OMFG I'm PISSED!

[crashwg]

After waiting a month for a product that I had ordered from SlikStik all the while they're giving me half-assed responses to my emails they have cancelled my order and refunded my card.

I am refering to this post - http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=6;action=display;threadid=17778
particularly reply #3.  The e-mail they mention in that reply is no where to be found on my computer as I had never recieved it.  If I had recieved that message, why the heck would I have posted my frustrations in the first place?

There's absolutly no reason to treat your customers like this!  I have been civil for almost a month now, and now that I posted 1 comment on a message board as to how they jerked me arround, they're just going to cancel my order!!!

I hope everyone who reads this thinks twice the next time they plan on ordering from slikstik.  They are most certainly lacking in the customer service department.

[Sephroth57]

yeah if theyre gonna act like ---uvulas--- just cause you called them a name or something, rightfully so since it took so long. then they dont seem like people i would do buisness with. if only Andy at Ultimarc made like everything possible for arcade machines, I would just order everything from him cause hes helped me with questions through emails numerous times

[Zathras]

I'm not taking any sides in this but I just want to say that everyone should keep in mind email is a "best effort" type system.  They could have sent it and it could be sitting stalled on some mail server somewhere for days before the next hop or it could have been caught in a spam filter somewhere, etc etc.

It doesn't happen often but it does happen.

Now that that is said for full disclosure - I have ordered a Slikstick Tornado before and was happy with the service.

[nipsmg]

Although I can understand SlikStik's frustration at the insult, I know that I refuse to buy anything from a company that would cancel an order of mine for giving an unfavorable review of any kid of their service or product...  Period.

[SpamMe]

...I refuse to buy anything from a company that would cancel an order of mine for giving an unfavorable review of any kid of their service or product...  Period.

Seconded, and sorry it happened to another board member here.

[DrewKaree]

If the free market wasn't such a great way to make money, we'd all go to the "buy it, or else.  now shut up and buy it" method of selling products.

You are ABSOLUTELY correct to not purchase a product that would cancel an order simply because of a complaint/bad review.

I read Maximum PC (sorry for the plug) because, in reading their mag, I've personally SEEN them bash a product that is advertising on THE VERY NEXT PAGE!  

Mebbe if companies took the bad stuff said about them and DID something about it, they'd become market leaders, thereby ....DUH...SUCCEEDING!

*edit*
I see Christian's reply to my post over there as further proof that he could care less about how HE is percieved as the frontman for SlikStick.  I think he's trying to take the title of "most right in their own mind".

[JackTucky]

He cancelled the order because of the "Jerk" and other comments.

I'm a business owner, and I wouldn't let any customer talk to me or write about me like that.  I'd rather be out of business then deal with obnoxious people.

Art

[Nailz]

He cancelled the order because of the "Jerk" and other comments.

I'm a business owner, and I wouldn't let any customer talk to me or write about me like that.  I'd rather be out of business then deal with obnoxious people.

Art

You have a valid point, although as a business owner, I am guessing you wouldn't go out of your way to tell him you don't need his business in front of a couple hundred people either right?

I would also guess, there are times where you have bit your lip and taken it, so that other people will see you are a stand up guy.

[ekopp2]

I have to agree with JackT. And, from my seat in the stands, there is a middle ground here.

It's over-simplifying to say that S/S is simply cancelling the order because of a bad review. S/S is cancelling the order because a customer used a public forum to say that the company sucks and its employees are jerkoffs. Raise your hand if you like being called a jerkoff. That's pretty inflammatory -- you definitely won't find this as a recommended approach in Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Crash: had you made the same post with a civil tone, you might have a different response. It's a bit of, "you reap what you sow."

Having said that, S/S could simply take the high road. "We're sorry for the confusion" would help. S/S: you don't have to take crash as a customer. But, by using the same public forums to make an example out of him, you alienate more potential customers. Then, taking a standoffish approach to an observation that DrewK was making (a pretty even and well-reasoned one, at that), you further push the perception that your customer service may be a bit lacking. If you take the high road, you'd have more forum members saying that you tried and your treatment is fair.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I'm a business owner, and I wouldn't let any customer talk to me or write about me like that.  I'd rather be out of business then deal with obnoxious people.

Art

You are overlooking the other side of this coin however.

Had Christian, and by association SlikStik itself, simply replied publicly to the comments made by Crash with something resembling the e-mails they sent, I think you would have a valid point.
BUT, as customers, should we be forced to deal with obnoxious business owners?
I found Christian's remarks to be nearly as offensive as Crash's, , especially to the others who voiced their opinions on how the matter was handled.


To try and get something positive out of this mess, I think the root cause of this entire problem is the order in which the e-mails were received by Crash, and the information (or lack thereof) that they contained.
He was told one week that he'd "get his sticks as soon as they were polished".
The next week he was told that they were "having trouble getting the steel lately".
I would have interpretted that second e-mail exactly the way he did--"we don't even have the material to make them yet....we lied to you last week to buy us some time".

His REACTION to that news was definitely uncalled for; but I think the response to that reaction was uncalled for as well.
I am hoping that SlikStik will learn from this mess, and make a concerted effort to keep their customers (and the public at large) more informed about the EXACT status of orders and products.

As examples of how to do this EFFECTIVELY, I would point out that Ultimarc is currently out of T-stiks, and Oscar has been closed for several weeks.
Both these events, which are similar in nature to this, were advertised publicly.
Oscar gave expected schedules on the board here for departure and arrival.
Ultimarc put on their website that the T-stiks are out-of-stock, and that they have no estimated date that they will be back.
Andy was also very candid about the colored balltops, giving the public here step-by-step status of their production when requested.

That is why nobody here is upset that Oscar wasn't answering e-mail, or that they just found out that T-stiks are out of stock after ordering some.

[SlikStik-Christian]

This is Jerry from SlikStik.

You know what. We spoke to this customer via email and tried to handle it in a professional manner, we explained we had problems getting stainless and that caused a delay. Everyone here has seen other posts from people that deal with stainless supporting our claim.

Now even though a few of you have said that the price of our raw materials should have nothing to do with our shipping a product and have even compared it to the price of tea in China, quite frankly the cost of raw materials is a real concern in a business and has everything to do with us shipping a product. That

[saint]

Always a dilemma when there's a thread of this nature.  Is it an airing of a legitimate beef, or an attempt at character assassination?  Note that I'm not weighing in on it one way or another. However, if it is a legitimate beef then it's of value to other viewers to see. If it's an attempt at character assassination then it should probably be moved to post-hell.  What if it's somewhere in the middle?

Rather than trying to be a mind reader, and/or run the risk of being accused of censorship or protecting one party or another (which would have its own backlash anyway and be counter-productive even if such was my intent), I have a simple rule I follow.

If the thread stays relatively civil and the language stays acceptable, then I'll leave the thread alone.

This one is already borderline or beyond. Pleaes keep it civil and clean folks. If it degenerates further this thread will be removed.

(this reply is not directed at any single party)

--- saint

[rampy]

NooneNBA said:
As examples of how to do this EFFECTIVELY, I would point out that Ultimarc is currently out of T-stiks, and Oscar has been closed for several weeks.
Both these events, which are similar in nature to this, were advertised publicly.
Oscar gave expected schedules on the board here for departure and arrival.
Ultimarc put on their website that the T-stiks are out-of-stock, and that they have no estimated date that they will be back.
Andy was also very candid about the colored balltops, giving the public here step-by-step status of their production when requested.

That is why nobody here is upset that Oscar wasn't answering e-mail, or that they just found out that T-stiks are out of stock after ordering some.
#########

emphasis mine... excellent point... I wanted to expess a simliar sentiment but couldn't find the words to put it as elloquently as you did  (plus I didn't want to drag the other vendors into this mess)

It should never of gotten to this point. *Shrug*

rampy

[SlikStik-Christian]

I agree that it should not have gotten to this point, but it sort of started out at this point no?

Jerry Mascari
SlikStik

[SuperRabbit0]

Removed a reference to another thread because I shouldn't have posted it...

I keep reading this and find the S/S response an amusingly bad way to respond to a difficult customer.

What's amazing is they have got so little support and some well-thought out responses but still can't see the light....

[ekopp2]

In fairness to S/S, it started at this point when Crash posted that the company sucks and then called the employees names. That was the opening salvo. The post was not positioned in a manner conducive to working things out.

As you said, the other posts that you reference start out in a much more civil tone. (i.e. How long does it take....?)

[mahuti]

Running a business is tough. Especially when you are available to public scruitiny & complaint. In my business, I have made a few gaffs. I still feel bad about them years later. I'm glad that involved parties are relatively disconnected.... I was able to learn from my mistakes, rather than having to constantly live them down.

Ultimately, I don't think this particular compalint, set of complaints & threads will hurt SlikStik's business (in any meaningful way) I just wish, for both parties, that cooler heads could have prevailed, so that we could be about the business of all doing what we love. Instead of arguing in the court of public opinion.

[spidermonkey]

Damn Crashwg, you need to see someone for some anger management. If you were Christian and some customer just outright exploded on a public forum and put your livelyhood and reputation in jeopordy would you just sit there and continue to kiss his butt ?  I don't think anyone would. I know I wouldn't. Then you rudely tell Christian to "uncancel" your order after badmouthing him and his business.  Dude thats nerve. You could have gone about this in several ways but you decided to do it in an uncivilized manner. Are you honestly suprized that Christian cancelled your order after saying what you said ? The phrase "the customer is always right" is true but only to an extent. I'm sorry but I don't blame Christian for washing his hands of you. I'm sure he's busy enough that he doesn't have to sit there and take abuse from someone with a very short fuse. You wouldn't either. I'm sure you're probably a nice guy but this particular incident just happened to bring out the worst in you. I'm sure it's happened to many of us at one point or another. Go grab a cold one and just forget about it.
PS  I find that washing a sink full of dirty dishes can be quite relaxing.

[planetjay]

Thread Over Player One

[planetjay]

Also thanks to who ever started the thread. I didn't know SlikStick had $30 Stainless Steel Joystick Handles.  

If I ever start the cocktail I'll need a few.

[JustMichael]

When SlikStik asked:

(taken from crashwg's post)

I can issue a refund if you like. There has been a problem getting
stainless steel at competitive prices recently and it is out of
our control. What would you like to do?

I wonder why if crashwg wasn't willing to wait, why he didn't just ask for a refund?

As for stainless steel handles, I'll have to remember them for my next Mame cabinet.