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 ;)
Here is an example of how customer service ruined a company's reputation. I believe the CS guy was fired. He nearly caused the undoing of his own company and the company that hired them.. Amazon got involved and every game company learned who this guy was. He basically blacklisted himself:
New postby Joan B » Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:28 pm I apologize to the OP and to PTI. I had no business posting on this thread. I hope the OP's concerns are resolved soon.
Donna, that was some article! Thanks for posting it. I followed a couple further links with updates. Unbelievable! But there certainly were some similarities to PTI. I've been self-employed for a long time and it astounds me how people can be such complete asses and think customers will continue to kiss their backsides. That ain't how it works.
Has anyone seen this blog post? It's a good summary of the train wreck http://simplicitybylateblossom.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-thoughts-on-papertrey.html
I am not sure if this blogger was affiliated with PTI at all in the past? Does anyone know?
Somebody needs to find out who makes PTI's paper, ribbons, and such. I mean, the colors are basically modified Pantone colors. Or at least in my opinion they are.
I say that because I think that's PTI's Saving Grace so to speak. I feel like I've invested so much in their color line, that I just find it hard to switch. And I bet there are a lot of people like me.
I hear you Terrence and that is what has kept me with them longer than I should have. Once you have a fortune wrapped up, it makes it hard to switch. Did that with SU and then switched to PTI. Problem is I cannot find a company with as great of colors as PTI.
Although we may not see eye to eye on everything, I certainly hope you keep posting here, since I believe you are truly affiliated with PTI. It would be nice to have your perspective on things. Right now we have a limited view on PTI's perspective since we only get bits and pieces on the forum.
By banning people from the forum, even if they turn things around, those banned people will never see it. It will forever leave a bad taste in their mouths and you know that a person will tell others for years to come. Such a "shoot yourself in the foot" sort of move on their part. Fix your stupid problems and then you won't have to ban the customers!!
So, Rick, if the PTI PTB are, indeed reading here, I hope you will pass this message on:
Your products are, in my opinion (and the opinion of many people here) simply the best in their category. I love PTI's design aesthetic; you are in a class of your own when it comes to this, IMO.
Unfortunately, the way PTI has treated customers with outstanding issues for the last several YEARS has finally come back to bite it in the profit margin.
Growing pains and the general issues that arise when you're running a VERY successful business are inevitable. Combine a consistent track record of "growing pains" and rude, unhelpful "customer service", however, and you've got yourself a recipe for disaster.
There is absolutely NO excuse for the way PTI has consistently treated customers for the last several years. Rude and condescending remarks from Nichole, Julie and Jenn are so much the norm for PTI that even your "good" (i.e., non-complaining) customers expect some level of snark when dealing with you.
Not to mention the astounding inefficiency we have all witnessed. I received an incomplete order once and it literally took 14 or 15 emails to get the situation resolved.
I emailed Jenn and then received a form response that in no way answered my question. I was forced to email a second time, and received THE SAME FORM LETTER I RECEIVED THE FIRST TIME. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Please tell me how that is cost effective? Not only was my time wasted, Jenn wasted her time and Julie's time, too. You had two different people "working on" or "responding to" the same issue more than 5 times each.
FYI: Your customers are NOT your adversaries. Stop treating them as such.
We are the people who are paying for the beautiful house that stamps built (and the gorgeous house you and Julie likely live in). We are the people who have supported and helped your company grow.
When a customer contacts you and says they have an that is missing or defective, take them at their word. To essentially argue and force someone to beg for an item they paid for is insulting and degrading. An item, by the way, that probably cost you less than $10 to manufacture.
READ customer emails before responding. It is infuriating to have to explain yourself over and over again. It is infuriating to have my time wasted and to feel that PTI does not value my business or my time.
And, most importantly, IMO: remember that these people whom bother you with their complaints and questions are people who have given you their hard-earned dollars. They are not all miscreants and losers.
You would do well to treat them as human beings who, in a world full of other options, have CHOSEN to be Papertrey Ink's customers.
A reputation for kindness and professionalism (even in the face of customers who behave badly) will get you much farther than a reputation for snark and poor customer service.
DonnaC, I was the one fron the last page that mentioned a big thread from 2008 on SCS re: customers not getting anniversary sets and other CS issues. If you or anyone else is interested, I found the link.
I just want to agree with everything 22:28 said. I've only posted a few times in the PTI forums (under the same name I've used here) to express my feelings about customer service issues, and haven't been banned, so I'm not a shit-stirrer . I'm just a person who loves PTI products and can't really find adequate substitutes anywhere else. PTI's products just fit my style perfectly. But I can't purchase from PTI until there are major changes that are sustained over a significant period of time. What kind of fool would I have to be to order from a company with a proven record of making mistakes and then being unwilling to make the situation right for the customer? My last order was in December, and at the time, I visited the forums and wasn't sure I should even make a purchase, but I had gift cards to use, so I bit the bullet. It turned out that nothing went wrong with my order, but many customers, myself included, now feel that it's only a matter of time before they experience problems that will result in major headaches.
I also want to echo the person in the last thread at 11:30 who said that what PTI needs is a little humility. If they had come out and admitted that they've had massive issues because they've tried to do too much with too few people (or whatever the real problem is) and then provided a clear plan for resolving those issues, I think customers would be willing to give them a chance again. Maybe we wouldn't order right away, but if we saw that genuine improvements were happening, I would think that there would only be a few who would hold a grudge. But now, they've continued insulting customers and have banned people from the forums. They're not going to get those people back, and many others who know about these ridiculous actions are gone for good as well.
The last straw for me was deleting CS emails. I simply cannot believe that a company would ever decide that such a thing was acceptable. I've been keeping tabs on the situation ever since I got that email, mostly because I want PTI to shape up so I can continue to get their beautiful stamps and luscious papers and ribbons. I'm certain that PTI must have some representatives reading this blog - they must be aware of it and they must be checking in to see what customers are saying. If you're reading, please see past whatever you perceive to be personal attacks or just meanness and understand that we have valid concerns. Whether some of us quit purchasing from PTI entirely, take steps to make a change so that you can retain the customers you do still have, and treat new customers better. PTI needs a robust (read: more than one person) CS department and better quality control in terms of packaging and shipping orders. If you did something about just these two issues, you'd solve a huge portion of the problems that are driving customers away.
ACN in that "where's my thread" thread? Using the exact same company line of barely concealed sneering disdain for the retarded customer. "So sorry you misunderstood the very simple request for your shoe size and head circumference". LoL. Doofus.
I've never been an ACN fan. I think she's overrated & full of herself. Personally, I think she got added because PTI wanted some color on the team. And don't go getting all pissy. I'm black, too.
From the Simplicity by late blog post linked above at 20:35 - Did anyone read the comments posted there?
There was an interesting one from a poster named Mynette who said:
My DH recently bought me my first PTI set (Simply Jane) for Valentine's Day and he ordered it a week before and it didn't come until the beginning of March. Since I didn't know it was coming, I wasn't too upset! My DH said he called and the CS people he talked to were kind and vague, so is that ok? I dunno.
Since PTI doesn't have CS that answer a phone, wonder who he talked to? The cleaning people?
@23:09 Thank you for posting the 2008 splitcoast thread about anniversary sets et cetera. I read every post on the 4 page thread and find it utterly amazing (not really) that it was from 2008Could have just as easily been written in 2012. In four years they have learned nothing, although I notice posters mention receiving a cs reply from "Rick." Guess that is the same Rick who is now the website/forum genius. PTI is suck an inbred fustercluck of a company. Disgusting!
(Deleted previous post because of grammatical error LMAO!). Here's round 2 of it.
I've kept quiet all this time because I didn't give a damn about being involved in all this mess, but Donna, your post today has brought out my writing muse. Sorry to see you gone from the forum but it ain't the same place it once used to be. I somehow landed up with a novel on my blog. I've been disappointed just watching this saga unfold too many times... Not really my usual self, but I'm breaking out of my shell today.
It seems to me that anything that needs to be addressed with the PTB would be better delivered via email to the board admin so it could be forwarded. Not sure if he could present something to them from this site... But what do I know...
It was not meant to provide comic relief. It was to say that your concerns might be heard if you sent them via email, where they could be forwarded. Rick may not necessarily have any influence at all when it comes to such things...but could probably forward emails to the PTB directly.
I would hope that because of the whole email issue that they would be moving to a more advanced system to handle customer issues and provide better support tracking...
Well, people are still waiting on their Anniversary Sets. There are also over 9,000 views on that post - how hard can it be.
I know most PTI lovers are hoping they eventually get it right, but, for those waiting on something that was earned over 12 months ago is a disgusting indictment on how indifferent PTI have been (to their customers) in solving this debacle.
Honestly, who gives a rip if Rick is married to Julie, Jane, Nichole, Dawn or any of them??? I don't care if they never hire family or if they only hire family. Things are still not working right so WHO CARES about who is married to who?
I believe there are those who have had enough and will not be happy regardless of how much change occurs...they are sick and tired of being sick and tired and the have simply given up..
I also believe there are those that are still hopeful that the PTB are making some major changes to CS and the order/shipping process as a whole.
Oh, so you aren't actually "in the know"? I was really hoping that you were Rick slipping along some information to let us know good things are happening behind the scenes. Why I think he'd come on here and tell us, I don't know. Why I think I'd believe him if he did, I also don't know. But I was hoping for some kind of truce between the PTB and us smacking customers.
You are right. Some people are fed up and won't return, while others are will but just waiting for the confidence to buy. I guess I'm in the 2nd camp as well.
From a lurking reader - Thanks, Mutt. Honestly. You have given me more hope for PTI than I have had in a long time. That feels good. If you are Rick then you are "in the know" ... and if you are hopeful then I am hopeful.
Well mutt, look t that you've succeeded in making the smackers hopeful
Guess I'm in the minority as I do not believe PTI Knows how to fix things on their own Every single good customer sevice move they have made in the past 2 weeks ( like, all two of them) was after much uproar from vocal customers Now that the vocal minority has been banned they can go back to doing things their own shitty way
Now that they have banned the vocal customers they
OK so Muttation is not Rick and I've been posting previously hoping he was so. I think we all are writing in vain. Let's just see what happens. Why would they listen to us here vs. there? I won't get my hopes up to these veiled hints UNTIL I SEE them make actually make changes and follow through. There is a lot of room for error when you make big changes like this. Just a word of warning. A company culture cannot change overnight. Julie is still Julie. Unless they have brought in a new leader... I don't believe that much could change. So Muttation.. hint all you want.
2nd, it doesn't matter who is married to whom. HOWEVER, if Rick is married to Julie - he has vested interest and should be held more accountable. He is not just a 9-5 employee who could give 2 sh@ts. You would think the owner's HUSBAND or family member would put 110% effort. Maybe that's just me and my stupid sense of familial loyalty.
Mutt never said that PTI was going to fix it themselves. My fantasy is that they would actually, you know, get PROFESSIONAL help. Or sell the whole company to someone who knows what they are doing.
I am inclined to think Mutt is telling the truth about not being married to Julie. I think at one time they were, and perhaps now they are not. The only reason it matters is that Mutt would have the best of both worlds - (1) Knowing a hell of a lot more about things than we do; and (2) the freedom to communicate with us in this fashion. He has always maintained that he doesn't "represent" PTI.
Change may be coming, but it's too little, too late for me. Even if PTI turns things around, the whole company is tainted for me. About 3-4 months ago, I was sitting on the fence. But today? The thrill is gone and is replaced by apathy.
But they are NOT changing things. The CS merry-go-round is still in full force. I am still going through it. Every time I receive a non-answer answer email and I respond to it, I get sent to the back of the CS email queue. I have to wait 2-3 days (or more) for another non-answer response. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. (With the exception on the lovely email delete where I had to start the process all over again.) This has been going on for me since Feb. 12. They aren't learning, and apparently have no interest in changing things.
I have a CS issue that I haven't heard mentioned yet. According to the new website, I have 8 rewards points. (2011 was a low spending year due to boycotting for most of it...didn't get mt anniversary set until December.) My very detailed records show that I should have 13. No, it's not a huge issue but it's the principle, right? I haven't emailed CS yet because a) there are more pressing issues from other people who deserve to be helped first and b) I dread compiling all my orders to prove that I'm due what I say I am. Been down that road before. And quite frankly I still get no joy from the idea of placing an order to redeem those points. (Maybe that's what they're banking on.)
Um, are you kidding me? The Anniversary Set debacle is STILL freaking going on???
Okay, honestly, PTI, Mutt, whoever, I'm BEGGING you, why are these still just now being sent out. I mean JUST NOW as in Julie said they were sent 3/16 and was still collecting names and addresses. How is this possible. How is this possible????
For the love of God ladies! Mutt is NOT Rick or PTI. Get a grip. PTI is reading here to try and get a handle on who are the shit disturbers NOT to slip us some info or spread sunshine.
Mutt is just a unicorn playing with you all. Typing long posts to Rick here will get you nowhere. And when PTI does check this place out, you can bet they are skipping those posts.
My bad, 7:19. It must be all in my imagination that I keep getting completely useless responses from CS. I'll try to keep my hallucinations to myself in the future. ;)
PTB do not come here...too many horrible personal assaults, vulgar name calling, etc...
Even if Rick were here, and trying to help bridge the gap, he would not be able to openly do so without assault and condemnation (read some of the posts about Rick on here and you will get an idea of how he is viewed by most people here...even though none of them know him personally)
What is the point of Nichole posting this on the Where's my thread??? post?
I thought personal details "shouldn't" be aired in the forum? Is this to publically call her a liar or tell her she is wrong?
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Re: Where's my thread?? by nichole » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:34 am
Carole,
First, I apologize for the difficulties you have had logging into your account. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you and I know that I would feel the same way myself if I were in your position. I have been following up every day with our tech department regarding your log-in issue as well as that of a small handful of others. You have not been ignored and I have been active in seeking resolution for you on this to the very best of my abilities. The main issue is that when they access your account through test procedures, just as you would, they aren't encountering the same message so it is incredibly difficult to diagnose why the error message is occurring. It is something that is being worked on and I will most definitely continue to follow-up on your behalf until it is resolved.
In regards to your anniversary set, you should not need to log into your account to provide us with the information we have requested since the qualifying purchases were made well before the new website & customer tracking feature were launched. We have researched each order you have placed during the qualifying period and every customer service email that has been received from you over the last two years. The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders. You in turn so kindly provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period without any order numbers.
We have individually researched each set that you provided within the list and only a handful of them were purchased during the qualifying period. One of the team members will be PM'ing you with a copy of the list you provided originally, as well as the notations we have added with order numbers & dates for the sets that qualified and which ones were purchased after the qualifying period.
If there are additional sets that you believe were purchased during the qualifying period that were not on your original list, please be sure to respond back to the team member that furnishes you with the PM and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. I am hopeful that that there might be a piece of information that we haven't been provided with that will allow us to amend your list and qualify you for a shipment of the anniversary
I don't care if Muttation or Rick or whoever keeps posting that change is coming. Frankly, I don't believe it. I can't imagine that some PTI employee would stealthily post vague comments like that on a smack blog. Sorry folks, don't believe it. If the PTB really wanted to appeal to their customers then they should post it publicly, on the forums, on the store website, on Nichole's blog...and let's see some specifics while your at it. Otherwise, I'll believe it when I see it. PTI is full of vague promises and statements that end up going nowhere. I have no faith until I actually see an official word.
Why whould Nichole post this on the forum? Is she calling her a liar in public?
------------------- Re: Where's my thread?? by nichole » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:34 am
Carole,
First, I apologize for the difficulties you have had logging into your account. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you and I know that I would feel the same way myself if I were in your position. I have been following up every day with our tech department regarding your log-in issue as well as that of a small handful of others. You have not been ignored and I have been active in seeking resolution for you on this to the very best of my abilities. The main issue is that when they access your account through test procedures, just as you would, they aren't encountering the same message so it is incredibly difficult to diagnose why the error message is occurring. It is something that is being worked on and I will most definitely continue to follow-up on your behalf until it is resolved.
In regards to your anniversary set, you should not need to log into your account to provide us with the information we have requested since the qualifying purchases were made well before the new website & customer tracking feature were launched. We have researched each order you have placed during the qualifying period and every customer service email that has been received from you over the last two years. The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders. You in turn so kindly provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period without any order numbers.
We have individually researched each set that you provided within the list and only a handful of them were purchased during the qualifying period. One of the team members will be PM'ing you with a copy of the list you provided originally, as well as the notations we have added with order numbers & dates for the sets that qualified and which ones were purchased after the qualifying period.
If there are additional sets that you believe were purchased during the qualifying period that were not on your original list, please be sure to respond back to the team member that furnishes you with the PM and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. I am hopeful that that there might be a piece of information that we haven't been provided with that will allow us to amend your list and qualify you for a shipment of the anniversary set.
The reason that it matters who is married to who is because it means that family is not going to get fired regardless of the crappy job they are doing.
A good example is Rick and the website if he in fact is the tech guy.
Rick comes across as sarcastic and angry. If he owns part of the company he should be a bit more respectful in tone.
Why whould Nichole post this on the forum? Is she calling her a liar in public?
------------------- Re: Where's my thread?? by nichole » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:34 am
Carole,
First, I apologize for the difficulties you have had logging into your account. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you and I know that I would feel the same way myself if I were in your position. I have been following up every day with our tech department regarding your log-in issue as well as that of a small handful of others. You have not been ignored and I have been active in seeking resolution for you on this to the very best of my abilities. The main issue is that when they access your account through test procedures, just as you would, they aren't encountering the same message so it is incredibly difficult to diagnose why the error message is occurring. It is something that is being worked on and I will most definitely continue to follow-up on your behalf until it is resolved.
In regards to your anniversary set, you should not need to log into your account to provide us with the information we have requested since the qualifying purchases were made well before the new website & customer tracking feature were launched. We have researched each order you have placed during the qualifying period and every customer service email that has been received from you over the last two years. The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders. You in turn so kindly provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period without any order numbers.
We have individually researched each set that you provided within the list and only a handful of them were purchased during the qualifying period. One of the team members will be PM'ing you with a copy of the list you provided originally, as well as the notations we have added with order numbers & dates for the sets that qualified and which ones were purchased after the qualifying period.
If there are additional sets that you believe were purchased during the qualifying period that were not on your original list, please be sure to respond back to the team member that furnishes you with the PM and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. I am hopeful that that there might be a piece of information that we haven't been provided with that will allow us to amend your list and qualify you for a shipment of the anniversary set.
Does anyone really save every order number and invoice from every purchase made from every company and save them for years? As soon as I receive something (from anywhere) and know that everything is there and working, I toss the receipt. If I kept every order number, I would be on the hoarder's show because I would be buried in papers.
Yes, actually some of us do save our receipts from places such as PTI that had a rewards system in place based on previous purchases. I toss my other receipts. However, when it comes to some like PTI's system, I know better to keep receipts then to depend on a computer system to track...shit happens even to the best companies out there...
********* and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. **********
Then why don't you fucking research ALL the shit she bought by going through YOUR OWN RECORDS rather than have her guess at which items were bought between what dates??? Great Lordy Bees, I cannot believe these people do not have an email-based tracking system.
I don't think Nichole is calling her a liar. I think Nichole is trying to get to the bottom of it and I didn't find anything else in her verbiage that bugged me accept for the part that show they actually can research some shit but just don't do it for the customer. This bullshit of tracking your own purchases - something a company should do FOR YOU - is making me insane. I buy from ritzcamera.com and they keep records of every single order I've ever made however far back my shopping history exists.
I keep all the emails for my online purchases but not the paper copies.
Totally agree with @9:36, if you have her data, why does she need to send it to you. Jeez, if you don't think she qualifies, tell her your records shows she bought X number of sets. Not that hard.
The way I read NH comment is that according to their records, she does not qualify for the set (or # of sets) she believes she qualifies for, and if the customer feels there is a mistake she needs to provide that proof in the way of order #'s along with a list of qualifying sets.
9:48....that makes sense. I didn't get that by Nicholes response but since you mentioned it, yes I can see now where the issue is a possible discrepancy between PTI's records and the customer's.
Then why didn't their ordering system have a place for one consistent piece of information??
If you're going to put a rewards system in place, then have a spot where people can input their reward claiming information. Let the freaking computer system do the work.
You're probably all over this by now but I have to say I agree that no PTI PTB are going to be commenting here. Maybe reading here, but not commenting here. just my 2c.
Well, first of all 10:22, one of the points to be made here is the way they are approaching it. It's alwasy turned to the customer's fault: Those silly customers used all kinds of information. Never do they say, we should have had some kind of reward # in place or something like that. Oops.. we screwed up. No - it's those nasty unpredictable customers.
Secondly if reward ponits are calculated based on dollars spent, if those silly customers keep using different information, how are they going to track it any better?
I could just be missing somethign here -- honestly, educate me!
10:26 at this point it's damage control. They are in the midst of a PR nightmare. They should have done it before knowing what a firestorm things become once they hit the forum.
I am all for satisfying customers to the customers ease and benefit when it comes to replacing missing items, returns, etc...however, if in fact she did not make enough purchases qualifying her for an anniversary set, then I don't think she should receive one just to shut her up. That opens up the possibility for others to just complain in order to get free stuff they didn't actually earn.
I liked all of the blog posts people wrote about the PTI problems.
There are two things I take issue with:
1. If I hear "growing pains" one more time I'll scream. Bullshit.
2. The House that Stamps Built. People, maybe folks are making a living selling stamps but no one goes into this business to become a millioinaire. Except maybe Tim Holtz, LOL!!
Yes, PR nightmare. Probably have lots hundreds of dollars in sales due to the Carol issue alone. She has never come across to me as greedy or deceitful when advocating for the receipt of her anniversary set, and I think they would have preserved a lot of goodwill had they just sent the set out when they had the chance.
It's their own damn fault for having such a disorganized, chaotic method of record keeping to begin with. The new points system is the only thing of value on the new website and will hopefully prevent future issues like this again. But for now, send the fucking set and move on.
Yes, PR nightmare. Probably have lots hundreds of dollars in sales due to the Carol issue alone. She has never come across to me as greedy or deceitful when advocating for the receipt of her anniversary set, and I think they would have preserved a lot of goodwill had they just sent the set out when they had the chance.
It's their own damn fault for having such a disorganized, chaotic method of record keeping to begin with. The new points system is the only thing of value on the new website and will hopefully prevent future issues like this again. But for now, send the fucking set and move on.
At this point PTI is in such chaos and have been proven wrong so many times, they just need to send the set and continue to do so until their system is flawless. THEN they can argue who gets what.
Hmmmm. I don't know. I didn't have any problems. But, oh yeah, since I knew my purchases were tracked by my email address, I always used the same email address! Seriously, how fucking hard is that??? Btw...Now, they have added the option of linking accounts with different email addresses.
Personally I do not believe most people would try to do that - complain just to get the set.
More importantly - Isn't the biggest issue here WHY HAS IT TAKEN A YEAR and it's still not settled??? This is the 2010 purchases their talking about! Criminy just get it over with.
10:32 I think in this case they need to choose their battles and this one they've already lost.
They had their chance to deal with this privately, but instead stringing Carol along. If they had communicated better with specific details A YEAR AGO, they probably wouldn't need to worry about giving away one anniversary set wrongly.
10:36-I am glad you have a more positive attitude when it comes to human nature. I, on the other hand, have seen it over and over again having previously worked in customer service, that there are many, many people out there that try to get over on established policies, procedures, etc. It was so bad, that I pray I never have to return to working in the customer service environment ever again.
I agree. If they had responded to her first email which I'm sure was MONTHS ago, and told her at that time she did not qualify different story
But they go months and month without resolving her poblem...they need to suck it up and send her the set as they should have been able to get this info to her MONTHS ago.
But do we actually know when her first email to customer service was? Or maybe she just recently say the fiasco on the forum, and thought, "hey, I never got that set either" and then email cust serv?
Well, maybe they do honestly *think* they earned the set, when in fact, they bought a couple sets off the B/S/T forum. We don't know. So, unless we know for sure, all of the details, why do we think we know best how every situation should be handled?
Oh, and just to clarify...I think Carole's situation should have been worked out a long, long time ago. It is very shameful that this (and all other) situations were not attended to in a timely manner.
If she didn't qualify she should have been told that right away and provided proof by way of a copy of all the purchase records PTI has for her. If she still feels that the records are incorrect, then the ball is in her court to prove she did in fact make those purchases through other emails. Although I do feel PTI really needs to improve their tracking system, in this particular case I don't think asking for the customer to provide order #'s to prove them wrong is such a bad thing...I hope she can find the info to prove them wrong and get a set if she earned one.
Well personally I know best how this situation should be handled because I'm a customer service consultant and do cost analysis for problems like this everyday
MAKE NO MISTAKE - PTI CREATED this problem by the archaic systems the chose not to invest any money in If they do not loose a few dollars out of pocket, they will see no reason to change. Mistakes need to be expensive for a reason - so there is incentive to be more careful next time.
but whatever....apparently you are also a PTI expert. You're giving us a lot of entertainment so keep arguing weith us
My guess is that at this point maybe she thinks she's showing everyone how wonderfully she's handling the situation.
Their history shows that they tend to think they are "exceeding expectations" and are doing the right thing. Usually it backfires... that's what's popping the corn.
10:57-Wow, you are a very angry person. I am not arguing with you or anyone else. I am merely stating my opinion as are every one else on this board. I never purported to be a PTI expert and have no desire to be one. I agree with many things posted here and have stated that fact. I just don't agree with the fact that someone should get something if they did not earn it, in this case making the necessary purchases for an anniversary set. It was also the customer inquiring about her anniversary set which led the company to investigate on her behalf. It is completely up to a company to search their records if they so choose rather than just give away sets to everyone that claims they are owed one. Why it took so long I have no idea...but in the end the customer wanted to know why she did not receive the set. She has an answer.
I agree with 10:33 about the House That Stamps Built. I think the money for that house came from Nichole's husband's job. They lived in a lovely house already, when PTI was just started, so he obviously has a good job.
Hello, I've seen mention of past DT members coming forwards and this nosey nelly wants to read all abou t it. Can someone point me in the right direction?
For the people who say their points are lower than they should be: Did you make any orders from a different e-mail address that needs to be linked? Are you remembering to just count orders from Feb15, 2011 onward, not the total orders that show in your history? Did you buy any gift certificates (those don't count for the purchaser, only the one who uses them).
@11:21 about former DT members. See Becky Oehler's facebook around March 14, when the e-mail wipeout was announced. She posted something and then Niki Estes, Geny Cassaday, and Lauren Meader commented vaguely. There were no specifics about why they left, just vague rumblings.
Concerning Carol's issue, sorosie wrote:Nichole, I applaud your well thoguht out and written answer to Carols question.
But the fact is that this answer still come a year late. If this was the exact information she was given one year ago, we would be in a different situation. But since it has taken PTI so long to get to the root of the problem - which looks like she did not order enough to receive a anniversary set according to your system- It's truly in your best interest to just send the set out to her and be done with the situation.
Carol has sent countless emails. There are several different employee's of PTI looking into her problem. The cost of investigating this issue has far exceeded tha amount of the set's value at this point and it's time to cut the losses, learn from the mistakes made and just send her out the set.
Similar to my outstanding isse. The amount of money PTI owe me is jut not worth my time, aggravation and countless emails so I will not even bother proceeding with it.
NH's response: Rosie, While I certainly appreciate the manner in which you have addressed Carole's issue and your opinions on the subject, it is important to point out that there are several details that you are assuming, rather than having first hand knowledge about. In order to remain respectful to Carole, I will not be providing those details here to be discussed further.
And I do agree with you, that it would seem easy to say "cut your losses and send her the set". But it is very important to me as a business owner to treat customers equally regarding these anniversary set shipments. It is inappropriate to send one customer a set that they did not earn unless I am going to also hold other unqualified customers up to the same standard and ship everyone the complimentary set, whether they earned it or not.
I apologize if we fell short of your expectations in one of our transactions with you personally. If you want to give me the opportunity, I would be more than happy to put every effort into making it right. But with all due respect, the original poster's situation has been addressed fairly and I will await further response from her as to how she would like me to proceed.
The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders.
"You in turn SO KINDLY (emphasis mine) provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period WITHOUT any order numbers."
28 March 2012 08:46
Fuck you Nichole.
Sorry folks, I'm going to have to disagree with the most of you. That last sentence that Nichole typed is major passive-aggressive stick it to you BS! You "so kindly"? when she's talking about the gal did NOT provide the order numbers as requested?
BTW, I agree with the majority on here about what the actual root of the issue is here. Companies have had computers doing this tracking/data base stuff since at least the nineties folks! You as the customer should not have to tell them you qualified, they should fucking know this, within seconds, by simply typing and looking! It's not that hard. If your customer does not qualify, the proper thing to do is send them the copy of that documentation and the form letter "sorry, but our records indicate...". You do NOT put the entire burden on the customer. That is ass backwards.
I also agree with the others here who say at this point they should have just bit the bullet and sent her the effing set. Yes, partly to just shut her up. Grown ups in business make those kinds of tough choices every day. It sucks, but instead, oh no, precious Nichole and that whole inbred company would rather stand on principle and throw the baby out with the bathwater. It's been going on since 2008 for Christ's sake! That is why we are here. Why is everything so hard?
They are using a style of business and CS that worked fine in the nineties, but will definitely not work in the age of social media. They have shown over and over again that they are unwilling to adjust and change (see 2008 thread), and the latest round of debacles and how it is now catching on in the social media networks will not allow them to continue, unless they pull their collective fingers out and quick.
Even the customers are asking Nichole to send her the set so where is the issue where Nichole is worried customers will find it unfair? It is far more angering to customers to know that many have not received what they have proven they were owed. The focus is in the wrong place.
"And I do agree with you, that it would seem easy to say "cut your losses and send her the set". But it is very important to me as a business owner to treat customers equally regarding these anniversary set shipments. It is inappropriate to send one customer a set that they did not earn unless I am going to also hold other unqualified customers up to the same standard and ship everyone the complimentary set, whether they earned it or not"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You know what, they better be darned sure that cj did NOT actually earn that set, because if I was cj and they were wrong, I would be hopping mad that she even typed that out about ME to an unrelated third party. That is not OK.
You know, some of you unicorns display some characteristics of women in an abusive relationship. Sorry, that's just the way I feel. Nichole is full of it. She tries to dress up her passive aggressive comments in some type of what she honestly believes is good business prose, but is actually horrible writing skills full of dumb words like "furnish?". And some of you guys fall for it. It's like the guy coming back and giving you flowers.
The fact is, I find it highly inappropriate for a business owner to even be on the board having that kind of back and forth with forum members in the first place. If the members themselves take it to the board, sure, she should respond, but it should be short and sweet and businesslike and respectful. The actual details should NOT be discussed by the business owner, except in correspondence between her and the customer. She certainly should not be responding to the comments of uninvolved third parties. Really unprofessional.
"The fact is, I find it highly inappropriate for a business owner to even be on the board having that kind of back and forth with forum members in the first place. If the members themselves take it to the board, sure, she should respond, but it should be short and sweet and businesslike and respectful. The actual details should NOT be discussed by the business owner, except in correspondence between her and the customer. She certainly should not be responding to the comments of uninvolved third parties. Really unprofessional".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You are absolutely correct when you say NH should not be handling this situation on the forum. I think this was a thinly veiled attempt to try to show some people that not all of the unresolved situations are as cut and dry as they appear. On the other hand, I don't see how it is really appropriate for those "uninvolved third parties" to demand for a business to take a particular action, especially when they do not have all information involved.
I am not a member of SCS and so I don't think that I can post there. I am wondering if it might be a good idea if it were posted that Nichole has now personally asked that all customers still waiting for 2011 Anniversary sets to let her know. She intends to follow through. (No seriously this time, they mean it. Really)
Someone asked "what about those who don't read this forum" to which Dawn answered (somewhat paraphrasing), "I imagine they will send an email to CS..."
So, to recap, they *imagine* that a customer who has waited for a YEAR will suddenly, and without prompting, decide that today is the day they will try to email CS (again) for a resolution. And in the unlikely event that should happen? OOPS ... it's not April 1st yet ... your em will be deleted because you sent it before the designated time.
Correcting my 12:29 post...demanded was the wrong word after I reread Sorosie's comment. However, I still do not feel it is appropriate for someone without direct knowledge (cj and PTI Staff) to tell a business how to handle a situation.
Before you all jump all over me for stating my opinion, I want to make it clear I am referring to this situation and this situation alone. I am not grouping all the anniversary set fiascos into this.
I thought what Rosie asked was fine, and I thought how Nichole answered was fine.
And 12:10: the OP Carole, cjkerr, DID take her issue to the forum, and Nichole answered in an appropriate way, not listing her specific sets or anything. And your comparison of this situation to women in abusive relationships is way over the top!
I don't think she was comparing the situation to an abusive relationship. I actually think she was saying that the people that continue to support PTI are the ones in the abusive relationship because they keep treating their customers poorly but they just keep coming back.
12:33, Dawn is right. It only stands to reason that people who are owed a 2011 anniv set will contact CS. =========================== Yeah, that has worked so well thus far....
No. I don't think that would be a good idea. Why be such a shit stirrer like that? ====================== And by "shit stirrer" I assume you mean "communicate through rational channels for a stamper who might not have had any luck over the past year emailing PTI CS."
Wow. You sound just like the owners of a company I used to buy stamps from.....
Imagining what someone we don't know, who doesn't visit the forum, who might have earned an anniv set but possibly didn't get it would do is really silly...
I get being concerned for the unknowing customer, but I'm not going to get all riled up about them. I know, I go out on a limb and assume they are big girls and boys who assuredly can use a computer (they had to order their qualifying products somehow) and the interwebz enough to find a way to get to PTI.
said... I thought what Rosie asked was fine, and I thought how Nichole answered was fine.
And 12:10: the OP Carole, cjkerr, DID take her issue to the forum, and Nichole answered in an appropriate way, not listing her specific sets or anything. And your comparison of this situation to women in abusive relationships is way over the top!
28 March 2012 12:49
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Reading comprehension: it's a good thing. And I disagree. With everything you said.
I can assure you this is not how the GinaKs and countless other business women known and lauded for excelent CS would deal with this. But that point is kind of redundant, since this problem wouldn't have arisen in the first place.
As for the Rosie comment, I'm not critiquing Rose making the comments, I'm criticiszing Nichole for answering it when it is none of Rosie's business. It is between cj and Nichole. She's being a passive aggressive bitch. As usual. Getting another dig in to CJ in the process. She has no right to be discussing details of CJs situation with anyone but cj. I will never agree that that is OK.
Thanks to the person who understood what I wrote about the abusive relationship. Too many unis in here today.
Anonymous said... 12:10 You've never heard the word "furnish" before?? As in "provide with"?
28 March 2012 12:29
LOL, and you my dear are probably the same kind of person that would use the word "furnish" when "provide" would do fine. Because like Nichole, you probably think it sounds more clever or something when it actually sounds phony and lame.
14:27- Ah, now I get it. You were implying that by Nichole's use of the word "furnish" she was being phony. I was mistaken then, and apologize. I thought you were stating that "furnish" wasn't a real word. My bad.
And no, I'm not phony, but it seems awful petty to be discriminating against someone for having a large vocabulary. We should all be "stupid americans" instead? LOL (that was a joke, don't go getting all up in arms now!)
"As for the Rosie comment, I'm not critiquing Rose making the comments, I'm criticiszing Nichole for answering it when it is none of Rosie's business." -------------
Coherency: it's a good thing. Too bad you don't have any. You say you're not critiquing Rosie and then you say it's none of her business--in the same sentence! LOL
Think what you want. Nobody has to 'sign in' as Michele to know when Michele is posting. It is always the same long-winded, high and mighty, know more than everybody else posts. You are transparent. You can deny it. It will be our little secret. ;)
Coherency: it's a good thing. Too bad you don't have any. You say you're not critiquing Rosie and then you say it's none of her business--in the same sentence! LOL
28 March 2012 14:41
You are being deliberately obtuse and misquoting me.
I SAID i wasn't criticizing Rosie FOR ASKING THE QUESTION. I am however criticizing Nichole for the way in which she answered rosie since the details of whether cj is qualified or not IS NONE of Rosie's business. Which it isn't, unless cj chooses to share that with her herself. How hard is that to understand?
14:46 why are you so obsessed with Michele? Got a fan girl crush? Or did she get you all butt hurt one day by something she said on the PTI forum? Get over it.
For some reason PTI has me with two email accounts. I think this happened because I use my PayPal account which has a certain email associated. When we place the order and ask to have an email confirmation that info is entered on the order prior to submitting the final completed order I have always entered the email that I prefer (different than the PayPal). Somehow, from that situation, PTI set up two accounts and I have some orders in one and a few in the second acct. I actually earned enough points from both accounts to have free sets in 2011. I have set up passwords on both accounts and can see all of my orders. Possibly this is what happened to Carol. I always thought I email CS to combine the accounts, but didn't think it was worth the hassle with PTI CS. Now, it is a mute subject because I won't be purchasing anything after all this turmoil.
I do not think ANY business should be conducted via public forum. The fact that issues have escalated to the degree that people are screeching and venting on a public message board to have their business attended to is embarrasing, unprofessional and unethical.
Agree 15:19. Its perfectly understandable to me why customers are going to the board and asking their questions when they are getting nowhere with email. But it is another thing when staff members resort to discussing details of those issues with them on the board. It should go to email right away. Id be pissed if I was cj right now.
There are any number of people that it could be why does Michelle P get singled out??? However, her comment about Jane Julie and nichole throwing our Benjamin's in the air and doing a happy dance while thy land was the best comment of all time!!!
Off topic board. The time thread by Sankada. Rick just thanked Ted for his 7500 posts and for making the forum a better place. I think I just threw up in my mouth.
Not sure how asking a question could be construed as being a "pain in the a**", unless the person being asked the question does not wish to respond directly to the question.
A fly is a pain in the a** to me, only because of the irritation I feel when it is on me. They don't bother me when they are on someone else...
wow bad unicorn day around here today. I can see we are getting regular infiltrates from the other side. I include muttation in that. Seriously guys, that ain't Rick the Dick posting. If he came here to post he'd be as insulting as possible to get his rocks off.
I think we need to do a ritual cleansing in here. Now, what would be the antidote to ward off unicorns? Suggestions? Maybe burning some sheaves of Perfect Match Pinefeather?
177 comments:
first?
Second!
So much going on, I've been busy catching up on all the reading.
Nice post on your blog Donna.
No snark here, I honestly mean nice post.
LOL, thanks!
Here is an example of how customer service ruined a company's reputation. I believe the CS guy was fired. He nearly caused the undoing of his own company and the company that hired them.. Amazon got involved and every game company learned who this guy was. He basically blacklisted himself:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/resources/just-wow1.html
I wish that you had comments enabled Donna. Your post is very well written.
Joan's response to that thread surprised me.
Re: Where's my thread??
New postby Joan B » Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:28 pm
I apologize to the OP and to PTI. I had no business posting on this thread. I hope the OP's concerns are resolved soon.
I have an email on my blog, but I did not have time to moderate comments. People who email tend not to be such nuts.
Donna, that was some article! Thanks for posting it. I followed a couple further links with updates. Unbelievable! But there certainly were some similarities to PTI. I've been self-employed for a long time and it astounds me how people can be such complete asses and think customers will continue to kiss their backsides. That ain't how it works.
re-posting this from the last thread....
Has anyone seen this blog post? It's a good summary of the train wreck
http://simplicitybylateblossom.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-thoughts-on-papertrey.html
I am not sure if this blogger was affiliated with PTI at all in the past? Does anyone know?
Somebody needs to find out who makes PTI's paper, ribbons, and such. I mean, the colors are basically modified Pantone colors. Or at least in my opinion they are.
I say that because I think that's PTI's Saving Grace so to speak. I feel like I've invested so much in their color line, that I just find it hard to switch. And I bet there are a lot of people like me.
So, Rick's new avatar looking out the window - it also shows Louisville, Ky - does that mean he is off-site????
I hear you Terrence and that is what has kept me with them longer than I should have. Once you have a fortune wrapped up, it makes it hard to switch. Did that with SU and then switched to PTI. Problem is I cannot find a company with as great of colors as PTI.
20:35, Susan has never been affiliated with PTI. She's just a long-time customer. I love her CAS style.
Muttation/Rick/Whoever:
Although we may not see eye to eye on everything, I certainly hope you keep posting here, since I believe you are truly affiliated with PTI. It would be nice to have your perspective on things. Right now we have a limited view on PTI's perspective since we only get bits and pieces on the forum.
By banning people from the forum, even if they turn things around, those banned people will never see it. It will forever leave a bad taste in their mouths and you know that a person will tell others for years to come. Such a "shoot yourself in the foot" sort of move on their part. Fix your stupid problems and then you won't have to ban the customers!!
I totally agree that Muttation is Rick.
So, Rick, if the PTI PTB are, indeed reading here, I hope you will pass this message on:
Your products are, in my opinion (and the opinion of many people here) simply the best in their category. I love PTI's design aesthetic; you are in a class of your own when it comes to this, IMO.
Unfortunately, the way PTI has treated customers with outstanding issues for the last several YEARS has finally come back to bite it in the profit margin.
Growing pains and the general issues that arise when you're running a VERY successful business are inevitable. Combine a consistent track record of "growing pains" and rude, unhelpful "customer service", however, and you've got yourself a recipe for disaster.
There is absolutely NO excuse for the way PTI has consistently treated customers for the last several years. Rude and condescending remarks from Nichole, Julie and Jenn are so much the norm for PTI that even your "good" (i.e., non-complaining) customers expect some level of snark when dealing with you.
Not to mention the astounding inefficiency we have all witnessed. I received an incomplete order once and it literally took 14 or 15 emails to get the situation resolved.
I emailed Jenn and then received a form response that in no way answered my question. I was forced to email a second time, and received THE SAME FORM LETTER I RECEIVED THE FIRST TIME. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Please tell me how that is cost effective? Not only was my time wasted, Jenn wasted her time and Julie's time, too. You had two different people "working on" or "responding to" the same issue more than 5 times each.
FYI: Your customers are NOT your adversaries. Stop treating them as such.
We are the people who are paying for the beautiful house that stamps built (and the gorgeous house you and Julie likely live in). We are the people who have supported and helped your company grow.
When a customer contacts you and says they have an that is missing or defective, take them at their word. To essentially argue and force someone to beg for an item they paid for is insulting and degrading. An item, by the way, that probably cost you less than $10 to manufacture.
READ customer emails before responding. It is infuriating to have to explain yourself over and over again. It is infuriating to have my time wasted and to feel that PTI does not value my business or my time.
And, most importantly, IMO: remember that these people whom bother you with their complaints and questions are people who have given you their hard-earned dollars. They are not all miscreants and losers.
You would do well to treat them as human beings who, in a world full of other options, have CHOSEN to be Papertrey Ink's customers.
A reputation for kindness and professionalism (even in the face of customers who behave badly) will get you much farther than a reputation for snark and poor customer service.
DonnaC, I was the one fron the last page that mentioned a big thread from 2008 on SCS re: customers not getting anniversary sets and other CS issues. If you or anyone else is interested, I found the link.
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/general-stamping-talk-f17/cant-get-through-papertrey-any-ideas-t343681.html
I just want to agree with everything 22:28 said. I've only posted a few times in the PTI forums (under the same name I've used here) to express my feelings about customer service issues, and haven't been banned, so I'm not a shit-stirrer . I'm just a person who loves PTI products and can't really find adequate substitutes anywhere else. PTI's products just fit my style perfectly. But I can't purchase from PTI until there are major changes that are sustained over a significant period of time. What kind of fool would I have to be to order from a company with a proven record of making mistakes and then being unwilling to make the situation right for the customer? My last order was in December, and at the time, I visited the forums and wasn't sure I should even make a purchase, but I had gift cards to use, so I bit the bullet. It turned out that nothing went wrong with my order, but many customers, myself included, now feel that it's only a matter of time before they experience problems that will result in major headaches.
I also want to echo the person in the last thread at 11:30 who said that what PTI needs is a little humility. If they had come out and admitted that they've had massive issues because they've tried to do too much with too few people (or whatever the real problem is) and then provided a clear plan for resolving those issues, I think customers would be willing to give them a chance again. Maybe we wouldn't order right away, but if we saw that genuine improvements were happening, I would think that there would only be a few who would hold a grudge. But now, they've continued insulting customers and have banned people from the forums. They're not going to get those people back, and many others who know about these ridiculous actions are gone for good as well.
The last straw for me was deleting CS emails. I simply cannot believe that a company would ever decide that such a thing was acceptable. I've been keeping tabs on the situation ever since I got that email, mostly because I want PTI to shape up so I can continue to get their beautiful stamps and luscious papers and ribbons. I'm certain that PTI must have some representatives reading this blog - they must be aware of it and they must be checking in to see what customers are saying. If you're reading, please see past whatever you perceive to be personal attacks or just meanness and understand that we have valid concerns. Whether some of us quit purchasing from PTI entirely, take steps to make a change so that you can retain the customers you do still have, and treat new customers better. PTI needs a robust (read: more than one person) CS department and better quality control in terms of packaging and shipping orders. If you did something about just these two issues, you'd solve a huge portion of the problems that are driving customers away.
ACN in that "where's my thread" thread? Using the exact same company line of barely concealed sneering disdain for the retarded customer. "So sorry you misunderstood the very simple request for your shoe size and head circumference". LoL. Doofus.
I've never been an ACN fan. I think she's overrated & full of herself. Personally, I think she got added because PTI wanted some color on the team. And don't go getting all pissy. I'm black, too.
From the Simplicity by late blog post linked above at 20:35 - Did anyone read the comments posted there?
There was an interesting one from a poster named Mynette who said:
My DH recently bought me my first PTI set (Simply Jane) for Valentine's Day and he ordered it a week before and it didn't come until the beginning of March. Since I didn't know it was coming, I wasn't too upset! My DH said he called and the CS people he talked to were kind and vague, so is that ok? I dunno.
Since PTI doesn't have CS that answer a phone, wonder who he talked to? The cleaning people?
@23:09
Thank you for posting the 2008 splitcoast thread about anniversary sets et cetera.
I read every post on the 4 page thread and find it utterly amazing (not really) that it was from 2008Could have just as easily been written in 2012.
In four years they have learned nothing, although I notice posters mention receiving a cs reply from "Rick." Guess that is the same Rick who is now the website/forum genius.
PTI is suck an inbred fustercluck of a company. Disgusting!
PTI is suck an inbred fustercluck of a company. Disgusting!
-----------------------------
such...
- it also shows Louisville, Ky
----------------------------
maybe he is not married to Julie...maybe he doesn't live in Cincinnati...maybe he only manages the servers..maybe he left several yrs ago..
(Deleted previous post because of grammatical error LMAO!). Here's round 2 of it.
I've kept quiet all this time because I didn't give a damn about being involved in all this mess, but Donna, your post today has brought out my writing muse. Sorry to see you gone from the forum but it ain't the same place it once used to be. I somehow landed up with a novel on my blog. I've been disappointed just watching this saga unfold too many times... Not really my usual self, but I'm breaking out of my shell today.
http://eunalicious.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/my-2-cents.html
Rick is barely polite as himself
While mutation has been persistent, I truly believe Rick would be rabid under the cover of anonymity
22:28
It seems to me that anything that needs to be addressed with the PTB would be better delivered via email to the board admin so it could be forwarded. Not sure if he could present something to them from this site... But what do I know...
Mutation thanks for the comic relief!!! I'll be sure to email the board admin and I'll be on tenterhooks waiting fr them to address/fix it!
It was not meant to provide comic relief. It was to say that your concerns might be heard if you sent them via email, where they could be forwarded. Rick may not necessarily have any influence at all when it comes to such things...but could probably forward emails to the PTB directly.
Oh dear you were serious?
Not sure how to let you down gently as to the utter and complete disregard PTI has for their emails ......
He is married to Julie. Maybe he is from KY.
05:19
I would hope that because of the whole email issue that they would be moving to a more advanced system to handle customer issues and provide better support tracking...
That would make SENSE mutation
We've all seen how much of that PTI has
Mutt @ 4:55....or the PTB could just read it here. Same same.
Well, people are still waiting on their Anniversary Sets. There are also over 9,000 views on that post - how hard can it be.
I know most PTI lovers are hoping they eventually get it right, but, for those waiting on something that was earned over 12 months ago is a disgusting indictment on how indifferent PTI have been (to their customers) in solving this debacle.
he is not married to Julie..
Mutt @ 5:28...are you simply hoping or are you hinting that an email fix is in the works? Cuz that would be grand.
5:38
It cannot stay the same...it doesn't work....and a change is inevitable..
Honestly, who gives a rip if Rick is married to Julie, Jane, Nichole, Dawn or any of them??? I don't care if they never hire family or if they only hire family. Things are still not working right so WHO CARES about who is married to who?
05:40
Exactly....
There are alot of changes that have needed a remedy for a long time. It doesn't mean the fix is inevitable. I appreciate your hopefulness though.
05:42
Magic 8-Ball says "change is coming"
Mutt, I'm starting to like you. =)
I believe there are those who have had enough and will not be happy regardless of how much change occurs...they are sick and tired of being sick and tired and the have simply given up..
I also believe there are those that are still hopeful that the PTB are making some major changes to CS and the order/shipping process as a whole.
I am in the 2nd camp...
Oh, so you aren't actually "in the know"? I was really hoping that you were Rick slipping along some information to let us know good things are happening behind the scenes. Why I think he'd come on here and tell us, I don't know. Why I think I'd believe him if he did, I also don't know. But I was hoping for some kind of truce between the PTB and us smacking customers.
You are right. Some people are fed up and won't return, while others are will but just waiting for the confidence to buy. I guess I'm in the 2nd camp as well.
From a lurking reader - Thanks, Mutt. Honestly. You have given me more hope for PTI than I have had in a long time. That feels good. If you are Rick then you are "in the know" ... and if you are hopeful then I am hopeful.
"while others are willing"
06:01
Anonymity is of utmost importance to some folks on here...
Well mutt, look t that you've succeeded in making the smackers hopeful
Guess I'm in the minority as I do not believe PTI Knows how to fix things on their own
Every single good customer sevice move they have made in the past 2 weeks ( like, all two of them) was after much uproar from vocal customers
Now that the vocal minority has been banned they can go back to doing things their own shitty way
Now that they have banned the vocal customers they
Have no reason to change because they simply DO NOT CARE
OK so Muttation is not Rick and I've been posting previously hoping he was so. I think we all are writing in vain. Let's just see what happens. Why would they listen to us here vs. there? I won't get my hopes up to these veiled hints UNTIL I SEE them make actually make changes and follow through. There is a lot of room for error when you make big changes like this. Just a word of warning. A company culture cannot change overnight. Julie is still Julie. Unless they have brought in a new leader... I don't believe that much could change. So Muttation.. hint all you want.
2nd, it doesn't matter who is married to whom. HOWEVER, if Rick is married to Julie - he has vested interest and should be held more accountable. He is not just a 9-5 employee who could give 2 sh@ts. You would think the owner's HUSBAND or family member would put 110% effort. Maybe that's just me and my stupid sense of familial loyalty.
Mutt never said that PTI was going to fix it themselves. My fantasy is that they would actually, you know, get PROFESSIONAL help. Or sell the whole company to someone who knows what they are doing.
I am inclined to think Mutt is telling the truth about not being married to Julie. I think at one time they were, and perhaps now they are not. The only reason it matters is that Mutt would have the best of both worlds - (1) Knowing a hell of a lot more about things than we do; and (2) the freedom to communicate with us in this fashion. He has always maintained that he doesn't "represent" PTI.
4:03
Change may be coming, but it's too little, too late for me. Even if PTI turns things around, the whole company is tainted for me. About 3-4 months ago, I was sitting on the fence. But today? The thrill is gone and is replaced by apathy.
But they are NOT changing things.
The CS merry-go-round is still in full force. I am still going through it. Every time I receive a non-answer answer email and I respond to it, I get sent to the back of the CS email queue. I have to wait 2-3 days (or more) for another non-answer response. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. (With the exception on the lovely email delete where I had to start the process all over again.)
This has been going on for me since Feb. 12.
They aren't learning, and apparently have no interest in changing things.
6;42, why u no believe troll/mutation ???
He/she says things are getting better have some faith!!
I have a CS issue that I haven't heard mentioned yet. According to the new website, I have 8 rewards points. (2011 was a low spending year due to boycotting for most of it...didn't get mt anniversary set until December.) My very detailed records show that I should have 13. No, it's not a huge issue but it's the principle, right? I haven't emailed CS yet because a) there are more pressing issues from other people who deserve to be helped first and b) I dread compiling all my orders to prove that I'm due what I say I am. Been down that road before. And quite frankly I still get no joy from the idea of placing an order to redeem those points. (Maybe that's what they're banking on.)
Um, are you kidding me? The Anniversary Set debacle is STILL freaking going on???
Okay, honestly, PTI, Mutt, whoever, I'm BEGGING you, why are these still just now being sent out. I mean JUST NOW as in Julie said they were sent 3/16 and was still collecting names and addresses. How is this possible. How is this possible????
I'm 6 rewards points off too
Won't even bother
For the love of God ladies! Mutt is NOT Rick or PTI. Get a grip. PTI is reading here to try and get a handle on who are the shit disturbers NOT to slip us some info or spread sunshine.
Mutt is just a unicorn playing with you all. Typing long posts to Rick here will get you nowhere. And when PTI does check this place out, you can bet they are skipping those posts.
Sorry, dose of reality here.
My bad, 7:19. It must be all in my imagination that I keep getting completely useless responses from CS. I'll try to keep my hallucinations to myself in the future. ;)
Good 7:35
Go post your musings on a smack blog or something!
;)
7:34
my opinion:
PTB do not come here...too many horrible personal assaults, vulgar name calling, etc...
Even if Rick were here, and trying to help bridge the gap, he would not be able to openly do so without assault and condemnation (read some of the posts about Rick on here and you will get an idea of how he is viewed by most people here...even though none of them know him personally)
You're right mutation we don't know him personally, we can only judge him by his rudeness on the forums.
If he wished to be seen in a better light, perhaps he should try to be a smidge more polite. The same can be said about the PTB at PTI
I've only recently seen a change in the ways NH communicates....
What is the point of Nichole posting this on the Where's my thread??? post?
I thought personal details "shouldn't" be aired in the forum? Is this to publically call her a liar or tell her she is wrong?
-------------------
Re: Where's my thread??
by nichole » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:34 am
Carole,
First, I apologize for the difficulties you have had logging into your account. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you and I know that I would feel the same way myself if I were in your position. I have been following up every day with our tech department regarding your log-in issue as well as that of a small handful of others. You have not been ignored and I have been active in seeking resolution for you on this to the very best of my abilities. The main issue is that when they access your account through test procedures, just as you would, they aren't encountering the same message so it is incredibly difficult to diagnose why the error message is occurring. It is something that is being worked on and I will most definitely continue to follow-up on your behalf until it is resolved.
In regards to your anniversary set, you should not need to log into your account to provide us with the information we have requested since the qualifying purchases were made well before the new website & customer tracking feature were launched. We have researched each order you have placed during the qualifying period and every customer service email that has been received from you over the last two years. The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders. You in turn so kindly provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period without any order numbers.
We have individually researched each set that you provided within the list and only a handful of them were purchased during the qualifying period. One of the team members will be PM'ing you with a copy of the list you provided originally, as well as the notations we have added with order numbers & dates for the sets that qualified and which ones were purchased after the qualifying period.
If there are additional sets that you believe were purchased during the qualifying period that were not on your original list, please be sure to respond back to the team member that furnishes you with the PM and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. I am hopeful that that there might be a piece of information that we haven't been provided with that will allow us to amend your list and qualify you for a shipment of the anniversary
I don't care if Muttation or Rick or whoever keeps posting that change is coming. Frankly, I don't believe it. I can't imagine that some PTI employee would stealthily post vague comments like that on a smack blog. Sorry folks, don't believe it. If the PTB really wanted to appeal to their customers then they should post it publicly, on the forums, on the store website, on Nichole's blog...and let's see some specifics while your at it. Otherwise, I'll believe it when I see it. PTI is full of vague promises and statements that end up going nowhere. I have no faith until I actually see an official word.
The board seems to have eaten my post.
Why whould Nichole post this on the forum? Is she calling her a liar in public?
-------------------
Re: Where's my thread??
by nichole » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:34 am
Carole,
First, I apologize for the difficulties you have had logging into your account. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you and I know that I would feel the same way myself if I were in your position. I have been following up every day with our tech department regarding your log-in issue as well as that of a small handful of others. You have not been ignored and I have been active in seeking resolution for you on this to the very best of my abilities. The main issue is that when they access your account through test procedures, just as you would, they aren't encountering the same message so it is incredibly difficult to diagnose why the error message is occurring. It is something that is being worked on and I will most definitely continue to follow-up on your behalf until it is resolved.
In regards to your anniversary set, you should not need to log into your account to provide us with the information we have requested since the qualifying purchases were made well before the new website & customer tracking feature were launched. We have researched each order you have placed during the qualifying period and every customer service email that has been received from you over the last two years. The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders. You in turn so kindly provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period without any order numbers.
We have individually researched each set that you provided within the list and only a handful of them were purchased during the qualifying period. One of the team members will be PM'ing you with a copy of the list you provided originally, as well as the notations we have added with order numbers & dates for the sets that qualified and which ones were purchased after the qualifying period.
If there are additional sets that you believe were purchased during the qualifying period that were not on your original list, please be sure to respond back to the team member that furnishes you with the PM and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. I am hopeful that that there might be a piece of information that we haven't been provided with that will allow us to amend your list and qualify you for a shipment of the anniversary set.
The reason that it matters who is married to who is because it means that family is not going to get fired regardless of the crappy job they are doing.
A good example is Rick and the website if he in fact is the tech guy.
Rick comes across as sarcastic and angry. If he owns part of the company he should be a bit more respectful in tone.
The board seems to have eaten my post.
Why whould Nichole post this on the forum? Is she calling her a liar in public?
-------------------
Re: Where's my thread??
by nichole » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:34 am
Carole,
First, I apologize for the difficulties you have had logging into your account. I can only imagine the frustration this has caused you and I know that I would feel the same way myself if I were in your position. I have been following up every day with our tech department regarding your log-in issue as well as that of a small handful of others. You have not been ignored and I have been active in seeking resolution for you on this to the very best of my abilities. The main issue is that when they access your account through test procedures, just as you would, they aren't encountering the same message so it is incredibly difficult to diagnose why the error message is occurring. It is something that is being worked on and I will most definitely continue to follow-up on your behalf until it is resolved.
In regards to your anniversary set, you should not need to log into your account to provide us with the information we have requested since the qualifying purchases were made well before the new website & customer tracking feature were launched. We have researched each order you have placed during the qualifying period and every customer service email that has been received from you over the last two years. The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders. You in turn so kindly provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period without any order numbers.
We have individually researched each set that you provided within the list and only a handful of them were purchased during the qualifying period. One of the team members will be PM'ing you with a copy of the list you provided originally, as well as the notations we have added with order numbers & dates for the sets that qualified and which ones were purchased after the qualifying period.
If there are additional sets that you believe were purchased during the qualifying period that were not on your original list, please be sure to respond back to the team member that furnishes you with the PM and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well. I am hopeful that that there might be a piece of information that we haven't been provided with that will allow us to amend your list and qualify you for a shipment of the anniversary set.
Does anyone really save every order number and invoice from every purchase made from every company and save them for years? As soon as I receive something (from anywhere) and know that everything is there and working, I toss the receipt. If I kept every order number, I would be on the hoarder's show because I would be buried in papers.
Yes, actually some of us do save our receipts from places such as PTI that had a rewards system in place based on previous purchases. I toss my other receipts. However, when it comes to some like PTI's system, I know better to keep receipts then to depend on a computer system to track...shit happens even to the best companies out there...
Yep, I've always thrown my receipts in a file, and can look back through my emails as well. It would such to have to do that, but it is possible.
I keep two years worth of reciepts but I'm anal that way.
Are they for reals???
*********
and we will be more than happy to research the date they were purchased as well.
**********
Then why don't you fucking research ALL the shit she bought by going through YOUR OWN RECORDS rather than have her guess at which items were bought between what dates??? Great Lordy Bees, I cannot believe these people do not have an email-based tracking system.
I don't think Nichole is calling her a liar. I think Nichole is trying to get to the bottom of it and I didn't find anything else in her verbiage that bugged me accept for the part that show they actually can research some shit but just don't do it for the customer. This bullshit of tracking your own purchases - something a company should do FOR YOU - is making me insane. I buy from ritzcamera.com and they keep records of every single order I've ever made however far back my shopping history exists.
I have all of my invoices from PTI back to 2009.
I believe it was Jenn mentioned on the forum at one point that their system (new or old, I'm not sure) only kept detailed records for a year.
If I lose a stamp or have an issue with a die, I want to be able to say yes, I ordered this on x day and my order number was y.
Who the hell cares if someone has saved their info???
Why didn't PTI??
that's the problem folks. They should NOT have to ask the customer for this information.
I keep all the emails for my online purchases but not the paper copies.
Totally agree with @9:36, if you have her data, why does she need to send it to you. Jeez, if you don't think she qualifies, tell her your records shows she bought X number of sets. Not that hard.
The way I read NH comment is that according to their records, she does not qualify for the set (or # of sets) she believes she qualifies for, and if the customer feels there is a mistake she needs to provide that proof in the way of order #'s along with a list of qualifying sets.
9:48....that makes sense. I didn't get that by Nicholes response but since you mentioned it, yes I can see now where the issue is a possible discrepancy between PTI's records and the customer's.
I'm kinda reading that between the lines on Nicholes comment
BUT
it;s done very tactfully and still polite....whoda thunk ??
Looks like someone had the same questions as me.
Looks like Nancy found a way to push Nichole's buttons by not directing a comment at PTI or NH but at their crummy order tracking system.
Nancy, how are they supposed to know that orders with 2 different email address are the same person?
Oh wait, didn't they say you could dedicate several different email addresses to one account?
I hope this turns out well for Carole.
Then why didn't their ordering system have a place for one consistent piece of information??
If you're going to put a rewards system in place, then have a spot where people can input their reward claiming information. Let the freaking computer system do the work.
^^^That is why they have changed it! So, it can be tallied better and this doesn't happen again in the future!
You're probably all over this by now but I have to say I agree that no PTI PTB are going to be commenting here. Maybe reading here, but not commenting here. just my 2c.
They need to just send her the damn set so they can move on from this issue.
Well, first of all 10:22, one of the points to be made here is the way they are approaching it. It's alwasy turned to the customer's fault: Those silly customers used all kinds of information. Never do they say, we should have had some kind of reward # in place or something like that. Oops.. we screwed up. No - it's those nasty unpredictable customers.
Secondly if reward ponits are calculated based on dollars spent, if those silly customers keep using different information, how are they going to track it any better?
I could just be missing somethign here -- honestly, educate me!
Why should they send her a set if in fact she doesn't actually qualify for one?
I'm 100% with just send the damn set. Send it before someone at PTI says something really stupid.... again.
Really - having one satisfied customer just isn't worth it to you?
10:26 at this point it's damage control. They are in the midst of a PR nightmare. They should have done it before knowing what a firestorm things become once they hit the forum.
I am all for satisfying customers to the customers ease and benefit when it comes to replacing missing items, returns, etc...however, if in fact she did not make enough purchases qualifying her for an anniversary set, then I don't think she should receive one just to shut her up. That opens up the possibility for others to just complain in order to get free stuff they didn't actually earn.
I liked all of the blog posts people wrote about the PTI problems.
There are two things I take issue with:
1. If I hear "growing pains" one more time I'll scream. Bullshit.
2. The House that Stamps Built. People, maybe folks are making a living selling stamps but no one goes into this business to become a millioinaire. Except maybe Tim Holtz, LOL!!
Yes, PR nightmare. Probably have lots hundreds of dollars in sales due to the Carol issue alone. She has never come across to me as greedy or deceitful when advocating for the receipt of her anniversary set, and I think they would have preserved a lot of goodwill had they just sent the set out when they had the chance.
It's their own damn fault for having such a disorganized, chaotic method of record keeping to begin with. The new points system is the only thing of value on the new website and will hopefully prevent future issues like this again. But for now, send the fucking set and move on.
Yes, PR nightmare. Probably have lots hundreds of dollars in sales due to the Carol issue alone. She has never come across to me as greedy or deceitful when advocating for the receipt of her anniversary set, and I think they would have preserved a lot of goodwill had they just sent the set out when they had the chance.
It's their own damn fault for having such a disorganized, chaotic method of record keeping to begin with. The new points system is the only thing of value on the new website and will hopefully prevent future issues like this again. But for now, send the fucking set and move on.
At this point PTI is in such chaos and have been proven wrong so many times, they just need to send the set and continue to do so until their system is flawless. THEN they can argue who gets what.
Hmmmm. I don't know. I didn't have any problems. But, oh yeah, since I knew my purchases were tracked by my email address, I always used the same email address! Seriously, how fucking hard is that??? Btw...Now, they have added the option of linking accounts with different email addresses.
sorry for the dupe post!
Personally I do not believe most people would try to do that - complain just to get the set.
More importantly - Isn't the biggest issue here WHY HAS IT TAKEN A YEAR and it's still not settled??? This is the 2010 purchases their talking about! Criminy just get it over with.
10:32 I think in this case they need to choose their battles and this one they've already lost.
They had their chance to deal with this privately, but instead stringing Carol along. If they had communicated better with specific details A YEAR AGO, they probably wouldn't need to worry about giving away one anniversary set wrongly.
10:36-I am glad you have a more positive attitude when it comes to human nature. I, on the other hand, have seen it over and over again having previously worked in customer service, that there are many, many people out there that try to get over on established policies, procedures, etc. It was so bad, that I pray I never have to return to working in the customer service environment ever again.
I agree. If they had responded to her first email which I'm sure was MONTHS ago, and told her at that time she did not qualify different story
But they go months and month without resolving her poblem...they need to suck it up and send her the set as they should have been able to get this info to her MONTHS ago.
But do we actually know when her first email to customer service was? Or maybe she just recently say the fiasco on the forum, and thought, "hey, I never got that set either" and then email cust serv?
I honestly do not think someone would fight publicly so hard to get something they don't deserve. It is not worth the grief.
Well, maybe they do honestly *think* they earned the set, when in fact, they bought a couple sets off the B/S/T forum. We don't know. So, unless we know for sure, all of the details, why do we think we know best how every situation should be handled?
Oh, and just to clarify...I think Carole's situation should have been worked out a long, long time ago. It is very shameful that this (and all other) situations were not attended to in a timely manner.
If she didn't qualify she should have been told that right away and provided proof by way of a copy of all the purchase records PTI has for her. If she still feels that the records are incorrect, then the ball is in her court to prove she did in fact make those purchases through other emails. Although I do feel PTI really needs to improve their tracking system, in this particular case I don't think asking for the customer to provide order #'s to prove them wrong is such a bad thing...I hope she can find the info to prove them wrong and get a set if she earned one.
Well personally I know best how this situation should be handled because I'm a customer service consultant and do cost analysis for problems like this everyday
MAKE NO MISTAKE - PTI CREATED this problem by the archaic systems the chose not to invest any money in
If they do not loose a few dollars out of pocket, they will see no reason to change. Mistakes need to be expensive for a reason - so there is incentive to be more careful next time.
but whatever....apparently you are also a PTI expert.
You're giving us a lot of entertainment so keep arguing weith us
Why doesn't Nichole email Carole this privately? That's what I don't understand. Does her email not work?
My guess is that at this point maybe she thinks she's showing everyone how wonderfully she's handling the situation.
Their history shows that they tend to think they are "exceeding expectations" and are doing the right thing. Usually it backfires... that's what's popping the corn.
Nichole couldn't e-mail her - that would require someone having direct contact info for Nichole and we all know that's not allowed...
10:57-Wow, you are a very angry person. I am not arguing with you or anyone else. I am merely stating my opinion as are every one else on this board. I never purported to be a PTI expert and have no desire to be one. I agree with many things posted here and have stated that fact. I just don't agree with the fact that someone should get something if they did not earn it, in this case making the necessary purchases for an anniversary set. It was also the customer inquiring about her anniversary set which led the company to investigate on her behalf. It is completely up to a company to search their records if they so choose rather than just give away sets to everyone that claims they are owed one. Why it took so long I have no idea...but in the end the customer wanted to know why she did not receive the set. She has an answer.
I agree with 10:33 about the House That Stamps Built. I think the money for that house came from Nichole's husband's job. They lived in a lovely house already, when PTI was just started, so he obviously has a good job.
Hello,
I've seen mention of past DT members coming forwards and this nosey nelly wants to read all abou t it. Can someone point me in the right direction?
For the people who say their points are lower than they should be: Did you make any orders from a different e-mail address that needs to be linked? Are you remembering to just count orders from Feb15, 2011 onward, not the total orders that show in your history? Did you buy any gift certificates (those don't count for the purchaser, only the one who uses them).
@11:21 about former DT members. See Becky Oehler's facebook around March 14, when the e-mail wipeout was announced. She posted something and then Niki Estes, Geny Cassaday, and Lauren Meader commented vaguely. There were no specifics about why they left, just vague rumblings.
Thanks Jenn I mean 11:21
most of us can read and followed the information (however difficult it may be to find) and what qualifies for rewards points.
Concerning Carol's issue, sorosie wrote:Nichole, I applaud your well thoguht out and written answer to Carols question.
But the fact is that this answer still come a year late. If this was the exact information she was given one year ago, we would be in a different situation. But since it has taken PTI so long to get to the root of the problem - which looks like she did not order enough to receive a anniversary set according to your system- It's truly in your best interest to just send the set out to her and be done with the situation.
Carol has sent countless emails. There are several different employee's of PTI looking into her problem. The cost of investigating this issue has far exceeded tha amount of the set's value at this point and it's time to cut the losses, learn from the mistakes made and just send her out the set.
Similar to my outstanding isse. The amount of money PTI owe me is jut not worth my time, aggravation and countless emails so I will not even bother proceeding with it.
NH's response: Rosie,
While I certainly appreciate the manner in which you have addressed Carole's issue and your opinions on the subject, it is important to point out that there are several details that you are assuming, rather than having first hand knowledge about. In order to remain respectful to Carole, I will not be providing those details here to be discussed further.
And I do agree with you, that it would seem easy to say "cut your losses and send her the set". But it is very important to me as a business owner to treat customers equally regarding these anniversary set shipments. It is inappropriate to send one customer a set that they did not earn unless I am going to also hold other unqualified customers up to the same standard and ship everyone the complimentary set, whether they earned it or not.
I apologize if we fell short of your expectations in one of our transactions with you personally. If you want to give me the opportunity, I would be more than happy to put every effort into making it right. But with all due respect, the original poster's situation has been addressed fairly and I will await further response from her as to how she would like me to proceed.
You know what?? That's a very logical back and forth between NH and Sorosie
Totally unsmackable....
The last correspondence we had with you regarding the anniversary set several months ago requested that you provide us with order numbers & qualifying sets purchased within those orders.
"You in turn SO KINDLY (emphasis mine) provided us with a list of stamp set names that you thought you had purchased within the earning period WITHOUT any order numbers."
28 March 2012 08:46
Fuck you Nichole.
Sorry folks, I'm going to have to disagree with the most of you. That last sentence that Nichole typed is major passive-aggressive stick it to you BS! You "so kindly"? when she's talking about the gal did NOT provide the order numbers as requested?
BTW, I agree with the majority on here about what the actual root of the issue is here. Companies have had computers doing this tracking/data base stuff since at least the nineties folks! You as the customer should not have to tell them you qualified, they should fucking know this, within seconds, by simply typing and looking! It's not that hard. If your customer does not qualify, the proper thing to do is send them the copy of that documentation and the form letter "sorry, but our records indicate...". You do NOT put the entire burden on the customer. That is ass backwards.
I also agree with the others here who say at this point they should have just bit the bullet and sent her the effing set. Yes, partly to just shut her up. Grown ups in business make those kinds of tough choices every day. It sucks, but instead, oh no, precious Nichole and that whole inbred company would rather stand on principle and throw the baby out with the bathwater. It's been going on since 2008 for Christ's sake! That is why we are here. Why is everything so hard?
They are using a style of business and CS that worked fine in the nineties, but will definitely not work in the age of social media. They have shown over and over again that they are unwilling to adjust and change (see 2008 thread), and the latest round of debacles and how it is now catching on in the social media networks will not allow them to continue, unless they pull their collective fingers out and quick.
Even the customers are asking Nichole to send her the set so where is the issue where Nichole is worried customers will find it unfair? It is far more angering to customers to know that many have not received what they have proven they were owed. The focus is in the wrong place.
"And I do agree with you, that it would seem easy to say "cut your losses and send her the set". But it is very important to me as a business owner to treat customers equally regarding these anniversary set shipments. It is inappropriate to send one customer a set that they did not earn unless I am going to also hold other unqualified customers up to the same standard and ship everyone the complimentary set, whether they earned it or not"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You know what, they better be darned sure that cj did NOT actually earn that set, because if I was cj and they were wrong, I would be hopping mad that she even typed that out about ME to an unrelated third party. That is not OK.
You know, some of you unicorns display some characteristics of women in an abusive relationship. Sorry, that's just the way I feel. Nichole is full of it. She tries to dress up her passive aggressive comments in some type of what she honestly believes is good business prose, but is actually horrible writing skills full of dumb words like "furnish?". And some of you guys fall for it. It's like the guy coming back and giving you flowers.
The fact is, I find it highly inappropriate for a business owner to even be on the board having that kind of back and forth with forum members in the first place. If the members themselves take it to the board, sure, she should respond, but it should be short and sweet and businesslike and respectful. The actual details should NOT be discussed by the business owner, except in correspondence between her and the customer. She certainly should not be responding to the comments of uninvolved third parties. Really unprofessional.
12:10
You've never heard the word "furnish" before?? As in "provide with"?
"The fact is, I find it highly inappropriate for a business owner to even be on the board having that kind of back and forth with forum members in the first place. If the members themselves take it to the board, sure, she should respond, but it should be short and sweet and businesslike and respectful. The actual details should NOT be discussed by the business owner, except in correspondence between her and the customer. She certainly should not be responding to the comments of uninvolved third parties. Really unprofessional".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You are absolutely correct when you say NH should not be handling this situation on the forum. I think this was a thinly veiled attempt to try to show some people that not all of the unresolved situations are as cut and dry as they appear. On the other hand, I don't see how it is really appropriate for those "uninvolved third parties" to demand for a business to take a particular action, especially when they do not have all information involved.
I am not a member of SCS and so I don't think that I can post there. I am wondering if it might be a good idea if it were posted that Nichole has now personally asked that all customers still waiting for 2011 Anniversary sets to let her know. She intends to follow through. (No seriously this time, they mean it. Really)
Someone asked "what about those who don't read this forum" to which Dawn answered (somewhat paraphrasing), "I imagine they will send an email to CS..."
So, to recap, they *imagine* that a customer who has waited for a YEAR will suddenly, and without prompting, decide that today is the day they will try to email CS (again) for a resolution. And in the unlikely event that should happen? OOPS ... it's not April 1st yet ... your em will be deleted because you sent it before the designated time.
Really? Am I following this correctly?
No. I don't think that would be a good idea. Why be such a shit stirrer like that?
Correcting my 12:29 post...demanded was the wrong word after I reread Sorosie's comment. However, I still do not feel it is appropriate for someone without direct knowledge (cj and PTI Staff) to tell a business how to handle a situation.
Before you all jump all over me for stating my opinion, I want to make it clear I am referring to this situation and this situation alone. I am not grouping all the anniversary set fiascos into this.
I thought what Rosie asked was fine, and I thought how Nichole answered was fine.
And 12:10: the OP Carole, cjkerr, DID take her issue to the forum, and Nichole answered in an appropriate way, not listing her specific sets or anything. And your comparison of this situation to women in abusive relationships is way over the top!
12:33, Dawn is right. It only stands to reason that people who are owed a 2011 anniv set will contact CS.
I don't think she was comparing the situation to an abusive relationship. I actually think she was saying that the people that continue to support PTI are the ones in the abusive relationship because they keep treating their customers poorly but they just keep coming back.
Correct me if I am wrong.
12:33, Dawn is right. It only stands to reason that people who are owed a 2011 anniv set will contact CS.
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Yeah, that has worked so well thus far....
No. I don't think that would be a good idea. Why be such a shit stirrer like that?
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And by "shit stirrer" I assume you mean "communicate through rational channels for a stamper who might not have had any luck over the past year emailing PTI CS."
Wow. You sound just like the owners of a company I used to buy stamps from.....
Imagining what someone we don't know, who doesn't visit the forum, who might have earned an anniv set but possibly didn't get it would do is really silly...
I get being concerned for the unknowing customer, but I'm not going to get all riled up about them. I know, I go out on a limb and assume they are big girls and boys who assuredly can use a computer (they had to order their qualifying products somehow) and the interwebz enough to find a way to get to PTI.
^^^ OMG i hate that I just agreed with silly miss sunshine!!!
said...
I thought what Rosie asked was fine, and I thought how Nichole answered was fine.
And 12:10: the OP Carole, cjkerr, DID take her issue to the forum, and Nichole answered in an appropriate way, not listing her specific sets or anything. And your comparison of this situation to women in abusive relationships is way over the top!
28 March 2012 12:49
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Reading comprehension: it's a good thing. And I disagree. With everything you said.
I can assure you this is not how the GinaKs and countless other business women known and lauded for excelent CS would deal with this. But that point is kind of redundant, since this problem wouldn't have arisen in the first place.
As for the Rosie comment, I'm not critiquing Rose making the comments, I'm criticiszing Nichole for answering it when it is none of Rosie's business. It is between cj and Nichole. She's being a passive aggressive bitch. As usual. Getting another dig in to CJ in the process. She has no right to be discussing details of CJs situation with anyone but cj. I will never agree that that is OK.
Thanks to the person who understood what I wrote about the abusive relationship. Too many unis in here today.
Anonymous said...
12:10
You've never heard the word "furnish" before?? As in "provide with"?
28 March 2012 12:29
LOL, and you my dear are probably the same kind of person that would use the word "furnish" when "provide" would do fine. Because like Nichole, you probably think it sounds more clever or something when it actually sounds phony and lame.
So, let me get this straight...if you disagree with Michele, you are a uni?
"She's being a passive aggressive bitch. As usual."
I am only seeing one bitch around here.
And, it's not Nichole
who the fuck is Michele?
I know! Amazing wasn't it? See communications can be civil!
I think there is only one unicorn here and she's posting multiple times as if she is different posters. Uh huh, we are not that dumb.
14:27-
Ah, now I get it. You were implying that by Nichole's use of the word "furnish" she was being phony.
I was mistaken then, and apologize.
I thought you were stating that "furnish" wasn't a real word. My bad.
And no, I'm not phony, but it seems awful petty to be discriminating against someone for having a large vocabulary. We should all be "stupid americans" instead? LOL (that was a joke, don't go getting all up in arms now!)
"As for the Rosie comment, I'm not critiquing Rose making the comments, I'm criticiszing Nichole for answering it when it is none of Rosie's business."
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Coherency: it's a good thing. Too bad you don't have any. You say you're not critiquing Rosie and then you say it's none of her business--in the same sentence! LOL
Think what you want.
Nobody has to 'sign in' as Michele to know when Michele is posting. It is always the same long-winded, high and mighty, know more than everybody else posts. You are transparent. You can deny it. It will be our little secret. ;)
Coherency: it's a good thing. Too bad you don't have any. You say you're not critiquing Rosie and then you say it's none of her business--in the same sentence! LOL
28 March 2012 14:41
You are being deliberately obtuse and misquoting me.
I SAID i wasn't criticizing Rosie FOR ASKING THE QUESTION. I am however criticizing Nichole for the way in which she answered rosie since the details of whether cj is qualified or not IS NONE of Rosie's business. Which it isn't, unless cj chooses to share that with her herself. How hard is that to understand?
I think I am not coming back here until the Unicorns have left the building.:(
14:46 why are you so obsessed with Michele? Got a fan girl crush? Or did she get you all butt hurt one day by something she said on the PTI forum? Get over it.
For some reason PTI has me with two email accounts. I think this happened because I use my PayPal account which has a certain email associated. When we place the order and ask to have an email confirmation that info is entered on the order prior to submitting the final completed order I have always entered the email that I prefer (different than the PayPal). Somehow, from that situation, PTI set up two accounts and I have some orders in one and a few in the second acct. I actually earned enough points from both accounts to have free sets in 2011. I have set up passwords on both accounts and can see all of my orders. Possibly this is what happened to Carol. I always thought I email CS to combine the accounts, but didn't think it was worth the hassle with PTI CS. Now, it is a mute subject because I won't be purchasing anything after all this turmoil.
I do not think ANY business should be conducted via public forum. The fact that issues have escalated to the degree that people are screeching and venting on a public message board to have their business attended to is embarrasing, unprofessional and unethical.
I use Paypal sometimes, which is set up with a different email, and had no problems.
Agree 15:19. Its perfectly understandable to me why customers are going to the board and asking their questions when they are getting nowhere with email. But it is another thing when staff members resort to discussing details of those issues with them on the board. It should go to email right away. Id be pissed if I was cj right now.
15:19 has got it!
OMG, Nichole is such a redneck! Every single time she types something that's all I think about! She sounds like an ass!!
14:31 -Michele Philippi
There are any number of people that it could be why does Michelle P get singled out???
However, her comment about Jane Julie and nichole throwing our Benjamin's in the air and doing a happy dance while thy land was the best comment of all time!!!
Kudos to those posting the real story on their blogs.
Off topic board. The time thread by Sankada. Rick just thanked Ted for his 7500 posts and for making the forum a better place. I think I just threw up in my mouth.
17:43
What has your contribution been to the forum?
OMG Unicorn you don't realize that by posting here and annoying everyone, you are just giving all the smackers more reason to be whipped in a frenzy
but perhaps that is your intention
my intention was to ask a question, which I did.
Okay, no need to be insulting to rednecks by comparing them to Nicole, or saying they are all asses.
YOur intention is obviously to be pain in the a**
Your success at this endeavor is astonishing.
Please, more witty repartee I love it
Not sure how asking a question could be construed as being a "pain in the a**", unless the person being asked the question does not wish to respond directly to the question.
A fly is a pain in the a** to me, only because of the irritation I feel when it is on me. They don't bother me when they are on someone else...
wow bad unicorn day around here today. I can see we are getting regular infiltrates from the other side. I include muttation in that. Seriously guys, that ain't Rick the Dick posting. If he came here to post he'd be as insulting as possible to get his rocks off.
Clueless, that you?
I think we need to do a ritual cleansing in here. Now, what would be the antidote to ward off unicorns? Suggestions? Maybe burning some sheaves of Perfect Match Pinefeather?
Just like omath. So full of herself
Y'all need some brightening up in here...so morose...
He he!!!
Sprinkling some of the first generation reinkers ( the ones that got smelly) around in a circle might work!!
19:31
lmao!!!! now THAT was funny....
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