The Heart Wrencher: A True Life Story
I get all kinds of wonderful communications from readers. Many of them are from people who will ask me about ingredients or general skin care input, or more serious skin and hair care challenges. Some are from folks wanting to sign up as testers, and a few are from bloggers looking to review my products.
Today's post is about a particularly heart-wrenching letter.
The Order
This was an unusually long communication that came through the order form on my website. The woman described her skin problem in detail and asked for recommendations on which products would be best for her. She requested help in 'translating' the (Danish) prices on my website as she did not understand them. She continued and described an additional problem she had been struggling with for years – hair loss. Her combination of skin and hair problems had brought her mood down to the point where she was constantly depressed.My heart went out to her. Anyone having to struggle with so many issues at once couldn't help but feel low. The fact that she had taken the time to share so much of her personal life in such detail indicated to me that she was at the end of her rope.
The Reply
I spent well over 2 hours answering her in detail. Realizing full well that she would be looking at a small fortune if she ordered the amount of my products she had shown interest in, I drew up a 'less is more' skin care regimen for her that consisted of several DIY solutions that would not break her budget.Links to how-to's and detailed explanations were included so she had something to start with immediately. I gave her price examples on a few of my products and assured her I would do my utmost to help her find a solution that would get her skin, hair, and mood back on track.
The next day I received her reply. It was quite short.
The Rude Awakening
"I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood. I am interested in reviewing your products for my beauty blog. I already have a strong online presence...."She went on to explain that she was a professional writer and offered her writing services to others.
Hmmm.
I went back to re-read her initial communication. Maybe I had missed something.
Nope. There was no mention of reviewing products, blogs or anything else of that nature. Her communication read just like an order from a customer who was at her wits end and wanted advice and guidance.
Be Civil, Lise
I wrote her back, keeping a polite tone:"Thanks for your quick reply. There definitely does seem to be some kind of misunderstanding here.
Could you give me a link to your beauty blog?
Meantime, please visit the info page on my blog and check out the section about bloggers looking to review my products.
The Ultimate Slap in The Face
Later that day, I got her reply.
"The beauty blog isn't up yet. I am starting it this week. I already have one other person who is going to send me some of her products so I thought I would review hers and possibly yours and go from there."
Ok. Now we can react.
EXCUSE ME??!!
Pulled The Wool, She Did....
I feel cheated by this person. She deliberately mislead me and in doing so, stole not only a chunk of my time, but my compassion. A professional writer? Absolutely. She knew exactly what she was doing from the get go.
I didn't answer her back. Instead, I wrote this blog post.
And, a few words from now, she will be utterly and completely 'blog-posted' out of my system.
Going.
Going.
Gone.
Ahhhh.
Ahhhh.
Do Tell
Have you ever been deliberately mislead by someone? What did you do?
Comments
I know it's not uncommon for people to try and get things for free, but most of the people who approach me for samples are very straightforward about it. Fair enough.
What really threw me for a loop with this person was her deliberate deceit. In my book, that's just downright rotten.
person...
i can't think of a time where i've been deliberately misled, but this kind of reminds me of being the nice girl with a car in college. sometimes people just don't realize that a burrito (or other cheap meal) may cover gas, but probably doesn't cover the driver's time.
Good on you for not letting it get to you, I personally would have a hard time with that and would have told her off with big words I'm afraid :-o
Generally, I dont get the "I'm a blogger so give me free stuff and I'll write a review". Yeah right, most of the time what's written is not a review but a description you could find on the product website. I don't understand why companies find it necessary to send their products to so many so-called beauty bloggers.
Let me end by thanking you for the information you provide for all of us - free of charge - your blog is one of the few I check regulary.
I know what you mean about ending up as the driver for people because you are the only one in the crowd with a car. Part of you thinks 'well, i have a car and they don't. It would be rude of me to say no' and another part thinks 'SometimesI wish I didn't have this dang car'-
Stor knus fra mig!
I have trouble blogging with just what I have! LOL Time and effort is what it takes to blog. Getting "free" stuff which isn't free since it is mandatory to make time and effort is work.
I guess some people use blogging as an excuse to get free stuff. I think I use blogging as an excuse to buy stuff! ;-)
Don't let one person discourage you from caring about the plight of others.
Leave a link to your blog? I'd love to check it out.
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. If that ever happen to me, maybe I would turn into an Incredible Hulk, LOL! It is frustrating to have to spend some time to answer the request, etc. and in the end the only thing that they want is free stuff. I'm impressed at how you handle things like that. Thumbs up! :)
Sincerely,
Zan.