The Adversarial Consumer Society In Practice - Who's side are you on? Blog Discussion

alexisbenedict

Mr Carvell has offended me personally. And all bar a minority of people who use this sight should be too (the minority I will describe further on). For those who have sympathised with Mr Carvell, please look again at his e-mail to Martin.

My main issue with his complaint is that it makes little sense, and he is trying to distract us with the verbal abuse his call centre staff have recieved from the main issue, and the main issue is Viking's profit margin.

This is capitalism, and Martin's description of our relationship, as consumers, with Viking is entirely accurate and makes Mr Carvell's e-mail almost irrelavent. After a little restrained flattery for the site he states the true nature of his complaint "On the downside its [MSE] causing me one or two problems at the moment!" We are causing him problems. The high moral tone all the way through his e-mail is nothing more than anger at a thorn in his side.

His tone and choice of words I find insulting. Labelling many of us "freeloaders" and implying that we are "vultures", a negative influence in society is not all that aggrevated me, its the arrogance of his rhetoric: "Yes, sometimes I’m very trusting and don’t put restrictive conditions on the offers." as if we owe him something (anything!) bad little children who took too many cookies from the jar, and now its being put out of reach: "So I’ll be adopting the restrictive conditions for future promos: shame but that’s life." And Mr Carvell's petulant sarcastic "silly me" for having freephone numbers, "sod the thousands of pounds I have given away" well, it boils my blood.

No one really thinks that abusing call centre staff is right (or even productive!), and I have worked in a few call centres before and wherever I have worked all calls, inbound or out, have been recorded. Its not that I take issue with the fact call centre workers have had grief, I'm sure they have and they can prove it, but the only reason Mr Carvell mentions it is simply to make us sympathetic to his point. I do not know the man or claim to know what he does at work, but I have one question: How many MDs do any of you really think spend any length of time in their call centres comforting "their people in the firing line"? No one condones the sort of behavior he is talking about it so it is just a cheap way of scoring points.

"I question whether we want to create a society of vultures out to get something for nothing and then ready to abuse those who don’t go along."
If I can get a free clock radio or whatever else Viking is offering up to get NEW customers (rather than rewarding existing customers, as he claims) by buying a Bic biro & paying the the stated rate for P&P then I would be a fool not to, its good business. I didnt get something for nothing, Mr Carvell, I bought the biro, and those were your terms not ours.

If he is genuinely concerned with his call centre staff perhaps he might consider sharing with them the sort of profits that a company like Viking, trading in most of the developed world, brings in. After all, what are his profits other than labour that hasnt been payed for anyway. He should think about that before bothering us with his sour grapes again. The real issue is right there in the e-mail: the incentive is no longer cost effective for his company, which might very well be something to do with the volume of MSE readers, something morally we should not feel good or bad about. It is just not our problem.

End rant. If you sympathise with Mr Carvell please look at his e-mail again. It is nonsense and he has no argument to make. Dont be distracted by the call centre thing. People should not, in principle, be expected to take abuse at work, but be realistic. We're tough, and we've heard it all before.

I have a great interest in the topic and will be following this discussion closely, if anyone would like to contact me personally, dont hesitate to e-mail me.

I have seen in this discussion a few mentions of a real problem within the MSE forums, and that is those who order bulk quanitities (to sell on ebay or some such) which inevitably leads to it being removed from sale and repriced. If by sheer volume of MSEers taking up offers one or two at a time that happens, too bad, fastest finger first, but I remember when someone spotted a Futurama boxset on WHSmiths website and someone was branging they'd ordered 10 or 20 or something, its a free market, but personally I think its pathetic and is not in the spirit of this site. Think about it, we're consumers, you become the seller and hence you are our adversary, not our comrade, and you (along with the pathetic people who think its big or clever to shout and be rude down the phone) are the minority I mentioned at the top of reply.

belleooo

A big thank you goes to Viking Direct, and to Richard, for listening and dealing with my concerns promptly and effeciently.

BTW, Richard is a great guy whom was concerned about the way his staff were being treated. And rightly so.

puddings_2

Viking Direct has never quite been the same since Ian Helmsford left as Chairman