Groovy Game Gear has crappy communication and is slow. (Mod edit: Disputed, read

[leapinlew]

I bet what happened is that Randy is working on a new product. The GGG TitaniumGem Mail Server with SHAZAM spam guard TRADEMARK COPYRIGHT PATENT PENDING.

Probably just a bug.

[Louis Tully]

.

[CheffoJeffo]

To be fair to likwid, his complaint was a lack of communication, not delivery time.

But Randy indicated he never received likwid's emails, and likwid never received Randy's.  That's not GGG's fault, nor is it likwid's.  It just happens sometimes.   

To be fair to reality...

What I'm saying is that I sent manual emails to the customer service email address twice once I finally got a tracking number.

Which was Friday.....
....and you started this thread on Sunday.

Not even one business day had passed. 

Regardless of who received what, starting 3 ---smurfette--- threads on SUNDAY complaining about a lack of response for emails that were sent on FRIDAY, makes him a class-A --cream-filled twinkie--.

[DashRendar]

Oh- I agree.  I'm just saying don't call him a ---meecrob--- for complaining about the delivery time--

Call him a ---meecrob--- for complaining about the communication time.

 

I do think that Saint should rename this thread to something like "An Impatient Git's Rant".   

[Warborg]

A few days late, but another +1 for Randy...  I've ordered parts from him to build 2 different cabinets over the years and have always gotten what I needed and gotten it reasonably quickly and for a good price.  Additionally, if I have needed any support or advice Randy has always been more then happy to help out and has gotten in protracted discussions with me just to fill in details I needed, provide advice, and even discuss upcoming projects with me when I've asked about possible future needs.  I have nothing but good to say about GGG and Randy.

And as far as some of the other comments about the OP has the right to post about his dissatisfaction, of course he does...  But when it borders on customer tantrum about how he's going to go around and try to turn people away from GGG and such, that's a bit of jerksauce with a side of hissy.

[JustMichael]

I have ordered from Randy in the past and never had a problem.  One thing you have to realize about most mail-order companies (in general) is they prioritize your order according to how you want it shipped.  Next day shipping orders get filled first, 3-day shipping orders get filled next and 8-10 day shipping orders get filled when they get to them.  So if you go slowest shipping expect your order to take longer to get shipped!  Randy stepping up and paying for faster shipping out of his own pocket speaks volumes about him.  As for communication, ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- happens.  It is a fact of life.  If you don't get a reply, try back in a few days.

[Nephasth]

I need to start a thread about the OP's recent lack of communication in this thread...

[bradx]

I have ordered from Randy in the past and never had a problem.  One thing you have to realize about most mail-order companies (in general) is they prioritize your order according to how you want it shipped.  Next day shipping orders get filled first, 3-day shipping orders get filled next and 8-10 day shipping orders get filled when they get to them.  So if you go slowest shipping expect your order to take longer to get shipped!  Randy stepping up and paying for faster shipping out of his own pocket speaks volumes about him.  As for communication, ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- happens.  It is a fact of life.  If you don't get a reply, try back in a few days.

thats why i ordered priority from him, it cost like 50 cents extra.  complaining about a week to receive an order is ridiculous, i sell on ebay all the time and the seller is allowed 7 days to ship.  if someone orders and receives their order within a week that is prompt service in my opinion.

[isucamper]

I want to throw in some GGG support.  I've got 2 or 3 orders in with them and they were shipped quickly and all parts are functioning 2-3 years later.  I don't think 3-4 days for communication or 7 days to ship is ANYTHING to throw this big a stink about.  We should trick lik into ordering something from RAM and see how he feels. 

[Gatt]

It's something Randy should look into though.  The OP said that he sent it via the contact for on GGG's website.  Randy should be getting 100% of those without any SPAM filters getting them. 

I can confirm that during the time period in question,  Randy was able to receive contacts via the website.  I contacted him during this timeframe,  and he received my request and was able to accomidate my request.

As such,  and given the OP's behavior here,  I question whether or not he made the attempt to contact Randy.  Randy had no problems getting mine,  the other guys weren't there,  so I believe that the other guy never made an attempt to contact him,  or if he did,  he did not do it through Randy's site.

Of course,  it also goes without saying I received high-quality parts in good order 2 days after shipping.  Again,  I reiterate,  I would give GGG an AAA rating as a retailer.

[leapinlew]

I would give GGG an AAA rating as a retailer.

Due to the lack of Novagems, I would give him a AA+ rating

[TPB]

We should trick lik into ordering something from RAM and see how he feels.  

[RayB]

I would give GGG an AAA rating as a retailer.

Due to the lack of Novagems, I would give him a AA+ rating

   

[DJWheels]

Glad I found this post even if it is how ever many years old.
-Just because some of you had good experiences with GGG doesn't mean someone else can't have a bad experience. With that said, I've never had a problem with GGG until recently. If some of you want to defend him because he's just a small one man operation blah blah blah...and everyone else is slower, that's fine, but I find it unacceptable.  That's part of the problem with this country in general. We have been conditioned to accept mediocre (if not crappy) service.
 I find it extremely unprofessional to have to repeatedly send messages to customer service, regarding an issue with an item I ordered, over a period of several weeks and not get a response, until finally, when I said I would voice my displeasure on all the gaming sites. Boy he sure was able to respond quickly after that message, apologizing and saying it was an "oversight". To me that is a slap in the face and is basically saying your issue isn't important and I figured you would eventually just go away and I wouldn't have to deal with you. His other excuse was being backed up with orders from people getting their tax returns. Well guess what, cry me a river. Hire some help instead of making excuses! You are in business to provide business. If you can't handle the workload than maybe you shouldn't be in business!

[Malenko]

You should definitely bump a 7 year old dead thread instead of starting a new one.

[pbj]

That sucks.

[Malenko]

That sucks.

That a mod approved a necrobump as a first post? Agreed. I got $5 on it being Scott.

[Vigo]

A first post specifically to bash a vendor here, and openly admits he is making rounds on "all the gaming sites" to do this.

I'm sure DJ wheels will be a long standing member here who will stick around to benefit the community. 

[keilmillerjr]

Glad I found this post even if it is how ever many years old.
-Just because some of you had good experiences with GGG doesn't mean someone else can't have a bad experience. With that said, I've never had a problem with GGG until recently. If some of you want to defend him because he's just a small one man operation blah blah blah...and everyone else is slower, that's fine, but I find it unacceptable.  That's part of the problem with this country in general. We have been conditioned to accept mediocre (if not crappy) service.
 I find it extremely unprofessional to have to repeatedly send messages to customer service, regarding an issue with an item I ordered, over a period of several weeks and not get a response, until finally, when I said I would voice my displeasure on all the gaming sites. Boy he sure was able to respond quickly after that message, apologizing and saying it was an "oversight". To me that is a slap in the face and is basically saying your issue isn't important and I figured you would eventually just go away and I wouldn't have to deal with you. His other excuse was being backed up with orders from people getting their tax returns. Well guess what, cry me a river. Hire some help instead of making excuses! You are in business to provide business. If you can't handle the workload than maybe you shouldn't be in business!

[jeremymtc]

If some of you want to defend him because he's just a small one man operation blah blah blah... You are in business to provide business. If you can't handle the workload than maybe you shouldn't be in business!

If you can't handle dealing with a one-man operation, maybe you should go to one of the big-box niche arcade hardware suppliers instead. I hear WalMart has a great custom arcade part aisle. 

[Nephasth]

GET HIM!!!

[RandyT]

I'll just respond to this with the final email sent to this person, so the story is clear.

My apologies for not getting back to you.  It has been very busy here suddenly with tax refunds starting to be received by customers, as well as our own tax filings coming due.  It was a simple oversight.

We also do not list the unit as being compatible with the Pi, nor did you contact us to inquire about compatibility before ordering it and connecting it to the unit.  If you had, I would have told you what I know, just as I did in response to your question when you asked after the fact.  The incompatibility is due to software on the Pi, not the hardware, and some have indicated that it works for them.  It does, however, work with what is listed in the item description, as we have tested it.

You can return the unit for credit if you would like.  We don't normally allow this, as we can't sell it anymore.  The reason for this is because those who would wish to return non-defective electronics would assuredly not be happy to receive an electronic item purchased as new, but which was already used and returned by someone else.  It would be an unfair practice

Randy

[Mike A]

I have ordered from Randy a few times. I have never had any problems.

It does however seem that communication by some of the vendors in this hobby is pretty substandard. KLOV has multiple threads where vendors take too long to answer their customers. If you are going to run a business than treat it as such. Prompt communication is simple and easy. None of my customers care if I have a lot of orders, or have to file my taxes, or paint my nails, or whatever other excuse there is not to send an email or make a phone call.

Prompt communication can alleviate many of customer complaints.

[RandyT]

Prompt communication is simple and easy.

If there were 48 hours in a day, I would agree.  But when you have 30 orders in a backlog, several of which are large quantities for commercial entities who are also experiencing a spike for the same reasons, and you have to price your goods in a way which cannot support additional employees, something has to give.

I wish I could do more, but situations like these are starting to impact my decision as to whether I wish to keep putting myself through this.  I'm not as young as I was 14 years ago when I started this.

[Malenko]

Out of curiosity, what did he order?

[Mike A]

Your customers don't care how busy you think you are. How many emails do you get in a day? Let's be real. How long would it take to answer them and move on?

[pbj]

Out of curiosity, what did he order?

$5 cash in hand for whatever it was.

[RandyT]

Out of curiosity, what did he order?

GP-Wiz.  There are posts on this board from someone who says it works fine with his Pi, and posts elsewhere which say there are some issues due to the Pi's joystick handling implementation.  Support is even different between applications running on the thing.

Your customers don't care how busy you think you are. How many emails do you get in a day? Let's be real. How long would it take to answer them and move on?

About 20.  Some are simple questions about something they purchased, which are to the point, and they get answered in a decent timeframe.  Some are nebulous laundry lists from those who haven't ordered anything, which take as much time to answer as it would for me to build a joystick someone has ordered and is waiting for. 

[Mike A]

You should take the time to answer them. If you don't than you shouldn't be surprised when people are unhappy about what you believe is a minor issue. It very well could be. But when it is compounded by silence on your end the problem becomes worse. If you are too busy to communicate effectively with your customers than you need to hire help. If you cannot afford to hire help than your business plan needs some work or maybe the business just isn't viable. That is not a criticism of you personally. Sometimes it just doesn't work. Like I said before, I have ordered from you a few times and I have had no problems. You are not running a shady business. It just sounds like you are a little overwhelmed and I hope things work out well for you.

[RandyT]

I appreciate what seems to be a sincere attempt at providing advice, but we've been doing this for 14 years, and while many who have attempted to remain viable in this niche market have come and gone in that time, we are still here (for now.)  Sometimes, you have to scale yourself to the market and the profit margins.  But I won't go into any more detail. 

BTW, I have placed sincere inquiries with much larger companies than ours (yes, I'm not the only one who works here ), and unless you are placing a large order, not getting a reply is almost the norm. 

[yotsuya]

Pi-related. Figures. Pfft.

Randy is top-notch in my book. He was the first arcade vendor I ordered from when I started the summer of 2010. He even fixed something for me for free he had no obligation to. I’d keep using him without hesitation.

[Malenko]

RandyT, you need to update your website with a larger aquarium section.

[pbj]

Pi-related. Figures. Pfft.

Frankly, if I were Randy, I wouldn't take a "pfft" attitude towards Pi support.  There is no reason from his website to suspect that it wouldn't work with a Pi and the statements talking about how many things support his devices kind of imply that it does.

Like it or not, this hobby has taken a major pivot towards using Pis in everything.   If he chooses not to modernize his lineup and sales pitch, that's his business, but it's definitely out of step with how things are going.

[RandyT]

Frankly, if I were Randy, I wouldn't take a "pfft" attitude towards Pi support. 

I don't take that attitude toward the Pi.  But when one person says they have it working fine, and another says they have issues, then based on the hundred variables in such a system, it's impossible to support it.  That is why we don't specifically mention Pi support for any electronics.  With the Pi, it seems like many things only work with it, if you have the knowledge to make it so.  There are other more serious concerns with the Pi, such as the fact, based on what I have been reading, that the Pi does not do any regulation of power before it reaches the USB port.  As most using it are powering those devices with a cheap wall wart supply, which are notorious for dirty power, incorrect voltages, etc., it endangers everything attached to it.

That said, I have been working to add support on a future product which takes into account some of the known issues, without sacrificing compatibility with PCs.  The Pi will never be a good substitute for a PC, unless the individual Pi user has all of the variables under control.  Unfortunately, many don't, and support for someone else's hardware base is well beyond what we can reasonably do.

[Ian]

Pi-related. Figures. Pfft.

Randy is top-notch in my book. He was the first arcade vendor I ordered from when I started the summer of 2010. He even fixed something for me for free he had no obligation to. I’d keep using him without hesitation.

Myself as well.... Randy is the best! And we appreciate everything you do for the community. You don't even have to come on a message board to defend yourself. There are enough of us that have experienced your A+ customer service that will back you up.

[Ian]

And this should be a different thread, this one should be locked.

[yotsuya]

Pi-related. Figures. Pfft.

Frankly, if I were Randy, I wouldn't take a "pfft" attitude towards Pi support.  There is no reason from his website to suspect that it wouldn't work with a Pi and the statements talking about how many things support his devices kind of imply that it does.

Like it or not, this hobby has taken a major pivot towards using Pis in everything.   If he chooses not to modernize his lineup and sales pitch, that's his business, but it's definitely out of step with how things are going.

Randy didn’t take that attitude - I did.

It’s not Randy’s job to do other people’s homework.

[Malenko]

And this should be a different thread, this one should be locked.

This thread should have been locked YEARS ago.

[jeremymtc]

RandyT, you need to update your website with a larger aquarium section.

I'm still on the lookout for sitdown-style aquarium kit. I can't believe that no one in the arcade parts industry offers one. Such incompetence.

[ZoOl007]

Regarding the Pi: I do agree with some of what has been said above.
A good PSU is absolutely mandatory or you will have all sorts of 'weird' issues.
Having written code that runs on ARM/Pi I can confirm that the LEDWiz works as it should ( and his little brother too - I always forget the name - it has the same hwid)
What is a problem is that most Pi users use linux because they have to and not because they like it and that is the major stumbling block once it gets a little bit complicated...
I tend to disregard people too if I feel they didn't do their homework. All the other ones I've helped...
Most do their homework though.