There have been several articles lately about print advertising and whether it’s becoming an obsolete form of real estate advertising. Chuck’s post made some good points, and many of the commenters agreed that it just doesn’t pay to run print ads, at least in their markets.
I recently had an experience that gives another perspective on why people turn away from print. My experience was with a local “homes magazine” that I advertised in. When I agreed to an annual advertising deal to get a discount of 10%, and pre-paid that account, it was clearly understood that if I decided to cancel that I could do so at any time with the refund prorated minus the 10% discount.
After seven months with limited success, I decided to cancel. It was then that I learned the sales rep who sold me the advertising had quit or was let go. Then the fun began.
I emailed the magazine that I wanted to cancel, and a couple of days later the publisher finally called. First he was nice, and tried to educate me on how many impressions it takes to get noticed in order to get results (blah-blah-blah – yes, I understand.) When I did not change my mind, he became quite nasty and told me that I don’t know my business and that it takes commitment to get results from advertising. Maybe he thought nasty would work better than nice? Not.
Finally, after 40 minutes on the phone and me saying “NO” repeatedly, he said that they would cut me a check for the refund. He finished off by telling me that I am “lucky” to get a refund because if it was a car, I would not be able to return it to the dealership and get a refund. He didn’t like it when I politely replied that if I had a written agreement that stated that I could bring the car back and get a refund of “X” dollars, then I would expect to be able to do just that.
This all left a very bad taste in my mouth, and it was clear this publication is more concerned about a few dollars of lost revenue than about their client’s interests and their reputation. Shame on them. If others are like this, it’s no wonder that real estate professionals will stop doing this kind of print advertising.
Wow, a true jerk as a publisher. I have had similar experiences with trying to cancel phone service and magazine servive. But to think that someone who makes a living on real estate advertising … would say such things … without thinking about the possible backlash?
If you look at it from his point of view, you were probably the 14th agent that had called to cancel their account that day, and after a brutal realization that the print advertising industry is losing ground to internet advertising more and more every day, he uncontrolably became quite volatile and nasty to you. Don’t take it personal. Just think you’re not the one out looking for a job. He is!
He’s lucky he drew you and not me. I would have outed his operation for the entire world to see. I know that’s not the most tactful way to go, but I’m a combat Vet. Give me a break.
Come to think of it, my current publication is getting on my nerves with their “cancellation” policy and I might have to dump them. I’ll keep you posted.
I had a similar problem a couple of years back when I tried to cancel a service. By the time you are ready to cancel you are DONE! The last thing you need is some idiot on the phone telling you that you don’t know what you are doing when THEY didn’t perform.
One of the nice things about blogging is the wonderful SEO value we attain. If they piss you off bad enough you can send them to page one of Google, lol.