OMFG I'm PISSED! (continued)

[crashwg]

[edit] link to original post: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=17806[/edit]


What exactly do you think waranted the ending of that post mr "Evil Administrator"?  Not only did you block those who may still have there .02 to add it's now going to get bumped down into oblivian where no one will ever see it again.  Nothing was said for you to have a good reason to "Thread Over" it.

Saint, please bring it back as I believe it still deserves it's time in the spotlight and a few more opinions.

And now for my reply to all those who think my initial response was a little uncalled for.

Yes, you may be right.  It does seem as though I went strait for the jugular and I too believe it may have not been the appropriate "next step" in the frustration process, but I certainly won't take back what I said.

As I said in one of the other posts, maybe some of you missed it, at one point in time they said they had the product and then the next week they say they don't even have stainless steel.  They blaitantly LIED!  I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one HATE being lied to.  Especially by someone I just gave $150 to.

I tried to be civil, for a whole month!

Jerry from slikstik:

[NoOne=NBA=]

The Causes of This Problem

Crash,

I don't think they lied to you.
Rather they failed to keep you FULLY informed.
After receiving the information that you did, YOUR actions created most of your own problems.

1) Had you requested clarification from them via e-mail of exactly HOW they had sticks one week, and didn't appear to the next, I'm sure they would have sent you a really nice, detailed "Sorry for the misunderstanding...we DO have them....they ARE in polishing....but they aren't ready for shipment yet" e-mail.

2) Had you acted on the information you had by pointing out the FACTS here with a "How is this possible?" post, in a civil manner, they may well have responded here in a manner that would have kept us ALL informed of their progress, rather than resorting to retaliation.

3) The "Do you want a refund" e-mail was triggered when your e-mail made it seem that you didn't want to wait for them to finish.


The Solutions

I see both sides of this issue, and still hold that the lesson to be learned here on BOTH sides is that a little information can be the solution to, or the cause of, alot of misunderstanding.

What I would like the CUSTOMERS here to learn is that if you ask SPECIFIC questions of most of the suppliers here, you will get SPECIFIC answers.
Vague questions like "Why don't I have them yet?" will get vague responses, which is what happened in this case.

The other side of this is that the SUPPLIERS need to be aware of how small amounts of information, given in the wrong order, can appear to their customers.
If there had been another bit of information in that e-mail saying, they are "x" amount of the way done now, and are anticipating being done by "x" date, it would have gone a long way to eliminating the mistrust on the part of the customer that occurred here.

[IG-88]

Jeez, take a breath man. You are going to get axed if you keep up. Is it really worth getting this upset over?

And Mr. Evil Administrator?? Come on. This is getting embarrassing.

[crashwg]

Evil adminstrator, just happens to be planetjay's personal text.  I was just poking fun at the fact that it says that under his avitar...

[dmsuchy]

From what I read I have to agree with Crash, Slikstik is a bussiness and yes if they want to have success and grow then they HAVE TO HAVE "yes mister customer thanks for being a customer" mentality. If you want to be able to choose and disregard your customers don't expect to be a big time industry. SlikStik has great products and a cool site but I though they would have better customer service. Sorry SlikStik, I guess you're not going to sell me a tornado spinner now.

[1UP]

OK, I've now read both previous threads of this ugly debate, and I've drawn some conclusions:

Crash:  It's over.  This is the third thread you've started on the same thing.  We get it, you despise SlikStik.  If you keep this up, you're only going to make things worse for yourself, by making yourself look like a spiteful nut, and possibly getting yourself into legal trouble by blatantly making it your mission in life to destroy SlikStik's reputation.  You should be more careful how you deal with companies if you want good service.  We've all been in your shoes at some point, but the best way to deal with it is with some civility and patience.  And in the end, if you can't get what you want, when you want it, cancel your order and take your business elsewhere.

SlikStik:  I don't know exactly how timely your communications were, but the best way to have handled this would be to email everyone the minute you realized that a sudden hike in material prices would delay orders, and give your customers some options and reassurance.  Sure, there would have been a few hotheads that might have canceled and never came back, but probably far fewer than those who have read your own responses to a customer and thus have a soiled image of the company.  I personally have a pretty good image of SlikStik after they sent me a couple of the heavy duty joystick springs to try out, free of charge...And I've never even bought anything from SlikStik!

As far as your public handling of Crashwg, ever heard the expression "kill 'em with kindness"?  The best way to have shut him up would be to discount the product, or offer free shipping, with sincerest apologies.  This would have made you look like a saint, crash look like a butt, and would have won you more customers than you probably lost.  You might have even reclaimed him as a future customer.  Yes it's hard to help someone out after they have publicly dissed you, but you know what?  There's no better way to turn your detractors white as a sheet than by treating them like kings.

I'll relate a recent personal example for both of you to chew on:

I recently ordered a Smart Strip from Bits Ltd.  The strip came on time, but failed to work properly with my system due to some limitations in the design.  Rather than email them directly with my problems, I came on BYOAC and issued a firestorm against Bits Ltd, urging everyone to avoid them.

Then someone alerted me to the fact that Bits was getting ready to market a newer, adjustable version of the strip, and I should contact them for a possible replacement.  I reluctantly emailed them with my concerns, and they offered to send me a pre-release version of their newer strip, with free shipping.  Well, the blood drained from my face, and I was just glad that I didn't use my real name on the message boards...  It came in 3 days, and it worked perfectly!  I didn't even have to pay the difference in price for the new unit.  This is a company I would definitely do business with again.

That's all I have to say on this matter.  I'm taking all this as a lesson on what to do (and what not to) as I prepare to start my own business.  I know I'm going to have to deal with quite a few people with complaints like Crashwg, and I only hope I can keep my rather volatile temper in check, and defuse these types of situations before they get out of hand...

[crashwg]

I do realize 3 topics on this one subject is a little uncalled for, but I can explain...

The first one I put in everything else, because I didn't believe it was important enough for the main forum.

The second, I put in the main forum because it is now a big deal and I feel the people of this board have a right to know how I was dealt with by slikstik and I didn't think it would get enough attention in the everything else forum.  It appears that I was wrong on that now that I see how many responses the original post got.

And as for the third, the second thread was wrongfully ended and I should have been given a chance to defend myself further.


Also, in response to 1up's comment  "We get it, you despise SlikStik.  If you keep this up, you're only going to make things worse for yourself, by making yourself look like a spiteful nut, and possibly getting yourself into legal trouble by blatantly making it your mission in life to destroy SlikStik's reputation."  
Destroying their reputation was never my intent and is not why I continued this discussion.  All I ever wanted was what I payed for, no discount needed, and I stand buy that mission.  I am still willing to pay full price for the sticks, and would do so if allowed, not because I want to give slikstik any money, becuase they certainly don't deserve any, but because no one else has stainless steel joysticks.

[1UP]

Crashwg, maybe you can get someone here to order them for you...not me, but maybe someone...  

I think you should probably give up defending yourself.  The thread was ended as a hint...  Trust me, I am the king of dragging arguments on and on and ON, but at some point, all that needs to be said has been said, and to continue picking at it is just embarassing.  At least for me, it is...

[Tailgunner]

This reminds me a lot of my grandfather. He was nice when he wanted to be, but he had a temper and could be quite vile to people he didn't like. He was a gunsmith by trade, and had a sign posted in the shop stating We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. I can remember quite a few instances where someone pissed him off and he promptly showed them to the door. It might have cost him business, but he was more than willing to lose someone's business rather than put up with their BS.

[PaulG]

I don't think it was right of Slikstik to jerk you around with dates, but your e-mails weren't exactly bordering on civil either.

That said, none of the companies that are doing business here are faceless corporations.  None of these guys are getting rich and the entire community benefits greatly from their products.  So before you get too smoked up, realize if it weren't for a select few, most of us would never have been able to build what we did.  So I think you do need to have more gratitude and civility when dealing with these guys.

[crashwg]

I was 100% civil the first few e-mails and I thought my questions were simple and easy to answer.  Then after a couple of replies that were half-a$$ed at best I started to get a little frustrated.  And rightly if you ask me.

[IG-88]

OMFG !!  WILL ADMIN PLEASE KILL THIS THREAD !!!!

[shmokes]

Crashwg, maybe you can get someone here to order them for you...not me, but maybe someone...  

I think you should probably give up defending yourself.  The thread was ended as a hint...  Trust me, I am the king of dragging arguments on and on and ON, but at some point, all that needs to be said has been said, and to continue picking at it is just embarassing.  At least for me, it is...

Heh...I was going to suggest the same thing 1up, but the price has jumped $20 per stick now.  He's screwed anyway he looks at it, regardless of whose more at fault.  I'm just pissed now that I haven't already ordered a couple for myself.

[Gamecab]

(snip)
That said, none of the companies that are doing business here are faceless corporations.  None of these guys are getting rich and the entire community benefits greatly from their products.

Very well said and I agree.  I cannot speak for the other guys on the board who own companies but GameCab brings in a minor profit at best and I spend too much time thinking about closing GameCab forever than I care to admit.  What keeps me going is the amazed look on a persons or their kids face when I deliver a mini cabinet or the possitive emails I get when a control panel arrives via UPS.  
It burns me up to think people could trash all of my hard work in the form of a message board posting, I too have been on the bad end of this message board and I really think it is quite unfair.   Personally I make these products for all of you on the board to enjoy.  I do this because I CAN and WANT to do it.  I am not in this for the money as I have a great paying day job which pays the bills and puts the food on the table and extra money in the bank.  I WOULD turn away an irate customer or a future customer who is trashing my company on this board in a heart beat because it is just not worth it to me (I put too much time into my work).  GameCab is now only one person (Me) and I have plenty of orders to fill and many wasted weekends to fill them with.

My point of view is not one of a COMPANY but basically of a person just like you.  Things happen from time to time which cause massive delays (Look at the Yokes for example) but it really helps when all of you understand when we (The Little Companies) explain the problems.

(I was trying to keep it short but failed)
Thanks
Charlie

[crashwg]

IG-88 and everyone else who has a problem with my posts... I'm confused as to why you want my threat to be ended.  First off there's absolutly nothing offensive in here and second if you don't like what you're reading, no one is making you.

People post, others respond, then the original posters respond to that.   That's how the boards go.  When offensive material gets posted, that's when they should be deleted.


Back to the subject at hand...
Charlie, I do understand where you're coming from, don't get me wrong, but I think you are missing what started this all in the first place.  It was lack of decent communication and a blaitant lie that prompted me to post what I did, not the wait.

[Chris]

I can remember quite a few instances where someone pissed him off and he promptly showed them to the door. It might have cost him business, but he was more than willing to lose someone's business rather than put up with their BS.

But if he would have done it loudly and rudely in the middle of a gun show full of prospective customers, he might have poisoned the opinions of an awful lot of people.  Choose the location of your battles wisely....

This was a simple case of miscommunication, and both sides reacted badly.  But Crash isn't selling something.  As an observer, my future choice of vendors has definately ben influenced, and it wasn't by Crash's messages or the original problem.

--Chris

[Sasquatch!]

IG-88 and everyone else who has a problem with my posts... I'm confused as to why you want my threat to be ended.  First off there's absolutly nothing offensive in here and second if you don't like what you're reading, no one is making you.

But you are making us read it by posting it over and over, dude.  I do think that Slik-Stik mistreated you, but seriously, let it go.

[crashwg]

But you are making us read it by posting it over and over, dude.  I do think that Slik-Stik mistreated you, but seriously, let it go.

Enlighten me as to how I'm making you read this?

Seriously though, I'm not trying to continue to make a big deal about this.  I just believe that I (and everyone else) should be able to respond to things said by others and not have to worry about whether or not we can defend ourselves.  That's the only thing I have against post's being locked.

[Sasquatch!]

Enlighten me as to how I'm making you read this?

You're obviously not making me read anything, but peppering the forums here with the same topic three times is getting tiresome for me to see.

Seriously though, I'm not trying to continue to make a big deal about this.  I just believe that I (and everyone else) should be able to respond to things said by others and not have to worry about whether or not we can defend ourselves.  That's the only thing I have against post's being locked.

a) The topic in "Everything Else" still exists.  People still can respond to it all they want.
b) The moderators/administrators have the right to do as they see fit, man.  Respect their decision.  I'm a moderator on a different message board where re-posting a thread that a moderator locked is a bannable offense.

[saint]

This thread appears to have gone its course. Unless you have something new, kindly let it die. All three threads are now locked.