MSE News: Colgate forgets its toothbrush in promo fail, as it's kicked off...

Daisymaisy

They should have counted people in the queue and turned the surplus away, that would have helped with controlling the numbers and handed forms out to those queuing so we could complete them whilst we waited. When I arrived at just gone 6.35 there were about 200-250 people in front of me as we moved up the line towards the stand the people in the queue behind us were diverted round to the other side of the stand to be given toothbrushes overtaking us in the queue. I was about 10th in the queue when they closed the stand. This was a case of poor management and planning on both Colgate and the station's part. As has been said in the past 'fail to plan, plan to fail'.

I can understand arriving too late to be in the first 750 and missing out but I arrived before they started handing the brushes out, was in the queue and should have received one based on the number of people in the queue ahead of me. Fingers crossed that Colgate honour their staff's promise to swap the forms they gave us for a toothbrush.

Daisymaisy

MobileSaver wrote: »

Clearly a PR disaster for Colgate and I can understand your anger but this is unfair criticism.

Colgate staff cannot insist on keeping the stand open if the Police and/or Network Rail tell them to close it.

Agree, but there should have been more info for those of us who were given a form to fill in and return at 1030 to collect our promised toothbrushes. When we were given the forms and told to return we asked if we would definitely get a toothbrush if we came back and we were told yes we would and that there was enough stock.

KILL_BILL

i arrive at 6.45am on tuesday and i estimate theer was about 350people infront of me and i knew that there was gonna be a wait but as time went on people where getting frustrated about the length of time that colgate were taken.

obviusly with the large quese they where causing a bit of disruption to the rush hour commuter which colgate didnt think about.

So lo and behold getting to the front and then been told that waterloo train staff have told colgate to shut the stand down.

2 guys who seemed to be running the show started giving out forms to a sleect number of people and told them to come back at 10.30 am

lo and behold when people had come back colgate had done a runner and left network rail security staff to take the flack !!!

savetilibleed

I was there a bit after 10.30. It was clearly over, but still plenty of people who seemed to be checking the #BrushSwap Twitter tag that was posted on the closed stand. I guess it was always going to be a messup. Besides Waterloo station concourse is really quite narrow for such big crowds. Not thought through. Maybe less publicity!

I see now on Twitter, Colgate are saying it won't return to Waterloo this week. They are looking at alternatives.

razam

Colgate are now saying they won't be returning to Waterloo this week!

No news about London Victoria, and no news about people who got forms.

me_and

Interestingly, they've also deleted all their tweets that were replying to specific people. I'd be very disappointed if they try to deny the commitments they made, both in person and via the Twitter account, but I can't think of any other explanation for deleting the tweets in that way.

Pincher

It does seem a wonderful opportunity to revive some dead high streets. Do a tour around the country, at different branches of BOOTS and Superdrug in small towns.

Get people to bring proof of address. The maddest person who came the farthest gets a bonus prize: a year's supply of Colgate toothpaste sounds appropriate.

muzukashii

Yeah, so I got there around 6.40 am today, and while it was busy - maybe 200 people ahead of me, it wasn't a total farce at that point. However they just kept letting people join the queue - if someone had the sense to stop people doing that Network Rail would have had no cause to shut them down.

I was pretty close to the front when they actually closed it - close enough to get a form, which the guy said they'd swap for a toothbrush when Network Rail let them reopen at 10.30. That didn't happen. So pretty annoyed at both their inability to organise and manage their event, but more annoyed at their blatant disinformation later to try and get people out of there. You can get rid of people without making false promises to them.

That said, compliments to their promo staff who were pretty calm and genial in the face of some frankly vile and rude behaviour from the baying mob. One woman was about to pass out at the front, and actively trying to leave - I had to physically move a pushy guy out of the way to let her out. The way people were behaving was disgusting, regardless of the circumstances.

I had a happy ending - Philips seized upon the PR disaster with gusto, and I won one of the 50 Flexcare brushes they gave away via twitter (I think their giveaway is running tomorrow too, just tweet them a pic of your toothbrush with #brushswap - you need to be following them though) but Colgate should be ashamed of themselves not because of their admittedly poorly planned promo, but because of their total lack of response afterwards. How can you expect social media to work for you if you aren't going to engage with it through the good and the bad?

mh8748

I arrived at 7am, to find the queue snaking around the station. Waited patiently in the queue for an hour. I didn't get a form though, as they'd run out. So, I don't have any 'proof' that I was there...

Annoyed that it was run on monday, after they communicated that they changed the date. Even though it was a free offer, I feel cheated.

powertothepeople

Wow, the venom on this blog about getting a free £150 [overpriced] toothbrush from people with jobs presumably. And so called benefits scroungers get bad press, well they have nothing on you lot. Normally Boots or Superdrug do half price electric toothbrushes for £10-15 which more than adequately clean your teeth, so if you still have a 5 year old model then you need to get out more. Stingy, money grabbing oiks from the suburbs going ape over a silly promotion. You'd think Colgate was giving away food during a famine. Grow up.