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I traded emails with a very interesting rude company today, and I am honestly perplexed at how to respond! I am hoping to lean on you guys for some sage advice.
I got an email from…let’s just call him Andy from marketing company x. They wanted a free copy of my book to review. Now, they aren’t journalists. They do have a company blog which seems fairly new.
Here is the discourse (names concealed for privacy sake)-
They said:
Hello Shama,
I would like to review your book The Zen of Social Media Marketing for xyz.com.
Could you possibly send me a review copy when you get a chance?
Cordial Regards,
Andy
I said:
Hi Andy,
Thanks so much for the offer to review it!
At this point, all bloggers are purchasing their own copies. If you
like it, you are MOST welcome to review it.
Cheers,
Shama
SIDE NOTE: At this point, I had already chosen multiple bloggers to send review copies too, and the book has sold thousands of copies in two weeks. All in all-I’m pretty satisfied! Any more reviews that were going out were from bloggers who purchased the book and enjoyed it enough to share with their readers. This was a blogger from a marketing firm, so I had no problem suggesting they grab a copy. (All journalists looking to review the book can grab a free copy. So can all non-profits (no review necessary).
They responded (retaliated?)
Hello Shama,
Standard PR practice includes providing review copies.
Our site is a solid PR 4 site focused. A backlink from us is worth about four times the price of your book.
This was a bit of a test actually. To see if you are as savvy as you say you are.
No worries. Maybe with some experience you’ll improve.
Cordial regards,
Andy
Now, I have to wonder! Does the fox think the grapes are sour, or was I remiss?
I decided to share this story with you guys, because I think there are multiple lessons to be learned here. I have not responded to “Andy” - but I am curious as to what you think I should do…or have done?
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Comments
03.27.09
Wow, that Andy needs to hire a PR firm for himself, or go to an etiquette coach!
03.27.09
He sounds like a non-legit request. Are you sure there's even a company behind him? I notice how quickly he "backed off" after you denied his request for a free copy. I would not respond, and maybe "out" him here or elsewhere. Does not sound like a professional.
03.27.09
A competitor perhaps? Hmmm...you should email Miles and I his name / company so we watch out for him.
03.27.09
That's hilarious. I've been on sales calls that went something like that. On the back end I was trying to convince the sales person not to take the deal because I knew it would just be a colossal waste of our time. The client wanted some huge super complex setup of their campaign, so we suggested some simpler options that might still get results and not just be a huge time vortex for us. The client retaliated with "this is not acceptable, you have two hours to get back to us on a better solution." I would have fell out of my seat laughing if I didn't know that it would turn into a protracted internal discussion involving multiple levels of management.
The worst thing you can do is let this get to you and spend a lot of time an energy on it. This "Andy" obviously has poor social skills and an easily ruffled low sense of self esteem that caused him to fire back with a "I'm going to get you for getting me," response. You didn't do anything wrong be being upfront that no more free copies were being given out. In situations like these you've just got to cut the cord, put "Andy" on your blacklist, and say "next."
03.27.09
Reminds me of when i run an online mag (PR 5 ;) back when i was 16. I'd guess Andy is around that age. If he's older, he's in serious trouble.
You could backfire that "standard business practice" does not include telling people what practice they should adhere to in giving out the results of their hard work, let alone question their competence. But then, on the other hand, i just wouldn't bother with a disgruntled kid.
03.27.09
Well, perhaps that is the "standard PR procedure" that Andy is going by. However, since (a) you had never heard of him, (b) he doesn't seem to have much in the way of manners, and (c) wasn't in the initial review distribution of the book, he's pretty much shown that the old standards have gone right out the window.
Sounds like a "don't you know who I am?!?" kind of rant on his part.
03.27.09
My initial impulse would be to bite back (operative here being initial).
But on careful thought, I wouldn't be bothered Shama. Just ignore.
03.27.09
ingore, not ignore...It's a tough decision.
I honestly would kill him with kindness. Let him know that you're disappointed you two couldn't come to an agreement with the situation and that he is always welcome to enjoy the book without the review, because obviously, he could learn a few things as well. After all, a business wouldn't create profits if it always gave its product for free. And then if he responds I would ignore him- he probably won't have anything nice to say anyways. :) If anything you can just humor yourself and not take it seriously.
03.27.09
That's hilarious. You should just send him this link.
"This was a bit of a test actually." What a douche.
03.27.09
You guys are hilarious!
Thanks so much for the sage advice. It matched the advice of my blog readers as well. = )
I decided not to say anything to him-but I am glad that it provided a chance for us to have a conversation.
03.27.09
Ah! I have experienced the same rudeness with companies. In the beginning I felt a bit torn to give them a second chance, but after one good burn by very arrogant people solidified the inner call to dismiss them from my business life. Shama, great job on bringing this topic to post...you made it generic enough so that companies who have done this will hopefully learn this shit doesn't fly. Make the jerk off pay...if they are THAT serious about social media they can spend a few $$ on your book. Seriously...
03.29.09
Tell him to f*ck off. This is the sort of cocky Gordon Gecko attitude that brought down the US economy
Greetings from Greece
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