Memo to Groupon: 'Hurry, This Deal Expires Soon'

PointCast . . . Yahoo! . . . Groupon??

Insiders say a tentative deal was struck in which News Corp. would acquire PointCast for $450 million. But before the papers could be drafted, issues surfaced over PointCast's revenue projections and the price tag, insiders say. The offer simply went away.

--"PointCast, The Rise and Fall of an Internet Star" ; Bloomberg BusinessWeek (April 26, 1999)

So, apparently Groupon's founders have passed -- for the time being -- on Google's $6 billion buyout offer ("Groupon's Sales Price: No Bargain?").

Owning shares in neither Google nor Groupon, I "don't have a dog in this fight," as they say.

Nevertheless, it's hard not to draw historical parallels with earlier technology trailblazers like PointCast and Yahoo!

In both cases, each company attracted -- and rejected -- rich takeover offers from much, much larger but behind-the-curve players (News Corp., Microsoft) who viewed an acquisition as a way to leapfrog competitors.

When PointCast and Yahoo! overplayed their hands, the deals went away -- and so did their (momentary) industry-leading positions.

Driving home the point: an email in my inbox just this morning, whose subject line trumpeted: "Hurry! This deal expires soon - 80% off Cleaning, Exam, and X-rays!"

Groupon?

Try, Angie's List.

(Can you say, "low barriers to entry??").

P.S.: On a personal note . . . want to know why Yahoo! named its (now-defunct) monthly magazine "Yahoo! Internet Life?"

Yahoo! approached yours truly in 1997 about buying Off-Line, my copyrighted newsletter covering online Investor Relations at the time.

I declined.

As they say, "Oops!"

(I never did find out how much it was worth to them. I suppose it's possible the answer was, "not very much").

Thanks, Technical Reinforcements!

Now, THAT's Service

One of the biggest emergencies a Realtor can have is to have scheduled showings and a waiting client -- and no way to get into homes because their SmartKey is malfunctioning.

That wasn't quite my predicament late this afternoon -- my showings are scheduled for tomorrow morning -- but close enough.

James Allard at Technical Reinforcements arranged to be available by phone at 7:30 p.m. tonight, and remotely walked me through a problem with my proxy server setting ("proxy server what??") in less than 10 minutes.

Problem solved, showings saved.

Total cost?

$0 -- Technical Reinforcements doesn't charge existing clients (I am) for phone support.

All the company asks for in return is some positive word of mouth.

Done!

P.S.: the service I got was no fluke: Technical Reinforcements is the top-rated company on Angie's List locally for "Computer Repair & Services."

Client Kudos on Angie's List

"Ross was Great to Work With"

One of the nicest things that can happen to a Realtor is a client who thinks you're the best.

What's even better?

An appreciative client who tells the world!

Here's what Emily, who relocated from Chicago to Minneapolis, wrote about me on Angie's List:

Ross did a great job communicating with us, even though we weren't in town. Emails, scanned documents, phone calls, etc. And every trip that we made to Minneapolis, he made time for us without any trouble.

The house we bought was a foreclosure, and with all the difficulties of this, Ross stepped up and made it all go off without a hitch. We've recommended Ross to anyone who's looking for a Realtor without hesitation. We had an amazing experience and couldn't have been happier. We've kept in touch with him and he's come by to see all the work we did on our house. Don't hesitate to get in touch with Ross if you're looking to buy or sell!

Hard to top that!

Thanks, Emily and Ian -- you were both great to work with, too!

Realtor Referrals -- "Outgoing"

Payback (The Good Kind)

I suppose that there are some people out there who hesitate to give out referrals for fear that a favorite contractor will somehow forsake them if they ever become too busy or popular.

I find just the opposite is true.

Once someone comes to see me as a steady source of referrals, I find that I jump to the front of their list.

So what kinds of people do I refer, and to whom?

Stagers, for one.

I regularly work with several excellent stagers, and am always happy to give their names out to Realtors who are looking for a good one (more should be).

Another thing I do that I know is appreciated is write enthusiastic, even glowing reviews (when justified) on Angie's List.

In a way, that's simply a referral addressed to a broader audience.

By contrast, if I have a negative experience, I tend to just make a note in my files and move on. The exception is if I feel like the experience was so negative that other people deserve a "heads up."

Stagers, Handymen, and Inspectors

Another person I regularly recommend to my homeowner clients is my regular handyman, who's been keeping the evolving Kaplan household ship-shape for more than a decade.

You couldn't ask for a more ethical, competent, or conscientious guy.

If I ever hesitate to recommend Dan, it's only because I'm not certain the prospective customer is worthy of Dan -- not the other way around.

Of course, the other frequent referral Realtors are regularly called upon to make are home inspectors.

Most experienced Realtors have established relationships with a handful of inspectors that they know and trust.

In my own case, I encourage my clients to interview a couple, excellent inspectors, and hire the person they're most comfortable with.

In all these cases, the underlying premise is that someone who did good work for me, will also do good work for you if I give you their name. So that makes two people better off as a result of my having made the referral (three if you consider the good will and appreciation that comes back to me).

Just don't expect me to give you the cell phone number of our favorite babysitter . . . .

"You Talkin' to Me?"

Big Company Internet Surveillance

I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but whenever I post something on this blog about a major company, invariably one of the first hits is from . . . someone at that company (or a law firm representing the company).

As I've previously discussed -- and disclosed -- this blog has a site meter that shows each visitor's IP address and Internet Service Provider ("ISP"). So, no, I don't who you are (and don't want to), but if your company has its own ISP, I will see that in the site meter's "visit detail."

I first noticed that with a post way back when about Realogy, Coldwell Banker Burnet's parent company.

It happened again after posts discussing Angie's List, the Loop Calhoun, and Westin Hotels.

And it happened again earlier today after my post about Toll Brothers.

The conclusion?

Obviously, part of public relations in the age of Twitter, Blogs, instant messaging, etc. is to monitor what people are saying about you . . .

P.S.: Hey guys, if you really want some exposure on this blog . . . would it kill you to buy an ad??

Realtors & Angie's List

"Loved Working with Clark . . . er, Joseph"

[Note to Readers: Who knew that Angie's List had a "Brand Enforcement Coordinator?" I didn't, at least until I got an email from her today asking me to remove the Realtor review I originally excerpted in my 8/13 post titled, "Realtors & Angie's List."

Apparently, that runs afoul of Angie's "brand enforcement," so at their -- ahem -- request, I'm removing it, and paraphrasing it instead. The "new-and-improved" post follows, below.]

As I've posted before, I use Angie's List personally, and increasingly recommend it to clients; it's a great way to get lots of info on literally thousands of local contractors.

However, its utility still varies by category.

For plumbers and electricians, by all means; for Realtors . . . maybe not just yet (the most popular contractors in the former categories can have hundreds of reviews; the latter, ten at the most).

Exhibit A would be a glowing report full of superlatives from the client about their Realtor, Clark ("We had a great experience with Clark" . . . "Clark worked very hard to get to know us and our needs" . . . "The trait that I liked most about Clark was his very quick response time," etc.)

The catch?

The name of the Realtor at the top of the report isn't Clark -- it's Joseph (got to love that personal touch!).

Choosing a Contractor

No News is Bad News

Today's Star Tribune features a homeowner's nightmare: a plumber hired to fix a major leak collected payment, started the work -- then disappeared, leaving the homeowner marooned in a non-functioning Kitchen turned inside-out ("Learning the Hard Way").

Apparently, the homeowner never did a background check on the contractor.

Which begs the question, would she have found something if she had?

The short answer: yes, if she was sophisticated and knew where to look. Otherwise, not.

To answer the question myself, I ran a Google search on the contractor's name and company -- Rodd Hansen, Advanced Plumbing Services.

Results?

Nothing (except, of course, today's Star Tribune article).

Next, I ran a search on on the contractor's name and company on Angie's List, an increasingly popular referral service.

Results? Again, nothing.

A Bulls Eye -- After Lots of Digging

Finally, I ran a search on the State of Minnesota's Department of Labor and Industry Web site.

After some digging around, I got a bulls eye: a 2008 enforcement action against the company for almost $10,000.

Unfortunately, the foregoing hit popped up only after rummaging around on the site for about 15 minutes. Afterwards, I tried to re-create my steps . . . . . and couldn't.

The moral of the story?

You can't count on bad actors leaving a trail. They can change surnames, change business names, move from state to state, etc.

It's also the case that burned customers are seldom eager to publicize the fact that they've been ripped off. Afterwards, it's often easier to just move on than to take the time to protect others (the subject of the Star Trib article should be lauded for doing just that).

Finally, as a former attorney, I can attest to the fact that even when contractors are successfully sued, the settlement terms frequently include confidentiality agreements designed to protect the contractor's reputation (or what's left of it).

No Trail = Red Flag

Instead, it's far likelier that a good contractor will leave a positive trail from previous, satisfied customers, in the form of glowing personal references, complimentary reviews on services like Angie's List, etc.

So, when it comes to choosing a contractor, it's safe to say that no news is definitely bad news.

P.S.: what about checking the plumber's Minnesota license? A good idea, to be sure. However, in this case, Hansen didn't have one -- and had a creative alibi for why he didn't: he told the client that MN and South Dakota had reciprocity (true), and that he was licensed in South Dakota (false).

How many people would have dug further to find that out?