I agree 100%! I cannot believe what I hear out in schools. These salespeople are just that. Their only concern is getting you to sign now, on the spot. They have many tricks up their sleeve. How about this one, I know some of them "fill out" their appointment book with fictitious schools so it looks like they are almost booked and you better decide now! Or if you want the same dates as last year, please sign now. Sorry, I am in the business, but many of these guys make "used cars salespeople" look good!
For the most part, half of these schools do not even know what products they will be selling months in advance, but they go ahead and sign early because they do not know any better.
I do not agree that you must fulfill your obligations. Its one thing to break a contract close to the start date, but to change your mind months ahead of time should not be a problem. I have sat with many fundraising representatives and have been appalled with most of them. Most of them are just as sleazy as used car salesmen. I had one rep. call and bad mouth another rep. They think they are doing something amazing by offering you $40 bucks worth of carnival toys. I would not feel guilty about breaking a contract in the Spring for your Fall fundraiser. You have to do what's best for your group, not what's best for a huge company.
You need to fulfill your obligation with the company with which you initially signed and re-examine your decision making process and when that decision is made. It is not fair to simply break a commitment to a company who is trying to plan the success of your sale.
Exactly! I agree. More on the "contract" that you are "tied down to: I hope there are written clauses outlining what happens if the products or catalogs do not arrive on time. How about late and missing orders--it should be on the contract how these are handled. What if the company changed their catalog over the summer or runs out of certain products? Again, it should be in the contract. I have a feeling that none of the contracts have this verbiage. As I said in a earlier email--the contract/agreement is to protect the school, not the company. Now if the school does not pay, that is different, services and products have been bought and sold, and the company has every right to collect.
I do remember one company that threatened to sue for damages because the PTO decided in the spring that they were going to sell with another company in the fall. This happened five months before the start of the sale. The principal of the school was so irate that he got on the phone and called every principal in the district warning them of what actions this company planned to take against his PTO. Final result was complete silence from the fund raising company. Funny how once the principal got involved, the company backed off.
I have a hard time understanding why companies insist on working with schools just because they have a signed contract.... In my estimation, the relationship should be mutual. If the school clearly feels like there's a better deal elsewhere, the company should either match it, or step aside and allow the school to move on. Having said that, please consider the following:
Suppose a school down the street from yours, in a more affluent area needs to start their fundraiser on the same date your campus is contracted to start. Would it be appropriate for the company rep to cancel or reschedule with you just because the other school will be more profitable? In other words, a better deal..
I hope you do not mind my two-cents since I am in the business. A number of points to consider:
---Trust me, the "contract" would probably have a hard time holding up in any court. We do not call it a contract, but instead an "agreement". We do it to protect the school. Until the mid 80's , everything was done over a handshake. Then unscrupulous companies started coming back to schools and telling them they "never said that" or "we never agreed to those prizes". or whatever. Smart schools started asking for the details and promises in writing and thus the written agreements evolved.
---When is canceling an agreement okay? If your sale is going to start next month and all the materials have been ordered and prepared for your school, then certainly I feel you are obligated. But months in advance? Please! Not one item (especially cookie dough) or catalog has been ordered for your school. Other then losing your school to another company, what harm has the original company suffered? None, regardless what they will try to tell you!
---You want out, just tell the company that your school principal said no to the sale. In fact , just tell them you have changed your mind. You have no legal or moral challenges facing you if the sale is not scheduled until next fall.
---Please remember, the main reason a company wants you to sign an agreement/contract early in the game is to keep you from listening to the next company that comes through the door. It has become a joke. I know of schools who sign a year in advance. There is no logical reason to do that, but I am sure the company ( and PT Barnum) loves it.
