February 14, 2007
meeting the tesco execs…
[Jason, Cath, and Richard.]
[Watch the YouTube Video here.]
This was actually quite nerve-racking. I got to meet Jason and Richard, the two senior wine buyers at Tesco, for the very first time, in the wine aisle of all places. This was after two weeks on the road, getting up to all sort of crazy stuff…
In case you didn’t know, Tesco is the world’s largest wine vendor [Yes, bigger than WalMart etc etc]. They are the global wine trade’s biggest customer, without exception. I frankly wasn’t sure about how they would react to my evil plan… so meeting them in person was quite interesting, shall we say.…
I’ll be at the London Eye tonight at 8pm, handing out schwag [T-shirts and whatnot], if anyone’s in the vicinity… We’ll be filming the romantic climax to this tour… with a bit of a twist on the end, I have to say… It all ends tonight. Or does it? [SFX: Evil Laugh]
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Mmmm, they don’t look very friendly.
What did they say? How did they react to the campaign or the effectiveness of the idea?
Gimme more
F.
Schwag! Free schwag! Tempting!
(I am very bored at work today)
James, they were lovely. It just took ‘em a couple of minutes to loosen up. And the same for me.
Fraser, if you watch the video, you’ll hear them say some very friendly things… They know this is just an experiment, and are watching very carefully.
RJP, yes, free schwag is best. Hope to see you there. Though I’m also considering putting the baseball hat I wore on the tour on eBay
Right Hugh, I have a friend who works at Shell who says she will pop along around 8pm!
This is my last chance…unless it isn’t the climax to the tour as you suggest!!!
On the picture on your blog, I’v got to agree with James. One has hands in pockets, the other crossed arms…they probably were petrified!!!
Good luck!
Paul
I agree with James, their body language is quite strong. One with his arms crossed, a strong defensive position (the alpha of the two buyers I would assume and the person you most need to impress). The other with his hands in his pocket, avoiding the handshake or touching the product.
Cath clearly looks nervous.
You, on the other hand, have your hands open and upward facing, trying to break down the barriers. Smart move on your part.
This is fun. Any more body language those of us with the sound off (at work) can analyze?
Hugh — two questions/observations. Maybe my low processing power but 1)just what is your evil plan ? Or is keeping it unclear for us non-cognoscenti part of it ?
.
2) Worked extensively with Tesco in a previous incarnation (me at IBM) on their logistics and technology. First class — literally the best in the world at store ops, replenishment, etc. etc. And they folks were hard-nosed, knowledgable, polite and friendly. Class acts all ’round. They gave nothing for free but paid for value delivered and were excellent judges. In other words a great pleasure to work with and representative of the culture insofar as all I ran across.
I predict if that culture’s still in place you’ll find them a great pleasure as well. Bonne Chance !