However, it’s important to note that using the One4all digital gift card at Tesco stores might not be as straightforward as you expect. Additionally, depending on the store you visit, you may encounter staff members who are unfamiliar with the process. This means you have to wait till you can get somebody who knows on how to process the payment.

In this article, I will provide useful information on how to use your One4all digital gift card in Tesco stores located in Ireland. For the digital gift card, I am referring to the virtual card you receive via SMS message and/or email. Essentially, someone like your employer or friend goes online and purchases a digital voucher to be sent to your email and phone.

How can you use it at Tesco then?

The simple and easy way would be to spend the exact amount of money or less that are topped up into the virtual card. Let’s say you got €20 digital gift and you spend €19.99 . You don’t need anything else to do. You just use your virtual card with your smartphone through the One4all App and that’s it.

What happens if I want to spent €50 and I have €20 digital gift and I want to pay the rest of the amount by cash or debit card?

Depending on the Tesco store where you are shopping, you need to go to a Help Desk or a shopping till and inform them that you are using a One4all digital gift card and state the amount of the digital voucher. They will then split the total amount to be paid into two different payment methods: the first covers the digital gift card (in our example above: €20). Once you have paid with the digital One4all gift card, you will be prompted to pay the remaining amount of money, which, in our example, is €30. Those can be paid by cash or a debit card.

Be sure to check your smartphone settings

Since the virtual gift card by One4all is loaded onto their app, you need to make sure to: 1) enable NFC (contactless payment) on your mobile phone, and 2) authorize the One4all app as your primary digital payment or wallet. Otherwise, when you touch the POS with your mobile, it might load the Google or iPhone wallet, resulting in the inability to pay.

This article has been written to give you knowledge on how you can make the most of using an One4all virtual gift card for Tesco. In case Tesco staff doesn’t know this, you can explain it to them.

Feel free to add below in the comment your experience while using this voucher card in Tesco’s.

The post How to use One4all digital gift card in Tesco stores? appeared first on Donald Piccione.

A quick overview of what it happens. Before purchasing online, I read on their website “Free Shipping and Return”, so I was very interested in this shopping model. I was more influenced in purchasing online because of the free return. Once I purchased and in the parcel, it was also included a return label, I then realized that was not free return, although, below you can see a screenshot of their page telling the opposite. Have a good read!

If you want to run a successful business you need to fulfil mainly the following components:

• To have an Excellent product
• To have an Excellent Sales team to sell your product
• To have an Excellent Post Sales or Customer Care Team to keep your customer loyal
• If you are omnichannel and you sell online too, you must have a good logistic structure for shipping and returns.

Once you see the above fully in compliance, you are on the right path to be a successful business.

Where Superdry Failed at this?

Having established a well known and well-respect Retail Experience in Ireland, they failed (on my opinion) to provide the same customer experience for the Online Irish Market. Worse than this, in their website on the FAQ page, they provide false information about their returns policy: Free returns for UK and Ireland, but this is not the case.

In fact, as also confirmed by their Facebook Chat:

“Hi Donald, as you are based in Ireland you would need to dial 0044 3333 212 222 to get in contact with our Customer Service department. I can confirm that sadly, we do not offer free returns to customers based in Ireland, as you would need to post the item back to us with a courier of your own choice. Out free returns service is only available on customers based in the UK“.

So, when you log into their website it states Free Returns for Ireland (pictured above). They put into your parcel a shipping label with the return address, but no mention on Free Return and different information are provided.

Same for the Tweet received by their account

Hi Donald, sadly at this time we do not offer free returns from the Republic of Ireland at this time. This is something we are looking into changing very soon. However, we advise to use a tracked courier company to have any item returned to us. Thanks!

— Superdry_Care (@Superdry_Care) September 26, 2018

This is one reason why Superdry failed so far to provide a Good Customer experience, at least on its online market. Sadly I am not interested in buying any of their products anymore as well as write this post to inform you about this so that you are aware too.

On 27 September 2018 received from Superdry Partial refund from one item I paid (Jacket) and also the return I made it using their label has been accepted, so at the moment I am writing they offered me free return. I am not sure if this was an exceptional case and/or because I also made e little bit of complaints on Twitter. Fact, it is the information they have so far provided from their several online channels (Facebook, Web, Twitter) on Return policy is not the same. One thing important in Marketing is the communication, which has to be unified at all levels and channels so to provide an official version of the topic (Delivery, Returns).

On 28 September 2018 I received (after 3 days from my original email) a reply from the customer care. At least something. As usual happens in any English speaking countries, the use of “Apologies” and other kind of emphatic words is a standard.

As you can read, there is still that kind of superior mindset telling me that “the returns policy does not state that we offer free returns to The Republic of Ireland…“. Meaning that I am the wrong here, because if there is written in one page (see first picture above) that I get a free return in Ireland and UK, but in another page only in UK, wins the one that not offers free returns in Ireland. This kind of dealing with emails. Again, this way of dealing things are not focused on a potential customer who can stay lifetime loyal. Again, this way of dealing things just demonstrated me how Superdry failed to provide customer experience. Everybody working for a company is responsible for the image and outcome of the company. If this is still unclear by owners or managers of Superdry, that’s a big issue.

The post Why Superdry Failed to provide a Good Customer Experience? appeared first on Donald Piccione.

In Ireland, there are some practical applications of this bait and switch, although they are used also in other Countries, first, it is interesting to examine the steps of how this technique works.

Step 1: BAIT – Lure the potential customers with a low price deal

This can be done by advertisement, door to door calling or flyering. For example, a salesman could leave a flyer where they state they sell their service for a very low price. This to start doing the job and then tell you there is something extra to do at way higher price.

Once they have caught the customer and put their feet into the house, they will move to the switch phase.

Step 2: SWITCH – upselling

Giving an example a carpet cleaner is now in the house ready to clean the carpet with their machinery into the room. What could happened next is:

a) The cleaner act as professional showing the customer that the carpet needs a deep cleaning and unfortunately the price advertised was only for a carpet kept in good condition. Here the switch: to do a proper job it would require a different cleaning product and work double the time to ensure the bottom layer of the carpet is sanitized enough. In this occurrence, other factors may be added, such as moths, parasites, germs, etc, with the intent of scaring the client.

b) The cleaner doesn’t use any cleaning products (as I wrote before) because they are expensive. They just use water instead. This means that the carpet is not sanitised properly, hence your carpet will be in need of another cleaning thereafter. So you will end up spending more.

c) The cleaner tells the customer that the price advertised doesn’t include the cleaning product, so you will have to pay this extra.

d) The room is done properly but, to clean an extra room it will cost much more like double or 3 times more than the promotional price for that one room. Here, as you see the circumstance you will feel to have the job done in extra rooms anyway because you think that once the technician is there you don’t have to call for another one, losing your time.

An example in another industry as it occurred personally to me was when a gutter installer knocked on my door and proposed me with a very good price to replace my old gutters with new ones. The price was very good so I was caught by him like a mouse in the trap. Once he finished the job, he told me that my roof had serious problems and that the felt membrane was rotten. He could have told me this before starting the gutter job, but he wanted to wait till the end so that I could have been scary on having a bad roof. He also added that he couldn’t provide me with any warranty on the new gutters if my roof was in that condition. You got the example anyway.

To wrap up: How to avoid bait and switch

First of all, try avoiding quick and easy deals with door to door salesman. There are good and honest traders who are in need of work so they try to get more clients. This means that not every salesman are bad, just watch out. Don’t be greedy to lose a deal only because that price is valid for the same day. Do your homework on the trader or company you will employ to do the job. Get a business card, website, company name, etc. Then check around to see if that person has a real company, if there are reviews on them if you can get referrals from their job. It is important that that trader is an established one. I remember I paid a plumber to install me the gas boiler, then the year after they close down. I didn’t do any checkings and those guys were just working since a year before. A well-established plumber or bricklayer with a registered office and people who can show the job they did it is what you need to have. It’s your money in the end, so you can decide how to spend. Again, don’t be greedy for the great deals, don’t be hasty, instead, do your homework and investigate.

Unfortunately, bait and switch is something not proactively monitored by consumer association, Gardai Siochana or other authority, so once you get burned, surely the salesman will disappear trying to remove their traces. So better protect yourself from this to happen.

The post What is Bait and Switch? How does it work and how to avoid it? appeared first on Donald Piccione.

The European Ladies Open will offer the second highest purse in French women’s golf, behind the Evian Championship, thanks to a prize fund of €300,000. The first edition of the international tournament will be played on October 3-6, 2019, just after the European Week of Sport.

Organised by the European Commission each year since 2014, the European Week of Sport, which will take place on September 23-30, is an initiative to promote sport and physical activity across Europe and is for everyone, regardless of age, background or fitness level. A golf event of this scale will be an important platform to develop golf participation in Alsace.

What if the future of golf is women’s golf?

In choosing to develop via a women’s golf tournament, the Kempferhof Golf Resort was guided by three of its main principles: style, persistence and a sense of conviviality. A total of 108 players from Europe and the rest of the world will come and battle for the title throughout the four-day stroke play competition.

An iconic location, rich in history

Acquired by the Bindschedler family in 2016, Golf du Kempferhof is conveniently situated in the heart of Europe, just 15 minutes from Strasbourg (Plobsheim, Bas-Rhin), with a hotel, restaurant and a splendid golf course designed by Bon Von Haage, which has all it takes to become one of Europe’s greatest.

For over 15 years, the Eventeam Group, a global communications agency specialising in sports events, has partnered the Bindschedler family’s work through Soprema, particularly in sports and events. and together they decided to launch a women’s professional golf event to build the club’s reputation and increase its development in Europe.

“When we took over Golf du Kempferhof two years ago, we knew exactly how much potential the place has,” explained Pierre-Etienne Bindschedler, owner of Golf du Kempferhof. “We were reassured in our conviction when our golf course was ranked among Europe’s most beautiful on multiple occasions. Our ambition is to showcase our course, our region and our passion for sport but also to make Alsace a golf region is known both nationally and globally. So, we took the initiative to host a Ladies European Tour event.”

“The Eventeam Group is highly committed to developing golf,” said its chair, Igor Juzon, a former professional rugby player and golfer. “We are the official agency for hospitality services for the next Ryder Cup, from September 28-30 at Le Golf National in Paris. As a partner of the Olympic Family since the London 2012 Olympic Games, we were delighted to see golf become an Olympic sport at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. It’s in this spirit that we subscribe to the development of golf in France”.

LET Chairman Mark Lichtenhein added: “The Ladies European Tour is delighted to announce the renaissance of the European Ladies Open at the magnificent venue of Kempferhof GC. It is difficult to imagine a more fitting location for the return of this tournament, not just to the heart of Europe but to the cradle of many of Europe’s most important institutions. Given that golf is the only Olympic sport that Europe plays together as a team – both in the Solheim and Ryder Cups – and the only sport flying the European flag, Strasbourg has a more than justifiable claim to be the new home for European ladies’ golf.”

The post Golf: 2019 European Ladies Open will be played in Strasbourg appeared first on Donald Piccione.

Based on my personal experience as novice biker, expat, living in Dublin, I want to share with you, based on what happened to me, some advice if you are thinking to buy a second-hand motorcycle.

Where to buy a motorbike in Ireland? Or in my case in Dublin?

There are basically 2 options: the first is from a private seller, then the second is through a Bike dealer. If you buy a bike from a private seller (usually found it online) you might save money if compared to the bike’s market price. If you buy your motorbike from a dealer you get at least 3 months warranty or more (depending on the year the bike has and what kind of agreement the seller gives to you).

Summarizing what I wrote above if you buy from:

• Private seller price is usually lower than dealers but no warranty is given (bought as is)
• Dealers, you get a warranty and it is supposed the bike is checked properly. The downside is the price, higher than the private seller asked price.

A thing to remember: When you buy from a private seller, you don’t know really what is the status of the bike. It might work when you try the bike, but then after one month the issue pop up and then you have to spend money to fix the issue, as it happened to me. Please bear with me, not all private sellers are bad. Sometimes it is just as a lottery ticket or as Forrest Gump referred to a box of chocolate.

Does it mean that you have to buy only from a dealership? Not necessarily. You can buy from a private seller but, you must have a plan in mind to check the motorbike is fully working. I will tell you my idea based also on my mistakes which cost me 1600 Euro for the bike and further 700 Euro in mechanic expenses that didn’t fix my bike, so I had to buy another one.

How to avoid being ripped off from a private seller when you buy a motorbike in Ireland

I said in Ireland because now I live in Ireland but, it might apply to other countries. This is my list of things you should think or prepare to ensure at least you tried to do the best from your side:

• Don’t go to the appointment with the private seller alone. Bring with you if possible an Irish guy, especially if the seller is Irish. This will ensure that you have first an eyewitness, second, you will have an extra pair of eyes and hears with you. Third, you might miss something during the conversation (if you are not English native speaker). So, while you chit-chatting with the seller, the other person, your friend may inspect the motorbike. If possible bring somebody with bike experience such as a bike rider, bike mechanic, etc. This will help to spot eventually faults on the motorbike.
• Ask for the Property Certificate, if the bike has spare keys and maintenance book log. This way you can also check the history of the bike and what has been done so far. Ask also if the bike is serviced by a garage or dealer so you can eventually enquiry to them before buying it.
• Where possible ask to try that motorbike. It is important because when you try if the bike has some faults (engine, etc) you can spot it.
• If the deal is too good to be true and the seller is in a rush to sell his bike, think it twice and also don’t rush yourself handling money. Often is a trick to create a kind of scarcity emotional status where you like the bike and you are worried lose it. For sure he will tell you that other 5 people are in the queue for this bike so if you don’t give him the deposit he will sell tomorrow to another guy.
• Get the registration number and try if possible to check if there are any issues at a local Garda Station. Now, some Garda Stations are very friendly and helpful, others, maybe are busy so you will have to take some time.

If the bike has a considerable cost, let’s say from 4,5 thousand Euro onward, you might eventually consider investing some money upfront so to avoid spending more money after the purchase. Investing money upfront meaning the following:

• Give to the seller a small deposit so to keep the motorbike for you;
• Ask permission to bring the motorbike to your local mechanic or garage for an inspection. It won’t cost more than 100 Euro. If the bike is still insured and you have your own insurance, depending on the policy you might ride it on your own, otherwise, you can hire a bike transport service that will move the bike to the garage. Alternatively, you can ask the seller to bring the motorcycle to the garage.
• Once the mechanic ensures that no faults are discovered, you can pay the rest of the balance.

What I have written above is not bulletproof but it is better than what I did when I bought a motorbike. The following were my mistakes that cost me money:

• I trusted the seller as it seemed a good family guy;
• I didn’t bring the bike to any mechanic for inspection;
• I didn’t inspect the motorbike on my own because I was not knowledgeable about motorbikes.
• I didn’t bring any friend or person with me;
• I handled a deposit cash, after few days I paid the full amount in cash.

My motorbike broke down on the M50 just right 2 days after I purchased. “Mea culpa, mea culpa”. I should have been smarter and not trustworthy.

Going back to the other option, buying a motorcycle from a dealer, it is supposed that you get an after sale warranty, although the price is more expensive than the private one. You may want to check these things before you buy:

• Does the motorbike have service history in the service book log? Does it have a service book?
• Does it have the spare keys, code for the duplication?
• What does the warranty cover and for how long?
• Use Google Maps, Yelp, Facebook to read reviews of this dealer. Try to spot if they are doing good business. Another thing, you may want to know is how long this dealer is in the business. If they are selling motorbikes since 20 years ago it means they probably are good at it and give a good bike

I hope you can take advantage of my advice and that you can avoid a bad experience from purchasing your next motorbike in Ireland. If you have some extra advice you want to share, you can use the comment section below.

The post How to buy a Motorbike avoiding bad surprises appeared first on Donald Piccione.

In this post, I want to share with you some tips I learned on how to shop cheaper on AliExpress, saving more money and much more

1. Shop on AliExpress using your mobile phone

When you make an order on Aliexpress from their app (either Android or iPhone) you get further discount, usually around 5-10% less than their price for the same item in the desktop version of the website. They do this in order to push their users to become more dependent on the app, so they will check in every day, playing with the Lucky forest to get coins. What is this? I tell you now.

2.Check-in online every day using their App to get coins

AliExpress Mobile App has a reward system based on coins and coupons. When you check-in every 24 hours and go to the Coins & Coupons section you can earn coins based on this activity: Daily Tasks, Lucky Forest, Coins Park. The first days you check-in you start earning few coins till getting up to 16 coins. If you keep checking in you will get 16 coins on each day, but if you forget one day you will start with 1 coin again. So be smart and remember to check-in consistently. You have also to give water to your tree (Lucky forest section). Giving water your coupon tree will grow till you can get a coupon (usually 2 Euro) to use against the purchase of an item.

So, what do you do with the coins? Every day, in the Coupon and Coins section they list products at a discounted price that can be redeemed using the coins. For example, one t-shirt which is priced 10 Euro, can be purchased at 8 Euro + 300 coins. So you can exchange your coins for discounts. This is buying cheaper on AliExpress.

3.Limited free items can be redeemed using only the coins

Every morning at 8:00 AM, AliExpress sells stuff in limited quantity at 0.01 Euro + coins. This means that you could get a chance to get something almost free. I tried several times but it seems the items go out of stock on the zap of flash.

4.Free stuff with no coins, just free in a change of a review

AliExpress has one another section in their App called Freebies & Reviews. There, you can select up to 2 items per day and wait. When the application for free stuff is ended, the seller will usually draw users to send the item free of charge. In change, the lucky winner/s has/have to write an article on AliExpress explaining the product and putting very good images. As you can maybe guess, how does a seller know prior sending the free item that a user will be able to provide a nice article and nice pictures? Exactly.

So here is my tip: Buy few cheap items (3 to 5 Euro) on AliExpress. Take very good pictures and upload in the seller’s feedback section (of your orders). Write something very good. Seller will see that and you might have better chance to get the item free. If you are not lucky with the draw, but you have your own website with good traffic, you can try contact the seller directly (message system) introducing yourself and telling the story. If the item is not too expensive, you might get lucky. In the end, they will get free advertisement.

5.Buy only items with Free Shipping

Not all products come with free shipping. Some of them have expensive shipping cost while other still you have to pay for shipping. Why buy only with free shipping? I tell you why. If the item gets lost in the post, if the item is received broken, you can open a dispute with the seller. Similar to eBay. If you win the dispute, the seller will refund you only the price for the item, not the shipping cost.

Let’s say for example that you buy a ceramic statue at 50 Euro + 10 Euro shipping cost and the item arrives broken. You open a dispute and seller refunds you 50 Euro. Nobody is refunding you the 10 Euro postage cost. So my advice is to choose only free shipping.

6.Buyer protection: 60 days or money back (excluding the shipping)

One reason explained in point 5 is to shop only a free shipping item. This is another reason why you have to do this. AliExpress guarantee you that if you haven’t received your purchase within 60 days (from the date of shipping) you can get your money back. This is not automatic and you have to apply using the Dispute centre.

I hope you enjoyed my post and you could get some new tips you didn’t know about AliExpress. If you have some questions or you want to share a genuine experience (not spam) you are welcome to share using the comment section below.

The post How to buy Cheaper on AliExpress: Save Money and much more appeared first on Donald Piccione.