Federation of Small Businesses Joining Woes

So I thought I should join the FSB as they have a lot to offer but how hard do you think they have made it for me as a simple (?) small business owner? Read on….

Last Thursday I believe it was on a sunny September day I thought I would head over to the Federation of Small Businesses website and join up. I remember when I have been to their website before that they have a ton of benefits to offer and many people on forums highly recommended them.

So onto their website where I found how much it costs I was searching for the online registration page where I would simply pay my fees and hey-presto I thought I would be a fully fledged member within a couple of minutes.

But wait – where is their online payment form to be found ?

Well I though I had found it on the “join now” page where it asks you for some basic details… and your telephone number (I thought that was a little odd at first – I mean, why would they need that?)

Anyhow, I completed my details on their form thinking that this was like step 1 of 2 when the next page would be asking for my credit card information. But no all I got was another pages saying “thank you for your request for information to join”

That’s odd – *the* place that supports and guides the majority of small businesses in the UK can’t (or won’t) take online payments to subscribe to their service? What could be more easy – a front end payment form that integrates with their back-end subscription database and automatically sends out new joiners packs? Well, it wasn’t there.

Never mind I thought I would wait for the call that afternoon.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well it was onto Monday when the call finally arrived to make an appointment for their local rep to come and visit me and take me through all the benefits that the FSB can provide to me. I suggested to the guy on the telephone that their website had indeed done a wonderful job of selling me on their service and all I wanted to do was to sign up. “oh, but your local FSB rep must visit you first”

Well, I didn’t want a visit (and as an aside here, my old boss used to tell me “don’t sell past closing” – a great phrase saying “once you have the sale simply close it – don’t carry on trying to sell in benefits or whatever…)

So onwards. The telephone guy then said he would speak to the rep himself and see what could be done. A few moments later he called back and said that the local rep *must* come to visit me because he had to *witness* my signature on the application form ????? Well, I though I must be back in the 1960’s at that point because I had never heard this before. I gave up at this point and said I would instigate the process at a future point in time and thanked him for his efforts.

But 30 minutes later my local rep then called me and again attempted to sell in the benefits of the FSB (which I said the website had done, yadda yadda) and I asked if the application form could simply be posted to me – well that’s not possible because this chap didn’t trust the postal service in the UK and he would have to personally deliver the app. forms to me.

OK, so be it. So the forms have now duly arrived (the next day – a bit like the postal service really…) and what do I find ? An application form in triplicate that has a direct debit mandate attached to it.

Sigh

I can only deduce that the wheels are turning slowly and life is at the same speed. Perhaps the FSB don’t want to use new fangled gadgets such as online credit card processing but I would have thought that would have made the entire process much, much easier and cost effective. But may be I am just an old Victor Meldrew in disguise?

Posted in Business | 3 Comments »

3 Responses

1. norris Says:

   A good example of how NOT to communicate.

2. William Says:

   They’ve always been like this.

   I eventually decided to join a few months ago, to get the free Coop current account. It was hard work convincing them to send me the forms. And days after filling it in, I’m told “your membershipd number will be with you in 4-5 weeks” and until then I couldn’t even start the process of opening a Coop account … blimey, are these guys out of date. Made me feel young again (and I’m nearly 50!).

   You have to wonder if they’re capable of change. If not, with no fresh blood they’ll wither on the vine which will be a great shame.

3. Olivia Says:

   Why not make it so much easier on yourself and join the FPB?

   It’s a doddle online – and so far, I’ve been impressed with the organisation’s “friendly, can-do” attitude…

Leave a Comment