Wednesday 15th April 2009

Win A Wildcat - Round Two

Novel sales strategy continues for Al Melling’s bespoke two-seater

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Melling Sports Cars has opened entries for the second round of its unique ‘win a Wildcat’ competition via its website today.

Wildcat competition starts again

The company will shortly begin emailing people who pre-registered their interest online, but the new competition is open to all-comers whether pre-registered or not.

Entry again costs £20, but this time the ‘test of skill’ required by the British legal system is tougher – you’ve got to say how many individual components there are in a Melling Wildcat. Unlike the answer to the previous competition question, the answer isn’t to be found on the company website, we’re told. And no, we don’t know the answer, although if we did we might not tell you…

According to the company the last prize draw was a runaway success, although there has been some consternation on the PH forums among unsuccessful entrants. In the light of some of that feedback we thought it worthwhile raising some of the questions posed, and this is what we learned.

Round one of the competition sold out in just four days, causing Melling to bring forward the draw date - and the subsequent announcement of the prize winner - leading some PH entrants to wonder whether they had been included at all. In fact, only 2000 tickets were sold for that first round, so if you bought one your name was indeed ‘in the hat’.

TV footage of the first draw also drew flak, as the winner was one of only a few people in the room when his name was pulled out of the hat. This was not a bizarre co-incidence, but a stunt pulled to maximise publicity for the benefit of the cameras, says a Melling company source. ‘The TV crews wanted to witness a draw even though we’d already done it with our lawyers, so we invited the unsuspecting winner to a day at the factory and packed out the room with friends and family to give the desired effect.’

And in case any conspiracy theorists are wondering why the first winner hailed from Lancashire, just a few miles from Melling’s Rochdale factory – the answer is simply that a local media frenzy meant 50 percent of tickets were sold to people in the North West.

[FL07AAV]

So, does anyone know the answer?

More importantly, is anyone going to enter?

[Oat$y]

I would enter but you can't use paypal anymore, you have to pay by cheque that I never use anymore.

The answer is good luck

[hairykrishna]

I'm sure it was all above board but for some reason it still doesn't feel right. That's a good enough reason for me not to bother again - especially now there's the extra hassle of sending a cheque.

[Clem64]

I was unhappy with the way the last competition was run i got very few answers from AM and now i have done what i said i was going to do which is ask the Gaming Commission to look into the way the first comp was run.

This pisses me off firstly 'cos I'm from Lancashire and secondly 'cos AM is trying to make a car built for the most part in England during difficult times, but the discrepancies in that first draw need to be addressed.

Edited by Clem64 on Wednesday 15th April 14:46

[crofty1984]

Clem64 said:

I was unhappy with the way the last competition was run i got very few answers from AM and now i have done what i said i was going to do which is ask the Gaming Commission to look into the way the first comp was run.

This pisses me off firstly 'cos I'm from Lancashire and secondly 'cos AM is trying to make a car built for the most part in England during difficult times, but the discrepancies in that first draw need to be addressed.

Edited by Clem64 on Wednesday 15th April 14:46

Thank goodness someone is thinking of the children.

[SpudMurphy]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

If it stinks like a duck........

Didn't even know that the draw had been done; an email would have been nice or is that too much to expect?

No cheque coming from me.

Edited by SpudMurphy on Wednesday 15th April 17:23

[ridds]

They'll be getting fk all from me as they didn't even have the decency to email me and say I didn't win the last one.

What sort of discrepancies are we talking about?

[Z8cookie]

So then.

That’s 4 Tyres, 4 wheels, 4 dust caps, 4 valves, 20 wheel nuts, 8 pistons, 8 spark plugs, 1 windscreen………

[dandarez]

Do I smell a rat?

I could be wrong. I need to speak to my son when he gets home
(he entered the first draw).

Sceptical ol' me, who lives by the Benjamin Franklin adage
'A penny saved is a penny earned'
(ie: 20 quid in this case! ) didn't enter.

As Arnie would say...

'I'll be back!'

[Simond001]

I am sure that this time the entries will be visible to the public (the www is quite good for that kind of thing).

The draw will be held live, monitored by lawyers, and visible via web streaming to al those who had entered. It wont be drawn early (for whatever reason they think is suitable), and there will be total transparency.

Afterwards Gordon Brown will apologise for the way he has run the country, Teachers will reaslise they are on a good thing with a £30k salary for 39 weeks work, and the English car industry will be the envy of the world.

[DJC]

How many components?

Seriously?

You have to laugh, you really do. Time and time again Al Melling comes up with some genius ideas and then when it comes to actually putting them into reality he finds a way to bugger it up.

Al, do yourself a favour, hire a decent PR man and a decent Operations/Process man. You will save yourself a lot of your self-inflicted grief.

[hairykrishna]

He seems to actually have legal advice now so maybe this one will be run differently. I'm no lawyer but it was obvious to me that his first draw violated the law on lotteries. Your entry was only accepted if your answer was correct. This is the exact same thing that got some of the people raffling their houses into trouble.

[Gridl0k]

Simond001 said:

Teachers will reaslise they are on a good thing with a £30k salary for 39 weeks work

I know this is sarcasm (so don't take offence) but I always address comments like this - my Mother's a teacher, and she works 80-90 hour weeks termtime and 35-40 hour weeks during the school holidays. This isn't unusual and I'd heartily recommend anyone who perpetuates this myth looks into occupational risk indices, the national curriculum, lesson plans, and all the abundant evidence that confirms that being a teacher (especially secondary) is fking hard work. And that's before you get to the stress from the pupils, their parents, OFSTED, the media and ignorant tossers who can't see past the fact their kids get 11 weeks' holiday a year.

Now, university professors...

If you want to pick on a bunch of overpaid incompetent workshy whingers, I suggest you start with Royal Mail.

Edited by Gridl0k on Wednesday 15th April 16:59

[Strike_J]

I wont be re-entering due to the stupid question (does he want us to include valves in the tyres, headlamps, fuses etc) and the fact I need to send a cheque. Oh and I pre-registered and still dont have an email...cheers Al. And I never got an email about the first draw...cheers again Al. Was I in the first draw? I dont know because I never got an email...again thanks Al. I might aswell have wiped my arse with that £20.

I dont care that I didnt win, although it would have been nice, I would just like some communication!

[eowen]

to Pistonheads for supporting such a well thought out and organised competition like the first one*. I wonder what Melling pays Haymarket.

• sarcasm.

[Green Montego]

[quote=Oat$y]I would enter but you can't use paypal anymore, you have to pay by cheque that I never use anymore.
[/quote]

The competition is taking entries through Paypoint on the website. It's a much more secure system.

[Hungry Pigeon]

Gridl0k said:

If you want to pick on a bunch of overpaid incompetent workshy whingers, I suggest you start with Royal Mail.

Edited by Gridl0k on Wednesday 15th April 16:59

..wouldn't anyone in their right mind start with the politicians? At least postie has to lug a bag about when he's off on a wander. All El Gordo has to lug around are his principles (whatever they might be this week).

I bought a few of these tickets, and won't be buying any more. It's pretty poor when the competition organisers can even be bothered to tell you that you didn't win. How difficult would it have been to email the unlucky entrants?

[tang lung]

have to agree with whats being said a e-mail would have been nice to show some kind of result of the draw ,sorry
mr melling no more money from me

[dandarez]

Gridl0k said:

Simond001 said:

Teachers will reaslise they are on a good thing with a £30k salary for 39 weeks work

I know this is sarcasm (so don't take offence) but I always address comments like this - my Mother's a teacher, and she works 80-90 hour weeks termtime and 35-40 hour weeks during the school holidays. This isn't unusual and I'd heartily recommend anyone who perpetuates this myth looks into occupational risk indices, the national curriculum, lesson plans, and all the abundant evidence that confirms that being a teacher (especially secondary) is fking hard work. And that's before you get to the stress from the pupils, their parents, OFSTED, the media and ignorant tossers who can't see past the fact their kids get 11 weeks' holiday a year.

Now, university professors...

If you want to pick on a bunch of overpaid incompetent workshy whingers, I suggest you start with Royal Mail.

Edited by Gridl0k on Wednesday 15th April 16:59

While I agree partly with your sentiment about teachers, you totally ruined your argument with your shot at Posties.
I always address those comments too!
My business relies on them and has done so for nearly 30 years - I'm still running the same business (think about it). You wanna try doing a Postie run - I'd recommend the one relayed to me as the Rotty (Rotweilers) run which has a stress level somewhat over and above that of a class of unruly kids. I've lost virtually no mail over all those years. Lucky? No. we make sure everything is clearly addressed, correct rates etc. I don't moan at the rotten service like all those who do, usually around Xmas (who sent cards in blank envelopes and parcels with 'To Joan, Whitby, Lancs'!)
I also sell online and ebay and thanks to Royal Mail workshy whingers my feedback is second to none. Just an example: posted 18 pkts yesterday 4.25pm - every one except 3 had arrived this morning - the 3 that didn't? Well, Malta, USA and Russia...

NOW if you really want to pick on a bunch of overpaid incompetents, you can stick with Royal Mail, BUT go to the Top, all led by a certain ex-dismissed Football Association boss, then you would be nearer the truth.

[johnny senna]

Gridl0k said:

Simond001 said:

Teachers will reaslise they are on a good thing with a £30k salary for 39 weeks work

I know this is sarcasm (so don't take offence) but I always address comments like this - my Mother's a teacher, and she works 80-90 hour weeks termtime and 35-40 hour weeks during the school holidays. This isn't unusual and I'd heartily recommend anyone who perpetuates this myth looks into occupational risk indices, the national curriculum, lesson plans, and all the abundant evidence that confirms that being a teacher (especially secondary) is fking hard work. And that's before you get to the stress from the pupils, their parents, OFSTED, the media and ignorant tossers who can't see past the fact their kids get 11 weeks' holiday a year.

Now, university professors...

If you want to pick on a bunch of overpaid incompetent workshy whingers, I suggest you start with Royal Mail.

Edited by Gridl0k on Wednesday 15th April 16:59

She works 18 hours a day in term time and 8 hours a day during her holidays (assuming she takes the weekends off)??? Oops. Needs to have a word me thinks.