Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Plushchris

keggs wrote: »

Cardew

I'm very confused here.. Have your friends ever recommended a good book or film to you? If they have and you found out that they got paid by say the Odeon cinema for recommending you to their cinema would you suddenly feel cheated, shocked or duped even though you enjoyed the film.

Yes, I would, I would expect any friends of mine to declare their vested interest before I went, if they didnt tell me then yes, I would feel shocked and cheated regardless of if I enjoyed the film or not. Although how you can compare buying gas & electric to going to the cinema is beyond me, although I guess thats another thing in a UW distributors arsenal of rubbish, doing useless comparisons.

keggs wrote: »

If you do then that kind of attitude is ridiculous. It's also illogical. It's a perfectly normal everyday occurrence. Sky TV offer people vouchers to recommend Sky TV to their friends.I've known plumbers to offer people discounts if they recommend their services.

I offer free admittance to members of my sport club if they recommend a friend.

So, what is so terribly wrong with UW, Tuppaware, Usborne books, the list is endless paying someone to recommend something. It is sound business.

Your problem is that UW, Tuppaware, Usborne Books, Sony, MacDonalds, Burger King, and so on do not somehow fit into your supposed 'normal' business model.

I went to Burger King yesterday, didnt have to join a club, there werent any hidden charges and nobody recommended me to go there (instead a lot of people say you shouldnt go to McDonalds and Burger King so maybe there is a connection to UW after all)

keggs wrote: »

Well a little business education here for you. Network or Referral marketing is far older (and is the traditional way of doing business) than your supposed way of doing business - big shops in high streets etc.

Furthermore, the only difference between network marketing and your supposed traditional way of doing business is that products or services go directly to the customer without the need to go through a whole host of intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailers and so on. It is the latter that which creates the high costs that shoppers have to pay at the end. Not to mention VAT being added at every stage, high advertising costs and so on. Network marketing does away with most of this. The money saved is paid to people like me who use the services and recommend them to others. Not only is it highly rewarding financially it is highly rewarding in far more ways than you will ever realise.

If that really is the case then why arent they the cheapest in the market? Can you beat the prices on click energy 5? I doubt it.

keggs wrote: »

Would you be happier if one of your friends ran their own mobile phone shop or computer shop for instance and just happened to offer the Utility Warehouse's services over the counter.

Yes, because then I could walk right by without having anyone to talk me into it, also, if I wanted to go and sign up then I would.

Again though, you make ridiculous comparisons as the high streets are full of Energy supplier shops arent they? (clue - NO they're not)

keggs wrote: »

Because that's all we as distributors are doing. We just don't have to spend a lot of money on renting premises, paying business bills etc. Instead we dispense with all that and talk to people who would like to try the services.

And keep all the money that would be spent on bills, rent etc for yourselves..

keggs wrote: »

Our shop is called a file which we carry around with us when we go to see someone. But there are computer shop and mobile phone shop owners in this business who simply see it as an extension of their current business but I doubt if any member of the public would even realise it if they went into the shop and 'bought' one of UW's services over the counter.

???? Not quite sure what you mean by that, are you saying there are distributors running phone shops that sign people up to UW without them knowing it?

Actually, I dont know why I'm surprised at that.

keggs wrote: »

But because most distributors don't happen to do it that way you castigate them.

I'd suggest doing what I suggested to your fellow naysayers to do some proper research into what Network Marketing really is. A little education works wonders.

Regards
Steve

Network marketing is one thing, signing your friends and family up to a "club" so they can buy expensive gas and electricity and you make a profit out of them is something else.

Plushchris

Oh and comparing UW to Tupperware and Ann Summers is a bit ridiculous too isnt it?

How often have you had a UW party?

What did you all do, stand around turning the lights on and off and running a bit of hot water? Make a few phone calls?

People have Ann Summers parties for a laugh, the distributor does it as a part time job, the host may get a discount/freebie but the people at the party arent talked into joining an Ann Summers club where they get to pay £3 a month to get charged a fortune for the latest vibrator/furry handcuffs etc.

keggs

Much od what you say isn't worth answering. It simply shows a lack of real understanding of what network marketing is.

If you have a problem with your friends benefiting from recommending something you could benefit from yourself, then all I can say is that you aren't a very good friend to your friends. That's selfish.

Incidentally, your friends don't have to benefit. You can by being your own customer. And by the way, there are no 'hidden' charges. What you see is what you get. Even the small print is big enough to read - a sharp contrast from other companies.

Are you antagonistic towards clubs in general or just the fact that a business uses this concept to 'bring' people together and offer a great many benefits and not just saving money.

As far as UW is concerned, the company doesn't go in for 'the cheapest'. They offer value for money. If it isn't for you then fine. If you like it (and over 200,000 do) then that's fine also. You don't like it for whatever reason. That's your choice but you haven't the right to try to persuade people based on second hand information. If you have a gripe then that will obviously colour your perception but again others have to make their own mind up.

Regards
Steve

keggs

One last thought. I compared UW to Tuppaware because the latter is a network marketing company as is Kleeneze. They all operate in different ways but the concept of building a business is the same.

Burger King and MacDonalds and many other well known companies are franchises. There are 3 differences between them and NW companies. These are

1. Franchises have areas, NW companies don't
2. The fees are in the thousands - the maximum investment in a NW company is £200
3. Franchises don't use the concept of geometric progression to build a business. So, most franchisees end up in the same position as all other traditional businesses with a noose round their necks.

Incidentally, just thought of something. As you don't like your friends benefiting financially from you would you refuse to use their shop, garage etc. If so, some friend you are that you couldn't help them by buying something off them because it upsets you sensibilities.

Regards
Steve

Plushchris

keggs wrote: »

If you have a problem with your friends benefiting from recommending something you could benefit from yourself, then all I can say is that you aren't a very good friend to your friends. That's selfish.

I wouldnt have a problem with it, thats if I actually COULD benefit from it. I would also use friends garages shops etc (and I do) because I know they are benefitting from it before I take my car there or shop in their shops. The dont talk me into going there either, thats the difference.

If I want new tyres on my car I go elsewhere though as my friend has even told me he cant compete on tyre prices and told me where to get them cheapest. Do you tell your friends that they could sign up to BG click energy 5 as you cant compete on prices? I doubt it.

Plushchris

keggs wrote: »

Are you antagonistic towards clubs in general or just the fact that a business uses this concept to 'bring' people together and offer a great many benefits and not just saving money.

Not antagonistic to clubs at all, just out of interest, can you supply a list of the "great many benefits" that Utility warehouse offers please.

keggs

Glad to hear it. So what's the difference with UW? As far as benefiting from what UW has to offer or anything else for that matter, you can't say you won't benefit until you try it. To say differently isn't common sense. If you don't like it after trying that's fine. It was not for you. But it is for many people including me.

All businesses are ultimately based on referrals - that's how they grow. If you aren't getting referrals your business is at best on hold or at worst failing. UW simply uses referral marketing because that's the way it chose to do business. It could have become a franchise or open a shop but the net result is still the same.

If you are always looking for the 'cheapest' in everything then you will be sadly disappointed. UW offers value not cheapness. But on the whole, most of their services just happen to be the cheapest than many other businesses. They also save money at the same time, which is the bottom line. You can't have everything. UW chose to offer value for money with good service. Others go for cheapness at the expence of good service. That's basically the choice.

Members of the 'club' are members because they value what UW offers.

1. Great value for money services at a fair price
2. Great award winning customer service
3. A company that is fully listed on the London stock exchange along side other blue chip companies. It's not some fly by night. Been around 10 years and growing.
4. A management team that knows what it is doing
5. Cash rich with no debt
6. A unique billing system
7. A business opportunity open to all

I could go on but that's enough.

Regards
Steve

1carminestocky

I have to say I do find it a little hard to fathom when people on here criticise UW distributors for 'making money from their friends'. I'm neither a UW distributor or customer and never have been but I also don't find their businesss model and way of doing business in any way antagonist or even unusual. I have enjoyed almost a year of free mobile bills due to recommending friends to the 3 network. I get £30 credit on the bill and so do they. Referral/network marrketing. Similarly, I have had hundreds of pounds worth of M&S vouchers courtesy of Sky by recommending people (they have also benefited). Referral/network marketing

And I also think this 'selling to your friends' line is a bit of a misnomer. Certainly if I was to join UW I would tell EVERYBODY I came into contact with about it. I guarantee the vast majority of them would doubtless be paying higher fuel/telecom charges than UW charge, even though it's been established they aren't the cheapest on the market. I'd be saving these people ('strangers') money they wouldn't ordinarily have thought about saving so I would be entirely justified in being recompensed IMO.

Detractors can only justify their negative response to this if they make sure EVERYBODY they come into contact with (i.e not just 'friends') is paying their fuel bill on the cheapest possible tariff. Do you? Plus, if you currently work or have ever worked for a company that DOESN'T supply the absolute cheapest product of its type in the market, surely you can't justify working/supporting for them, if you take your argument to its logical conclusion?

espresso

keggs wrote: »

Members of the 'club' are members because they value what UW offers.

1. Great value for money services at a fair price
2. Great award winning customer service
3. A company that is fully listed on the London stock exchange along side other blue chip companies. It's not some fly by night. Been around 10 years and growing.
4. A management team that knows what it is doing
5. Cash rich with no debt
6. A unique billing system
7. A business opportunity open to all

So can you clarify exactly what Low users, Standard users and High users are for gas and electricity?

Please provide a link to where this is explained on the UW website.

Edinburghlass_2

Problem is you get distributors like keggs who is using MSE as a platform for selling his products indirectly