Party Limo Service

[AuntyEm]

Am wondering how rude I was...

I received a sales call introducing a "car service" that was interested in doing business with our company.  We are an international consulting business with lots of airport back and forth and occasional people from overseas offices.  Thought it might be a good alternative to a taxi at the right price.  I asked her to email me their information.

I received an email which basically consisted of lots of bad pictures of huge stretch Humvee and limos--the kind people rent for bachelor parties or kids rent for the prom etc.  Lots of partying/drunk pictures and no real information about the company other than they had been IN BUSINESS FOR 25 YEARS!!!

I sent back an email saying that I had looked through the material and had a few suggestions for what it was worth if they were trying to market to a business:

1.  Show pictures of regular business type cars.
2.  Lose the pictures of the drunken bachelorette party in the stretch limo.
3.  Include a price list.

Was this helpful or just mean?  Some times I just get so annoyed by this stuff.

[Oh Joy]

I wouldn't have told them how to run their business.

I might have told them that we're considering using an understated professional service for airport and other corporate transportation, but that it appears they provide only specialty vehicles for celebration events.

[Yvaine]

I would guess the pitch probably wasn't even targeted that specifically to your business. They're just throwing their advertising at a wall to see what sticks, like the copier toner salespeople who call everybody. I doubt feedback will change them any.

[Hmmmmm]

I wouldn't have gave them that much feedback.  But a "we are looking for a company that targets businesses and the material you sent implied you focus more on social or private customers."

[still in va]

I wouldn't have told them how to run their business.

I might have told them that we're considering using an understated professional service for airport and other corporate transportation, but that it appears they provide only specialty vehicles for celebration events.

i'm not sure that i see the feedback as telling them how to run their business...more the reasons why that company won't be getting business from AuntyEm's company.  if this limo service is looking to expand into the corporate world, it would be a good thing to have two difference sets of advertising material; one corporate, one celebrations. 

i do like your wording, though.

[bopper]

There is nothing wrong with giving them feedback...they are free to ignore it or take it.

[O'Dell]

Your feedback may or may not help. Who knows? I don't think it was the most helpful way to word it...their ads might work well in some businesses.

If you were actually interested in a service like this, it might have been better a more tactful to state what you are looking for and to ask if they have anything like that. If they are flexible, that prod them in another direction. Or they can tell you that they don't and you can look elsewhere.