How to win customers and influence people

Bugger, logged in on someone else’s machine.

Ah, the sweet smell of desperation.

That’s not a peace offering. A peace offering would be the apology I deserve, without any more digs at me. Forget it mate, I’ve already given you enough money.

Don’t you just love people with double standards!

Here’s a peace offering for you makemylunch (and I’ll extend it to all others on this site, subject to us being able to get enough stock). Our special wine of the weekend for all you folks – the 2005 Wimbaliri Chardonnay – usually @26.95 each that’s PER BOTTLE or $323.40 per case (THAT’S 12 BOTTLES) – buy this weekend from us at only $16.95 per bottle by the dozen (or $203.40 per case). A terrific saving of $10.00 per bottle or $120 a case!!! Plus $12 freight throughout Canberra. BUT what’s more – for the first 50 buyers we will give you 6 bottles of our Tabart Heritage Wines Ellen Brut Cuvee (rrp $24.95 per bottle- $149.70) as a bonus, absolutely FREE OF CHARGE! BUT PLEASE TELEPHONE US ON 6231 6997 FOR ALL ORDERS. WE DON’T WANT ANY CONFUSION OVER THIS ONE.

I may not – Maelinar transposes himself across many Departments.

For many weeks, I have been in posession of security cards that gave me access to several big buildings in the Barton area. JGB, EBB, RGO to name but 3.

Wow, maybe you guys should meet up and share a $2 bottle of wine one day?

Wow, Maelinar, you’re so impressive.

You work in the same department as my dad.

Good old google.

Heh I just got it, Cartman – make my lunch.

p.s. sue Google.

Hey MML works in the same place as Thumper. Just ask me I googled it.

All this because someone was too stupid to double check what they are buying?

God help us all!

The ACCC have advised me that Tabart’s business contravenes Section 52 and Section 53, subsection E of the Trade Practices Act 1974. I’m sure he’ll be hearing from them in due course.

As for the privacy aspect, I have a lawyer friend checking it out for me.

Interesting. You looked up the legislation?

In any event, an admin really should edit out those details…

Sadly, it would appear than unless his yearly turnover is more than $3 million his cowboy antics are unlikely to be punished.

Yes, and no. For the sake of argument, let’s say MML is the spammer or is connected with them. The only thing that gives them the confidence to continue being such a nuisance is their anonymity.

Granted, MT could probably have threatened to publish details (or make use of them to get police involvement), and in fact, that’s probably what he should have done. I have little doubt, however, that if MML is involved with the spamming – it will almost certainly stop.

All of that said, it is reasonable to assume that MT got MML’s details as a result of her previous status as a customer. Using that information and slapping it on the net… hmmm… MT has perhaps opened a pandora’s box of his own…

Regardless, “exacting revenge” is an incredibly unprofessional and petulant way to react. It doesn’t impress me one bit.

Posted that before I was finished. I meant to go on to say that if MT was relying on the coincidental occurrence of that spam and this post, then that’s pretty wafer thin evidence.

Any clown could have read this thread and decided MT deserved a spamming. Or it could be completely unrelated.

Granted both possibilities are seemingly unlikely, but it should be enough to give one pause before laying blame and exacting ‘revenge’ as a result.

MML: You opened pandora’s box when you posted this thread. Of course MT was going to come on here and have his say when he heard about the post (which he was always going to – and I’d go so far as to say you wanted him to).

The purpose of your post was to destroy his business reputation – how did you think he was going to react?

If makemylunch is involved with the spam, then the detail publish is just desserts (though probably over the top). If not, then it is totally unnecessary.

I wonder how MT has linked MML to the spammer Adam T.

Michael, I cannot believe you have seen fit to publish my personal details on this forum. I published yours because they are your BUSINESS contact details. You have invaded my privacy. I have asked riot-act to remove this post and if you persist in invading my privacy in this way I will be taking further action.

I am also considering taking action against for libel. I have nothing to do with the spam, as your ISP tracker will confirm. I had my say on this forum and as far as I’m concerned that WAS the end of it. You are the one who has taken this too far.

I have no idea who Adam T is. Seems you have yet another disgruntled customer, Michael.

Seems increasingly clear to me that the original poster wasn’t telling us the whole story.

Good job Michael Tabert. If I drank wine, I’d get it from you…

Unfortunately today Friday 19 October at the ACT Wine Industry Network we are still receiving spam from makemylunch’s friend XXX XXX (another 60+ this morning alone – “Talbart (sic) is a tosser” and “Tabart is a loser” etc etc) who goes under the email of XXX@XXXX and who now also has set himself up as XXX@XXXX We have contacted our website manager and our ISP people who are dealing with the technical side of things.Short of saying to XXX XXX who is the identity behind XXX@XXXXX on telephone no. XXXX XXX XXX, enough is enough, we will be contacting the police and passing on your details if this persists. We would ask that if any of your readers know these people, please if you are a friend, sit them down with a Bex and a hot cup of tea; if you are their employer please give them some work to do.

[ED – It is NOT appropriate to publish other people’s contact details on this forum. Users doing so will be placed in the moderation queue.]

@S4anta – Thumper and Maelinar confirmed for meaties at maggies. See you there 🙂

The boys were telling me that there is another harassing them to improve their guiness service!
god bless widgets and mornings of ash tray mouth say I. meaties at maggies matey. you too thumper you fat b’stard

@S4anta – kind of off topic, but keep drinking the Guiness sourced from our IGA.

I’ve persuaded them to increase their stocking levels…

I’ve been lurking on this thread wondering if MT was going to respond.

I’m backing Makemylunch on this. I have dealt with MT before and will never deal with him again. I find it unbelivable that he used to be a psychologist, psycho is more like it. Hair trigger temper and a really bad attitude, not so bad if you’re not a business person but MT, you need to learn a big lesson about customer relations. I have told everyone I know not to deal with you and I bet Makemylunch has done the same thing.

No-body deservers spam hate mail but if its true about you getting loads of orders then I pity the fools.

Spammers should be locked in a small room with their arms tied behing their back and forced to listen to an endless recording of Bob Brown’s Senate speeches for 3 weeks 24/7.

(P.S: I do not hate Bob – it’s just his voice that gets to me :))

Michael, I can get a bottle of plonk from woolworths for $3 on occasion, even my IGA does them for $3-5 any night of the week.

To be cost-competitive with those sort of prices, I need to be induced into going out of my regular route to make the journey out of my way and into your shop. Charging me an extra $5 on top of what it costs for me to drive there doesn’t sound so special to me.

good work Michael. Makemylunch, i reckon you are owed a beer mate. Time to meet the bloke and get ready to eat your hat.

Our best buys at the moment Maelinar are the 3 wines we are selling for ARF (ACT Rescue and Foster). ARF is a dog rescue organisation- it has saved over 1400 dogs in the last 6 years and is one of three local charities that we support. We are selling a Canberra Chardonnay, Canberra Shiraz and a Canberra Sparkling at $12 a bottle (normally $24.95 each) with the proceeds going to ARF. BUT please telephone us on 6231 6997 if you would like to order or go to their website at http://www.fosterdogs.org ARF also has 2008 calendars for sale at $10 each. Our site is currently under seige!

100 emails = psycho

Report it to the police, and create a rule to divert mail from that address out of your inbox automatically.

Drop your prices and I might consider shopping there Michael – got anything under $10 ?

Thanks for all the publicity folks. The phones have been running hot with wine orders all morning! I couldn’t have done a better job with a paid advertising campaign. Although I do wish one particular person would stop spamming us with his hate mail – over 100 emails this morning alone. Get a life!

Wow this Tabart fool should not be running a business. MML you have a suporter here, ignore the idiot haters mate.

It’s just Gaz testing the waters

What is with these comments consisting only of “.” or “…”?

.

Now I know why I never drink wine, you just can’t go wrong with a slab of VB 🙂

Maybe it’s the same guy, but with a different moniker.

Just another blow-in.

Neck up ya parrot.

Hey Makemylunch thers another whinging pice of crap some where here in the archives who has a problem with websites and screwed up wood-fired pizza prices – you guys should get together and organise a party – you can both sit around and bitch about what tools you both are!

Having interacted with Michael Tabart on many occasions (met him for the first time back in 2002 or 2003 when he ran a CIT/Brain Gym evening wine course), to buying plenty of wine from him over the years from his shop in Civic, the markets, Woden Plaza, Tuggeranong Hyperdome… I will personally say that he is a trustworthy and genuine Canberran. Loves nothing more than a chinwag and is a decent, honest bloke.

This is the same Mike Tabart who had such a rubbish reputation as an umpire in the old Monaro Football League. He was a c*nt then. Looks like not much has changed.

Hmmmmm….I’m very concious of bad customer service and dodgy websites too but I think you need to take some responsibility for the outcome MML. If you weren’t sure about the price being per bottle or per case (if it looks too good to be true then it probably is) you should of contacted the company to confirm, either by email or phone.

Once this had been done and you were happy with the price then you should place the order, not before (IMO).

I think you were a tad arrogant giving the guy “tips” on how to run his business/website. He is just as bad or probably worse because he responded in a totally unnecessary way with the psycho thing.

Maybe if you think you are so in the right and he hasn’t got a legal leg to stand on you could pursue the matter through Small Claims Court. That would really be having the last word….if you won!

Was a good story.

Without seing all the e-mails exchanged, i cannot comment really, and im not taking your word that you were polite.

Was it was a good laugh today, thanks.

hkoreduck:

“I don’t think he was necessarily calling you stupid in his second last email and I also think his last email was a deserved response to your last email.”

Are you serious? You really think I deserved to be called a crank and an idiot because I complained about the service I got from a guy who purports to be the executive director of a business? If you complain about the food at a restaurant, does the chef have the right to come out screaming about what a moron and a crazy you are?

“I bet you thought you were going to have the last word in the matter, but he got you back good!”

Actually, I have had the last word. I’ve publicised his crappy business practices. Bet there are a few of you who’ll think twice about ordering from this knucklehead after reading this.

Sammy:

Thanks for the advice. I might just look up the Trade Practices Act if I can be bothered. But I’ve had my spit now and I feel better 🙂

And yes, there was a string of emails before these ones but all of them were very polite in tone. The vitriol pretty much came out of nowhere.

Anyway, thanks everyone for taking the time to read and comment.

I’m glad we had this talk.

@Cameron Righto.

@RAGD

hehe – no worries. Was basically saying the same thing you were. Well, trying to anyway.

Anything over $10 is wasted money in todays wine market.

@Cameron,

It’s very lovely post! Although I am missing your point.

MLM… MML… MJT…
The War of the Acronyms

Really? See my post @ 2:35 RAGD.

I had to check what rigmarole meant. I thought it was a new insult for me to use. Sadly the meaning is not as funny as I thought it would be 🙁

Makemylunch has a right to be annoyed. He has acknowledge that he knew it was his fault. I don’t think he is upset at that, he is upset that the guy (in makemylunch’s mind) insulted him.

If you had made a mistake and it cost you $300 the last thing you want to hear is a guy insulting you calling you dumb (again in mml’s head).

$2.24 a bottle isnt unreasonable for some cheapy cleanskins. I work with a guy who makes his own wine ~300 bottles a throw. He’s estimated that it costs around $1.50 – $2 a bottle for him to make

Common Sense is for international people. Australians want to be told what they are doing, and how they are to do it.

This has been a public announcement by the Department of we know what’s best for you

Grays Online offers cheap wine for sale via auction (often at not more than a few dollars per bottle). I generally do not drink so I would need a second opinion on whether some of these drops are good value for money:

http://www.graysonline.com.au/type.asp?TYPE_ID=101#25

Long time reader, first time contributor…sorry
In MJT’s defence, although I’m sure he is perfectly capable of defending himself. In my previous roles I had the pleasure of meeting and dealing with Michael – he was always professional and courteous. If you would like to find out for yourself you can just go to Kingston markets – he has had a store there for years – I assume he still does.
And yes, just call next time – if a site does not work, call – if the price is odd, call – if you are unsure of particulars call. What ever happened to good old common sence.

I had a poke around their website, and some of their wines seemed cheap, and some seemed a little pricey.

Their postage was $12 per case, if you only bought 1 bottle or if you buy 12 bottles, you still have to pay the $12 p+h.

The thing that really impressed me about their business was their email address is a hotmail address. I always avoid internet businesses that use a hotmail address.

Yes, their website IS that bad.

S4anta – I’m pleased to hear it (though I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage…)

Their website isn’t -that- bad.
http://www.actwine.com.au/

Why couldn’t you just cancel the order?

And as someone else mentioned and MJT said “I think maybe a phone call from you may have made the whole process clearer.”

I don’t think he was necessarily calling you stupid in his second last email and I also think his last email was a deserved response to your last email.

I bet you thought you were going to have the last word in the matter, but he got you back good!

make my lunch: my comment was aimed at anyone that honestly thinks that an anonymous complaint, via the interweb under a psydonuem(sp?), on this site or another will get their desired results is a clown. This is not meant to offend makemylunch, but all others, eat it! I am afraid.

Cameron,

I have dealt with you, and your customer service is fine as far as i am concerned, email and face to face matey. you are a good cookie

For many years I ran a successful counselling/psych. practice and only left it because of troubled people continually stressing me out!

If this is true, then thank christ he is no longer attempting to provide counseling support to clients.

A statement like this is a good indication that he was not appropriately positioned to provide counseling services.

Firstly I agree that the website is very poorly designed. The order form allows you to add wine by the bottle, when they only sell by the case. This is confusing and misleading, and probably contravenes the Trade Practices Act.

Secondly, the website accepts credit card details but is not secure. This undoubtedly violates the credit card merchant agreement that the seller would have with their bank.

Thirdly, the original poster was indeed incredibly naive to think they were getting a case of $16-20 per bottle wine for $26 a *case*.

Lastly, I suspect there were more emails in the exchange than have been provided here. I find it hard to believe that Tabart jumped so quickly into the vitriol.

S4anta: was that comment meant for me? 🙂 I agree it’s easier to see someone as a person when you’ve met or talked to them, and I don’t believe the customer is always right, but you can tell a customer he’s wrong without insulting him. At least, you can if you want to maintain a good business reputation.

S4anta – interesting point.

I like to think I have something resembling excellent customer service within my own business, and I spend a great deal of time on any and every email I ever send out from the business to ensure that it conveys nothing but a sincere desire to provide a solution for the customer.

Who knows, a disgruntled customer (and we all have them, despite our best efforts) might take them one day and post them on the internet for all to see… something they are unlikely to do if every email from me is glowing 😀

Hey, to be fair you can get a case of Coca Cola for under $26!

Growling ferret,

May i say that when i have a beef with a particular business or business person, I tend to meet them face to face. You tend to find that they do alot more for you than if fire a broadside at them across the internet.

Perhaps a lesson for all? The computer and email is, IMHO responsible for the decrease of personalised service and customer service in general. If they dont see you, they dont care.
Stick you nose in their face, politely, and you tend to get a more satisfiactory response.

Hahaha – if MLM is MJT I’d be impressed by the 22 minutes it took him to realise you’d posted this, read it, sign up and call you a knob.

Seems to me that everything up to the last three emails was a misunderstanding. MJT’s handling of it from that point certainly seemingly led to the deterioration of the situation.

Naivety over the price considered, I think that’s your only real gripe. Personally, I never would have ordered from such a rubbish (based on your description, not my own take) website…

mlm – Are you really MJT?

Cameron – Yep, agreed, I was naive about the cost, and I said so, but that sure didn’t give MJT the right to insult me that way. And yes, there are two sides to every story, but since I reprinted the emails, I think his ‘side’ was pretty clear.

Ferret – I take your point too. 🙂

All the way with MJT.

$2.24 a bottle.. you knob.

MML

Just another one track pony – before you launch the mother of all sprays, it might be best if you contribute to another story or two. That way the readers would be able to make up their mind on your sense of balance.

If the story was by JB or Jazz or S4anta or VY, we’d have a sense of balance. Instead you could be as crazy as Chester…

Awesome.

First: I personally think it is a little naive to think that a case of wine will be $27 unless it was, you know, goon. Then again, I don’t drink wine at all, let alone order it from a website.

Second: Despite that, seems like MJT is a bit of a clown.

Third: Two sides to every story…