26 January 2007
Two things happened yesterday, quite by chance, that got me thinking about good business and bad business.First, the bad business. Last evening I got a note from a kind fella (thanks Matt) letting me know that someone was using Semantic to support an forum scam. Here's how the post begins:
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Pioneer DVD-V555 DVD Player.......$350usd
Name & Registered Office:
SEMANTIC LIMITED
2 VENTURE ROAD
SOUTHAMPTON SCIENCE PARK
SOUTHAMPTON
HAMPSHIRE SO16 7NP
Company No. 03820499
SEMANTIC LIMITED bring to your noitice there price listing
for the following brand of phones andPlasma tv ,DVD,and xmas
selling lead belowing buy 5 get 1 free or bulk buyer are getting a
free sony dell laptop.all the mobile we sell is in stock and they
are brand new,unlock,sim free.with even guaranty.our mode of
shippment is FEDEX COURIER COMPANY,they will deliver packages to
you at your door step.which will take just 48 hours.we will be glad
to hear from you in details about what we offer.here is the
available phones listing as listed below....
FOR YOU TO BUY AND GET MORE INFORMATION DO CONTACT US
AT.....
E-mail:
semakltd@yahoo.co.uk
semaklimited@hotmail.com
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And on it goes with a long list of available phones, dvd players, games and televisions that are also available, along with prices. Just email "semaltd@yahoo.co.uk". I mean, come on.
I'd like to think that there is no one out there who would fall for this, but that in no way dampens my anger that someone is using our name to try to con people. We are looking into what action we can take, but in the meantime we are just going to have to be smart and remember a few simple rules.
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
2. If an email asks you for your user name and password, it's a scam.
3. If the spelling and grammar is this bad, it's a scam.
4. If the girl just wants to meet for "talkings", it's a scam :-)
5. If someone is trying to sell you something you didn't ask for, it's a scam... or at the very least a waste of your time.
And remember, although the Internet offers these morons the opportunity to steal from other people, it also offers us a way of beating them. Bottom line, if you aren't sure about something take 60 seconds and do some research. Anyone typing Semantic Limited into a search engine would very quickly discover that we don't (sadly) have any Apple iPhones, or any other consumer electronics, to sell. Sorry.
And now to the good business.
Over the weekend my lovely wife brought home a couple of Innocent smoothies for the kids to try... part of our ongoing project of getting good food into the kids.
Of course they tasted great... but the thing I really loved (sad man that I am) was the packaging. It was great... quirky, funny, knowledgeable.
We've talked before about businesses that speak with a human voice... and Innocent is the best example of this I've seen in a long time. I was sold before I had a taste of the drink... because speaking with a human voice is exactly what we are trying to do all the time at Semantic.
So I was surprised and interested when a report about exploding Innocent drinks turned up on the news. How would the company speak in person.
The answer, as it turned out, was very human indeed. One of the founders of the company came on, explained that there had been a problem with one of there batches, that they removed them from the shelves as soon as the issue was discovered, and that they would happily make amends to anyone who had slipped through the net. The phrase he used was something like, "we would love the chance to make things right."
Contrast that with those guys who pretend to be something they aren't in order to steal from others. Which kind of business do you want to be in?
Posted by Nick Warren at 1:00 AM
