Kindra Watters Georgia CTAE Resource Network 2010 Consumer Goods and Services

 FCS-CA-4 › Students will identify effective practices for purchasing consumer goods and services  A. Explore the effect of advertising on consumer decisions.  B. Identify consumer rights and responsibilities.  C. Evaluate ways to solve performance and design problems, billing errors, or misunderstandings to satisfy the consumer. Continued…

 D. Identify the major differences between basic contractual obligations, warranties, and contracts.  E. Explain the process of comparison shopping.

 Advertising “tells” the consumer about their product and why the consumer should purchase it.  Advertisers-the companies/businesses that place the advertisement.  Media- the various mediums used to convey a message. (medium is singular for media which is plural).

 Direct Mail  Magazines  Billboards  Marine/Air-displaying ads at games or events on a boat or plane  Electronic:  Radio and television  Internet  Infomercials

 Newspapers › Include classified ads  Jobs  Items and tickets for sale  Yard sales › Example newspaper: The New York Times Continued…

 Magazines › Advertise throughout the periodical  Periodical-another name for written and bound material › Example magazine: Southern Living

 DECEPTIVE ADVERTISEMENTS: › If it is too good to be true. › If it asks you to send money before you receive the product. › If you have to give your personal information. › If you have to work for free before a wage agreement is met.

 Statistics regarding advertising › AdvertisingandBranding/AdvertisingandBran dingStatistics/tabid/70/Default.aspx › /businessstatistics/article82676.html Effects of Advertising

 Interactive Website › teachers.html  FTC’s WEST TERRACE: › Shuman’s Shoes Lesson: Ads and Endorsements There are lots of different kinds of ads. Here, visitors can design their own poster for a shoe sale or listen to a popular DJ’s endorsement to determine whether it’s an ad. Market- Match Wireless › Lesson: Targeted Marketing Businesses use target marketing to reach specific audiences. Visitors can learn more about target marketing by matching different styles of cell phones with their target audiences. Play this matching game again and again to beat your best time. Gr8 Gadgets › Lesson: False or Misleading Ads Misleading ads cause lots of problems for businesses and consumers. Visitors watch a misleading commercial and then learn how it has caused problems for everyone involved. They also learn how the FTC prosecutes companies that intentionally mislead consumers.

 Role of federal government in assuring the rights of consumers › cp/about.shtm › cp/edu/pubs/consum er/credit/cre01.shtm

RightsResponsibilities Right to safetyResponsibility to use products safely Right to be informedResponsibility to use information Right to chooseResponsibility to choose carefully Right to be heardResponsibility to speak up Right to redress (legal action on violations of laws) Responsibility to seek redress Right to consumer education Rights to service Responsibility to learn Responsibility to reward good service Consumer Rights and Responsibilities

 Resolving Customer Complaints? Billing Errors? Misunderstandings?  Contact the company and calmly discuss the situation.  Make a complaint-in person; by mail; or by phone. Keep a copy of everything sent and follow the company’s complaint procedures.  If needed, take further action: contact state or federal agency; the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or take legal action, consult an attorney.  Small claims court- a way to recover and come to a settlement over a legal matter. Source: The Creative Living Textbook Consumer Complaints

 Warranty-a guarantee for a length of time that the consumer can depend on a product that will not be defunct.  Contract-a binding agreement that lists services/product performance expected for a duration of time. Warranties and Contracts

 Comparison Shopping Video › Brain Pop Subscription Required ml Where is the better buy? Store A or Store B Store A Store B