As some of you may be aware, an anonymous individual has been sending slanderous letters to subcontract engineering companies and manufacturing buyers based in certain regions of the country. Subsequently, we would like to take the opportunity to dispel some of the claims made within this document and hopefully set the record straight for those that may be in doubt.
Myth number 1: Qimtek employs ‘young girls’ who ‘ring up and pester the living daylights out of a buyer’:
Whilst some of the Qimtek staff are thrilled to be referred to as young girls, this cannot be said for everyone. Qimtek’s sourcing team is made up of a number of individuals with up to eighteen years experience, who take time in cultivating relationships with their buyers and understanding their requirements. What’s more, each of the enquiries has to pass a strict quality check before being passed to our members. This takes a number of criteria into account such as the length of the quoting period, the user-friendliness of the drawings, the estimated value of the required item(s) and the potential for ongoing work. There is simply no way that a disingenuous enquiry would make it through this process, nor would such an enquiry be of any benefit to either Qimtek or its sourcing team on a personal level.
Myth number 2: Our members quote against ‘hundreds of competitors across the British Isles’:
Qimtek has over 300 members in total. These members span a number of different processes, from machining, sheet metal and fabrication through to toolmaking, casting and electronics. Our members only receive enquiries for the processes they can perform in-house – combine this with the fact that a majority of our subscriptions are for certain geographical regions of the UK and it is literally impossible for us to even send an enquiry to hundreds of companies, let alone get them all to quote. In fact, a portion of our projects go unquoted as our members are sometimes simply too busy to take on any more work.
It is important to mention that our marketing does get sent to a larger amount of companies and this often includes descriptions of projects, along with a thumbnail image. However, as these companies are not Qimtek members, they do not have access to the buyer’s contact details and therefore, are not able to submit a quotation.
Myth number 3: Nobody sees our members’ profiles on the Qimtek engineering directory:
Our directory is specific to the subcontract engineering industry, meaning that it generates a lot of traffic from those that are looking for new suppliers. In fact, it receives over 17,000 hits every month! We have a number of different search functions that enable the user to easily navigate their way to our members’ business contact information and capabilities; in turn, we also offer different tools which allow our members to increase their exposure, including the option of publishing company news to the industry, a platform to upload images and videos, as well as facilities to link any applicable social media accounts with their Qimtek profiles.
Myth number 4: Employing a salesperson is the only way of generating new business effectively:
The author claims that by hiring a salesperson, you will be the only person quoting for any work that they generate. Whilst this can be the case, the odds dictate that there will usually be more than one company in the running for any given project. A buyer may approach any number of companies for quotes – whether or not this is directly, or through Qimtek. Some of our members also have salespeople in place, meaning that a Qimtek subscription compliments such a position and the value is clearly seen by those who perform this role on a day-to-day basis.
Myth number 5: Qimtek holds our members’ personal information on file:
Possibly the most unsettling aspect of this anonymous campaign is the fact that some of these letters have been sent to business owners’ home addresses, leading to a degree of suspicion that this information has been obtained through Qimtek. We want to assure our members and the wider public that we absolutely do not hold personal details on file, in any capacity and never will. We suspect that these addresses have been extracted from Companies House records by the author, although we cannot state the exact source with certainty. Wherever this information originates from, please be assured that it is not from us and we find the author’s use of such details unacceptable.
What should I do if I’ve received a copy of this letter?
We would appreciate any future recipients of this letter coming forward and making us aware, so that we can continue to make efforts to put a stop to their slander.
If you’ve received a copy of this letter, would like discuss any issues raised, or ask us any questions, then please make contact with our membership support team on 01256 394 502, or email [email protected].