DISQUS

@can't afford Yes, they will pursue you. I recommend you call and talk with them first. It will get ugly quickly if you just vanish. Trust me :)

Pretty amazing how even a picture of a painting of a coke can can make you thirsty! Now, *that* is the result of billions of dollars in marketing!

KSL.com is reporting the following:

Maryland A.G. probes complaints about home alarm sales

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- The Maryland attorney general's office says it is investigating complaints of aggressive sales tactics for home alarm systems in the Hagerstown area.

A spokeswoman tells The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail the agency is investigating two complaints about representatives from Apx Alarm Security Systems of Provo, Utah.

One complaint was from a Hagerstown woman who says an Apx salesman refused to leave her home until she signed a five-year contract worth $2,300. She says Apx then refused her request to cancel the deal.

Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore says others have complained that Apx salesmen entered their homes uninvited.

The company hasn't immediately responded to inquiries from the newspaper and The Associated Press.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

I really, really like this work, Thom & Michael!

Robert Merrills last blog post..LinkedIn Link-Love

@Amy DuBois I am concerned!

In a time of housing crisis where selling a home is harder in most states than it ever has been, this smacks of predatory!

Furthermore, in the other comments, I am seeing an incredible trend:

1) DEALS/FAVORS: When we bought our system it was the same way. For us, it was that they would get a bonus if they installed "one more system tonight".

2) It seems there are always "installers" waiting right around the corner.

4) Tricky things concerning the lock-ins and then the after-the-fact, so-you-don't-cancel-right-now "discounts" though you're still spending more money than you were before they showed up

5) Nobody ever gets a chance to read the ENTIRE contract... they're too smooth.

6) They never fully explain how to use the system. Its always "in the manual"

A few things I have learned, btw:

- YOU, by the way, not APX is responsible for making sure the system you're paying $30-$50/month for works.

- THEY make no claims to actually CALL 911 for you in an emergency. Cleverly worded, the contract says they will make every effort... but its clear that they can't be sued if someone actually violates your home's security.

Finally, I need to comment:

IF THAT AGENT FUDGED YOUR CANCELLATION DATE ***SO YOU CAN'T CANCEL***, YOU SHOULD CALL AN ATTORNEY, TODAY

Wow. So *this* is a comment?

@Sheri Thanks for pointing out that podcast about a good resume. Yes, it is crucial to have a resume that works.

Also, I like what you said about what people get out of their work... what makes them happy or satisfied. You're right on-target with those basics.

What are some probing questions to ask yourself when trying to get to core on your purpose?
<ul><li>Think of a time when you were supremely satisfied and all was great with the world... what were you doing? What had you recently accomplished? Why was that joyful to you?</li>
<li>Draw out the three or four things you really get passionate about--either excited about or really angry about if someone crosses the line--what is common about those things?</li>

WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS should you ask yourself?</ul>

@bob That's the way it goes... sorry we bored you. First show.... we'll get it figured out, I hope.

@matthew it wouldn't fit in my blog theme.

@rand Wow. I don't know why I hadn't really thought of all that. I think you're right...

On the show, Animal says Twitter doesn't make sense:

Twitter in Plain English:
http://tinyurl.com/2fc2bd

@Amadou Thank you very much. :)

@Jason well, thanks.

One more thing I need to comment on. I was reminded of the time, after we called APX about our service, but before they sent us to collections, that our salesperson actually called.

He said he was "just checking in" and wanted "to be sure our service was going well".

We replied that it was good he called because we were having trouble with the service and trying to get it fixed.

"I thought that might be happening." he replied, which seemed a bit fishy at the time.

He promised to get someone to help us, and would call back. Needless to say, we're still in the same situation we're in.

Found a group on facebook with a discussion board where members of their salesforce make fun of their sales tactics with customers. See a screenshot here.

Thanks for the comment, Phil! Yes, there is much more for me to learn on Apprentice than on Idol!

Pretty sure you're going to have a great year, Thom. It's a real pleasure knowing you.

P.S. I have received a lot of notes from people saying "hey, that image in your post isn't working."

Thanks for the notes, I do appreciate it. BUT, that image is exactly there for that purpose. It IS working. It's supposed to "look" bork'd. :)

It's 1.0... we're working on it.

P.S. I have to give props here to @windley for introducing me to twitter via IT Conversations (noted above) and to @jeffbarr for telling me to stop thinking about Twitter and start USING it.

@john, thanks for your comment. I agree completely that candidates need to determine what they want to become. Waiting around for the right job to fall on you isn't what anyone says they're doing, but either writing a resume half-way, or trying to one-size-fits-all your resume into many different jobs is really the same thing.

Yesssssssssss.

It's back up... AND I fixed the d#&!@$% uploading problem I was having.

way to go Jesse. Congrats!

Ash Buckles and others noted that Doba had been calling people who registered for the Guy event. http://www.ashbuckles.com/index.cfm?mode=blog&b...

I emailed Doba and received the following reply:

Robert,

Thank you for letting me know. We do have a call floor that welcomes new users to our service, however they should not be calling anyone registering for the Guy Kawasaki speaking event. Our engineers are working to solve this problem by the end of the day. Please inform anyone else that contacts you regarding this.

Again, I apologize and hope to see you at the event in November!

Thanks!

Meagen [snip]
Executive Assistant
Doba

Good news!

Uh oh.

I got a phone call last night from Doba's phone number. I didn't take the call, and they didn't leave a message. That was interesting...

But, worse, this morning I started to hear from people that they were getting pitched by email and by phone on Doba's products.

Even worse, it seemed they had the greenest of the green doing the pitching, leaving both Ash Buckles and the poor sod calling him both scratching their head at the awkward conversation.

I've Direct Messaged Guy Kawasaki via Twitter, and emailed the contact-person at Doba who I was told to contact If I had any further questions. The next step is to get in touch with Jeremy Hanks to be sure he knows what's going on.

Look, I don't mind that Doba wants to introduce me to their stuff. I *like* Doba. However:
- They DIDN'T disclose that they were going to use my personal information for marketing when I signed up
- They didn't give me a chance to OPT-OUT of contact either
- From ASH's example, they didn't even know WHY he had registered. Someone just had his name on a list or autodialer and just called him.

There's nothing wrong with marketing, but you lose TRUST when you don't tell your market what you're doing or what your agenda is.

Come on, DOBA... tell us what's up! That's all we ask!

Hahaha. Boy, I should be more aware of when people are talking about me. Looks like my ears have been burning for 7 days. Thanks, Thom. It's been a pleasure getting to know you.