W I V Internatianal Wines

maninthestreet

who_else wrote: »

Yes, I have tried these. I also got the free offer, they phoned me and set an appointment for a free wine tasting and to bring my gift. They were professional, not pushy and their wines are true wines. The taste is so different from the stuff you buy in the supermarket. No additatives or added sugar. No they are not the cheapest, but you pay for what you get. If you go to a resturant their wine is marked up at least 300%. If you buy a glass of wine out, you are talking £3.50 to £ 4.00 per glass. I would rather stay home and pay £10-15 for a good wine that doesn't give me a headache the next day.
:beer:

How long have you worked for them?

footyguy

Just back from a meeting to be advised this guy phoned again this afternoon.

I'm informed things had gone quiet for the last couple of weeks ... but he's back.

Once again he was asked to leave his number and came up with the excuse he was calling from his new mobile he had only just got and he couldn't remember the number.
Unfortunately he didn't withhold the number - D'oh!
The records show it was the same number that he used on 18/04/2013 when I made my previous post.

So a liar too...

grumpyoldwoman

They're still at it. I got one this morning offering a 4 piece decorative mug set* (*subject to availability ). I don't even drink! I am tempted to send it back with a note to say I'm a recovering alcoholic and I found it extremely offensive to be offered free booze. :rotfl:One more thing for the recycling bin. :spam:

rgwm

Yes, I've just received the "free mugs" offer, and wine sampling.......had idly ticked the survey when I saw they wanted my phone numbers, so a quick google linked to this thread.......

Don't think I'll bother.......Naked Wines and the Sunday Times Wine Club offer what are to me perfectly drinkable wines at reasonable prices........and I don't need any more coffee mugs - even with the "handy" built-in spoon holder.........;)

Thanks for all who have contributed to this thread.

plomas

Just had a phone call from them asked me to answer a few questions for a free case of wine when I said I was busy they offered me 2 free cases I said that it was inconvenient they offered 3 free cases so I asked for 10 free cases to which the reply was for my card details, Do you think I am so stupid as to pass my details to a complete stranger over the phone, Of course not Sir, Would you give your details, Certainly not Sir, Good Evening. !!!!!!

blahblahdoh

My mother just got a letter (the current one offering "mugs" - how appropriate!). I said it looked like a scam, so was a bit surprised to find this thread saying they are a real business.

I think this sort of company employs very young or desperate people on a commission only basis. They get minimum training which consists of learning a script and combating a few common objections with bull@hit. They only earn any money if they actually sell something, so there is a very high turnover of staff. The ones who stay are the most ruthless and persistent - the annoying, unprincipled, arrogant and/or stupid ones. Two of my children have worked briefly for exploitative companies like this, basically for free. Even their managers were incredibly young - 20-21: it seems to be a trend getting more or less free sales labour from youngsters, bypassing the minimum wage.

From another point of view, its a short, sharp, brutal education, which may see the current generation become top salespeople in a decade or so? Or else master criminals :rotfl:

virgo149

We bought a case of wine from Vicomte Bernard de Romanet, of which WIV is their mother company whilst as the boat show this year. They took an age to deliver and needed to be chased several times, it was of poor quality for the price and they hounded us with phone calls to take another case.

Needless to say, I have moved to another supplier now - M&S and am very happy with my purchases!

Daps

I paid £18 for a wine tasting from Pieroth at a food festival (reduced from £75 supposedly though I can't imagine anyone would pay £75 for it). We were promised there would be no obligation to buy or a pushy sales pitch, and could have up to 4 people attend the tasting.

The rep called me about 2-3 weeks later to arrange a suitable time and venue for the tasting, and everything proceeded as arranged.

My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the wine tasting - it's REALLY good fun! One of my friends wasn't a huge wine drinker but really enjoyed the night and some of the wines. My friend who was hosting received a free bottle of wine, and a gift (corkscrew, pouring mechanism, and the thing that goes on the bottle to stop the wine dripping down to the bottom.) We tried 12 wines in all - 5 whites, 1 rose and 6 reds. I have to admit that there were 4-5 wines in there that are among the best wines I've ever tasted.

The salesman was not pushy at all and had we not wanted to buy any wines that would not have been a problem. However 3 of us had liked the wine enough to want to buy at least some. You could buy a minimum of 12 bottles, and unfortunately were not able to mix and match, there had to be a minimum of 6 of each bottle. So my one friend and I decided to buy 6 reds between us, and another friend and I decided to buy 6 whites between us. With postage, etc, it came to about £190. Expensive to be sure, but for me those wines were a level above anything I've had in a supermarket, and while I'm sure you can get equally good wines for £15 a bottle I wouldn't know which ones I liked in a store, where as here I knew I was buying wine that I knew I absolutely loved.

After reading some of the posts here from the salesmen, I would say only order the tasting if there is a chance you would want to buy £190 worth of wine (between your group.) If none of the wines jump out at you as being worth £15 a bottle, then don't buy anything - fair enough. You at least gave it a go, and probably have a really great night in the process. My friends and I hadn't really gone into the night thinking we would be opening our wallets - we were only willing to part with money for a wine that wowed us. But if you don't like wine, or are just after freebies, then I'd advise against responding to the survey - you're wasting your own time and theirs.

I'm not fan of sales calls or any of that kind of pestering, but if you are a wine fan I'd highly recommend giving these guys a go.

oldboy4

I got a mailing from these people and i wondered if i should reply, however i am glad i read these first. As one of these directors appears to be connected with debt collection staying clear of these people seems to be a good move, i would hate to reply then be sent wine i didn't ask for then get a visit from the Alpha Debt skinheads demanding the money+expenses+interest+vat etc, i like my humble home. However searching howard falk uk on google returns a hit on companiesintheuk.co.uk website so i suppose i could always pop in to see him?

NaylandS

I attended a Vicomte Bernard de Romanet tasting last night - which is why this morning I find myself Googling them!

It was hosted by a friend who had said she had a voucher for a wine tasting - we speculated beforehand that she had unwittingly invited a salesman round, but she's a clever and no-nonsense kind of person and we decided that no, she couldn't possibly have fallen for that.

She had, of course. To be absolutely fair to the salesman, he gave us a pleasant couple of hours of chat and tasting, but no experience can ever be truly enjoyable when you know you're going to be asked to buy at the end of it. We ended up buying 12 bottles like good little customers - admittedly all stuff we were likely to have bought for ourselves at some point anyway, but still probably overpriced. All that patter about "no hangovers" made an appearance, as it seems to on a regular basis to judge from previous posts.

Still, we could always have said no, and I don't blame the salesman for our lack of willpower and nerve - although, cheekily, he waited until after we'd signed to tell us about the £8.95 delivery charge.

Looking at the invoice now, I notice that we have 7 days to cancel - seriously considering it, as I very much doubt that we got good value for money (I've done some internet comparisons since). On the other hand, since the order can only be cancelled in one go, that would involve co-ordinating with all the other attendees, including the host, and that would mean making it obvious that we all know that her "tasting evening" was an embarrassing ripoff. Can't quite decide which way to go - perhaps it's worth taking a £60 hit to spare her feelings.