Chez Nous and Coronavirus
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:37 am
I'm based in France... With so much going on in the world I'd lost track of the fact that our Chez Nous advert ran out yesterday. I rang them this morning and while waiting to be connected, browsed their website. Not one single mention of Coronavirus...
In the last 7 days or so I've received emails on this subject from almost every company I've ever dealt with, but nothing from Chez Nous.
When I was finally connected, it was business as usual. "Hello... So, you'd like to renew over the phone?" I had to explain that no, I didn't want to renew right now, since I'm receiving cancellations not bookings, and that France is currently closed. I was told that if I renewed within 4 months, my adverts could be re-instated... I explained that that's no good - I need my adverts to still be live, just in case people are browsing now for (hopefully) better times ahead. She then agreed to extend both adverts for 3 months, but only agreed to that after this discussion, not as a matter of course.
I'm quite shocked - they deal solely with France and yet it was as if she'd never heard of Coronavirus. I've requested a manager to call me back to discuss - they're normally a very helpful company, so I just can't see why they are behaving as if the situation we all find ourselves in is normal. Why they haven't taken some sort of decision and emailed all advertisers to support and reassure them.
It's prompted me to think: If they charge the same fees to renew as they usually do, there's no way I can afford to pay. Should I expect them to do a full renewal for very little/ no cost? Surely, if we are all struggling, they're going to struggle too, and they really need to help keep us in business.
Or am I expecting too much?
In the last 7 days or so I've received emails on this subject from almost every company I've ever dealt with, but nothing from Chez Nous.
When I was finally connected, it was business as usual. "Hello... So, you'd like to renew over the phone?" I had to explain that no, I didn't want to renew right now, since I'm receiving cancellations not bookings, and that France is currently closed. I was told that if I renewed within 4 months, my adverts could be re-instated... I explained that that's no good - I need my adverts to still be live, just in case people are browsing now for (hopefully) better times ahead. She then agreed to extend both adverts for 3 months, but only agreed to that after this discussion, not as a matter of course.
I'm quite shocked - they deal solely with France and yet it was as if she'd never heard of Coronavirus. I've requested a manager to call me back to discuss - they're normally a very helpful company, so I just can't see why they are behaving as if the situation we all find ourselves in is normal. Why they haven't taken some sort of decision and emailed all advertisers to support and reassure them.
It's prompted me to think: If they charge the same fees to renew as they usually do, there's no way I can afford to pay. Should I expect them to do a full renewal for very little/ no cost? Surely, if we are all struggling, they're going to struggle too, and they really need to help keep us in business.
Or am I expecting too much?