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<title>MY RSS Feed</title><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/index.html</link><description>iScream&#x2c; my Rants Raves and Links from the Wonderful World of Marketing(?)</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright &#xa9;2006 &#x7e; Willis - Marketing by Design&#x21;</dc:rights><dc:date>2008-06-10T10:33:10+01:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:17:05 +0100</lastBuildDate><item><title>Viking Direct? - Don&#x27;t do It&#x21;</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Direct Marketing </category><dc:date>2008-06-10T10:33:10+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/6c67cb48f5793500000cb1479a46b147-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/6c67cb48f5793500000cb1479a46b147-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I really object to the amount of mailing C**p that Viking Direct send me on a weekly basis.


I know I am my own worst enemy, every couple of years I receive a Viking mailing offering me something for nothing and I think maybe they have improved?


I place the order and then without fail they balls it up again, fail to send me either the items and invoices and then I spend hours trying to get a refund either for items not delivered or broken or......    I then demand that they stop sending me junk mail, which they then ignore!


I think that companies that fail to maintain their catalogue returns or update their mailing lists should be fined BIG TIME!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Virgin Media&#x2c; lack of customer service and silent calls&#x21;</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Telephone Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-10-22T17:07:55+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/c051c999cced8641532c2efbd44ea80c-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/c051c999cced8641532c2efbd44ea80c-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I used to spend an absolute fortune with Cable Midlands : Telewest : NTL : Virgin Media or whatever they are now called?   But not any longer!


When I first set up in business in 2000 I had a phone line, fax line, cable TV and broadband, I was spending over &pound;100 per month with this company which was a lot even then.


But over the last 8 years this company has managed to annoy me more and more and consequently I have spent less and less and when high speed ADSL is available in my area I will spend absolutely nothing with them!


I won&rsquo;t bore you with the many unbelievable details but one major reason is the use of marketing companies to constantly try and up-sell this is despite the fact that I am on a telephone preference service list - In fact one representative had the nerve to say I can see that you are registered with a telephone preference service but you haven&rsquo;t informed US that you don&rsquo;t want to receive calls!!!


I also received many silent calls from an agency working on Virgin Media&rsquo;s behalf - I could not believe their cheek when complaining that I was told I could have called an 0870 number (which they make a profit on!)   to ensure that I didnt receive further calls!!!


Anyway some useful links for anyone interested?


http://www.ukdatait.co.uk/cgi-bin/sgAddNumber.cgi


Allows you to remove your number from marketing lists for 12 months


http://ofcom.org.uk/complain/landline/nuisance/


Make a complaint of nuisance calls  to OFCOM
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A petition too far?</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>All things Apple&#x21;</category><dc:date>2008-09-25T16:21:30+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/a3544340b4ec920e4937e14fef83c795-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/a3544340b4ec920e4937e14fef83c795-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[OK I have to admit it I succumbed and purchased an iPhone 3G this July and mightily impressed I am too!


What I am not so impressed by is Apples restrictive behaviour towards its App Store developers, their use of NDA&rsquo;s to silence those developers is nothing short of draconian.    I was also gobsmacked that Apple felt it could restrict Apps to those which it felt didn&rsquo;t conflict with its own products.    In fact I (along with several thousand others) was so incensed that I felt compelled to launch a petition to Steve Jobs...


http://www.petitiononline.com/appstore/petition.html


One of the things that amazed me was the negativity of some of the American Mac sites, who steadfastly refused to publicise the petition.    It was pointed out to me by one of the editors of a &lsquo;non-american&rsquo; Mac site which did publish the petition details that many of the US sites were just mouthpieces for the corporate Apple PR machine.    This is something I would not have believed until I had actually experienced it for myself!    Call me paranoid but I did start to receive an awful lot of site traffic from California US, luckily I had crossed the T&rsquo;s and dotted the i&rsquo;s in relation to my comments on Apple and their trademarks otherwise....


Four months on from the iPhones 3Gs launch there are still no plans to launch step by step navigation software, surely this was the whole point of incorporating 3G (or at least so I thought).    I relished the opportunity to replace my ageing P1i phone, and recently stolen TomTom and Ipod with one device - the iPhone!    While my hopes of navigation software may have been dashed (or at least in the short term) the iPhone has surpassed my expectations, to say that this thing is just a phone is like calling OJ a wife beater and IMHO comparisons of the iPhone with Netbooks are really not that far off!


I really do hope that Apple does not become another Microsoft (or Google come to that!).   I sense that as the company grows and loses touch with its customer base this kind of behaviour is inevitable.    Lets hope there&rsquo;s plenty of customers out there prepared to be vocal, sign petitions and reel the company in when it gets out of line!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>NTL - COMPANY No.1 TO SLATE FOR MOVING THEIR CALL CENTRE TO INDIA</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Telephone Marketing</category><dc:date>2006-05-07T01:06:40+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/27E95B75-66FD-4B86-A2E2-45985FB117A5-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/27E95B75-66FD-4B86-A2E2-45985FB117A5-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[NTL - I HAVE NOW DECIDED TO MOVE MY BUSINESS AWAY FROM TELEWEST AT THE EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY!!!


How many customers will these people lose before they realise the folly of these decisions!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>SILENT CALLS&#x21;&#x21;&#x21;</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Telephone Marketing</category><dc:date>2006-05-10T09:03:39+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/75F1FB67-23E4-4C5F-BCF9-E4609CD3DEA8-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/75F1FB67-23E4-4C5F-BCF9-E4609CD3DEA8-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[How bloody stupid are these marketing companies.


It only makes sense to make sure that you have enough operators to answer calls otherwise when you finally do get to speak to a customer the chances are that they will be a little rude to you.


I had to laugh at the site run by the Direct Marketing Industry claiming that you might be losing out on information about products you might be interested in if you opt out!   - I'LL TAKE MY CHANCES THANKS!!!


The Silent Callgard Service is available on 0870 4443969. 


What really galls me about this service is you are told that registering will only stop some of the calls but if you pay the company that they recommend and offer to forward you onto they can stop all silent calls - ALL SOUNDS VERY DODGY AND DISREPUTABLE TO ME - THESE PEOPLE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!


Rant Over :)
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Apple vs Apple</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>All things Apple&#x21;</category><category>Brand Awareness</category><dc:date>2006-05-12T00:52:00+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/61122220-5361-4C69-9BE3-C0BA2ECF8443-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/61122220-5361-4C69-9BE3-C0BA2ECF8443-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[How ridiculous it is that this even came to court!


Do McCartney, Starr etc really need to sue a company that are not in competition with them, how could they be,  Apple Corps has not issued a recording in decades!


Apple Computer was named in homage to the Beatles by an idolising youthful (read naive)  Steve Jobs - I bet his opinion of the Beatles is a little less positive after 2 decades of legal battles. 


Lets hope the remaining Beatles see sense and drop the appeal!


Either way my belief in the British Justice System is restored...   Go iPod wielding Lord Justice Mann!!!


According to the Beeb]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Useful Guide to Spam Laws</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Email Marketing</category><dc:date>2006-05-04T15:48:34+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/8795120B-25DA-44A2-8CDF-4426AC69FFDA-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/8795120B-25DA-44A2-8CDF-4426AC69FFDA-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[European Union Spam Laws


US Spam Laws]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>I guess everyone must get one of those customers every now and then :)</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Just Wierd&#x21;</category><dc:date>2006-05-02T16:50:52+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/3B71C060-A960-4F23-8AE3-79B2C1150782-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/3B71C060-A960-4F23-8AE3-79B2C1150782-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Customers Suck!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>SEO advice</title><dc:creator>willis@marketingbydesign.co.uk</dc:creator><category>SEO &#x26; Web Marketing</category><dc:date>2006-05-01T00:29:22+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/36890022-BEB4-485B-8E1F-4802EE3B6B99-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.marketingbydesign.co.uk/page3/files/36890022-BEB4-485B-8E1F-4802EE3B6B99-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Is your website driven by an SQL dynamic database - If it is read this article


Come into my Parlour and Index my Content!]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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