Annoying NI sales calls after visiting ni.com

[Michael Aivaliotis]

I blogged recently about some great NI content. I watched some of those webinars. I also received a phone call a few days later from an NI sales person asking if I needed any help since I watched the webinar. Is it just me or is this practice down right annoying as hell. It really makes me NOT want to click on any NI content. This is not the first time this has happened. Anyone else annoyed at this?

PS. I wouldn't mind an email as much, but a phone call is over my limit.

[Francois Normandin]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 4 2008, 04:23 PM)

I blogged recently about some great NI content. I watched some of those webinars. I also received a phone call a few days later from an NI sales person asking if I needed any help since I watched the webinar. Is it just me or is this practice down right annoying as hell. It really makes me NOT want to click on any NI content. This is not the first time this has happened. Anyone else annoyed at this?

PS. I wouldn't mind an email as much, but a phone call is over my limit.

Got the same thing. It IS annoying. As if there is no way anymore to browse through some new content without getting a feedback. Foe example, I don't use FPGA's at work... but can I watch the webinar without being asked if I need help with this? It reminds me of a movie some years ago where Tom Cruise walks into a store and an hologram appears in front of him saying: "Hello M. X, last time you came here was three weeks ago and you bought a tie. Would you like a shirt to complete your outfit?"

[PaulG.]

It only happened to me recently. I usually only get an email. But if this is a trend it could get annoying very quickly. You could always try one of these.

[xtal]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 4 2008, 04:23 PM)

Anyone else annoyed at this?

YES! Consider me also annoyed. And I don't think I was doing anything more than just clicking around and looking at new products and random other things. I did NOT click on the "call me now" or other type of link.

However, that being said, NI isn't the only company that does this. I won't name names, but I was also browsing the content of another company's website and downloaded a couple of app notes. Within an hour, they were calling me and trying to do a hard sale on me. I told them I wasn't interested and was just collecting info, but I got at least 1 phone call and 1 e-mail per day for the next week. And that wasn't the most annoying part...each time I got an e-mail, they misspelled my name in a new and interesting way. If you are going to spam me to death, at least have the courtesy of spelling my name the way I typed it in the registration.

[Aristos Queue]

Hm... after hearing these comments, I'm starting to think you might not like the new "in person Clippy" that we were going to ship with the next version of LabVIEW. It's a hardware accessory -- a human-sized Add primitive with eyes, legs, arms, and, most important, a mouth. He'd hide behind your chair and every time you dropped a node from the palettes he'd jump out and say, "It looks like you're writing a VI!" It really seemed like a good idea, but you guys are making me reconsider it.

[JDave]

QUOTE (Aristos Queue @ Jun 4 2008, 01:40 PM)

Hm... after hearing these comments, I'm starting to think you might not like the new "in person Clippy" that we were going to ship with the next version of LabVIEW. It's a hardware accessory -- a human-sized Add primitive with eyes, legs, arms, and, most important, a mouth. He'd hide behind your chair and every time you dropped a node from the palettes he'd jump out and say, "It looks like you're writing a VI!" It really seemed like a good idea, but you guys are making me reconsider it.

Or you implement the next step after Express VIs, the VI Assistant. You drop something from the palette, and this little dog or paper clip appears on the screen. "It looks like you want to add numbers together! Were you also aware that you can subtract, multiply, divide, and even negate numbers? Click here for example VIs."

Of course, if you are connected to the internet you can expect a phone call shortly thereafter. "We noticed that you were building a VI to add numbers. Were you aware...?"

[PaulG.]

QUOTE (Aristos Queue @ Jun 4 2008, 04:40 PM)

... I'm starting to think you might not like the new "in person Clippy" that we were going to ship with the next version of LabVIEW. ... It really seemed like a good idea, but you guys are making me reconsider it.

Not so fast ... is she hot?

[Justin Goeres]

Add my name to the annoyed column, too, although I would probably mind less if it was a company I actually didn't know very much about. Around here, we all have kind of a skewed perspective because we're all pretty intimately familiar with ni.com and the NI product lines.

Maybe there should be a checkbox in our ni.com profiles labeled Do not EVER make a follow-up call to me based on my browsing activites at ni.com.

[crelf]

QUOTE (Justin Goeres @ Jun 4 2008, 05:17 PM)

Around here, we all have kind of a skewed perspective because we're all pretty intimately familiar with ni.com and the NI product lines.

I don't mind the calls so much, but what I do mind is the lack of 2 second profile research - I handle a lot of internal training, so I'm often looking at some basic resrouces on ni.com so I can recommend them to my staff. It's when an NI person calls me and wants to know if I'm interesting in attending a Basics I and II course in my area that I get a bit miffed. I assume that my ni.com profile has some information about my CLA, and I figure that they're looking at my profile (that's where they got my phone number from after all). This extends to the direct email marketing from NI - I think they could do a lot more in targetting - I still get emails for Basics I and II courses...

[jgcode]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 5 2008, 04:23 AM)

I blogged recently about some great NI content. I watched some of those webinars. I also received a phone call a few days later from an NI sales person asking if I needed any help since I watched the webinar. Is it just me or is this practice down right annoying as hell. It really makes me NOT want to click on any NI content. This is not the first time this has happened. Anyone else annoyed at this?

PS. I wouldn't mind an email as much, but a phone call is over my limit.

We have to think twice about sending clients/potential clients to the website due to this!

But I have to give them a pat on the back, their internal data gathering/management system is a well oiled fighting machine.

The world is so horizontal now, and they have taken advantage of it.

Can't fight it...just have to find ways to exploit it for our business, without occuring any negative effects.

[Omar Mussa]

QUOTE (crelf @ Jun 4 2008, 03:43 PM)

I still get emails for Basics I and II courses...

Aww come on, don't you want a refresher course

[PJM_labview]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 4 2008, 01:23 PM)

I blogged recently about some great NI content. I watched some of those webinars. I also received a phone call a few days later from an NI sales person asking if I needed any help since I watched the webinar. Is it just me or is this practice down right annoying as hell. It really makes me NOT want to click on any NI content. This is not the first time this has happened. Anyone else annoyed at this?

PS. I wouldn't mind an email as much, but a phone call is over my limit.

After reading your blog entry, this is actually why I did not click on any of the webinar links. I did watch a couple of webinar recently and sure enough I got the phone call. As Chris mentioned they don't seem to have much information (other than phone number, name and watched webinar) of the person they are calling.

I came to the conclusion that I will need a dummy user name and phone number for these time were I want to watch a webinar.

PJM

[crelf]

QUOTE (Omar Mussa @ Jun 4 2008, 08:07 PM)

Aww come on, don't you want a refresher course

maybe that's what they're trying to tell me...

[Ton Plomp]

Hmmm, here in the Netherlands I've never been called....

I only get calls once every month about open SRQs.

Ton

[LAVA 1.0 Content]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 4 2008, 10:23 PM)

I blogged recently about some great NI content. I watched some of those webinars. I also received a phone call a few days later from an NI sales person asking if I needed any help since I watched the webinar. Is it just me or is this practice down right annoying as hell. It really makes me NOT want to click on any NI content. This is not the first time this has happened. Anyone else annoyed at this?

PS. I wouldn't mind an email as much, but a phone call is over my limit.

This never happend to me, since I live in "little" Switzerland, I know almost al NI Switzerland Sales and Support people, and they know me as well. So they don't just call me to ask wheter I need help...

[LAVA 1.0 Content]

QUOTE (martin@aerodynamics @ Jun 5 2008, 07:09 AM)

This never happend to me, since I live in "little" Switzerland, I know almost al NI Switzerland sales and support people, and they know me as well (since I call them so much ).

So they don't just call me to ask wheter I need help, they are happy if I don't call at all...

Well...

My experience with NI people (Austin, France and Switzerland) sums up like this : very good relationship with technical people only.

Better not to comment market/sales.

Many *people* I spoke to think more or less the same.

[Jim Kring]

I took an online sample CLAD exam, recently, as a favor to someone at NI who wanted some feedback from advanced users. After I completed the exam, I started getting lots of emails from NI recommending that I sign up for LabVIEW training (even though I already have a CLA and other LabVIEW credentials). It's great that NI is giving us a personalized relationship with them, but if they don't put any effort into making it smart, then it's going harm more than it helps. :headbang:

[LAVA 1.0 Content]

QUOTE (Jim Kring @ Jun 5 2008, 09:29 AM)

I took an online sample CLAD exam, recently, as a favor to someone at NI who wanted some feedback from advanced users. After I completed the exam, I started getting lots of emails from NI recommending that I sign up for LabVIEW training (even though I already have a CLA and other LabVIEW credentials). It's great that NI is giving us a personalized relationship with them, but if they don't put any effort into making it smart, then it's going harm more than it helps. :headbang:

are you sure that you did't get those LabVIEW training mails because of your CLAD test result

[Phillip Brooks]

QUOTE (jgcode @ Jun 4 2008, 07:26 PM)

But I have to give them a pat on the back, their internal data gathering/management system is a well oiled fighting machine. The world is so horizontal now, and they have taken advantage of it.

NI is becoming The Borg.

Resistance is futile. You shall be assimilated...

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_06_2008/post-949-1212664927.gif' target="_blank">

(All your VIs is belong to us.)

[crelf]

QUOTE (Jim Kring @ Jun 5 2008, 02:29 AM)

After I completed the exam, I started getting lots of emails from NI recommending that I sign up for LabVIEW training (even though I already have a CLA and other LabVIEW credentials).

QUOTE (martin@aerodynamics @ Jun 5 2008, 06:24 AM)

are you sure that you did't get those LabVIEW training mails because of your CLAD test result

[LAVA 1.0 Content]

QUOTE (Phillip Brooks @ Jun 5 2008, 07:35 AM)

...

(All your VIs is belong to us.)

Only the ones you post to the Dark-Side (or at least that is how I read the EULA).

I never get any phone calls from NI but that could be for a number of reasons.

1) I have a "Gate-Keeper" that screens my calls.

2) All of the NI training in our region are taught by us and the Training Coordinator is generally more interested in why I refuse to take any of the candy from the office candy jar (even after she purchased Mint Three Musketeers!) (BTW: She tracks what courses students have taken and only offers the next class in the series).

Ben

[Tim_S]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 4 2008, 04:23 PM)

I blogged recently about some great NI content. I watched some of those webinars. I also received a phone call a few days later from an NI sales person asking if I needed any help since I watched the webinar. Is it just me or is this practice down right annoying as hell. It really makes me NOT want to click on any NI content. This is not the first time this has happened. Anyone else annoyed at this?

I provide information to our quoting department what hardware to use, how much it will cost and how much software will cost, so I'm on NI's website regularly using their hardware system configuration tools (which are extremely handy). The call for (sometimes each) of the four what-if scenarios gets very annoying.

QUOTE (Justin Goeres @ Jun 4 2008, 06:17 PM)

Maybe there should be a checkbox in our ni.com profiles labeled

Do not EVER make a follow-up call to me based on my browsing activites at ni.com

.

A profile flag would be an excellent idea.

[eaolson]

QUOTE (Michael_Aivaliotis @ Jun 4 2008, 03:23 PM)

PS. I wouldn't mind an email as much, but a phone call is over my limit.

I have to agree. It's stuff like this that makes me glad I always put a fake phone number in my online profiles, even for NI. Back before the Do Not Call registry, I would get a couple of calls a night and it drove me batty, so maybe I'm a bit overly sensitive. Anyway, telemarketers are teh suck.

[Jim Kring]

QUOTE (martin@aerodynamics @ Jun 5 2008, 04:24 AM)

are you sure that you did't get those LabVIEW training mails because of your CLAD test result

Well, Martin, I was trying (with much restraint) to be modest by not mentioning it, but since you asked...

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_06_2008/post-17-1212682614.png' target="_blank">

[crelf]

QUOTE (Jim Kring @ Jun 5 2008, 11:21 AM)

Well, Martin, I was trying (with much restraint) to be modest by not mentioning it, but since you asked...

Yeah - it's amazing what you can do with Photoshop these days...