Ex Ideal World Employee - Ask away! Anything

[TimeForTheTruth]

What discount do the staff and presenters get if they order a product?

Annoyingly they can only order over the phone. So everyone uses the work phones! The discount is 20% on everything, and still get flexi-pay.

 

[scbu]

In your time at IW did a product ever get pulled from air coz it just wasnt selling ?

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

In your time at IW did a product ever get pulled from air coz it just wasnt selling ?

It happens now and again. Anytime that a completely new product comes in anytime other than at the start of a new hour, it will be due to a sell out, it not selling at all, or presenter/guest illness.

 

[cheesecake]

20% is a really generous discount!!! I'm sure Morrisons and Tesco is only 10%

 

[Bea Frugal]

All very interesting. I'm happy to take the new arrival at face value and don't think there's anything to be gained by getting shirty. I would like to know what arrangement there is between IW and the vendor. Do IW just charge for airtime or do they take a percentage of the sales? What sort of credentials must a vendor have in order to be considered? Do they take back their unsold goods or do IW buy them all and eventually put them into clearance? Also, are the presenters employed as full time staff or are they on short term contracts and/or commission?

 

[LoobyLou]

I have spoken to all the demonstrators who have done the bissel. If the paint is relatively fresh, it should come up, but it'll depend on the paint. Ideal world demonstrate with Dulux matt paint, and the colour is ivy green. Ideal world cameras aren't good enough to pick up the small bits that are not cleaned. But again, it is real paint. Believe me, I thought it was all a scam too until I worked there. All the demonstrators said to me that if any stain has been there longer than a day or two it probably won't come out. So don't listen when they say "if you've been hiding a stain with a rug, but this", because it won't work. Most people buy because they've had a long term stain and are disappointed.

You're more than welcome to doubt me. It makes no difference to me.

In the one breath you tell us demos are NOT faked and in the next you tell us that if a paint stain has been there longer than one day a Bissell will not remove it. So therefore by deduction if the claim on air is that it will remove a stain 'you have been hiding under your rug', it must be faked!

 

[LoobyLou]

Funnily enough, I'm enfuriated that I come on here to help , which many appreciate. Yet some are just like "fake! Pr stunt" . No. No it's not. Just like karcher demos are fake. No they aren't. You have no idea quite how much ASA are on Ideal Worlds back. It's the most regulated form of tevision, as well as method of shopping. Each show has over a 150 page document of what can and can't be said, who can say what, for how long and in what context. Demos are thought out by a specialist team to not only be creative but source material for demos, and if they can't source it, how they can recreate it.
Risk assessments are written for every demo and product. Tv costs thousands per hour. They can't ruin all of that time and money by lying. ASA would have them shut down instantly.

Not sure I am buying this as I have made craft samples for IW/CC via one of their Guests, and whilst I was encouraged to use the Guest's products it was not forbidden to use any other product I fancied! So you couldn't necessarily recreate something I made if you didn't possess the items I used.

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

All very interesting. I'm happy to take the new arrival at face value and don't think there's anything to be gained by getting shirty. I would like to know what arrangement there is between IW and the vendor. Do IW just charge for airtime or do they take a percentage of the sales? What sort of credentials must a vendor have in order to be considered? Do they take back their unsold goods or do IW buy them all and eventually put them into clearance? Also, are the presenters employed as full time staff or are they on short term contracts and/or commission?

I can't answer all this as I worked in the TV side of it, not the business side. But from what I know, IW simply buy stock in mass and sell it. Only a few shows pay for the air time, like cruise shows.
Some presenters are contracted and some, like Andy ,Loen and Dave are freelance.

 

[Bennyxp]

ideal world operate as if they are constantly watched.
Companies don't pay £4-6000 an hour per show. I have no idea who told you that, but its false. There aren't actually many shows that pay for airtime. One of them is the cruise show though.

When I worked there every programme had to pay a certain amount around £4,000 to cover costs, and then profit from the item would be split between IW and the company being shown.

When i worked there, everybody told me the same thing, and it was vaguely on the Ideal Shopping Direct website.

Usually it would be between 50-60%, however, popular shows, may only have to pay 30% profit, as they can negotiate, as they could go to another channel. I.e. Easyo yogurt went to QVC because of a better deal.

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

Not sure I am buying this as I have made craft samples for IW/CC via one of their Guests, and whilst I was encouraged to use the Guest's products it was not forbidden to use any other product I fancied! So you couldn't necessarily recreate something I made if you didn't possess the items I used.

You've completely mis-interpreted this.
I'm talking about demos for things like steam cleaners. Development production comes up with ideas of what to clean, like burnt on grease. They try to use proper burnt on tins of grease from cooking if they can, but come up with ideas such as "gravy browning" if its not possible.
Samples for craft, as you rightly said are brought in and made by companies, friends and families of the products they came from.

 

[Bennyxp]

Annoyingly they can only order over the phone. So everyone uses the work phones! The discount is 20% on everything, and still get flexi-pay.

Free P&P though, as they pick it up from the warehouse!

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

In the one breath you tell us demos are NOT faked and in the next you tell us that if a paint stain has been there longer than one day a Bissell will not remove it. So therefore by deduction if the claim on air is that it will remove a stain 'you have been hiding under your rug', it must be faked!

I'm confused as to what you are saying. The demo on screen is not faked. A piece of carpet is cut, Dulux green ivy paint is painted onto it live on air. The paint is left to dry, and then using a bissel and "oxygen" formula, it is removed.
Presenters make claims that it will remove any stain, no matter how long it has been there. According to the demonstrators, this is not true. But reasonably fresh paint, as done on air does come out.
I have stood 3 foot away watching them paint the carpet and clean it, hundreds of times. The actual on air demo is not faked, but I would personally say the truth is bent in regards to how good bissell would deal with stains that have been in a carpet for a long period of time.

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

When I worked there every programme had to pay a certain amount around £4,000 to cover costs, and then profit from the item would be split between IW and the company being shown.

When i worked there, everybody told me the same thing, and it was vaguely on the Ideal Shopping Direct website.

Usually it would be between 50-60%, however, popular shows, may only have to pay 30% profit, as they can negotiate, as they could go to another channel. I.e. Easyo yogurt went to QVC because of a better deal.

You could well be right. I worked as a floor manager and was not involved in the business side.

 

[Big Barbie]

Thanks for this thread TFTT. I'm very new to this site so have not yet seen the types of comments you are wanting to discourage. I have really enjoyed reading a little about how telly works as I had no insight to this before. I think you have not been all positive about all things IW but have given a professional and considered response to questions.
I left a job that I liked very much last year, out of necessity. The fact that I no longer work for that service doesn't mean I don't believe that what they do is important and often find myself correcting misconceptions about them, so I get where you are coming from by coming on here.
I hope the reasonable questions keep coming, and your passion for TV work keeps you answering them.
Thanks x

 

[Evie]

Apologies if this has been asked already. I have read your replies on staff auctions and discounts but what about receiving freebies? We sometimes hear guests say that a presenter has taken an item or there is a sort of hint that they may receive a gift?????

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

Thanks for this thread TFTT. I'm very new to this site so have not yet seen the types of comments you are wanting to discourage. I have really enjoyed reading a little about how telly works as I had no insight to this before. I think you have not been all positive about all things IW but have given a professional and considered response to questions.
I left a job that I liked very much last year, out of necessity. The fact that I no longer work for that service doesn't mean I don't believe that what they do is important and often find myself correcting misconceptions about them, so I get where you are coming from by coming on here.
I hope the reasonable questions keep coming, and your passion for TV work keeps you answering them.
Thanks x

Thank you! Someone that understands. I don't know everything but what I do know I'd like to correct. But even with this knowledge I'm being told I'm lying. Crazy.

 

[TimeForTheTruth]

Apologies if this has been asked already. I have read your replies on staff auctions and discounts but what about receiving freebies? We sometimes hear guests say that a presenter has taken an item or there is a sort of hint that they may receive a gift?????

Guests do sometimes give free stuff away if its their own stock. Zhuzh etc

 

[StumpyBloke]

Thank you! Someone that understands. I don't know everything but what I do know I'd like to correct. But even with this knowledge I'm being told I'm lying. Crazy.

Personally, I am amazed you are still posting here considering some of the **** being thrown your way! You are more tolerant than me!!


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[TimeForTheTruth]

Personally, I am amazed you are still posting here considering some of the **** being thrown your way! You are more tolerant than me!!


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Lol thanks. I won't be here forever. But if I had just left and gone quiet the cynical ones would have even more reason to believe I was lying and ideal world are scammers. Trust me, I believed the same until I worked there. So much rubbish speculation about stuff that's just not true. Lol

 

[Sparkles26]

What do you mean by Loen, Andy and Dave are freelance? (Sorry for being thick)


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