View Full Version : Just how crap is it possible for ********* to be?
Seriously, I'd like to know!
I've decided to never use them again. I've been waiting almost 2 months for an order to arrive now.
Ordered Jan 3rd, Paid for Jan 8th. "lost mail form" faxed to Craig Feb 5th and STILL no dvd for me (it's now Feb 27th).
This isn't the first time either. Most of last year it was like getting blood from a stone just trying to get a responce from Craig's bedroom (where it seems quite obvious that the whole operation is run from!)
Anyway I'm SO fed up now that I've voted with my wallet. I've spent hundreds of pounds (if not a couple of thousand actually!) with ********* and they just can't be bothered to treat their customers with even a tiny bit of respect.
I just had an email from Craig (finally!) replying to an email I sent earlier this afternoon asking where my order was and why he doesn't reply. He simply said "Sorry for this, will do the refund now and delete your account." No explaination or anything as to what happened with my order. What is this guy's problem?
Please, people I'd really like to hear about other's experiences with this sham of a company.
Craig doesn't deserve to be in business, his arrogance towards the very people who keep him in business astounds me.
WildWayz
27-02-2002, 14:16
Nice post m8.
Of course noone from ********* is allowed to post in here to
a) Try to sort you out
or
b) Offer an explaination
Sorry to hear about the problems you had.
James
I've seen Craig post recently. Why isn't he allowed to post on this thread?
WildWayz
27-02-2002, 14:48
It's a ********* related thread - ********* are not allowed to post in any thread to do with *********.
I don't think even I am allowed to be posting here either :/
--James
Originally posted by WildWayz
It's a ********* related thread - ********* are not allowed to post in any thread to do with *********.
I don't think even I am allowed to be posting here either :/
--James
I see.
Thanks for the explanation.
Those are some harsh and unfair words. :(
Anyway I'm SO fed up now that I've voted with my wallet. I've spent hundreds of pounds (if not a couple of thousand actually!) with ********* and they just can't be bothered to treat their customers with even a tiny bit of respect.
You must have had a fair few discs delivered if you'd spent all that dosh why stop now?. As for Craig treating customers with disrespect i've had nothing but help from him whenever i've had problems or questions.
Please, people I'd really like to hear about other's experiences with this sham of a company.
Not a sham of a company just very small, who IIRC has had an ill staff member the last few weeks. I've never had to chase up orders or enquire about monies owed. (Then again maybe everyone should all start paying by cheque ;) )
Craig doesn't deserve to be in business, his arrogance towards the very people who keep him in business astounds me.
That's really harsh, don't judge him just because he hasn't got back to you. I can only imagine the amount of emails he must get. It's not like he would ignore your custom on purpose is it?
It sounds like your just giving up too easily. Persistance will pay off. You must recognise they provide a decent service if you've shopped with them for so long??
I've used ********* a lot over the past 18 months and they've generally been excellent. Even the more obscure and out of stock titles tend to arrive within a couple of weeks. And Craig has been very helpful when it comes to returns, replacements, etc. Sometimes it took a while to get a reply but the problems were always resolved.
BUT over the last month or so I've sent 5 emails regarding a missing disc and have yet to receive a single reply. This is unusual for ********* and I'm prepared to wait a bit longer and resend the same email once a week. But my patience is definitely running out.
Jimmyboy
27-02-2002, 17:33
Originally posted by Richie
Please, people I'd really like to hear about other's experiences with this sham of a company.
OK.
I've never had to wait longer than 24 hours for a reply to any of my emails.
All discs have arrived fine in less than 3 weeks (even rare & out of stock titles).
I don't think MT disrepect their customers, but I do think that there are times when things get too busy hence individuals get ****** off when things don't go their way.
My own personal experience of MT was very short and (at the time) very poor - they messed up my first ever order with them and did not answer my posts in the MT thread.
I cancelled and walked. Haven't even comtemplated trying again since.
To be honest if anyone perceives the customer service from any supplier is poor they should go elsewhere. It is your right as a consumer and keeps the suppliers on their toes.
If price is your major consideration then MT are very very good, but was not mine. I base my views on who I buy things from on service levels.
Discemporium (Gawd bless them) are unblemished in over 4 years of supplying me. DVDs arrive on the dot.
Ring0s have had a couple of hiccups but have always rectified this within a day or so.
I value my sanity more than I value the odd quid here and there.
:o
AndyWilson
27-02-2002, 18:58
I've always had prompt replies to emails to craig, but rarely had any replies to emails to the "official" addresses on the website..
Ono,
interesting what you say about Discemporim.
Same here, impeccable customer service and never a missing delivery. 50 odd discs and counting.
Originally posted by CLH
Ono,
interesting what you say about Discemporim.
Same here, impeccable customer service and never a missing delivery. 50 odd discs and counting.
***COUGH*** Sponsor the forums DE :D
You know it makes (economic) sense. ;)
diydestruction
27-02-2002, 20:58
placed an order with ********* ages ago, waited over two months, no explaination why it was taking so long, so finally had the order cancelled.... then two weeks later i get shipping confirmation and my cc's charged! appauling customer service in my opinion....
Ono,
I agree , best damn company I've ever known.
Perhaps £2 off for forum members and it'll even shut up the I can get it cheaper whingers.
Originally posted by CLH
Ono,
I agree , best damn company I've ever known.
Perhaps £2 off for forum members and it'll even shut up the I can get it cheaper whingers.
Or do a Ring0s (did) and get a discount off 3 pre-orders or something.
Tristan H
27-02-2002, 21:13
Well, I continue to hold ********* in the highest possible regard and have never had a single problem that wasn't solved quickly and politely. They continue to offer the most competitive prices, they are fantastic for stocking Criterion discs and Craig is somebody who I have always found to be most friendly. In fact, they are the best supplier alongside EzyDVD that I have ever used. They also have their new forum where you can post your problems. 10/10 as far as I'm concerned.
Originally posted by Ono
Or do a Ring0s (did) and get a discount off 3 pre-orders or something.
Oh, thats what doing a Ringos means.
:D :D :D
wouldn't of known it from what I've been reading recently.
:clap:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Robby
You must have had a fair few discs delivered if you'd spent all that dosh why stop now?
Simply Robby, because I refuse to spend one more penny with a company that isn't interested in it's customers. Like I said, this isn't a one off.
Here's an example from December last year:
my email 15th December 2001
Dear *********
This morning I recieived "Memento Mori" that was ordered on November 4th (order #*****). Before I ordered I specifically made sure that ********* stocked the superior Spectrum release and not the useless Mei Ah release.
Your site shows all the details from the Spectrum release.
So what turns up? The Mei Ah release!
Does no one at ********* check what they are sending out to their customers before they are posted?
I am fed up of having to chase ********* for orders and not having my email replied to and now this!
I now have to spend time and money to package this up to send it back to you completely incompetent idiots. Thanks SO much.
I will expect a FULL refund for not only the price of the dvd (£16.99) but also the postage (which I shall detail on the package).
I am really angry about this and with ********* in general for such crappy service regardless of how good a customer someone is (and I have spent a couple of thousand pounds with you!). You obviously don't want my custom so I shall take it elsewhere.
Craig's responce
Please only send your mails to one address!! Mine !
It's a mistake plain and simple i didn't even know there are two versions of this movie out there, we are only human.
Please return for a full refund and i shall also close your account as per your instructions.
Also as this is a mistake and not intentional is there really any need for the name calling, this does not help sort this situation out.
my next email
Quoting Craig "i didn't even know there are two versions of this movie out there"
Craig
I specifically emailed YOU before I ordered this item (Memento Mori) and I asked you if it was the Mei Ah version that ********* stocked! When I checked the ********* website I saw all the details and cover scan for the Spectrum release. I wanted that version specifically because it is anamorphic widescreen. The fact that the other (fullscreen) release turns up means that someone at ********* doesn't bother to check what comes into stock or simply doesn't care. As a supplier YOU should be aware of the different releases of various dvds and you certainly should not advertise one and then deliver another. This movie is not the easiest to get hold of (being a Region 3 release) and I was hoping that ********* had done their research and were wanting to supply the best possible product to their customers (in this case the Spectrum release).
It is not name calling to say a company is being incompetent, when it clearly is! And I haven't actually stated that I wish to close my account so please do not do so.
I hope you see why I am angry about this whole situation. I know that we are all only human but it doesn't take much to check the stock inventory before shipping, does it?
Then Craig started to change his story!
Thinking more about this, this title did arrive from 2 different studios, so chances are we have sold both versions. I do have around 8 in stock in our Philly office and they may well be the version you are after. I will check this out later today and report back my findings, hopefully all we can do is a simple exchange.
So, what the hell was I suppossed to believe here? the ********* website NEVER had details for the Mei-ah release!!!
And Craig is claiming one minute to not have any knowledge of 2 releases but then suddenly does remember that they both exist! I responded with:
Thank you. This would be most helpful.
Craig then got back with
I have left a message with our Philly office they will get back to me today. I would only ever go for a widescreen version of any movie (as i am a collector too) so would not need to check if the same movie (just different release) would be available as i don't bother looking at P&S versions. This has been a genuine mistake, which of course now means i may have another 8 left to get rid of... great!
The 8 we have in Philly ARE the Spectrum release. Seems the last batch we had are the terrible P&S versions sent by mistake. Now on its way and will be with us us Wenesday ish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, okay I eventually got the correct disc but it was nearly 2 months wait from the time of ordering and many emails later to sort it out...
This kind of hassle just isn't worth bothering with, all I want is to buy the product I want without all the hassle that ********* give.
What annoys me most is that time and time again ********* have taken forever to supply a disc that they claim is 'in stock and ready to ship' when you order it and I'm not just talking about obscure titles, I'm talking about mainstream new releases too.
The latest aggrivation (and original reason for this thread) was (Tristan H take note) a Criterion ("8 1/2" actually).
Craig has not given me a reason WHY he did not re-order my title after I had faxed him a "lost mail form" and after 20 days and various emails enquiring where the hell the disc that I'd ALREADY PAID FOR was I get a very basic responce telling me that "again nothing we could really do as the disk was out of stock." This is just taking the ****!
I'm not prepared to do the retailers' job for them every single bloody time I want to buy a dvd! This is why I am never using ********* again. I just wanted to share this with other members of the forum so that they can see what kind of attitude ********* have towards their customers and their business in general.
Richie
To be fair to Craig I have had some probs with MT but Craig has sorted them out for me reasonably quickly. My fav suppliers are ringo's who are having problems themselves at the moment and play. Have tried discemporium but was not impressed, they advertised Maniac collectors tin on their site so ordered it because of good recommendations here, no sign after 10days so e-mailed them and they said they were sold out, now why the hell didn't I get told this when I ordered it or at least a reply by e-mail. Just goes to prove that any of these suppliers can make mistakes.
Davester
27-02-2002, 23:43
Richie, no offense mate, but those emails are a little rude. I always find a polite email gets a better response.
In general it seems MT are pretty good, but what people always forget is that play, MT and alike are SMALL firms with few staff members. They are not going to be able to reply immediately. Also everyone has an off day every so often. At the end of teh day it is your $, so you pays it and takes you choice.
Jimmyboy
28-02-2002, 00:01
To be honest with you Richie, I cant see what Craig has done wrong & even though you were given the wrong disc, judging by those emails you've posted, you received a fairly decent level of after sales service.
Given what you've posted, it isnt Craig or ********* who look like incompetent idiots.
Fair enough, I do hear what you guys are saying. I guess it's all subjective at the end of the day but am I really sick and tired of accepting rubbish service from companies that are all too happy to take money without actually doing what they are being paid for!
Quite obviously a lot of you are far too apathetic to care!
I should mention that those emails to ********* were because I was fed up with waiting and waiting and getting no responce. Also as I said that is just one example, there were many more instances last year, I did refer to these in one email to Craig in my postings above where I said "I am fed up of having to chase ********* for orders and not having my email replied to and now this!". I shouldn't actually have had to chase up ANY orders but with ********* I've had to on just about every occasion in the last 12 months.
What I'd like to know is:
WHY should any company who is providing a product or service be given any slack when they fail to actually provide that product or service?
Jimmyboy, you say that I "received a fairly decent level of after sales service". HOW CAN YOU possibly call it "after sales service" when I have PAID for an item months before I ever receive it and then sometimes never receive it (like "8 1/2")? There has to be an exchange of goods and currency before there can be any "after sales service"!
You wouldn't go into WHSmith and buy a dvd in the chart only to be told "come back in a couple of months and we might have it for you, then again we might not - it's pot luck really mate!". WHY should an online retailer be ANY different or be given any special treatment?
If a company screws up an order, the very least they can do is say "sorry". Craig never apologised for anything on behalf of *********, it's always "nothing we could do". He just doesn't care, no matter how much money a single customer spends with him!
Those emails to Craig COULD have been REALLY rude but I've never sworn at him directly. It just goes to show how much this whole thing has wound me up. Calling him incompetent was a statement of fact. I am paying him for a 'product' (dvds) that time and time and time again he has failed to provide within a resonable period of time (2 months IS NOT reasonable for something that was suppossed to be 'in stock' - hell, 2 months is not resonable AT ALL).
WHY do people defend crappy customer service time and again?
IF a company like PLAY can provide online stock information for individual items and a detailed list of items ordered and shipped, then there is no reason why ********* can't either. They couldn't even supply me with a list of the items I'd ordered with them when I requested it - so much for having an accounts system!
They make themselves out to be this international dvd retailer when in actual fact they are just 2 people in a room! IF they can't provide service matching the image they are projecting then they shouldn't be in business at all.
Long ago when I first started using ********* I heard similar stories like mine on these very forums from Moviteyme customers fed up with the lack of customer service and the "couldn't care less" attitude from Craig. At the time I came on here defending ********* - two years later (and a lot of money from me in their pockets) and here I am telling you all how bad I think ********* are!
Just a tad ironic.
But it's one of those things. It's fine until it happens to you.
I know I really should get this in proportion BUT it's the principal here that winds me up SO MUCH, that everyone should just accept rubbish companies and slack service just because "that's how it is". If you want to see an example of PROPER customer service take a look at DV-DEPOT.COM
I'm gonna go away and calm down now...
WHY do people defend crappy customer service time and again?
I can understand you've had a rum old time but i for one am defending MT because i DON'T have crappy CS. From a lot of stuff i've read Craig bends over backwards to help is customers. And i'm certain he does appreciate your custom.
Maybe you've been very exceptionally unlucky in that whenever you've tried to get any info from MT something has stood in the way.
There's no easy outcome to this is there?, you've been scarred by bad service (IYO). I have no answers other than to use someone else or be persistant.
I`m with Richie on this.
My experience with MT has ranged from average to abysmal. I have ordered 12 times over a two month period, and all orders bar one had problems. I wouldn`t recommend them to anyone.
I recommend Craig attend a night-school class on Business Management. Unhappy customers do not return!
I, personally have only had one problem in the last few months I've been dealing with them, and that was for a lost disc.....faxed the lost mail form in, and a few days later had the disc in my hand. Recieved AI a few days ago, so nice and early there......
I think there is a pattern emerging in all these supplier relatated threads. It's the "i've had crap customer service so lets all have a massive dig." The thing is there seems to be this attitude for ALL of the suppliers. Surely ALL of the suppliers cannot be this bad. It's just down to personal experience. I have never had any problems with MT, but on the other hand I have with Ringos. That doesn't mean I'm going to start a thread call "why ringos are so crap." If I did all I would get was people telling me how good ringos are.
Why don't people just stop whinging for the sake of it. If you have some problems with a supplier, don't use them. Simple as that. And, unless somebody opens a thread saying "what are XXX supplier like" please don't start posting negative threads. It's counter productive, gets people wound up and at the end of the day, could you do any better?
silverpenguin7
28-02-2002, 17:25
Originally posted by bumfrog
I think there is a pattern emerging in all these supplier relatated threads. It's the "i've had crap customer service so lets all have a massive dig." The thing is there seems to be this attitude for ALL of the suppliers. Surely ALL of the suppliers cannot be this bad. It's just down to personal experience. I have never had any problems with MT, but on the other hand I have with Ringos. That doesn't mean I'm going to start a thread call "why ringos are so crap." If I did all I would get was people telling me how good ringos are.
Why don't people just stop whinging for the sake of it. If you have some problems with a supplier, don't use them. Simple as that. And, unless somebody opens a thread saying "what are XXX supplier like" please don't start posting negative threads. It's counter productive, gets people wound up and at the end of the day, could you do any better?
Bravo!!
:clap:
Originally posted by Richie
I really sick and tired of accepting rubbish service from companies that are all too happy to take money without actually doing what they are being paid for!
Yeh, everybody is, but if everyone stopped using these companies then 90% of all companies might as well just forget about being in business.
John Hodson
28-02-2002, 18:33
In three years of buying DVDs, I've used Play, *********, Video-Now (now long gone), Under 18, Amazon (.com & .co.uk), Jungle, DVD Boxoffice, AB Sound, HMV, W.H. Smith, DVDstreet, CD Universe, DVD Crave, Family Box Office, Future Ent., DeVoted and Ezydvd. (I've only tried Ringos twice for sale items, but on both occasions they couldn't supply what I wanted).
I've only ever had a DVD shipment fail to turn up once (from Video-Now), and even then a couple of emails got me a refund and even a compensatory copy of Chasing Amy.
I've always found a polite note is all that's needed to sort anything out (I even rang Video-Now in Canada - it wasn't that expensive), whether it's a cancellation, or a delivery query.
Right now, my suppliers of choice are Play, *********, AB Sound, Ezydvd and DVD Boxoffice, but it's all down to (a) who is cheapest, (b) the best customer service, and (c) the easiest cancellation method!
Maybe I've been lucky.
---
So many films, so little time...
I too stopped using M.T since they ripped me of.
I ordered Final Fantasy and to this day I never received the disc even thou I email and sent lost mail form ( Why does M.T loose so much mail ? ), they took payment thou.
I have never had this with any other company.
If I have a problem a phone call sorts it out one thing you can not do with M.T.
Napoleon
28-02-2002, 23:25
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mr P
[B]I too stopped using M.T since they ripped me of.
I ordered Final Fantasy and to this day I never received the disc even thou I email and sent lost mail form ( Why does M.T loose so much mail ? ), they took payment thou.
********* do seem to 'lose' an awful lot of dvds.Perhaps the postmen of the world wait for dvds sent by *********;of course they can claim the money back for a 'lost' dvd ;)
Silent Bob
01-03-2002, 01:28
The past year i've completely stopped using ALL other R1 suppliers and got all my R1 discs from '*********' the level of service i've had from them both delivery and correspondence wise is top class, in 12 months or so i've had one disc go astray and that was replaced pretty quick, i just wish i could find a bad word to say about them so i to can join the in vogue supplier slagathon that is doing the rounds. :D
I've used virtually every supplier out there at some point, and got the point where I was using ********* virtually exclusively. All was going well until the middle of last year, when all of a sudden I started receiving (and being billed for) two copies of a couple of titles I'd ordered, then discs I'd ordered simply didn't turn up (and a friend I recommended the company to is still waiting for his Final Fantasy to this day), then I cancelled some orders and a disc turned up anyway.
I've a lot of time for the people who run *********, and Lisa in particular has been very helpful when problems arise. The sad thing is I simply can't rely on the company anymore, and hence my business went elsewhere (my job often requires me to get discs through on release date or earlier, hence my earlier reliance on MT). I've since moved on to one or two other R1 suppliers who are far more reliable and with whom it's easier to sort out problems if they arise.
Vogue slagathon? Not in this case. Just disappointed that a once 100% reliable company let their level of service drop.
S
D J Fryer
01-03-2002, 10:59
Originally posted by simonb
I've used virtually every supplier out there at some point, and got the point where I was using ********* virtually exclusively. All was going well until the middle of last year, when all of a sudden I started receiving (and being billed for) two copies of a couple of titles I'd ordered, then discs I'd ordered simply didn't turn up (and a friend I recommended the company to is still waiting for his Final Fantasy to this day), then I cancelled some orders and a disc turned up anyway.
I've a lot of time for the people who run *********, and Lisa in particular has been very helpful when problems arise. The sad thing is I simply can't rely on the company anymore, and hence my business went elsewhere (my job often requires me to get discs through on release date or earlier, hence my earlier reliance on MT). I've since moved on to one or two other R1 suppliers who are far more reliable and with whom it's easier to sort out problems if they arise.
Vogue slagathon? Not in this case. Just disappointed that a once 100% reliable company let their level of service drop.
S
agree wholeheartedly with all of the above - used to be brilliant - now not so good, shame really cos when they are good they are really good but when they are bad they are awful........;)
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