World's Sleaziest Online Company?

Oh, sure.  You think you've run into some real scammers online, but I think my recent and extremely unfortunate interaction with Derma Essence Cream (aka TheFacialCream.com) has to represent the absolute bottom of the barrel.  I feel duty bound to share my experience in the hope of helping others avoid this slick trap.

We live in a world of unprecedented customer service.  Legitimate companies will do almost anything to ensure customer satisfaction and build long term relationships.  Derma Essence seems to not only go out of its way to perpetrate its borderline fraudulent activities to ensure their customers are unable to unwind orders, but they take the extra step of bayoneting the survivors.

A friend, who has dementia, placed a 'free trial' order for $3.95.  Not reading the fine print, she didn't understand she was actually signing up for an $88.70 per month purchase in perpetuity.  Calls trying to remedy this and cancel the order were unsuccessful.  I was told I would have to call back at least three more times to resolve the matter (after spending about 25 minutes on hold on two previous attempts to resolve this).

Call #1 would be to request an RMA.  The 'customer service rep' (my sincere apologies for offending legitimate CSRs everywhere) said they would then request the RMA from the 'home office.'  I would have to make Call #2 two to three days later to receive the RMA number from them.  Call #3 would be after I shipped the product back using the RMA and providing my tracking information, so they could confirm the product had been received by their warehouse.

Keep in mind that all this has to happen within 14 days...after trying the product for at least one week.  Customer service is only open Monday through Friday from 10am - 6pm.  Do you think this maze is well thought out to ensure customers lose their chance of recourse?  I do.

I'm embarrassed to admit it, by I actually paid a negotiated price for this questionable product from an even more questionable company just to make these people go away.  My goal was to end the phone conversation with a complete resolution/cancellation and the promise that I would never have to deal with such a disreputable company ever again.  Alas, it seemed the only way.

PLEASE DO NOT BITE ON THIS UNWHOLESOME AND DISTASTEFUL SCAM.

Read more to arm yourself with information:
http://www.moneywise.co.uk/scams-rip-offs/scams/scam-watch-free-trial-scams
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/feb/17/free-skin-cream-trial-victims

It Really is a Small World

I live in a little town in Northeast Tennessee.   It was a lifestyle move I made early in 2001 when I relocated from Austin, Texas.  It’s a small town with no traffic, beautiful mountains, lots of golf, and a regional airport that connects me to Atlanta and the rest of the world where I conduct my business.

The remarkable thing is how this tiny place is known as I travel.

Blue Ridge Mountains

Ambassador Campbell

Earlier this year, I was part of a meeting in Ulaanbaatar with US Ambassador to Mongolia Piper Wind Campbell.  As she entered the room and dropped her paperwork on the conference table, she asked “Who’s here from Johnson City, TN?”  Turns out she has family in the area, and an Aunt who works in our local public library.  The Ambassador’s commercial officer served in the military with a man from the Tri-Cities.

Small world.

On a more recent assignment to the West Bank to work with Palestinian women-owned businesses, I met with two local experts who had vetted the companies with whom I was to meet.  In the course of our meeting, one of the experts—Mohammad Najjar—looked at my card and commented on my being from Johnson City.  “You know the area,” I asked.  “Yes,” he replied.  “I lived there for three years.”  He had received a master’s degree from our East Tennessee State University, and gone on to work at Eastman Chemical for a time before returning to Palestine.

Small world, indeed!

It seems the more I travel, the smaller the world becomes.  We’re so interconnected that the six degrees of separation, from a geographical sense, seems more like two degrees.  I continue to be amazed at those I find during my travels who know my tiny part of the world, and I relish the opportunity to find out more about their spots on the globe.

Life is good.  These connections are the icing on an already spectacular cake—my international development work.

The rare day off, Part I

Airport after airport, driver after driver, presentation after presentation, and life can turn into a complete blur.  Add the dozens of time zones you’re zipping back and forth across, and even day and night get confusing.

But once in a great while comes the rare day off.  A complete disconnect from work, and a chance to dive into self-serving exploration.  One memorable day off led to some great memories and a new friend.

Flying into Almaty, Kazakhstan on a Sunday prior to Tuesday work on an IESC international development project (to save a few tenge!), I had the great good fortune to visit Medeu and Chimbulak in the mountains overlooking Almaty.  Since it was the occasion of the first snowfall of the season, the mountains were a veritable fairyland.   

 

An eerie sunrise in the mountains above Almaty, Kazakhstan

 With Dima, my local and extremely knowledgeable guide, we headed carefully up the snow-covered roads, and in no time found ourselves overlooking the Madeu outdoor ice rink.  At over 5,500 feet, it’s the highest rink in the world and has seen many world records.

Looking down on Medeu

Continuing up, we reached the ski area of Chimbulak.  Now at over 7,200 feet, you could definitely tell the air was thinner…and colder!  But the views made the journey well worth the while.  We passed on taking the lifts to the Talgar pass which sits at almost 10,500 feet, and settled instead for a hot coffee at the lodge.

Chairlift from Chimbulak.  Going up?

Heading back down the mountain to reality, Dima pointed out the history and cultural aspects of the area, a definite perk of the job, ending back in Almaty at the Independence Monument on the Republic Square. You can see a nifty panoramic view at bit.ly/1gujQdl.

Many thanks to my guide Dima for a great day.  Now (sigh) back to work.

"Tell us a story."

They say if you pay attention, you learn something every day.  The more I do this work, the more I learn; and the learning makes me crave the work all that much more.

I had finished with a group of entrepreneurs early, and I opened the floor for discussion.  Expecting Q&A on the material we had covered during the course of the day, I was surprised when the request was, “Tell us some stories.”  What kind of stories, I asked.  “Tell us how you got involved in the work you do today.”

This was an interesting question, because it became a kind of self exploration for me.  Without a game plan, I grabbed a marker and headed to the white board to map it all out.

Telling stories in Kazakhstan.

The short-ish version of my story is that I created a program for an NGO is Washington, DC in about 1999 called the US Market Entry Program (USMEP).  The group that approached me wanted a simple bundle of marketing communication deliverables that foreign entities could use to help them prepare for doing business in the US.  A rep in Tunisia—good friend and frequent collaborator Rym Bedoui Ayari—jumped on and sold the program to several Tunisian companies.  And though the NGO group I originally designed the program for has ceased to be, lots of others see its value and promote it through their in-country reps.  It has led me to work on USAID-funded projects in Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Tunisia and the Palestinian Territories, and allowed me to visit lots of other places, too.

I often now work as a trainer to help governments, trade organizations and companies ‘up’ their marketing game for the US and other growing market opportunities.  Recent trips include working with entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan interested in developing business relationships in the US, and abattoirs and live animal exporters in Ethiopia who want to increase their market share in the MENA region through an upcoming appearance at the 2014 Gulf Food Show in Dubai.

Working with abattoirs & live animal exporters in Ethiopia.

As I said, the explanation of the program was a journey of self discovery for me, and a validation that marketing fundamentals are still the basis for strong business growth and international development.  It also reminded me of my passion for my work, and why I do what I do.

Palestinian Delicacies

Another great Fancy Food Show in New York and another opportunity to work with some great people and fantastic products!

The AmCham Palestine, headed by Montasser Abdellatif, represented some outstanding and interesting products at this year's show.  Six companies were on the docket, including Canaan Fair Trade with their line-up of unique olive oil varietals and tapenades, Nakheel Palestine featuring dates and date products, Al-Hathnawi Trading company herbs and extracts, Al Naser Factory packaged grains, Emirates Delight Marketing and their Medjoul dates and syrups, and West Bank Salt Works adding spice to life with natural and flavored Dead Sea salt.

In addition to all of the companies manning their booths during the show, a special breakfast event featured NASFT president Ann Daw and other speakers as well as representatives from all areas of the food industry.

HMA's intrepid videographer, Steve Newton, captured highlights of the event and compiled a short video presentation which can be viewed at http://hammanmarketing.com/food-and-beverage.php or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgigLwLKm6c.  For those who would like a PDF of the pavilion brochure detailing the products and contact information, write me and it will be on the way.

Many thanks to DAI and the USAID Project Compete for their generous support.  We wish the Palestinian companies great success in their pursuit of the US market!

Our Man in Addis

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is a fascinating place filled with sights, sounds and tastes I’d never before experienced.  But the trip would have been nothing without Our Man in Addis…John Brinkhurst.

Hamman Marketing reached out for a key associate in Addis Ababa to help coordinate and manage a proposed program to promote and increase the international sales of Ethiopia’s key export, coffee.  We knew that to effectively manage the program, an in-country colleague with deep business credentials was crucial, and after a long search, are pleased to announce that John is our man.

John is an international commercial & operational business advisor, with particular emphasis and experience in support services to or within the oil & gas, mining, international supply chain, logistics and transportation sectors.  With many years based in East, West and Central Africa John speaks both French and English.  He holds an MBA and Marketing Diploma from Cranfield School of Management UK, and his career highlights include Managing Director roles in West Africa with DHL, in Azerbaijan with BP/ASCO, in Saudi Arabia with TNT and in Dubai with an Emirates/Agility joint venture.

John’s areas of expertise include start-ups and turnarounds, business development, and supply chain optimization in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Caspian regions.  Also a great fit for our coffee mission in Ethiopia.

 

John & TG

Oh, and did I mention that John is part owner in a restaurant in Addis Ababa called Hyde Park Bar and Restaurant?  On top of everything else, you can get authentic Ethiopian cuisine (and perfunctory British pub chow) there from a kitchen carefully monitored by partner Tigist Abate, or TG.  The injera TG had prepared for us—a fasting preparation without meat—was delicious!  And what a wonderful way to share a meal and get to know someone.

Injera at Hyde Park

Want to make contact with ‘Our Man in Addis'?  You can reach John by phone at +251 910 668 731, or by email at johnbrinkhurst [at] hammanmarketing.com.

Sharm El Sheikh – Tasting Egypt

I’ve had the great privilege of attending the FoodGate/FreshGate Expo in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  For two days, November 16-17, it’s been an in-depth look and taste of an amazing array of food items.   Olives, olive oil, fruits, citrus, herbs, spices, tomatoes, pickles, grains, nuts; the list goes on and on.

When it comes to mental images of Egypt, most of us think first of the Pyramids and Cleopatra.  The pyramids are still there, and I can tell you, those suckers are big!  But while the cultural and historic offerings are unbelievable rich, so too are the array of foods which seem to be a greatly kept secret.

Thanks to the great work of the Food Export Council, the Chamber of Food Industries, and with sector support from US-based NGOs like CNFA and ACDI/VOCA, Egypt’s ‘food secret’ may be released to the world as never before.  FoodGate/FreshGate is a celebration of Egypt’s bounty, and a truly international event.  Buyers from Croatia, Australia, China, and everywhere in between converged for two intensive days of meeting with some of Egypt’s top producers.

 Sharm El Sheikh is a fabulous resort area, filled with luxury hotel properties, and nestled near the tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Red Sea.  And although I found time to walk to the beach and get some Red Sea and sand in between my toes.  This was a working trip.  Perhaps next time….