PTI stands for Papertrey Ink. This is a collective smack blog and Papertrey Ink review page. Papertrey Ink's continuously poor customer service has lead to a page dedicated to discussion of this stamp company and recommendations for alternative stamp companies. Minimal censorship here- I prefer to leave it up to posters' discretion.
The opinions posted on this blog belong to our visitors and we are not paid for our honest reviews ;)
A big thank you to anyone that offered up suggestions for alternatives to PTI. I've orders from several of these places and so far I've had nothing but great service and very fast shipping. I also LOVE the dies from Memory Box..they are fantastic!!!!
What is it with the DT answering questions with "Sending you a PM" rather than answering it where other customers can see how they resolve it? How do they expect to regain trust with us? -----------------------
I think they are posting "sending PM" so that people won't keep bumping the thread asking why nothing is being done to help the person; and also to make sure the poster sees that they have a PM.
We are not entitled to be privy to the communications between the company and a customer about that customer's particular issues. I wouldn't WANT the DT posting publicly about my order.... if I want to share, I will. And those who have come to the forum to post that they had a problem - especially if they were already regular forum members - have typically come back to post that it was resolved.
@11:58. Don't bet on it. I had a horrible experience with Simon Says Stamps from an Ebay transaction.. To this day I have I not bought from her again and never will.
I've ordered many times from Simon Says without a problem, although I also remember a lot of complaints when they first came out. Maybe things are better?
There's a thread over on Splitcoast that's been revived regarding SimonSays. It seems like experiences really vary. I didn't know about the chatter until after I'd done a couple of orders with them, and I haven't had any issues.
I know you all will want to know tha Miss T has an update on her order. Oh. Yay. So happy that Julie and Nichole helped her when they won't help anyone else. /sarcasmfont
I have had two bad transactions with simon says stamp. Their shipping is even slower than PTI. I would also NOT recommend eclectic paperie. Thats another place who thinks three weeks is a perfectly acceptable shipping time.
I still have some older stamp sets on my wish list but I've probably even been blacklisted on the for sale board for being so vocal. I'm not sure why I even still want them. I don't want any of the new stamps.
I could care less about cats and about Ted but the last thread has piqued my curiosity.
Also, I don't ever remember hearing Ted lived with his mom as other poster mentioned, but I have always assumed they did live together for no particular reason. I just figured SHE lived with him.
We have a friend like that - older divorced guy in his 50's and doing well for himself moved his elderly widowed mom into his home to keep her company and have her close in case something happened. If Ted's situation is similar, props to him. I think it is sweet when sons take such good care of their moms.
1. Have ordered from SSS several times with no issue. 2. Ted's mother lives next door or behind him or something. They share a yard, I remember him saying once. 2a.I wish he would go away to his "own" forum and not come back. He's not a nice guy IMHO. 3. LOVE Memory Box dies. Love.
Wow... I am not surprised Jennifer left PTI. I think her problem(s) there probably caused her a lot of stress in her personal life. Yes, she was a complete bitch on the forum... but she also had no power to make decisions. She was being attacked for not taking action when she didn't have the ability to actually fix anything. Even though a lot of people don't like how Dawn has been so cheery on the forum, I will take her over Jennifer any day.
I hope that Dave is better at customer service than Jenn and that Julie gives him the power to make decisions. If she doesn't, they are just trading one email forwarder for another.
So, they are back to 1 CS person again. I wonder if Dave was hired knowing this, but to make it look like they were responding to PTI needing more CS people. What do you want to bet they don't replace her? Here we go again.
I've been a Jenn supporter from the beginning. All power was out of her hands, and NO WAY could I fault her for getting cranky when customers didn't get what they needed from her. She's probably been trying to get out for a while now. Kuddos to her for leaving the sinking ship that PTI is! But dear god now we have Dawn and I will kill myself over her fake sunshine crap. At least Jenn was real and acted like a human, even if customer service wasn't her forte. I wish her well.
I don't think it helps that Dave is there. On the thread about the missing cardstock, he said he would fix the problem but has not. As Joan B said, why did he not personally go take it off the shelf and put it in the mail that day?
When they first made the announcement, they eluded to the fact that Dave was taking over for Jenn, not that they were adding another cs rep. Jenn's new job was forum jail guard or something like that.
Nichole saying that JennE was their anchor, guide, confidante and had amazing organizational skills is laughable. No wonder the company is so screwed if they relied so much on her. My experiences with Jenn when she did customer service were the exact opposite. She's slow, you have to repeat emails multiple times, she's rude and defensive.
I'm not sure Nichole is actually truly able to understand what it means to take care of a customer!
"Jenn had no power and couldn't do anything but forward emails or put a call in."
Exactly. And that's all that Dawn and the rest can do too. And yeah they are happy and filled with sunshine now, but on down the road they won't be. PTI creates it's own drama.
Nichole saying that JennE was their anchor, guide, confidante and had amazing organizational skills... ===================== Well when your anchor gives up on you then you are now free to hit the iceberg. IMO, Jenn is a good-hearted person. She had an impossible job, with impossible people, and her hands tied behind her back.
I wish her well. PTI treated her the same way they treat customers. I'm surprised Jenn lasted this long.
The most frustrating thing with both Dave and Jenn is that it takes forever to get an answer and even when you do, it's like they didn't even read the question. At that point, you have to go back into the queue and change your words so that they understand what it is that you are asking.Stupid.
8:42 - that may be true but I always found her responses to be condescending and rude, which only she can control, and doesn't have anything to do with PTI
Maybe Jenn is a nice person. But her CS skills were awful. And no-one was responsible for that except her.
I don't know why she left. And I firmly believe the recent apparent improvement to service is only temporary. PTI is still only going one way and she is better off out of it.
I wonder if they'll continue to be good friends. Seriously if my friend and I went through all that - I'd be bitter as hell. Hiring me to a position that was basically meaningless with no powers and making me hated by most of the customers! Yeah, really Nichole? That's how you treat your friends??
Jenn had a very difficult job as she was not given the power to properly solve problems that she was contacted for. So I wish her luck and joy in her new endeavors and that she will not have the incredible stress she must have endured in her PTI position.
Re: We will MISS you Jenn! by Mary K » Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:17 am
I just posted on Nichole's blog that Jenn was a true example of "grace under fire". She took a lot of abuse from unhappy customers and she always remained calm and reassuring. Even though most of the issues were out of her control, she still tried to make things right. She has helped me and countless others over the years here at PTI and she will be missed.
Re: We will MISS you Jenn! by LizzieJones » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:50 am
I am so incredibly sad to hear this news. Jenn reached out to me on more than one occasion when I really needed someone to calm me and tell me everything was going to be ok. I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors and I truly hope that she is happy and fulfilled wherever she goes.
Lizzie Jones
------------------------------------------
^^^ Um, if that isn't telling about the current state of PTI, I don't know what is.
I understand that Jenn was often between a rock and a hard place, but as other posters have said, she alone chose the attitude with which she treated customers.
Yes, you can blame the PTI culture at large (which definitely does NOT value customers or customer service), but Jenn must also own her part in that culture.
So many of my interactions with Jenn were infuriating because I got the impression that a) she did not even read my email, and b) her underlying tone implied that I, a paying customer, was a bother.
Jennifer is an adult and, I assume, a consumer. I doubt she'd be happy if she was treated the way she treated PTI customers in the past.
I wish her the best, truly. I think this is a worrisome indication of what is truly going on at PTI.
I kept reading comments and thinking that this couldn't be the same Jenn!!! ...a pleasure to work with, people looking forward to her emails and working with her, using words like professionalism, kind, helpful, grace under pressure... Can't be!
I do wish her good luck and I hope that she can find a job that doesn't make her miserable, and where she doesn't have to interact with other people.
Perhaps Nichole wanted her to stay but Julie got tired of "the list" that Jenn kept hounding her about. Certainly interesting that she left abruptly, and seemingly by her own choice.
Also telling about a stamp designer who is OUT OF HER LEAGUE. If I released a mini series riddled with errors, I'd need someone to help me calm the F down too. LOL
The DT is awfully big, isn't it? Plus they have their own rankings. A little CS duty in the forum isn't gonna hurt them. And for the stamp designers on the DT, they have a vested interest in happy customers spending $$ at PTI.
As we know now from what former DTers have said, I wonder if she left or if she was fired. The DT presence on the board said it was just while Jenn is away for a bit. Which makes me think they were trying to think of how to spin her departure. Either way, it's great news. Ding dong with witch is dead indeed. That is literally what I thought of when I read that. She was the worst worst worst person to be in a customer service position ever.
Someone said something about being on that DT. I used to dream about being no that DT. And now, I shit you not. If Nichole Heady came calling, I'd tell her thanks but no thanks. On the for real.
@13:07 That has nothing to do with the current state of PTI, it has to do with the current state of PTI customers! It is so sad that this girl has been riddled with hate mail! Seriously, why should she have to go through this?? It was her first official stamp set! Sure she made a mistake! Lesson learned, and hard enough that they had to get pulled before her first release, then to get hate mail and people talking about you?? Really? That is sad! That is our warm, friendly crafting community! It is stamps! Damn! It makes me sick!
^^^ 15:10 here. That is sad then, and I agree with you that customers should not be sending her hate mail. It is just a silly stamp set - no reason for customers to get their panties in a wad. I don't know why customers would be that hateful.
And, um 14:53:....if you want to be a professional in any field, then you need to play like a professional and actually do your job.
If you fail to do your job, you should not then cry and expect tons of sympathy from others.
You'd think that, since Lizzie was paid to design that stamp set, she might have taken the time to do her job properly.
I'm not saying she deserves to be tarred and feathered, but certainly expecting people to pat you on the head and say, "there, there" is a little much, too.
The thing I hate most about this business is that have of the companies around don't treat it like it's a business because people like you don't demand professionalism.
I don't give a damn if it's "just" stamps and papers. It's consumer goods that I am spending my hard-earned money on. I have a right to expect quality and to comment when I don't see it.
WOW. I've been away on a trip and am now catching up on the week. I am amazed at what I'm seeing on the forum and also about Jenn leaving. I'm surprised there are so many well wishers for her - I personally didn't think she added a lot of value.
Who do I owe $20 to? I thought Jenn was on vacation.
I don't understand what that hate mail would entail. Should she have done her due diligence in developing this set? Of course! But to send her hate mail - I don't get that. No customer was out money since the set was pulled before release.
Hell, I think the wrath of Julie, Jane and Nicole would be far worse than what customers could dish out. It cost them money!!!
Anonymous said... I know for a fact she has been getting hate mail! I gain nothing from making that up. ------------------------ Well I know she didn't get any from me and to be quite honest it confuses me why she would get any, unless it was from PTI? The mistakes on the stamps were caught before the release so no one was stuck with a bad stamp set!
I believe jenn was trying to stick it out because of what she believed the company could be. It is VERY telling to me that she left. I do believe it was of her own choosing ie. she was not let go. IMO it probably had more to do with Julie than anything and her not giving jenn any tools to actually fix CS issues. I do wish her well.
Let's speculate about the kind of "hate mail" that Lizzie received....
Do you think she received death threats? Threats of bodily injury?
Or do you think maybe her version of "hate mail" is emails from people telling her about the problems in her stamp set?
It must be hate if it isn't filled with sunshine emoticons and bullshit, right?
I still call drama and bullshit on the whole "hate mail" thing. All the crying about big meanies is such a turn off. I'm an adult and I want to feel like I am engaged in this hobby with other adults.
The crying and constant hurt feelings over BUSINESS is exhausting and petty.
I don't see this company in the alternate stamp companies, but I placed an order for stamps from There She Goes on Wednesday morning and got them today (in Oklahoma). Now that is fast delivery!
I just had a huge presentation at work. I spent weeks prepping for this and was tremendously relieved and proud when it went over well.
A couple of execs pointed out some deficiencies in my presentation during the discussion that followed, however. They were minor, but still were things I should have addressed.
Should I have accused my boss of being a big meanie and run out of the room crying? Should I have accused them of being hateful? After all, it's "only" a bunch of words a presentation that isn't meaningful to anyone outside of our company.
No. It's my job and I have the option to take the criticism and become better because of it, or to continue to do the same job I've been doing.
That's how real business works in the real world.
Why do crafty businesses think they're not part of the real world and different rules apply here?
Same shit, different release. I ordered on the 15th. Don't hate - I wasn't leaving without cashing in my rewards. Shipping info sent to USPS on the 18th. And the package sits in the warehouse. Labeled and ready to mail and not moving. 8 days later.
So happy Jenn is gone - I wouldn't be surprised if she left on her terms because she had no power/etc/etc, but regardless, she was too damn snippy for the role. Not having to see her annoying posts will be great.
Re: Lizzie's set. I'm sorry - she really f***ed up. Who doesn't quadruple check other language phrases with native speakers before launching a product!?! That's a high school mistake, not real world adult in business mistake. Should she get hate mail for it - obviously not. Critique - absolutely.
I imagine her so-called "hate mail" is like the "abuse" that Jenn had to deal with. In the real world we'd call it the truth. Some people are so thin-skinned they think honest criticism might as well be venom.
Agreed ... anyone who does any form of translation knows you always consult a few native speakers. Esp with European languages. The form used there is not exactly what North Americans would use. Overconfidence in our abilities to meet people's needs can (and does) often come back to bite us in the ass.
I'm so sick of these comments from women who wish Jenn all the best, blah blah blah. Was she your best friend? Did she call you up for a chat? Was she your co-worker? Worked side by side with you?
NO!!! She was an employee of a company that sells a product to who ever wants to buy it. THAT'S IT!!!
I don't give a flying rip where she goes like she doesn't give a flying rip about any of these customers she is leaving behind!!!
I'm glad Jenn is gone as she added nothing except fuel to the fire of people who were angry and had legitimate questions/issues that needed following up. Maybe her hands were tied in many respects too.
And replaced by Dave.....who looks just as bad at the job. So now there is only one CS person again :P.......who doesn't answer any of the CS questions.
So, what's the deal with the DT members helping out on the forum AND actually making progress? They don't live near the warehouse, do they? If not, then how are they able to make progress on people's issues yet Jenn wasn't able to and this was her full time role? And how is that they seem to be making more progress than Dave and he lives there?
I found the "loyalist" comment really funny. I heart Barb!
"Wishing you the very best of luck in your new endeavor. You will be missed by all of the Papertrey loyalists out here. Thank you for always being there when we needed you!"
I think Dave is also family and is not an "outsider". If you google Dave Heskamp, you'll see that a JDavid Heskamp is President of Heskamp Printing. So PTI really hasn't changed any with their "NEW" CS rep.
I don't dismiss the possibility that PTI might have lied about whether Dave is a Heskamp, but I also allow for the chance that there might actually be more than one guy named Dave in Cincinnati.
Alright, 16:11 is so fired. There She Goes may just be the only stamp company left whose site I hadn't perused, and once I got past all of the uber-cutesy stuff, I found some must-haves.
Just when my wallet was getting a breather from the lack of PTI hauls.... Oh well, at least it sounds like they won't wait a week or more to ship.
@ 19.37 about the DT making progress: I think it's that JULIE is finally making progress. I think they finally convinced her that something had to be done. She's the one that's been the problem all along.
hmmm, david heink? just did a google search and look what turned up:
http://www.city-data.com/hamilton-county/G/Grant-Avenue-15.html Owner: DAVID J & JULIE C HEINK Total land value: $20,590 Total buildings value: $65,000 Market value for property: $85,590 Assessments for tax year: 2009
There is also a son...I believe his name isJD so maybe David? I'm going by the comment made when he was introduced that he had 10 plus years I'd customer experience in the printing industry - who else could it be? Check Nichole's CHA post for mention of him
Julie is 42 and Rick is 48. So they could have a son that is up to early 20s, I suppose. But I don't think he would be Dave Heink. But they are sneaky kind of people and HEskamp INK could be their sneaky way...
White pages search says that there is one David Heink in Cincinnati, age about 50. I am willing to believe that he's a real person, not a pseudonym for someone's kid.
There is also a Dave Hink with a wife named Julie and a Julie Heinkamp. Maybe David Kamp married Julie Hein and had a baby named Nicholas whose middle name is Trey. Come on people, you are trying to create a conspiracy. Don't you have anything better to do on a Saturday? No families, friends, homes to care for?
If only some of the current designers would take a hike. They've got WAAAAY too many on the roster considering the same four dominate each month's release.
Perhaps changing the designer line up and dt would help keep things fresh. PTI use to be ahead of the others. Now, it's like the designers are just cranking out stuff on command. No originality.
Customer service issues aside, PTI used to have the most imaginative, innovative, well thought out designs. This goes back to before the major greed set in, when they used to release 4 to 6 sets at a time. They did lead the industry.
Now the designs seem released to keep a certain cash flow going - Big Honkin' Sentiments #43, Round Tags #111, etc. It's easy to make an existing set giant sized or teeny tiny. I'm just not seeing much fresh and current lately from PTI.
I do find it with other stamp companies and that's where I'm putting my money. Customer service issues aside.
I do agree that PTI has lost it's innovative and creative edge. Not much new anymore. Also, they are now making dies for things that don't need dies. Things that need 10 seconds to cut out and all straight lines are actually faster to cut than to die cut. They are starting to look stretched for ideas. I am sure that this has also added up to less sales. They seem to be catering to the collectors. Put out a line of 12 coordinating sets and there are people who will buy all of them and never open 10 of them. The frames are getting really boring too. Lots of overkill, IMO. Even MIM is ridiculously pathetic lately.
JD Heskamp is Jane's son, i.e. Julie's brother. Rick the admin/IT guy is Julie's husband. I believe that Dave Heink is a real, separate guy, especially since people here have found one in Cincinnati searches.
I truly believe that PTI's poor attitude about customer service stems from the fact that they were instantly popular when they first started. They consistently sold out of their first releases. Much of the early dissatisfaction with PTI came from their inventory control issues. When you're never "hungry", when you're an instant success, when you're praised by the media (mags), it's very easy to let CS slip. After all, there's always another customer waiting in the wings to take the place of the one they just lost.
I think all that success led to cockiness and arrogance, all the while neglecting the very customers who brought them their success. This resulted in bad habits and, more importantly, a "who cares" attitude about customer service.
That said, I'm still blown away that a multi-million dollar company still tries to skate by with one customer service rep and attempts to hide behind the excuse that they're just a small family run company.
My guess is Jenn quit because she was having to do Julie's job. Julie was the one initially responsible for mailing out anniversary sets (bet money she didn't, even though she pinky swears that she did). And then responsible for mailing them out again. (pinky swear, this time, really, they all went out! pinky swear!) And then Jenn had to do it (I will personally mail your sets). I'm not saying that excuses snippy and rude but I'd sure be "f'this AND YOU, Julie Heskamp" if I was Jenn. There's no way I'd stay with a company so intent on running itself into the ground.
Julie should have just sent a case of anniversary sets to Jenn when it became clear that there were customers who had not received them. Even though they'd been sent once (or twelve times) before, of course ;)
They could have set up a USPS account for Jenn to use from home and viola....
re 13:42, "When you're never "hungry", when you're an instant success, when you're praised by the media (mags), it's very easy to let CS slip."...
It's not only that they were just "praised" by the media... it's that Nichole had an "in" with her Papercrafts Mag buddies. Still working for them when she started Papertrey. That always seemed like an unfair advantage to me.
Re:^^^^...original poster here. Yes, absolutely. IIRC, their only print ad was a full page, inside cover for PaperCrafts timed to coincide with their launch. First-time advertisers *never* get such prime advertising space unless they have an "in". The PC connection helped in many, many ways (and still does).
Thought I'd share an interesting find I discovered crafting the other night. I was flipping through my Page Maps 2 book by Becky Fleck and on page 11, the baby LO, has some Fancy Pants pattern paper with a monkey that looks, to me, like a carbon copy of the PTI's Tiny Treats and Tremendous Treats Birthday monkey. I mean, carbon copy. I even showed it to hubby and he agreed. NH may not be quite the creative genius she's been made out to be. I'd love to see if anyone else sees the striking sameness too.
@9:38 Stamp companies use a lot of free clip art for their designs. It also isn't unusual for designers to sell to two companies-but the companies usually know that fact.
121 comments:
Never been second!!
A big thank you to anyone that offered up suggestions for alternatives to PTI. I've orders from several of these places and so far I've had nothing but great service and very fast shipping. I also LOVE the dies from Memory Box..they are fantastic!!!!
bought from simon says stamp but still waiting for my order ... :(
yeah simon says often take a week or so to ship but at least you can be rest assured you wont be stuffed around
What is it with the DT answering questions with "Sending you a PM" rather than answering it where other customers can see how they resolve it? How do they expect to regain trust with us?
-----------------------
I think they are posting "sending PM" so that people won't keep bumping the thread asking why nothing is being done to help the person; and also to make sure the poster sees that they have a PM.
We are not entitled to be privy to the communications between the company and a customer about that customer's particular issues. I wouldn't WANT the DT posting publicly about my order.... if I want to share, I will. And those who have come to the forum to post that they had a problem - especially if they were already regular forum members - have typically come back to post that it was resolved.
Re: Simon Says stamps. Placed order 3/10, shipped 3/14, got it a couple days later.
@11:58. Don't bet on it. I had a horrible experience with Simon Says Stamps from an Ebay transaction.. To this day I have I not bought from her again and never will.
I've ordered many times from Simon Says without a problem, although I also remember a lot of complaints when they first came out. Maybe things are better?
There's a thread over on Splitcoast that's been revived regarding SimonSays. It seems like experiences really vary. I didn't know about the chatter until after I'd done a couple of orders with them, and I haven't had any issues.
I have also ordered several times from SSS without any problems - I am overseas and usually receive my orders within 2 weeks.
I've order from SSS at least 6 times with no issues. A couple times I even got my package within 3 days from ordering.
I've heard of the occasional problem (mostly slow shipping), but as the exception not the rule.
I know you all will want to know tha Miss T has an update on her order. Oh. Yay. So happy that Julie and Nichole helped her when they won't help anyone else. /sarcasmfont
I have had two bad transactions with simon says stamp. Their shipping is even slower than PTI. I would also NOT recommend eclectic paperie. Thats another place who thinks three weeks is a perfectly acceptable shipping time.
I still have some older stamp sets on my wish list but I've probably even been blacklisted on the for sale board for being so vocal. I'm not sure why I even still want them. I don't want any of the new stamps.
I could care less about cats and about Ted but the last thread has piqued my curiosity.
Also, I don't ever remember hearing Ted lived with his mom as other poster mentioned, but I have always assumed they did live together for no particular reason. I just figured SHE lived with him.
We have a friend like that - older divorced guy in his 50's and doing well for himself moved his elderly widowed mom into his home to keep her company and have her close in case something happened. If Ted's situation is similar, props to him. I think it is sweet when sons take such good care of their moms.
I'd like to buy some older stamps too, off the FSOT board, but does everyone want payment via paypal? I don't use paypal.
I have ordered from Simon Says for a long time, probably 20 orders. Fast shipping and never a problem.
1. Have ordered from SSS several times with no issue.
2. Ted's mother lives next door or behind him or something. They share a yard, I remember him saying once.
2a.I wish he would go away to his "own" forum and not come back. He's not a nice guy IMHO.
3. LOVE Memory Box dies. Love.
Jennifer left PTI!
I hope her new job has NOTHING to do with customer service. She sucked at it.
Wow... I am not surprised Jennifer left PTI. I think her problem(s) there probably caused her a lot of stress in her personal life. Yes, she was a complete bitch on the forum... but she also had no power to make decisions. She was being attacked for not taking action when she didn't have the ability to actually fix anything. Even though a lot of people don't like how Dawn has been so cheery on the forum, I will take her over Jennifer any day.
http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2012/03/a-fond-farewell.html
Jenn and Nicole have been friends forever but I don't think that Jenn belongs in customer service at any company.
Good luck with whatever you do Jennifer.
Ding dong the bitch is dead!
I hope that Dave is better at customer service than Jenn and that Julie gives him the power to make decisions. If she doesn't, they are just trading one email forwarder for another.
The only thing going for Dave is that he is physically located at PTI/Heskemp.
So, they are back to 1 CS person again. I wonder if Dave was hired knowing this, but to make it look like they were responding to PTI needing more CS people. What do you want to bet they don't replace her? Here we go again.
I've been a Jenn supporter from the beginning. All power was out of her hands, and NO WAY could I fault her for getting cranky when customers didn't get what they needed from her. She's probably been trying to get out for a while now. Kuddos to her for leaving the sinking ship that PTI is!
But dear god now we have Dawn and I will kill myself over her fake sunshine crap.
At least Jenn was real and acted like a human, even if customer service wasn't her forte.
I wish her well.
I don't think it helps that Dave is there. On the thread about the missing cardstock, he said he would fix the problem but has not. As Joan B said, why did he not personally go take it off the shelf and put it in the mail that day?
When they first made the announcement, they eluded to the fact that Dave was taking over for Jenn, not that they were adding another cs rep. Jenn's new job was forum jail guard or something like that.
Unless you have a wonderful database where the cs reps have access to everything in the system, it makes NO sense at all to have the rep be offsite.
Jenn had no power and couldn't do anything but forward emails or put a call in.
Nichole saying that JennE was their anchor, guide, confidante and had amazing organizational skills is laughable. No wonder the company is so screwed if they relied so much on her. My experiences with Jenn when she did customer service were the exact opposite. She's slow, you have to repeat emails multiple times, she's rude and defensive.
I'm not sure Nichole is actually truly able to understand what it means to take care of a customer!
"Jenn had no power and couldn't do anything but forward emails or put a call in."
Exactly. And that's all that Dawn and the rest can do too. And yeah they are happy and filled with sunshine now, but on down the road they won't be. PTI creates it's own drama.
Nichole saying that JennE was their anchor, guide, confidante and had amazing organizational skills...
=====================
Well when your anchor gives up on you then you are now free to hit the iceberg. IMO, Jenn is a good-hearted person. She had an impossible job, with impossible people, and her hands tied behind her back.
I wish her well. PTI treated her the same way they treat customers. I'm surprised Jenn lasted this long.
The most frustrating thing with both Dave and Jenn is that it takes forever to get an answer and even when you do, it's like they didn't even read the question. At that point, you have to go back into the queue and change your words so that they understand what it is that you are asking.Stupid.
8:42 - that may be true but I always found her responses to be condescending and rude, which only she can control, and doesn't have anything to do with PTI
Jenn probably took a page from the Julie school of customer service.
Did you read the email from Julie that Karen posted way back in the Ask the Papertrey Team forum. Damn that was passive aggressive.
Maybe Jenn is a nice person. But her CS skills were awful. And no-one was responsible for that except her.
I don't know why she left. And I firmly believe the recent apparent improvement to service is only temporary. PTI is still only going one way and she is better off out of it.
I wish her luck though.
I wonder if they'll continue to be good friends. Seriously if my friend and I went through all that - I'd be bitter as hell. Hiring me to a position that was basically meaningless with no powers and making me hated by most of the customers! Yeah, really Nichole? That's how you treat your friends??
Jenn had a very difficult job as she was not given the power to properly solve problems that she was contacted for. So I wish her luck and joy in her new endeavors and that she will not have the incredible stress she must have endured in her PTI position.
Re: We will MISS you Jenn!
by Mary K » Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:17 am
I just posted on Nichole's blog that Jenn was a true example of "grace under fire". She took a lot of abuse from unhappy customers and she always remained calm and reassuring. Even though most of the issues were out of her control, she still tried to make things right. She has helped me and countless others over the years here at PTI and she will be missed.
Good luck with your future endeavors Jenn!
Mary I
------------------------------------------------
^^^ Abuse? I don't think so...
Re: We will MISS you Jenn!
by LizzieJones » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:50 am
I am so incredibly sad to hear this news. Jenn reached out to me on more than one occasion when I really needed someone to calm me and tell me everything was going to be ok. I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors and I truly hope that she is happy and fulfilled wherever she goes.
Lizzie Jones
------------------------------------------
^^^ Um, if that isn't telling about the current state of PTI, I don't know what is.
I have sent three emails to CS in the past month and my issue from FOUR weeks ago is still not resolved. Every email has been answered by Dave.
I guess they don't want my money since they still can't f'ing figure this out.
And now Jenn is gone? Not that she really was able to assist, anyways, but seriously...WTF?
LMAO @ "abuse".
I understand that Jenn was often between a rock and a hard place, but as other posters have said, she alone chose the attitude with which she treated customers.
Yes, you can blame the PTI culture at large (which definitely does NOT value customers or customer service), but Jenn must also own her part in that culture.
So many of my interactions with Jenn were infuriating because I got the impression that a) she did not even read my email, and b) her underlying tone implied that I, a paying customer, was a bother.
Jennifer is an adult and, I assume, a consumer. I doubt she'd be happy if she was treated the way she treated PTI customers in the past.
I wish her the best, truly. I think this is a worrisome indication of what is truly going on at PTI.
I kept reading comments and thinking that this couldn't be the same Jenn!!! ...a pleasure to work with, people looking forward to her emails and working with her, using words like professionalism, kind, helpful, grace under pressure... Can't be!
I do wish her good luck and I hope that she can find a job that doesn't make her miserable, and where she doesn't have to interact with other people.
Perhaps Nichole wanted her to stay but Julie got tired of "the list" that Jenn kept hounding her about. Certainly interesting that she left abruptly, and seemingly by her own choice.
What used to be an envious DT position has just been downgraded to, "No, thanks. I'm good."
Lol. How would you like to do all of that CS work on top of your design deadlines??
Also telling about a stamp designer who is OUT OF HER LEAGUE. If I released a mini series riddled with errors, I'd need someone to help me calm the F down too. LOL
The DT is awfully big, isn't it? Plus they have their own rankings. A little CS duty in the forum isn't gonna hurt them. And for the stamp designers on the DT, they have a vested interest in happy customers spending $$ at PTI.
As we know now from what former DTers have said, I wonder if she left or if she was fired. The DT presence on the board said it was just while Jenn is away for a bit. Which makes me think they were trying to think of how to spin her departure. Either way, it's great news. Ding dong with witch is dead indeed. That is literally what I thought of when I read that. She was the worst worst worst person to be in a customer service position ever.
Someone said something about being on that DT. I used to dream about being no that DT. And now, I shit you not. If Nichole Heady came calling, I'd tell her thanks but no thanks. On the for real.
@13:07 That has nothing to do with the current state of PTI, it has to do with the current state of PTI customers! It is so sad that this girl has been riddled with hate mail! Seriously, why should she have to go through this?? It was her first official stamp set! Sure she made a mistake! Lesson learned, and hard enough that they had to get pulled before her first release, then to get hate mail and people talking about you?? Really? That is sad! That is our warm, friendly crafting community! It is stamps! Damn! It makes me sick!
Lizzy got hate mail because of her failed stamp set? I wouldn't believe it unless she went on the forum and said it herself.
^^^ ITA. I certainly didn't send Lizzie hate mail, and I doubt the majority (if not all) of the people on this blog sent her hate mail.
14:53 - Are you guessing or do you actually know something?
Ted's forum is dead. Ppl post only a few times a day. He didn't post anything about a cat there.
i think @14:53 is a troll. troll, go away!
I know for a fact she has been getting hate mail! I gain nothing from making that up.
LMFAO at the idea that someone would send "hate mail" over a stupid stamp set.
Just to clarify, telling Lizzie that there are errors in her stamp set is different than sending hate mail, right?
Is it just me, or do you the rest of you smell the drama queen, too?
^^^ 15:10 here. That is sad then, and I agree with you that customers should not be sending her hate mail. It is just a silly stamp set - no reason for customers to get their panties in a wad. I don't know why customers would be that hateful.
And, um 14:53:....if you want to be a professional in any field, then you need to play like a professional and actually do your job.
If you fail to do your job, you should not then cry and expect tons of sympathy from others.
You'd think that, since Lizzie was paid to design that stamp set, she might have taken the time to do her job properly.
I'm not saying she deserves to be tarred and feathered, but certainly expecting people to pat you on the head and say, "there, there" is a little much, too.
The thing I hate most about this business is that have of the companies around don't treat it like it's a business because people like you don't demand professionalism.
I don't give a damn if it's "just" stamps and papers. It's consumer goods that I am spending my hard-earned money on. I have a right to expect quality and to comment when I don't see it.
WOW. I've been away on a trip and am now catching up on the week. I am amazed at what I'm seeing on the forum and also about Jenn leaving. I'm surprised there are so many well wishers for her - I personally didn't think she added a lot of value.
Who do I owe $20 to? I thought Jenn was on vacation.
I don't understand what that hate mail would entail. Should she have done her due diligence in developing this set? Of course! But to send her hate mail - I don't get that. No customer was out money since the set was pulled before release.
Hell, I think the wrath of Julie, Jane and Nicole would be far worse than what customers could dish out. It cost them money!!!
Happy as a pig in shit. About Jenn's leaving. Fired or bolted, I am over the moon, swoon. Insert Dawn's sunshine here times 44.
Again, I wouldn't believe the hate mail story unless Lizzy posted that info herself.
Anonymous said...
I know for a fact she has been getting hate mail! I gain nothing from making that up.
------------------------
Well I know she didn't get any from me and to be quite honest it confuses me why she would get any, unless it was from PTI? The mistakes on the stamps were caught before the release so no one was stuck with a bad stamp set!
I believe jenn was trying to stick it out because of what she believed the company could be. It is VERY telling to me that she left. I do believe it was of her own choosing ie. she was not let go. IMO it probably had more to do with Julie than anything and her not giving jenn any tools to actually fix CS issues. I do wish her well.
Let's speculate about the kind of "hate mail" that Lizzie received....
Do you think she received death threats? Threats of bodily injury?
Or do you think maybe her version of "hate mail" is emails from people telling her about the problems in her stamp set?
It must be hate if it isn't filled with sunshine emoticons and bullshit, right?
I still call drama and bullshit on the whole "hate mail" thing. All the crying about big meanies is such a turn off. I'm an adult and I want to feel like I am engaged in this hobby with other adults.
The crying and constant hurt feelings over BUSINESS is exhausting and petty.
I don't see this company in the alternate stamp companies, but I placed an order for stamps from There She Goes on Wednesday morning and got them today (in Oklahoma). Now that is fast delivery!
I just had a huge presentation at work. I spent weeks prepping for this and was tremendously relieved and proud when it went over well.
A couple of execs pointed out some deficiencies in my presentation during the discussion that followed, however. They were minor, but still were things I should have addressed.
Should I have accused my boss of being a big meanie and run out of the room crying? Should I have accused them of being hateful? After all, it's "only" a bunch of words a presentation that isn't meaningful to anyone outside of our company.
No. It's my job and I have the option to take the criticism and become better because of it, or to continue to do the same job I've been doing.
That's how real business works in the real world.
Why do crafty businesses think they're not part of the real world and different rules apply here?
Same shit, different release.
I ordered on the 15th. Don't hate - I wasn't leaving without cashing in my rewards. Shipping info sent to USPS on the 18th. And the package sits in the warehouse. Labeled and ready to mail and not moving. 8 days later.
So happy Jenn is gone - I wouldn't be surprised if she left on her terms because she had no power/etc/etc, but regardless, she was too damn snippy for the role. Not having to see her annoying posts will be great.
Re: Lizzie's set. I'm sorry - she really f***ed up. Who doesn't quadruple check other language phrases with native speakers before launching a product!?! That's a high school mistake, not real world adult in business mistake. Should she get hate mail for it - obviously not. Critique - absolutely.
I imagine her so-called "hate mail" is like the "abuse" that Jenn had to deal with. In the real world we'd call it the truth. Some people are so thin-skinned they think honest criticism might as well be venom.
^^^^ 18:04 ftw!
Agreed ... anyone who does any form of translation knows you always consult a few native speakers. Esp with European languages. The form used there is not exactly what North Americans would use. Overconfidence in our abilities to meet people's needs can (and does) often come back to bite us in the ass.
Did Ted the tool seriously start his own forum? Is this man for real? LOL
I'm so sick of these comments from women who wish Jenn all the best, blah blah blah. Was she your best friend? Did she call you up for a chat? Was she your co-worker? Worked side by side with you?
NO!!! She was an employee of a company that sells a product to who ever wants to buy it. THAT'S IT!!!
I don't give a flying rip where she goes like she doesn't give a flying rip about any of these customers she is leaving behind!!!
I'm glad Jenn is gone as she added nothing except fuel to the fire of people who were angry and had legitimate questions/issues that needed following up. Maybe her hands were tied in many respects too.
And replaced by Dave.....who looks just as bad at the job.
So now there is only one CS person again :P.......who doesn't answer any of the CS questions.
Besides WPlus9, who else has a pocket set?
^^^ mftstamps.com
when do MFT release their new stuff....i see the VIP stuff but only want the chevron die
So, what's the deal with the DT members helping out on the forum AND actually making progress? They don't live near the warehouse, do they? If not, then how are they able to make progress on people's issues yet Jenn wasn't able to and this was her full time role? And how is that they seem to be making more progress than Dave and he lives there?
Maybe I'm just stupid...
Is this "our" Barb?!
I found the "loyalist" comment really funny. I heart Barb!
"Wishing you the very best of luck in your new endeavor. You will be missed by all of the Papertrey loyalists out here. Thank you for always being there when we needed you!"
@19:32, if I am not mistaken, the 6th of every mo th.
I think Dave is also family and is not an "outsider". If you google Dave Heskamp, you'll see that a JDavid Heskamp is President of Heskamp Printing. So PTI really hasn't changed any with their "NEW" CS rep.
They identified CS guy as Dave Heink when he first started work, so I don't think it's the same person as David Heskamp.
They identified CS guy as Dave Heink when he first started work, so I don't think it's the same person as David Heskamp.
Yeah, must be a totally different guy I'm sure
PTI would never lie robots cutomers, or deceive them
Oops meant to be lie to its customers!! Lol
Spelling mistake ruins a perfectly sarcastic response yet again!
I don't dismiss the possibility that PTI might have lied about whether Dave is a Heskamp, but I also allow for the chance that there might actually be more than one guy named Dave in Cincinnati.
Alright, 16:11 is so fired. There She Goes may just be the only stamp company left whose site I hadn't perused, and once I got past all of the uber-cutesy stuff, I found some must-haves.
Just when my wallet was getting a breather from the lack of PTI hauls.... Oh well, at least it sounds like they won't wait a week or more to ship.
@ 19.37 about the DT making progress: I think it's that JULIE is finally making progress. I think they finally convinced her that something had to be done. She's the one that's been the problem all along.
hmmm, david heink? just did a google search and look what turned up:
http://www.city-data.com/hamilton-county/G/Grant-Avenue-15.html
Owner: DAVID J & JULIE C HEINK
Total land value: $20,590
Total buildings value: $65,000
Market value for property: $85,590
Assessments for tax year: 2009
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/hamilton-county/G/Grant-Avenue-15.html#ixzz1q0kTsO8P
did we know that he was julie's husband?
Heink = HEskamp INK?
What a bunch of tools that crew is. Everything is so inbred, no wonder the damn company can't function.
Because there's only one Julie in Ohio?
I'm also betting there is more than one Julie in Cincinnati.
Rick - the IT guy - is Julie's husband.
Richard (Rick) Geymonat is Julie Heskamp's husband. David Heink is not. Nichole's husband is a David too BTW.
See Rick's second post here:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/general-stamping-talk-f17/papertrey-house-t286715-2.html
There is also a son...I believe his name isJD so maybe David? I'm going by the comment made when he was introduced that he had 10 plus years I'd customer experience in the printing industry - who else could it be? Check Nichole's CHA post for mention of him
Julie is 42 and Rick is 48. So they could have a son that is up to early 20s, I suppose. But I don't think he would be Dave Heink. But they are sneaky kind of people and HEskamp INK could be their sneaky way...
White pages search says that there is one David Heink in Cincinnati, age about 50. I am willing to believe that he's a real person, not a pseudonym for someone's kid.
There is also a Dave Hink with a wife named Julie and a Julie Heinkamp. Maybe David Kamp married Julie Hein and had a baby named Nicholas whose middle name is Trey. Come on people, you are trying to create a conspiracy. Don't you have anything better to do on a Saturday? No families, friends, homes to care for?
White folk have kids named Trey? No way.
^^^^No I don't, so why do you care...uh??? You seem to be wasting time here too beoytch!
9:00 go F*ck Off and handslap elsewhere
Why did Amy rysavy leave? Was she fired too or did she leave because Nichole wouldn't let her design stamps?
Taylor Vab bruggen left too to design stamps....
If only some of the current designers would take a hike. They've got WAAAAY too many on the roster considering the same four dominate each month's release.
Perhaps changing the designer line up and dt would help keep things fresh. PTI use to be ahead of the others. Now, it's like the designers are just cranking out stuff on command. No originality.
Customer service issues aside, PTI used to have the most imaginative, innovative, well thought out designs. This goes back to before the major greed set in, when they used to release 4 to 6 sets at a time. They did lead the industry.
Now the designs seem released to keep a certain cash flow going - Big Honkin' Sentiments #43, Round Tags #111, etc. It's easy to make an existing set giant sized or teeny tiny. I'm just not seeing much fresh and current lately from PTI.
I do find it with other stamp companies and that's where I'm putting my money. Customer service issues aside.
I do agree that PTI has lost it's innovative and creative edge. Not much new anymore. Also, they are now making dies for things that don't need dies. Things that need 10 seconds to cut out and all straight lines are actually faster to cut than to die cut. They are starting to look stretched for ideas. I am sure that this has also added up to less sales. They seem to be catering to the collectors. Put out a line of 12 coordinating sets and there are people who will buy all of them and never open 10 of them. The frames are getting really boring too. Lots of overkill, IMO. Even MIM is ridiculously pathetic lately.
JD Heskamp is Jane's son, i.e. Julie's brother. Rick the admin/IT guy is Julie's husband. I believe that Dave Heink is a real, separate guy, especially since people here have found one in Cincinnati searches.
Nichole's latest announcements show transparency and honesty. I am encouraged.
First time smacker here...
I truly believe that PTI's poor attitude about customer service stems from the fact that they were instantly popular when they first started. They consistently sold out of their first releases. Much of the early dissatisfaction with PTI came from their inventory control issues. When you're never "hungry", when you're an instant success, when you're praised by the media (mags), it's very easy to let CS slip. After all, there's always another customer waiting in the wings to take the place of the one they just lost.
I think all that success led to cockiness and arrogance, all the while neglecting the very customers who brought them their success. This resulted in bad habits and, more importantly, a "who cares" attitude about customer service.
That said, I'm still blown away that a multi-million dollar company still tries to skate by with one customer service rep and attempts to hide behind the excuse that they're just a small family run company.
Amy Rysavy also wanted to design stamps. I am wondering if that's why she left or if she was let go because of the lack of blog traffic.
My guess is Jenn quit because she was having to do Julie's job. Julie was the one initially responsible for mailing out anniversary sets (bet money she didn't, even though she pinky swears that she did). And then responsible for mailing them out again. (pinky swear, this time, really, they all went out! pinky swear!) And then Jenn had to do it (I will personally mail your sets). I'm not saying that excuses snippy and rude but I'd sure be "f'this AND YOU, Julie Heskamp" if I was Jenn. There's no way I'd stay with a company so intent on running itself into the ground.
Julie should have just sent a case of anniversary sets to Jenn when it became clear that there were customers who had not received them. Even though they'd been sent once (or twelve times) before, of course ;)
They could have set up a USPS account for Jenn to use from home and viola....
The inefficiency at PTI astounds me.
re 13:42, "When you're never "hungry", when you're an instant success, when you're praised by the media (mags), it's very easy to let CS slip."...
It's not only that they were just "praised" by the media... it's that Nichole had an "in" with her Papercrafts Mag buddies. Still working for them when she started Papertrey. That always seemed like an unfair advantage to me.
Re:^^^^...original poster here. Yes, absolutely. IIRC, their only print ad was a full page, inside cover for PaperCrafts timed to coincide with their launch. First-time advertisers *never* get such prime advertising space unless they have an "in". The PC connection helped in many, many ways (and still does).
Thought I'd share an interesting find I discovered crafting the other night. I was flipping through my Page Maps 2 book by Becky Fleck and on page 11, the baby LO, has some Fancy Pants pattern paper with a monkey that looks, to me, like a carbon copy of the PTI's Tiny Treats and Tremendous Treats Birthday monkey. I mean, carbon copy. I even showed it to hubby and he agreed. NH may not be quite the creative genius she's been made out to be. I'd love to see if anyone else sees the striking sameness too.
Question, my post count on the fourm keeps dropping. Why? Anyone know an answer? Weirds me out!Not that I care really, just seems creepy.
@9:38 Stamp companies use a lot of free clip art for their designs. It also isn't unusual for designers to sell to two companies-but the companies usually know that fact.
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