reza@ihuxb.UUCP (H. Reza Taheri) (04/19/84)
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A few days ago I received a questionnaire from a company called
"Market Facts, Inc.". The questionnaire states that:
We are gathering some information from a representative sample
of people in your area -- people like yourself.
The automotive industry is very interested in car owner's
opinions. Owners like you can play a vital role in shaping
the automotive industry's future plans.
.
.
.
It is important the the "principal driver of the newest
car" [emphasis theirs, hrt.] in your household fill out the
enclosed questionnaire ...
Then they ask a bunch of questions about the newest car(s) you own,
such as kind, model, who decided to buy it, when are you going to buy
a new one, what model you may buy, are you satisfied with your present
car, etc. After the questions they say:
Some car owners will be recontacted in an effort to learn
more about their opinions. Participating owners will receive
"compensation in cash" [emphasis mine, hrt.] for taking part
in this market research study. ....
Please note that this is not a sale gimmick. If you have any
doubts ... check with the American Marketing Association or
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Has anybody dealt with these people? I am thinking about buying a
new car in the next twelve months and don't mind test driving a car
without getting hassled about buying it, if that's what want to
recontact me about. What's the deal?
H. Reza Taheri
...!ihnp4!ihuxb!reza
(312)-979-1040scw@cepu.UUCP (04/21/84)
I got grabbed into one of these, they imply that you'll get to test drive
NEW cars (the specific word used is 'evalueate'). What you really do is
sit in a large auditorium looking at slides of poor quality drawings of
front, side, front quarte, and dash views of current/projected cars, in pairs
and fill out sheet after sheet of inane questions:
Give your impression of these pictures for:
A More same B more
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
quality
sexiness
aerodynamic
sporty
classy
modern
&tc &tc, &tc, had to be the most boring hour that I've spent in a long time.
They did however pay $25.00 for that hour.
They did call back later as ask if I'd like to come down again (this
time they said that I'd really get to test drive some new cars) but
"once bitten, twice shy".
--
Stephen C. Woods (VA Wadsworth Med Ctr./UCLA Dept. of Neurology)
uucp: { {ihnp4, uiucdcs}!bradley, hao, trwrb, sdcsvax!bmcg}!cepu!scw
ARPA: cepu!scw@ucla-locus location: N 34 06'37" W 118 25'43"