WHEN A BLOG CAMPAIGN GOES WRONG: SAMS CLUB DID NOT DO THEIR JOB
I have been wrestling with myself for weeks on whether or not I should disassociate myself with the Sam’s Club Sharing the Saving Group I had been a part of since 2009. I blogged about my excitement with being selected to be apart of their blogging program and ran plenty of giveaways to promote their Holiday Made Simple Campaigns.
When I dedicate myself to a company, I DEDICATE myself. I give them 110% of me.
It is beyond discouraging when a company such as Sam’s Club doesn’t return that type of dedication back to the bloggers that they had chosen to work with. I put my all into being the best for this program because this was the first time I had been chosen to work with a company and represent their brand. Even when things went embarrassingly bad for me during one of these promotions, I still overlooked it the negatives and highlighted only the positives. Again, because I was excited to be working with a company that I had been a loyal consumer to BEFORE they even approached me.
Even when I had a bad experience, instead of blogging about it and ranting and raving, I approached the PR company that was handling the campaign first for clarification.
This is what I posted about my experience:
I have to say that today has been THE MOST embarrassed I have been at any store. I attended the Taste of Sam’s event yesterday and today. On Saturday I forgot my camera, so I returned today with my camera and shopping list in tow.
I was walking around the store, adding things to my cart and taking pictures of ONLYmy sons when three managers accosted me. They asked me what I was doing. I then proceeded to tell them about the Sharing the Savings program and my part in the Holidays Made Simple program. They just looked at me with blank stares. So I added in more information about the eValue program and how I was writing an article for my website.
After that, they told me that I was making their customers feel uncomfortable and they asked that I delete the pictures that I had taken immediately. I then tried to explain to them that I had only taken pictures of my sons, no one else was included in the pictures. Not a body part. Not a sleeve. Nothing. Just my sons.
Finally, they just asked that I take the items that I had and proceed to the check out lane. I wasn’t even finished shopping yet. I was COMPLETELY embarrassed. None of the customers surrounding me were offended or uncomfortable. In the end I was offended and uncomfortable, as well as embarrassed.
They actually told me that they had never heard of such a program and I must be lying. Seriously? Who would make up such a lie.
The odd thing? On my way out the door I passed the electronic section and on EVERY television there was the Taste of Sam’s commercial playing and a HUGE eValues poster next to the televisions. I seriously have never been so embarrassed in my life.
I had to finish my grocery shopping at Publix.
I am BEYOND embarrassed and don’t know how to handle this situation. I am suppose to make a post on my experience but I don’t even want to begin to write this up and share it with my readers. What am I suppose to do about my Taste of Sam’s post?
It was only then that I found out that our local branches of the Sam’s Club warehouse weren’t even contacted to inform them of our participation in the program. One simple phone call to the management team, before the program even started, would have changed my entire experience and caused me not to be embarrassed in the store in front of not only strangers, but my sons. Nothing was done about this.
Even after this experience, I still choose to work with Sam’s Club and finish out the campaign.Not because of the program itself, but for the simple fact that I would have ended up shopping there anyways as I have held a membership with them for almost two years proceeding this debacle.
Fast forward, and my decision was finalized for me this week. When yet another token of irresponsibility and lack of organization caused me to miss out on two campaigns that I would have love to participate in. Without getting into a long, drawn out detailed post I’ll sum it up for you:
I was suppose to participate in two campaigns running for the month of May/June. Gift cards were sent to an incorrect address, an address I had updated months prior to this campaign even being started. The gift cards were signed for by the people at the residence, even though my name was on the FedEx envelope. I’m assuming the gift cards are being used as well. Therefore, because of their error I am punished.
I NEVER thought that I would be the one to have a bad experience with any brand/company/store. Especially one that I had been dedicated to for quite a long time. Do I know that Sam’s Club is aware of the way that the PR firm is handling their campaigns? I’m not sure. I’m going to say that for the benefit of the doubt, they aren’t aware of the carelessness in which their campaigns are being handled.
These two instances are only a few circumstances in which unprofessionalism was modeled during this campaign. I have expressed concern on several occassions and throughout this program I have been told that emails may have been “lost in the process.”
I know that not every blogger participating in this campaign will share my experience, my thoughts, or my opinions.
I am not speaking for anyone else. I am speaking for myself and I feel as if the way that I was handled was wrong. Sharing my concerns with the firm did nothing for me. It helped me in no way and I am just really saddened that I had to discontinue my participation in the program because valid concerns have refused to be heard.
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I’M ON TWITTER
Oh wow, what a crazy experience that must have been! The sad thing is, I can totally see it happening. I worked as a photojournalist for my local newspaper for a year, and let me tell you, people can become very paranoid and nervous when they see someone taking photos and they don’t know what’s going on!
It’s too bad that there wasn’t better communication, but it sounds like you did your best to make it work.
Here’s to new opportunities!
So you decided to post, good for you! This is your blog, therefore it should reflect your views and opinions. Plus, sometimes it feels good to get stuff off your chest! Round of applause for keeping it real
I am glad you decided to post about it. It is honest and real.No one will know if nothing is ever said. We only kid ourselves if we beleive “every” single encounter with companies are great ones. Personally I have worked with a few PR companies who have left a bad taste in my mouth. Most of the time I am pretty sure the company has no idea what is being done in the name of their company. Not all companies are this way but it can be real shame for those that have no idea.
Dear 1stopmom,
I agree with you 100%. I have worked with several PR companies that I won’t work with again, only because of the treatment that I received. (I’m sure plenty of bloggers have plenty of horror stories. I have received quite a few emails from bloggers since I published this telling me theirs.)I wouldn’t have been so upset if we were only given one way in which to contact this company. But we were given several ways and still there was disorganization and miscommunication.
Also, there are several experienced bloggers that this PR firm could have came to for advice on how to make this campaign better, but they didn’t.
I feel as if Sam’s Club should have bridged the gap a little bit more between themselves and who was running the campaign. I just hated that the issues couldn’t have been resolved before I had to step down. I love Sam’s Club, just not the program.
Take care,
Shynea
Cannot even imagine your humiliation. Glad you stood up for yourself.
Wow. I just don’t get it. The campaigns I’ve been involved in have been professionally run. I’m sorry yours wasn’t, and I admire you for posting about it.
I’m sorry that happened to you! I have seen tons of miscommunication between corporate and local it’s amazing, thanks for telling us all what happened.
money is GREEN and there’s power in money your blog is your blog and your opinion helps alot of us that support these companies… i was a huge fan of sams but i have not renewed my card because i was not a huge shopper anyway i do like some of their things in bulk…. but i’m single so it’s not necessary that i shop there all the time there are dollar stores where i get alot of my stuff anyway….. but just remember money is green and you make a choice when we shop to support or not support you did the right thing……
I am so sorry to hear about this ordeal.
That’s so irresponsible for any company BUT especially for a major corporation like Sam’s. They need to get it together and realize word of mouth can make or break any company.
Andrea,
I know that Sam’s Club probably won’t even be affected by my post. I just felt like finally getting out what was going on behind the scenes. I also want to give Sam’s Club the benefit-of-the-doubt and say that they didn’t know what was going. (Because I have heard that once a company turns their campaign over to a PR firm, they only stay in contact with the firm as opposed to the bloggers.) I was just extremely disappointed by the whole ordeal.
I agree strongly about word-of-mouth. I have stopped buying a few products just because of the reviews that I have read on websites. Blogging is just like word-of-mouth, only magnified because some blogs reach a lot more people then just one disgruntled person telling a few of her friends.
Take care,
Shynea
What a shame! I hope this brings the truth to light.
Thanks for spreading the word about your negative experience. Hopefully it will help other companies wishing to partner with bloggers.
Glad you wrote this, Shynea. It is really bad when companies act unprofessionally and have no communication about what is going on internally. Major FAIL on Sam’s Club part.
Dear Kadi,
Thank you for the response. I had this post sitting in drafts because I was speculating on whether or not my “voice” mattered. In the end, I didn’t care, because even if only a few people read what I had to say, I felt good about getting it off of my chest.
I feel sorry for Sam’s Club if they don’t know how their bloggers campaign is being ran. I really do, because I have a feeling that if some things in the program aren’t changed there will be a few more sour bloggers besides myself.
Take care,
Shynea
I do not understand (or agree with) the people who say that bloggers should never write negative posts, especially when the blogs are shopping related! I strive not to be disrespectful toward companies, but I also want my readers to be well informed about the companies they purchase from. What you’ve written here is not at all unreasonable. I hope that Sam’s Club takes note. I would have been so humiliated if I were put in that situation! It’s so frustrating when one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing in large companies. I run into that a lot in my small-town area…printable coupons at Walmart immediately spring to mind. I wrote a rather scathing post about my favorite grocery store a long time ago, and that actually led to very positive things for both of us! They responded and apologized, which really impressed my readers (and their customers), and they started to reach out to bloggers more. I think that as long as they are being honest and respectful, bloggers should write what they want!
Girl, brush it off, their lost!!!
Sounds like there was a misunderstanding on both your and the company’s part. I’m sure the club was freaked out by someone they didn’t know running around snapping photos. They should have been told you would be there – that is the fault of the PR agency or your Club contact.
I agree with Michelle, move on.
Dear Jennifer,
There was NO misunderstanding on my part, so I fail to understand where you get that assumption from. The point of this entire post was to showcase how we, as bloggers, were given several different venues in order to get in contact with the PR firm running this campaing. Phoneumbers, email and a private forum. If I am using ALL THREE OF THESE FORUMS, please explain to me where my misunderstanding came from. BEFORE we even began this campaign, we were instructed to take pictures and/or video in our local stores as it would have been okay. The PR FIRM told us this themselves. I didn’t find out until AFTERWARDS that the PR firm didn’t contact ANY of our local stores to ask for permission, even though they asked us which store we would be shopping at to complete our posts and giveaways.
A misunderstanding on my part. I THINK NOT. Lack of organization and communication on theirs. BLATANTLY OBVIOUS.
As far as your creative choice of words “running around snapping pictures.” I took a total of two pictures. So I hardly call that running around and a cause in which they would need to be freaked.
Believe me, I am moving on, but not before I tell others how I was treated and hopefully help other companies who wish to work with other bloggers how NOT to run their blogging campaigns.
Take care,
Shynea
P.S. BTW, I am very good at what I do and I understand that misunderstandings will arise. But when we are told one thing, and something else is done then that is the PR firms fault and Sam’s Club fault for not setting things straight. Also, I’m excellant at tracking IPs and I love the fact where your IP address is coming from. I would advise not to comment so rudely from work again.
LOL, Shynea, you go girl! I love it! You ARE good at what you do!
But I don’t really think Jennifer was being THAT rude, just opinionated, which is fairly reasonable to anyone with their own opinions to share. (which maybe some shouldn’t be shared)
Dear Jennifer,
Oh, I can take others opinions. Everyone doesn’t have to agree with me.
But I don’t think Wal-Mart would think to kindly of their employees speaking on behalf of them. That’s all I was saying. I contacted Sam’s Club corporate office, and I doubt that they would respond in a comment as opposed to an email or a phone call. 
Take care,
Shynea
I have had employees comment on my posts many times. I don’t mind at all, but I do expect them to disclose their connection to the company they represent. If they don’t, I embarrass them by disclosing it for them. I think I’ve made a couple people feel very silly after they posted gushing “customer” reviews of their own companies.
Dear Jen,
LOL You are too funny. I think I should make a special post dedicated to my Wal-Mart commenter. I’m about to do some research on the privacty of posting IP’s and then I’m going to have at it. I have screen caps of her multiple visits as well. This could be an interesting post…
Take care,
Shynea
I agree with michelle…its their lost..move forward.
Keep the other posts coming.
Sam’s Club should fix their problems with the PR firm, how embarrassing for THEM too!
With such a huge chain, I’m surprised, but yet not.
I don’t have a Sam’s Club near me, but if I did, I’d boycot them for you. Thats BAD business!
How absolutely embarrassing! I don’t know if I could have continued the campaign after that first episode!!
Wow, I can just imagine the conversation you had with your kids afterwards! What an awkward situation.
Makes me wonder how the PR firms and companies handle the Whrll stories that many bloggers are doing now.
Apparently I’m the “odd one” because I don’t get why ANYONE would be uncomfortable with a mom taking pictures of her kid OR a woman taking pictures of food in her cart! I take pics of my kids anywhere and everywhere if they are being cute. These managers should be suspended without pay for a few days, maybe that will teach them how to treat someone with respect!
Lee
You know, you’re absolutely right! Now that I think of it, I have taken pictures of my son while shopping in Sam’s Club, and I have Facebook friends who have done the same. I would never think twice about pulling out my camera or camera phone in a store if he was being cute, unless of course there was a sign prohibiting that, which I don’t believe there is in Sam’s Club. This whole thing is just so ridiculous!
Dear Jen,
There was no sign anywhere in my Sam’s Club saying that photos were prohibited. I have taken pictures of my sons in both stores and restaurants and no one bombarded me like the employees at Sam’s Club. What’s even worse? The PR firm is suppose to facilitate a relationship between the bloggers and the company and they failed miserably.
I think as moms it’s only natural that we want to capture our children’s cutest moments, regardless of where we are.
Take care,
Shynea
Can you contact somebody about the way you were treated at Sam’s Club? That is just SO wrong! I can’t believe they intimidated you like that – you should never treat a customer like that. Let alone a BLOGGER! lol
Lol Lee I’m the same way. I can’t tell you how many photos I’ve taken even with just my camera phone. If I think it’s funny/cute/or even just like it I take a photo lol!
Shynea,
I applaud you for posting about your experience. If no one from the PR company or corporate returned your calls or emails to discuss this prior to your posting about it, then they didn’t see it as a problem.
Most, if not all, major stores have policies prohibiting taking photographs in their stores. If the situation occurred as you described, which I have no reason to believe otherwise, then management surely went overboard. A simple polite conversation and possibly a phone call could have easily allowed you to be on your way.
I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty that neither WalMart nor Sam’s Club would have a random employee commenting on blogs as a means of official corporate communication. Both companies are well-oiled machines. Likely they hired a PR company to carry out a campaign and it wasn’t executed well (at least in your market). That’s unfortunate. But, at the same time it’s a risk they took when hiring individuals to share their experiences b/c there is always the risk of someone having a bad experience.
If you feel that someone is using corporate systems to attack your site, you should definitely contact the company directly. Bring it to their attention in a friendly manner, as they will not likely appreciate a rogue employee creating negative PR for them.
An official company employee would contact you privately to discuss your experience and what they can do to rectify the situation.
Don’t engage this person commenting on your site. You’re only fueling their fire and it will only take you down to their level.
Sara,
I agree with you when you said that a company wouldn’t have an employee contact me via a comment on my website. I think it was an employee jumping the gun, but not knowing the ins-and-outs of IPs, stats and trackers. I did contact corporate and they are very disgruntled that an employee would even attempt to take matters into their own hands.
I was also contacted by Sam’s Club via email and have set up a conference call with them. If anything, I hope to provide them with some information on how to better run their campaigns, as I still know women on the team who I admire and wouldn’t dare want one of them to be treated this way.
As far as the employee, herself along with the pr firm have just been continuously checking this post. I’m assuming to read the new comments as they are clicking out to my commentors websites.
Take care,
Shynea
Wow, what a mess girl! Good for you for standing up for yourself.
I had a similar but not as humiliating experience when I was shopping at Walmart (of course thats the same company as Sams) with a friend and we were took a couple of goofy pictures of our kids making silly faces. We were immediately told no pictures were allowed in the store and they acted like we were nuts. As a mom of little kids I have a camera handy whenever they do cute things and I was shocked to be reprimanded!
Dear Heather,
This is what I found to be weird as well. We are in a day and age where technology is present everywhere. Hence the reason for smartphones; so you can stay connected to the internet in many different facets. I see mother’s everywhere snapping pictures of their children because it’s in the heat of the moment, when you aren’t thinking of anything but your child, you want to capture whatever it is they are doing. But for a group of people to accost me over two photos, I was beyond shocked.
Companies should be a little more knowledgeable with the PR firms that they hire and do a little more research on their trach record as to putting together blog ambassadors, because in the end the corporation gets the negative feedback instead of the PR firm they hired.
Take care,
Shynea
I’m glad you posted this. There are other stores who don’t like pictures taken in them, so when you do a campaign you have to be stealthy or take pictures of the products one you get home. If these stores are wanting PR firms to run social media campaigns, they need to communicate to all levels what is happening. Communication is always key.
Dear Amanda,
I agree with you 100% on communication and this PR firm lacked this immensely. Hopefully they are cleaning up the program to make it easier for the bloggers that they are working with.
Take care,
Shynea
What a shame that they dropped the ball on this. What is the point of doing a blogger outreach, then ignoring the bloggers concerns.
This just doesn’t make good business sense.
Good for you girl! I am proud you stood up. Even one tiny voice pointed in the right direction can cause a major noise! word of mouth is so important in today’s corporate .. and I would think even a company as large as Wal-mart/Sam’s club, would have someone watching over any & all sales campaigns going on. I would think there should be a 3rd connection to the Corp. exactly for situations like this. It would cause a lot fewer headaches, and they would save money by getting rid of the PR firms they hired that are not doing their part correctly.
I sure hope that you here directly from Sam’s/Wal-mart corp directly to fix this.
Your article is very to the point that you are not out to give them a bad name, you just want it brought to their attention & and get it fixed! and not just for blogging but for the treatment of a customer… if they treat more customers by rushing them out the door, publicly, they will have less customers that will shop there.
I am so sorry you had to go through this, esp in front of your kids!
just sad…
Well i was thinking of renewing my card. Maybe i won’t. I guess they thought you were a terriost from another country or something.Shame,Shame on sams for acting so dog gone ugly.
It does sound like a lack of communication here. If you can’t take pictures in a store then they should have told you that up front. When I’m working with a PR agency I always ask before I go to the store if I can take photos. Most of the time they say no, or that I need to tell the manager the situation when I get there. Then they can call and verify the story if they need to.
I’m surprised that they made you leave though, instead of just asking you to put your camera away. That does seem strange to me.
I do not understand (or agree with) the people who say that bloggers should never write negative posts, especially when the blogs are shopping related! I strive not to be disrespectful toward companies, but I also want my readers to be well informed about the companies they purchase from. What you’ve written here is not at all unreasonable. I hope that Sam’s Club takes note. I would have been so humiliated if I were put in that situation! It’s so frustrating when one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing in large companies. I run into that a lot in my small-town area…printable coupons at Walmart immediately spring to mind. I wrote a rather scathing post about my favorite grocery store a long time ago, and that actually led to very positive things for both of us! They responded and apologized, which really impressed my readers (and their customers), and they started to reach out to bloggers more. I think that as long as they are being honest and respectful, bloggers should write what they want!
+1
So sorry you had such a terrible experience.
wow that was beyond rude of the Sams club employees. Sorry you went through that
Wow! I’m so glad you shared your experience. I’m in Canada so we don’t have a Sam’s Club (that I know of) but if I were a US blogger? I’d be thinking twice. It would make me INSANE knowing my gift cards went to someone else, and the PR company wouldn’t do anything about it. The way you were treated IN store was ridiculous as well.
Wow that is just not the way to run a campaign. I know me as a mom, like all the other moms on here have stated, I will snap pictures of my kids whenever I want to. Is there top secret stuff in Sam’s Club that can’t be a picture taken off. Maybe one of those awesome looking hot tubs they have way up high.. or at least they did 3 years ago.
I’m glad you quit them, and I’m glad you did this post.
They are wrong on so many levels and yet another reason I will not shop with this store.
Hello!! I work at sams and I understand.. I am soooooo sorry about that. I will apologize for what that store did to you.. I hope you will not think that of all sams associates..