i had a small question about the Customer Referral Promotion mentioned in an announcement thread. i certainly cannot say that i speak for anyone else - but who chose the "fleece vest" as a reward for referring individuals to the Rio car product line?

Please don't misunderstand me... i'm not saying that the vest looks like it's an inferior product. i'm sure it's really warm and has high-quality stitching... but come on -- promotional clothing? That sort of just gives me a little bit of a bad feeling down in my lower spine. it's very much what i'd call a "big corporation" style of marketing promotion.

What about a reward gift that could be, you know... good? i mean, just as an example, what about offering one or two free colored faceplates? i could imagine that there might be enough of a surplus around the office to make that even more cost-effective than the fleece vests as rewards go, and (once again - i do not speak for any other user) it could be more well-received than promotional clothing.

Ah well, just a thought i had that probably didn't need to be posted here. And, of course, this certainly hasn't stopped me from talking up my empeg to all those who see or hear it. Given a little time, i think i could start to turn out at least two or three new customers per year.

Thank you for making such quality product and for continually offering support and good will to the user community!

- Dixieland
MK1 : 6 GB : s/n 00246
MK2 : 16 GB : s/n 080000348

I looked at it more like it's great that they are giving anything at all. If I refer someone to go buy a volkswagen I don't get anything. I think the problem is people don't seem to think of empeg as a business and they treat it like something run out of someone's basement as a hobby.

32Gig MK2 In 2001 VW Golf TDI

Sorry you don't like the item on offer. I believe the idea was Steve's - co-founder of empeg and now Automotive Product Line Manager at Rio.

The fleece costs a lot more money than a set of coloured screens, but the idea was to come up with something absolutely unique. Most owners already have coloured screens if they want them.

If you plan to refer someone and you want a set of screens instead of the fleece, that's fine with me, just say so in your email.

Rob

I think the fleece is a very "empeg" orientated idea (even though it says Rio on it!). For a different product, Rio might have given away a backpack or some headphones or something - but we wanted an item that reflects the community aspect of the product. A unique item of clothing seemed to fit the bill.

Rob

Personally, I think the fleece is great.

I think Dixieland was trying to say that it seemed "Dilbert-esque". You know, like when your department manager rewards performance by giving away coffee mugs with the company logo on it. (As opposed to a raise or a bonus.)

But everyone here on the BBS knows that the empeg/Rio folks aren't like that.

___________
Tony Fabris

The fleece costs a lot more money than a set of coloured screens, but the idea was to come up with something absolutely unique. Most owners already have coloured screens if they want them.

Though this would defeat the uniqueness of that fleece, I would still like to be able to order it without refering someone. I just don't know anyone I could refer.

cu,
sven



proud MkII owner (12GB blue/green/smoked, #080000113)

whee! colored panels for me - as soon as i take more people out in my truck and talk their ears off about the empeg and how great it is. =)

and, please, i'll just say again that i certainly don't think that the fleece was sub-par or a bad idea... i guess the "Dilbert" comment was more in-line with mythough process when i made my post.

- Dixieland
MK1 : 6 GB : s/n 00246
MK2 : 16 GB : s/n 080000348

I think clothing has greater applicability than extra panels. Not everyone needs extra panels, and most people who do have already ordered them. Even if you don't need clothing, it's easy enough to gift to to someone else.

"I think clothing has greater applicability than extra panels. Not everyone needs extra panels, and most people who do have already ordered them. Even if you don't need clothing, it's easy enough to gift to to someone else."

Agreed ('course this is allowing for the fact that you can't *really* get extra panels yet...) I think that the muy exclusivo fleece is about as motivating as one could wish. If only my technically-oriented friends hadn't gotten absorbed in rug rats before they were able to talks their spouses into a high-end MP3 player! I may have to put a bumper sticker on... "Ask me about my RioCar!" (Hmmmm....one confounder here is that I don't really want my less trustworthy neighbors to know that I have an Empeg or that I'm the kind of disposable-income guy who can afford one. I envision returning from a 3-week trip to find my place cleaned out...Still want that fleece, though!)

Jim

I never thought that I would like the free T-shirt, but here it is almost the end of summer and I wear mine regularly. It is wearing out now ha ha. I think the fleece is a good idea too, maybe we could collect some compensation for being a "walking" billboard?? :)

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2