Find The Astak Pumpkin... WIN a free Pocket PRO!

[griffonwing]

I totally agree with pointing out flaws, which will eventually make a better product. And trust me, I acknowledge flaws for the PEZ as much as I give it praise. Then again, the flaws are the result of the manufacturer, not the distributor, and Astak has gone far beyond what Sony and Amazon would have done.

As far as the contest, I do not consider a Facebook Contest (which requires a Facebook acct) to be a flaw.

Would it have helped if Robert was to have mentioned 5 points or rules for entry into the contest? Yes, of course. But he was not given that information. He had nothing to do with that information. He simply said "Hey there's a contest for a free PEZ here (insert link)."

I just can't help but get the sense that Robert is being blamed here. MR was asking questions that Robert didn't have the answers to, and frankly, Robert had no business to know, nor did he have to spend his time finding the answers. That should have been the job of marketing, and it should have been on the Contest page.

But the contest was a last minute decision, and frankly, even the most astute person is going to miss something now and then. It was also assumed that since the contest was on a Facebook page, that Facebook would have been a requirement. What blows my mind is the complaining about it. Simple logic. Again, not a flaw, unless simple logical assumptions are a flaw.

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

...It was also assumed that since the contest was on a Facebook page, that Facebook would have been a requirement. What blows my mind is the complaining about it...

Well, I was going to let it fade away since I had vented my frustration, but apparently the source of my frustration was unclear. That is:

In attempting to enter the contest, without any previous warning one came up against this wall called Facebook. There was negative sentiment expressed because it was unclear if a Facebook account was required.

Robert went off to research it (kudos for that) and came back to state flatly that a Facebook account was NOT required. Then he came back after the contest was over and flatly stated that it WAS required.

My intention was not to deride Astak or Robert, but to make it clear that this type of confusion is really quite detrimental to their customer base. If the excuse is that their marketing personnel "don't speak so good the English", then they darned well better make sure in the future that someone on that team DOES.

And: Those of us who don't have Facebook accounts NEVER KNEW the contest was on a Facebook page because WE NEVER SAW THE FACEBOOK PAGE. So how were we to make any assumptions at all about a page we NEVER SAW?

[griffonwing]

Weird. When I clicked the link, i went to a facebook page. At least, I recall doing it.

Oooh, I just had a thought. (i know, that's impressive in itself) I bet the link Robert gave went through a back door, or basically he gave us behind the scenes information. If I recall, the contest was mentioned on their Facebook page, but not on the website itself. So finding the pumpkin, and clicking on it took you to a Facebook login page to qualify for the drawing.

And: Those of us who don't have Facebook accounts NEVER KNEW the contest was on a Facebook page because WE NEVER SAW THE FACEBOOK PAGE. So how were we to make any assumptions at all about a page we NEVER SAW?

To be honest, those who don't have a Facebook page would not normally have been privy to the contest to begin with.

Apologies for bringing this out again. I interpreted some comments on this thread as over-reacting against Robert and it didn't seem fair to me. But i do see your point.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by kennyc

BTW, your first post says, "We will POST the name of all winners!!"

are you going to do that part?

Here? Facebook? one of the Astak websites?

Maybe I missed it.

Dear Kenny:

In a separate thread on Monday I did post the two winners. That was up right on time as promised.

Everyone, I am sorry for what our Marketing People did. I have said it again and again, I was NOT consulted (and, yes, I think this was weird to not consult with me). Marketing is a separate department here filled with young, energetic, well-intentioned but sometimes niave people. They meant, I am sure, no offence. They just did not think this out fully.

All I got was: "here is a contest, dummie, post it on MR".

I am happy for their eagerness; but I apologize for their lack of thinking it out fully!

[kennyc]

Thanks Robert. In retrospect at least in my humble opinion, it would have been better not to even post it here, or to give significantly more information. You should go back to them (hopefully you already have) and make sure that in the future they provide you with full information and include you in the process.

I hope you understand that I am not blaming you personally or expecting you to take the heat for this, my target is the contest as a whole and how it was handled.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

As far as the contest, I do not consider a Facebook Contest (which requires a Facebook acct) to be a flaw.

Would it have helped if Robert was to have mentioned 5 points or rules for entry into the contest? Yes, of course. But he was not given that information. He had nothing to do with that information. He simply said "Hey there's a contest for a free PEZ here (insert link)."

I just can't help but get the sense that Robert is being blamed here. MR was asking questions that Robert didn't have the answers to, and frankly, Robert had no business to know, nor did he have to spend his time finding the answers. That should have been the job of marketing, and it should have been on the Contest page.

I don't feel facebook was a flaw. Yes I am one who does not like FB. Astak decided to use facebook as the medium for their competitions. At the end of the day I could have refused to join facebook to enter - my decision was to sign up to enter, and I have no issues with that, I did it on my own free will.

I'm certainly not blaming Robert. You're right griff, he is only privy to the information he is given, and on his own back he comes here in good faith and passes on what he knows to us and in return listens to us and takes information back to Astak. I actually applaud him for everything he does on MR forums and for us.

Where my personal concern lays is after my initial adverse reaction to FB, I did actually sign up to enter to competition. Just before closing date I receive a notification on FB saying;

"Your entry for Astak eReader Halloween sweepstakes -- Winners are drawn in 3 days. You need 1 more friends for a chance to win 5" Pocket Pro eReader ($200 value). Send your friends a reminder."

Now my initial feeling was my entry wasn't accepted as a result of this message. What I'm keen to know is if this message represents a requirement of the Astak competition, or is it just part of a sneaky marketing ploy by facebook and the competition applet/program used on FB for competitions?

I understand it was essentially Astak's first FB competition, and looking at the Christmas startup/shutdown competition I can see that some of the small issues/questions that arose from the pumpkin contest have been resolved - a good sign imho.

End of the day it was only a competition, and these issues do not change my positive view of the company or the product. Who knows, perhaps everyone is hell bent on looking for flaws because they didn't hit the top two picked for a prize

[griffonwing]

Wow, I never saw the "sign one more friend" message. It's probably somewhere in Facebook's coding. I have several friends already, so I suppose if you have no friends, Facebook wants you to add people before going along with the contest.

Yes, shame on Facebook for that kind of ploy, if indeed that was what was happening.

As for me personally, I have a FB acct, but rarely use it. I block all applications, except for one, and that was for the contest.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Thanks Robert. In retrospect at least in my humble opinion, it would have been better not to even post it here, or to give significantly more information. You should go back to them (hopefully you already have) and make sure that in the future they provide you with full information and include you in the process.

I hope you understand that I am not blaming you personally or expecting you to take the heat for this, my target is the contest as a whole and how it was handled.

Dear Kenny:

I do realize, sir. To show this I have ordered a paint can of the Fuscia Pink to be renamed "Kenny Pink"!!

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Wow, I never saw the "sign one more friend" message. It's probably somewhere in Facebook's coding. I have several friends already, so I suppose if you have no friends, Facebook wants you to add people before going along with the contest.

Yes, shame on Facebook for that kind of ploy, if indeed that was what was happening.

As for me personally, I have a FB acct, but rarely use it. I block all applications, except for one, and that was for the contest.

Probably is part of the facebook coding. Microsoft are probably using it to try and reap some form of return on their $240 million investment in FB

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Kenny:

I do realize, sir. To show this I have ordered a paint can of the Fuscia Pink to be renamed "Kenny Pink"!!

but please see the Christmas thread when I announced my preferred color.