specials are for specific days only.  Contact the merchant directly with any questions.

 Social Media Marketing

Thanks For Noticing Me – BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Purchase two months of promotion, get the third month half off!  *Offer applies to new customers only. *Offer ends Monday 12/2/13

Jewelry

Lulu Avenue – Bling out your holidays! Stop by Sharon Luluavenue to see how.#shopsmall #smallbizsat #cybermonday,#blackfriday #sales http://www.luluavenue.com/sites/sparkle

ARTIBILITY – EXCLUSIVE deals for #BlackFriday that will extend onto #ShopSmall / #SmallBusinessSaturday only on Open Sky http://www.opensky.com/artibility

Travel Convenience

PortaPocket – If you’d rather lose the worry…not your stuff, why not stop by and help yourself? PortaPocket super comfy problem-solvers work almost ANYwhere on your body and give you FREEDOM & hands-free convenience. Enjoy 20% savings on any order via www.portapocket.com …code BLKCYBR …good NOW through Cyber Monday!

Personalized Gifts

Vinyl Eloquence – #Blackfriday and #Smallbusinesssaturday specials are combined. Enjoy 25% off!

Ten23 Designs – Happy small business Saturday! Use code SHOPSMALL for 15% off the website today! www.ten23designs.com

Formal Wear

1888MyTuxes – Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday! We guarantee a better deal than chain stores!! One Day Sale only, $30 off tuxedo rental packages for your 2014 event! Includes all in stock Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, fashion styles, colors and accessories! Mention this ad. Appointments are always seen first and filling up.

My Tuxes at Gino’s/Galleria
234 Route 109
Farmingdale, New York 11735
631.753.4466

Sorry, offer is not valid on prior orders. Excludes 2014 Michael Kors and Joseph Abboud rentals.

Photography

VeroLuce Photography – Ok here is the small business Saturday special. Buy one gift certificate in any denomination, get another of the same value free! So if you bought a glam session for you, a friend gets it free, if you purchase a head shot season, a friend gets it free. You get the idea. Please note that for all sessions hair and makeup is not included in the “free” session. Good until midnight (11/30/13)!!

Party Decor

Cake It Up, LLC – 25% off sitewide Use coupon code at checkout LAUNCHITUP2013.  Cannot be combined with any other coupon or discount

Invitations/Cards/Stationery

Paper Dreams & Keepsakes, LLC – It’s Small Business Saturday! Today we are offering 15% off our Holiday and Cobblestone Note Card Collections. Offer extended until Monday, December 2, 2013. Visit www.paperdreamsllc.com/holidaycards ‪#‎smallbizsaturday‬ ‪#‎shopsmall‬

Entertainment

Time Warp Comics & Games – Cyber Monday Event! Don’t miss Time Warp Comics and Games ‪#‎CyberMonday‬ Sale this Monday December 2, 2013!

Wedding

TaylorMade Weddings – 2 One-Hour Planning Consultations for $139 plus FREE Get Acquainted Session – New clients only. Call Darlene Taylor (877-221-6008) for more details and to purchase stocking stuffer gift certificate. Valid until 12/15/13

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More to come! We’ll be adding daily!

Disclaimer: I make no commissions off the promotion of these businesses.  I do it because I can.

WeddingWire – The Finale

21 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in My Thoughts

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I suppose I could go on and on about a company who really has no regard for your business unless you’re a paying customer, but for now I’ll leave you with these final thoughts.

After my last story, WeddingWire – Part Deux, several people contacted me to tell me about their experience with customer service and the WeddingWire website itself.

Nicky V., owner of Jolie Papeterie Boutique in Canada, has had her problems and she shared them with me.  With her permission, I will now share them with you.  We talked about The Knot and how they ripped her off, we talked about WeddingWire and how they’re ripping her off.  And not just Nicky.  Anyone who has a “free” account.  Yes, even if you’re not paying for a listing, you’re being ripped off.  Here’s why;   Nicky told us that after going through four pages of invitations in her area, she could not find her page in the directory.  She did, however, see businesses from her surrounding areas showing up and still nothing for her.  She opted to do a vendor search by name and that’s how she found her page.  If a bride is searching for invitations, odds are she doesn’t know your business name.  If she doesn’t find you in her search, you’ve lost a potential sale.

Nicky also pointed out that she has 20 reviews, so you would think this would make her page more prominent in the search.  It doesn’t.  I asked Nicky if her reviews were the result of her sending out the email WeddingWire provides to ask a former client for a review.  Her response was yes, but most times the brides don’t respond or they forget.

Nicky contacted WeddingWire,  first by live chat, at which time this was the explanation she was given;

Okay, just pulled up your account. This is because all of the Lite accounts (which you currently have) are all in a random rotation among the other lites. So sometimes you may show up in the search on the vendor catalog and sometimes you might not. If they search specifically by your name at the bottom of the page, like you did, then you will definitely show up. Would you like me have your rep reach out to you to further explain this?

The second was by phone, in which Nicky said the girl she spoke to was very pleasant but she couldn’t answer her questions.  And of course, she tried to sell her a paid listing.  I’m guessing the client reps aren’t being trained properly before they’re fed to the wolves.  As a former customer rep myself, if I even considered answering the phone or returning a client’s call before my training was completed and tested, I would have been out of a job.

Nicky posed this question, “as a bride if I’m searching in a certain location why is it I’m getting random crap thrown at me and I have to go through pages to find a vendor in that area?”  The response was “because of the randomization they do.” Randomization?  So basically it’s like shuffling a deck of cards and you have to hope your card is an ace.

What Nicky didn’t realize and I pointed out to her, is that since her page on WeddingWire is “lite” there is an ad for a competitor, directly placed below her logo.  These ads feature paying clients within the WeddingWire community.

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“You might also consider”

In searching the internet for stories similar to this one, I stumbled across this article –  WeddingWire What Are Your Thoughts About It?  Had the authors really done their research they might have discovered how having a free or “lite” account on WeddingWire means absolutely nothing.  I will give them credit for pointing out that  a paid ad isn’t the way to go.  However, having more than 10 reviews doesn’t promise anything either.

So while you may think having a listing on WeddingWire will bring in the brides, guess again.  Unless you’re forking over the big bucks, odds are you won’t even be found when a bride does search, unless she’s searching for you by your company name.

Other Related Stories:

WeddingWire – They Just Don’t Learn

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dorindaduclos.com

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WeddingWire – They Just Don’t Learn

14 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in My Thoughts, Wedding

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I recently sent an email to WeddingWire regarding my account with them.  I had what they now call a “professional” account.  Aren’t we all professionals if we’re listed vendors?  That’s another story.  I asked them to please remove my listing since my business had officially closed.  It took them a week to get back to me and only after I emailed them again.  The response I received from my account manager, who, by the way, told me that the person I had sent the original email to, did in fact forward it to her, follows below, yet, I got no response until I had to follow up.  Great customer service.

WeddingWire-Logo-Green

This isn’t the first time WeddingWire has come under fire and I’m sure it won’t be the last.  Last year Ewednewz.com and event planner Samantha Goldberg, went after WeddingWire for their ratings system. (See related links at the end of this story).  It is my understanding that this system is still causing major concerns for vendors who are wrongfully accused by brides who haven’t even used the vendors services.

Getting back to my closing my business, this is what they require in order to, not remove my business but to, add a notice that I am no longer in business, stating reviews, etc will remain.  WHY?  If I am no longer in business what possible reason could they have for keeping my information on their site.  Of course they had no problem taking money from me each month.  It’s like they keep you held hostage.  I should note that the several other sites I did business with had no problem taking my page down and wished me well on my journey.  So what makes WeddingWire so special?   Oh, right, numbers.  They can’t have businesses who have closed removing themselves.  What would the stock holders think if the numbers dropped?  Give me a break.  Talk about fraud.

Anyway, here’s what they want from me;

1.       Scan/mail me documentation.  We accept either:

a.       a signed letter on company letterhead stating that your business will be ceasing all business operations on ____ date; or

b.      a signed and notarized letter stating that your business will be ceasing all business operations on ____ date.

2.       Once we receive this paperwork, we will then consider your request.

3.       If the request is approved, your listing will:

a.       no longer be upgraded

b.      show that “The owner has indicated they are no longer in business” (see here for an example)

c.       retain any reviews associated with the account

4.       Should you choose to reopen your business at a later date and would like to advertise on WeddingWire, we will not upgrade your account unless a new, 12-month contract is signed.

Consider????  Consider my request?  IF it’s approved???  Nowhere is this stated in their Terms Of Use.  I am the business owner.  They have no right to maintain my business information without my consent.   I will comply and send them the letter stating my business is closed and will follow up on this story because there is no way in hell I am going to let them get away with this.

AMENDMENT:  Thanking Lauren Schwarcz | Customer Satisfaction Representative – Social Media | #WeddingWire for responding to my story. Nice to see they are monitoring their image. In fairness to them, I erred in my post about their Terms of Use. Apparently they have the right to retain reviews and my business info such as business name, address & phone #. Still does not, by any means, make this right. Once a business is closed, it’s closed. Period. I’m not done with this.

Related Stories:

WeddingWire Caves In To Mounting Pressure From Outspoken Planner and Critics
Celebrity Planner Not The Only Critic of WeddingWire

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dorindaduclos.com

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The Cult of (Multiple) Personalities

28 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by in Life, My Thoughts

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Welcome to Facebook, the land of followers.  Where else can you get 50 or more of your friends to follow your lead all at once? I’ve been watching as people change their profile pictures to giraffes because they lost at figuring out a riddle.  I have to say that the pictures people are using are very amusing.  I’m looking at it as an escape from reality, although why you’d all want to be an animal that makes no noise is beyond me.  And imagine the cost of a turtleneck sweater!

Here is one of the riddles making its way through the newsfeed:

It’s 3:00am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. It’s your parents and they are here for breakfast – you have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open?

The answer is obvious…right?  Based on the amount of giraffes in my feed, I’m guessing the answer is no.  It almost reminds me of the game “Telephone”.  You have to wonder how many have changed just a little bit of it as it makes the rounds.  I have learned that this particular riddle has a few versions and the answer changes based on the way the question is worded.  Have you figured it out?  If not, this little critter could be in your future!

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Then there’s the bitstrips app.  Everyone has now become a cartoon character.  This could actually be a great marketing tool if deployed properly.  Right now it’s just another silly app.  As someone told me, “it’s a way to show your feelings without actually saying them.”  In a funny way, I guess that’s exactly what it is.  Humor always makes things a lot lighter than would normally be.  We could all use more  laughter in our day to day.

I know you’re all thinking I rag on social media on a consistent basis but truth is, I have met a lot of incredible people BECAUSE of social media tools like Facebook & Twitter.  If I allow myself to think back, my life could quite possibly be much different than it is today.  People make strong impacts on you, whether personally or professionally.  Sometimes, both.  For this, I thank Mark Zuckerberg,  Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, for giving us a means to expand our lives through business associates, but most importantly, friends.

Copyright 2013

dorindaduclos.com

All Rights Reserved