Free 1 hour massage, just stock up on loo roll!

koru

lisyloo wrote:

I think Andrex have done everything they can to provide alternatives where there are current gaps so I don't see a need to warn people as I don't see that there is a problem.

Well, maybe. I think it depends on how this policy works in practice. They may argue that an hour's drive is "local", and so refuse to find a nearer therapist. Time will tell.

lisyloo

Well, maybe. I think it depends on how this policy works in practice.

I totally agree.
It might be good it may be bad.
What I don't understand is the up front negativity.

To me, what they have offered seem's quite reasonable.
From memory another promotion (might have been the herbal eseences one) quoted up to 30 minutes travel usually and occassionally up to 45.
I would agree with you that 1 hour is not local, but it does depend on where you live.

If you chose to live in London then clearly you will be near many amenities.
If you live in the back of beyond then clearly you are chosing to put yourself away from many facilites so people have to be somewhat resaonable about that.
I would not expect to find top salons in villages, I would have thought it's pretty obvious that you need to travel to the nearest town to get these kind of facilities. There simply isn't the level of business for salons to site themselves outside of towns.

I live and work in 2 different places so there are 2 towns on my doorstep without having to travel.
I would have thought a lot of working people are similar i.e. have a choice of where you live and where you work.

If it turns out to be totally crap then by all means criticise, but that should be in at least 4 weeks time, not up front before people have even found out what is on offer.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Morning all

We've got some more info from Andrex about some of the points you've raised. This is what it's said:

They will find you a salon within 10 miles in an urban area, or 20 miles in a suburban area, and I you can’t find a salon in your area there is a promise that they will contact you back and find one for you. They promise to get you your treatment!

They are recruiting new salons all the time and they about to upload some new salons so it’s worth having a look over the next few days for additional salons in your area.

Also the registering part is not a formal commitment to the offer. You can log on and view availability, treatments and salons without committing to taking part.

We have checked with our marketing agency and for health reasons some treatments are not recommended for an hour. However we do guarantee you will get at least half an hour. Andrex isn’t being stingy (!) and it’s up to each salon and the individual as to how long it lasts.

koru

MSE_Andrea wrote:

They will find you a salon within 10 miles in an urban area, or 20 miles in a suburban area, and I you can’t find a salon in your area there is a promise that they will contact you back and find one for you.

Thanks, Andrea. Very useful. Seems pretty reasonable, although on 30 mph speed limit roads you are going to be lucky to average 20mph, so that could indeed be an hour's drive in the worst case. That's a 2 hour round trip, for a £30 treatment. Perhaps Andrex could be persuaded that the 10 mile limit should apply in that case.

NB: if anyone wants to work out their distance, use AA route planner:
http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp

lisyloo

Come off it.
If you don't live in an urban area then you shouldn't have 30 mph speed limits ALL the way.
In the absolute worst case it could be an hours trip but people who deliberately place themselves out in the countryside surely have to accept the trade-off of their tranquil surroundings in return for not being close to the best facilities.

Perhaps Andrex could be persuaded that the 10 mile limit should apply in that case.

Perhaps you could try and have a go at presuading Andrex to build salons every 10 miles on Exmoor and Dartmoor.
Are you for real??

Come on - people just have to be realistic.
If you really do live in the back of beyond then use your brain and book it to coincide with a time when you would be travelling to the town anyway.

Surely country people who don't live near facilities have to travel to towns now and again?

If it really is too much hassle then simply don't take up the offer.
I'm sure people who really can't find somewhere should be able to sell the tokens on ebay to recoup their money or most supermarkets are quite reasonable at taking back products and giving a refund.

koru

I agree with you in relation to rural areas. But I was talking about "suburban" areas, as that is the word Andrex reportedly used. I think virtually all suburbs will have a 30mph speed limit.

So, no, I wasn't suggesting I expect there to be a salon every 10 miles in the middle of the countryside. I was merely suggesting that in making the subjective distinction between urban and suburban areas, Andrex might be willing to treat an area as urban, even if it could be argued more correctly to be suburban. So perhaps they would not expect me to drive an hour to a salon 20 miles away, when there are several a couple of miles from me that are not yet on their list.

lisyloo

It looks to me like they are making attempts to add more salons and to try and make arrangements for everyone.
Perhaps they should have been better prepared before launching the promotion.

They cannot however force a local one on your doorstep to participate.
It is still down to the voluntary participation of the salons.
If they don't want to join up there is nothing Andrex can do to force a local one to participate.

If you really are stuck then my suggestions would be either
1) to arrange it at a time when you are near one of the salons anyway (after all you have quite a few months to take the treatment)
2) take their local alternative
3) give it as a gift to someone nearer one of the salons
4) sell it on ebay
5) write it off the experience that now and again these things just do not work out. If you really don't like the toilet roll then take it back to the supermarket and get a refund.

koru

lisyloo wrote:

They cannot however force a local one on your doorstep to participate.
It is still down to the voluntary participation of the salons.
If they don't want to join up there is nothing Andrex can do to force a local one to participate.

I agree, but it does sound as if they might try, which would be nice. I'm trying to be constructive here. If you look back at MY posts, I have never condemned this offer. I have merely noted that it does have some limitations and have speculated about how far Andrex might be willing to go to try to overcome them.

lisyloo

I think they ARE trying though.
From MSE Andrea

They are recruiting new salons all the time and they about to upload some new salons

I have no idea how hard they are trying and we have no way of knowing.
What I am condemning are those people (not yourself) who have critised the offer without even bothering to read or phone to see what the alternatives on offer are.

I have tried to be constructive in
a) pointing people towards those alternatives
and
b) suggesting many other alternatives even for those who aren't going near civilisation before May 2007.

We have no way of knowing how hard Andrex are trying so why would anyone automatically assume the worst?

I think it's good that they give a rough idea of distances so that people can decide whether to go for the offer or not, although obviously it will vary.
If they didn't give this then I bet people would be complaining that they hadn't defined "local" and didn't know whether to buy or not.
At least this gives people a rough idea so if you live somewhere with loads of traffic jams or speed limits to the nearest town then you can decide not to spend your money.

firespire

If you go for this promotion could you post feedback?
ie. Did it work out ok and were you able to get an appointment on/near the dates you wanted? Did you get a trained therapist or a practising student etc.

Hopefully it won't be like that free hair cut offer which people had problems with the salons listed were no longer participating in the offers or never heard of the company. I am wary after reading about these offers where you buy something and apply free flights and then it turns into a fiasco when you want to book.