REF: U*X*L Gale Evaluation Request????

[Debbie Gouldin <gouldid@YAHOO.COM>]

I have been a media specialist for 2 years in a middle
school library.  One of my first tasks was to clean up
several situations with billing of "preview"
materials, among them one with U*X*L/Gale.   It took
several months to get charges reversed for "preview"
materials that did not exist in our collection.

Near the end of last school year, a Gale rep. asked me
to evaluate a set of reference books.  He mailed them
to me, and I realized that I had the preceeding
edition already in my collection.  I could not find
any significant differences between the two editions.
I searched the packaging in vain to locate a return
tag and/or a survey form on which to record my
evaluation. I called the gentleman who had requested
the evaluation after several months of no additional
contact from him, explained that I felt the new
edition and the older edition were too simliar to
consider an update, and asked him how I was to return
them.  He called a shipping company which, in turn,
picked them up.  Not much ventured or gained from this
process for either myself or the company, huh?

Is this a frequent occurance?  Do other companies do
this?  Is this an attempt to get you to purchase the
product?  Do they later bill you for the product if
you do not take the initiative to contact them to
return it?  Because I am new, I am not familiar with
all the business practices of such firms as Gale, and
I am not trying to imply that they have done anything
wrong, as this may be a perfectly normal request, but
I would like to know how to respond to future request
of this nature.

Thank you for any insights you can provide.


=====
Debbie Gouldin, MS
Elm City Middle School
Elm City, NC
gouldid@yahoo.com

To look up and not down, To look forward and not back,
To look out and not in--and to lend a hand.--Mary Engeilbreit

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