THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO:
HTTP://www.LasVegasLuxuryPropertiesLink.com
I am writing this blog post as a huge response to the scandal Vlad Zablotsky is going through with Eperks. I was quite surprised to hear how Eperks has handled the situation. Here’s the story as I’ve read it from RSS Pieces:
1. ePerks solicited editorial advertising (blog posts recommending their service) on real estate blogs
2. Vlad wrote such a post and was complimentary
3. Commenters on the post came in and talked about how bad the ePerks service was and how they felt they were swindled
4. Vlad writes a response piece to acknowledge reader comments: Is ePerks a gem or a Scam?
5. Comment frenzy ensues on this post. At some point the comments turn into a battle between a number of anonymous commenters plus one person who claims to be an employee of Eperks. The suspicious part is that all these commenters seem to come from the same block of IP addresses (76.206.0.161 – do a trace route on this ip) that when traced lead you back to the San Jose area (where ePerks lives). This IP block has been verified as coming from ePerks in many posts where people published images of emails with header details from ePerks and this is this same IP was used in stealth marketing tactics where employees of ePerks would comment on various forums positively about the company with multiple identities.
Ok, so this is what I would say about this ridiculous business behavior. We ALL know that in business the ones that survive provide a great service that people need. Businesses that cannot adapt to the market will be left behind, and when people who don’t have a good experience complain, that is a good indication you should change what your business is doing. Blogs are a way to discuss businesses, services, and experiences-ALL kinds of experiences. A company can’t solicit a blogger’s advertising and punish him for comments he received from consumers. That is free speech. It’s important that business owners listen to consumers and provide what they need. I am constantly listening to what my clients need and that has enabled me to survive in this tough market we’re in right now. Blogging is a VERY powerful tool for marketing, and it’s a bad idea to threaten bloggers because of our strength in numbers.
