Aqua Velva NOT Going Plastic ... so they say ... and a year later ... :(

Here's the response I finally received from their customer service department:

Thank you for contacting us regarding Aqua Velva. We welcome all comments about our products.

We previously looked into converting Aqua Velva from glass to plastic but decided that we would hold off on any further development until further testing takes place with consumers. Given the current economic climate, we felt it was best to stay the course with our current glass product.

Thank you for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Sophia Stone

Sophia Stone
Senior Consultant, Consumer Resources

Case #345886

Wishoot said:

Here's the response I finally received from their customer service department:

Thank you for contacting us regarding Aqua Velva. We welcome all comments about our products.

We previously looked into converting Aqua Velva from glass to plastic but decided that we would hold off on any further development until further testing takes place with consumers. Given the current economic climate, we felt it was best to stay the course with our current glass product.

Thank you for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Sophia Stone

Sophia Stone
Senior Consultant, Consumer Resources

Case #345886

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So when the economy improves, they will go to plastic bottles

Sounds like a good plan on their part. Any company making a major change, for better or worse, is pretty risky right now.

I got the good news as well. Of course, I bought four large glass bottles just in case. Aqua Velva is such a good product that any change would have to be for the worse.

norman931 said:

I got the good news as well. Of course, I bought four large glass bottles just in case. Aqua Velva is such a good product that any change would have to be for the worse.

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Me too. I have enough AV in glass bottles to last for a couple of years now.

norman931 said:

I got the good news as well. Of course, I bought four large glass bottles just in case. Aqua Velva is such a good product that any change would have to be for the worse.

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Just four? I laid in a supply of six large bottles, in addition to the one I had just started.

i think we need to put a stop to the "oh my god they are discontinuing product x!" stuff. because it appears whenever this happens everyone flips out with zero information.

I received the same email. I am confident that they were going to change without a thought to the customers desires. It the same mentally that turned Gillette from the greatest manufacture of shaving equipment the world has seen into just another marketing company that sell razors and shaving stuff.

crocto said:

i think we need to put a stop to the "oh my god they are discontinuing product x!" stuff. because it appears whenever this happens everyone flips out with zero information.

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No kidding. Last year, when Wal-mart stopped carrying Williams soap, everyone flipped and thought Williams was being discontinued. Well, it's still around, and will probably be around for another 100 years. It's just that Wal-mart stopped carrying it, not everyone else..

I use Aqua Velva like a kid playing in a water fountain. I would be willing to bet that after every shave every single day, I use more Aqua Velva than anyone here. I'm talking 5 palm fulls of it. Why? because the scent doesn't linger on me and the menthol feels amazing. It also tends to burn furiously, stings hard and quickly, and then its done. Old Spice on the other hand, being one of my favorites, tends to linger in the burn department. Ever since my regular use of Aqua Velva, I've pretty much back shelved the Old Spice.

crocto said:

i think we need to put a stop to the "oh my god they are discontinuing product x!" stuff. because it appears whenever this happens everyone flips out with zero information.

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In this case, nobody flipped out with "zero information". Several of us here, as well as at the other forums, were told first hand by Williams/Combe that the change was indeed taking place. There's a difference between unsubstantiated rumors and fact. If you were to go back and read over the threads regarding the proposed change, you would see that the rumors were substantiated, and we collectively put a halt to Williams plans to continue down that path. Had we taken your advice, we'd all be here pissing and moaning about our "new" plastic Aqua Velva. We were already too late to save Canada as it were.

I fully believe that if you hear of rumors or proposed changes, contact the company before making a public scare campaign. That's just the skeptic in me talking, but if the rumors are verified by the company in question, there's not one good reason under the sun why you shouldn't start a letter writing/phone call campaign to let your opinions be heard. The hobby we take part in, gentlemen, is one that is constantly on the verge of being manipulated by the "big dogs" that employ corporate bean counters to formulate the products we use, and we- the consumers- are the only voice of reason that can go over the heads of the money men and into the consideration of the big wigs that make the stuff we use.

Had B&B been around twenty years ago, we'd probably still have Shulton formula Old Spice as well as such things as Old Spice soap, glass bottle Skin Bracer and Clubman products, a US made Gillette safety razor, etc. But instead, "everyone flipped out with zero information" and let the Big Dogs **** in our yard.

damn........ guess I'm stocked up for a while........

Good News calls for a

Wishoot said:

Here's the response I finally received from their customer service department:

Thank you for contacting us regarding Aqua Velva. We welcome all comments about our products.

We previously looked into converting Aqua Velva from glass to plastic but decided that we would hold off on any further development until further testing takes place with consumers. Given the current economic climate, we felt it was best to stay the course with our current glass product.

Thank you for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Sophia Stone

Sophia Stone
Senior Consultant, Consumer Resources

Case #345886

Click to expand...

That's good to hear, I contacted them as well a couple weeks ago and haven't heard a thing back.

FWIW, I've heard a lot of AV ads whilst listening to NCAA tournament coverage on the radio.

ClubmanRob said:

In this case, nobody flipped out with "zero information". Several of us here, as well as at the other forums, were told first hand by Williams/Combe that the change was indeed taking place. There's a difference between unsubstantiated rumors and fact. If you were to go back and read over the threads regarding the proposed change, you would see that the rumors were substantiated, and we collectively put a halt to Williams plans to continue down that path. Had we taken your advice, we'd all be here pissing and moaning about our "new" plastic Aqua Velva. We were already too late to save Canada as it were.

I fully believe that if you hear of rumors or proposed changes, contact the company before making a public scare campaign. That's just the skeptic in me talking, but if the rumors are verified by the company in question, there's not one good reason under the sun why you shouldn't start a letter writing/phone call campaign to let your opinions be heard. The hobby we take part in, gentlemen, is one that is constantly on the verge of being manipulated by the "big dogs" that employ corporate bean counters to formulate the products we use, and we- the consumers- are the only voice of reason that can go over the heads of the money men and into the consideration of the big wigs that make the stuff we use.

Had B&B been around twenty years ago, we'd probably still have Shulton formula Old Spice as well as such things as Old Spice soap, glass bottle Skin Bracer and Clubman products, a US made Gillette safety razor, etc. But instead, "everyone flipped out with zero information" and let the Big Dogs **** in our yard.

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+1

Good points, Rob!

ClubmanRob said:

In this case, nobody flipped out with "zero information". Several of us here, as well as at the other forums, were told first hand by Williams/Combe that the change was indeed taking place. There's a difference between unsubstantiated rumors and fact. If you were to go back and read over the threads regarding the proposed change, you would see that the rumors were substantiated, and we collectively put a halt to Williams plans to continue down that path. Had we taken your advice, we'd all be here pissing and moaning about our "new" plastic Aqua Velva. We were already too late to save Canada as it were.

I fully believe that if you hear of rumors or proposed changes, contact the company before making a public scare campaign. That's just the skeptic in me talking, but if the rumors are verified by the company in question, there's not one good reason under the sun why you shouldn't start a letter writing/phone call campaign to let your opinions be heard. The hobby we take part in, gentlemen, is one that is constantly on the verge of being manipulated by the "big dogs" that employ corporate bean counters to formulate the products we use, and we- the consumers- are the only voice of reason that can go over the heads of the money men and into the consideration of the big wigs that make the stuff we use.

Had B&B been around twenty years ago, we'd probably still have Shulton formula Old Spice as well as such things as Old Spice soap, glass bottle Skin Bracer and Clubman products, a US made Gillette safety razor, etc. But instead, "everyone flipped out with zero information" and let the Big Dogs **** in our yard.

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What?

Trust me, they don't care about B&B

ClubmanRob said:

In this case, nobody flipped out with "zero information". Several of us here, as well as at the other forums, were told first hand by Williams/Combe that the change was indeed taking place. There's a difference between unsubstantiated rumors and fact. If you were to go back and read over the threads regarding the proposed change, you would see that the rumors were substantiated, and we collectively put a halt to Williams plans to continue down that path. Had we taken your advice, we'd all be here pissing and moaning about our "new" plastic Aqua Velva. We were already too late to save Canada as it were.

I fully believe that if you hear of rumors or proposed changes, contact the company before making a public scare campaign. That's just the skeptic in me talking, but if the rumors are verified by the company in question, there's not one good reason under the sun why you shouldn't start a letter writing/phone call campaign to let your opinions be heard. The hobby we take part in, gentlemen, is one that is constantly on the verge of being manipulated by the "big dogs" that employ corporate bean counters to formulate the products we use, and we- the consumers- are the only voice of reason that can go over the heads of the money men and into the consideration of the big wigs that make the stuff we use.

Had B&B been around twenty years ago, we'd probably still have Shulton formula Old Spice as well as such things as Old Spice soap, glass bottle Skin Bracer and Clubman products, a US made Gillette safety razor, etc. But instead, "everyone flipped out with zero information" and let the Big Dogs **** in our yard.

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that's all well and good but i see most people here fly off the handle about this stuff getting info from bad sources (crabtree and evelyn store reps for example) and running with it.

you're also assuming that we're a big market. plus we should all know by now companies will do whatever makes them money regardless of how pissed people are or who they screw over, AIG for example.

I stock-piled AV. I probably have enough Musk and Ice Blue to last a few years. Good to hear that they aren't changing after all.


DL

crocto said:

that's all well and good but i see most people here fly off the handle about this stuff getting info from bad sources (crabtree and evelyn store reps for example) and running with it.

you're also assuming that we're a big market. plus we should all know by now companies will do whatever makes them money regardless of how pissed people are or who they screw over, AIG for example.

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I agree with you about flying off the handle without any info to back it. As I pointed out though, that was not the case here.

And yes, big companies tend to be heartless, money grubbing jerks that care little about what we like. But I disagree with you on one point- we are a big market. We at B&B are the fellas that butter the bread of companies like Williams. Combe/Williams doesn't have Gillette's tendency to reach out to the younger "extreme" generation. Think of their big three products- Aqua Velva, Williams Mug Shaving Soap, and Just For Men hair color. Those are products that are marketed outside of the "golden" demographic of 18-27 year olds- and as such, we traditional grass roots wetshavers are at the core of who buys that stuff. When a brand like Williams goes from idly letting something like AV or Mug Soap sell itself, to receiving hundreds of calls and emails in the space of a few days regarding a proposed change to their flagship product- they tend to sit up and take notice if they have any business acumen.

Companies like Old Spice and Gillette long ago abandoned their built in market and tried reaching out for the youth crowd. Younger, hotter, more extreme- this is the kind of marketing nonsense that has permeated the current Old Spice and Gillette think tanks. Has it been successful? Sure. Have they alienated the people that helped build their companies success? Most definitely.

But poor old Williams doesn't have LL Cool J and Brian Urlacker telling you how awesome you'd be if you used Old Spice body spray, nor do they have Tiger Woods hawking their new Fusion Video Game plasti-razor. They've got a bunch of old men and younger traditionalists that use AV regardless of commercials or endorsements. To **** us off would be stupid, as they have no other demographic to try to appeal to.