Okay...Everyone here needs to be LESS sensitive. EVERY vendor in EVERY industry is going to get criticism in public forums, on the phone, in the mail, etc. Some of it is justified, some of it is idiotic. It's just a fact of life. Then some people are going to want to contribute their $.02 - like me -
. This too is a fact of life.
I think how a vendor responds to criticism is really an opportunity to shine and make themselves look good by taking the high road and responding in a positive manner. AT is utterly clueless when it comes to PR. Just look up all the posts recently made by ATIPR on rocketryplanet.com for a face-palming good time. Sheri isn't much better with her little recent rant over on RP about her "banned" TRF avatar. That thread was glossed a "train wreck" by ddmobley. Look, both of these vendors are good and have some awesome products but one of these vendors has swore off public forums altogether and the other has been banned from TRF. They are getting "piled on" because they are not helping themselves out.
Wanna talk about getting piled on by customers? I used to work in customer service for a large trash company. Let me tell you, there is nothing like the wrath of a soccer mom when the can full of diaper-genie droppings doesn't get picked up on time. These little whines and rants by people here are NOTHING compared to what I used to hear there on a hourly basis. As a vendor, you have to learn to deal with it which is why I am not a vendor.
-Dave
AMEN and amen! DAVE gets it!!!! I don't really understand why so many people around here DON'T...
Look, as a businessman, having worked in customer service industries as both employee and self-employed providing services, and as a retail customer for both personal and business (you end up doing EVERYTHING in agriculture, sooner or later!) I can tell you this... IF YOU CAN'T TAKE A LITTLE HEAT NOW AND THEN YOU DON'T BELONG IN BUSINESS!!! Sorry, but that's just life, reality bites and sometimes it bites everyone! I've had customers make unreasonable demands, try to change the arrangements of the deal midstream, and all sorts of garbage. It goes with the territory. Some people are nice and some are tools... that's life. BUT, WHEN I'M the SELLER or SERVICE PROVIDER, I have a 'duty' to stick to the high road, attempt to satisfy the customer and resolve any issues to our mutual satisfaction and to hold up my end of the bargain and deliver what I promised, and part of that is making sure I don't OVERPROMISE what I plan to deliver. IMHO anybody who wants to sell something who doesn't want to play by those rules or with that mindset should do everybody a favor and just stay home. Even then, you're NOT GOING TO PLEASE EVERYBODY and some folks just aren't happy unless you bend over and grab your ankles for them, and I personally won't do that just to keep someone who's a jerk happy, and I don't expect any other vendor to do that either. BUT KNOWINGLY delivering substandard product advertised as 'top of the line' or not delivering it at all after you have the money is just plain WRONG no matter how you slice it... and that goes for ANYTHING from something that costs 2 cents a dozen all the way up to moon rockets and everything in between.
Look, if you're in business, a certain amount of professionalism is required. Stick to the high road and you'll never go wrong. Admitting a problem exists is half the battle; how you address it is the other half and at your discretion. A vendor attacking others verbally by making innuendos and insults is just NOT acceptable, or shouldn't be. People don't like 'dead silence' when their money has been handed over-- nor do vendors have to explain every single thought and issue dealing with something; it's acceptable and easy to say, "yes, we hear you, this is something we're looking into and hope to resolve soon. Thank you for your support of XYZ co." I've had business people try to screw me over, get insulting or haughty, or downright nasty, and ya know what?? I DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM ANYMORE. In fact, folks like that, I go out of my way to AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE! I do more business with a tractor dealer 100 miles away than one 20 miles away because of this sort of thing. There are some folks running businesses here IN TOWN that I SIMPLY REFUSE to do business with because of their attitude-- I would LITERALLY drive 100 miles or more to get the exact same product/service before I would spend MY MONEY to buy the product here and SUPPORT THEM, because of their attitude! It took me awhile to figure out I didn't have to put up with being treated like a 3rd class step-monkey-- my money is just as green as anybody elses and I just DON'T PUT UP WITH THAT CRAP! If someone else chooses to, good for them, but I DO NOT.
Anyway, whatever floats your boat... some people like getting kicked around, and that's their right. Some people kick others when they really don't have cause to, and that's just life. But, if you're gonna work in the kitchen, you have to take a little heat now and then-- it just goes with the territory...
JMHO! OL JR