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 ;)
FYI - I ordered recently during a non-release time and received my order in 5 business days. I was impressed. In the past when I ordered in non-release time, it has taken between 8-12 business days. I also ordered recently from Ellen Hutson and EK Success and have received those packages in about the same time, Ellen being a bit faster.
I don't know if this will stick, but I have to think they made some improvements in that arena.
And before any smackers jump all over me about the ga-zillion (and I agree, important) issues others are having...I am not down playing those. I am just saying that not everything is doom and gloom.
Oh, and as I posted last night - Rick helped me resolve one of my issues. I think it's unfair that some of you are jumping all over him because he is the only face that represents PTI here. That's low. Yes, he works for them, but it's obvious that he's not in a position to make major business decisions. I think he's helping where he can and I know for a fact that he has made improvements in his corner of the PTI world.
Thanks! I'll spare you the trouble of going back to find it in the last post:
Since I went public here, and also posted things on my blog and FB, I've received exactly one message from another PTI customer asking very politely what was up with my participation here (because I provided a pointer to help people find us) and my public boycott. We had a very nice conversation where both of us aired our views and I was not left feeling like I was looked down on in any way.
I worry less about what people might think about my being here now that I'm posting under my own name. Since I own the comments that I make, anyone can look and see what I'm doing here. I'm definitely more proud of my own behavior without the anonymous shield!
I'm glad you re-posted that Chris. I was going to if you didn't! My reply to you again: That's a great point, Chris. I've often wondered about posting under my own name. I somewhat outed myself on the POC thread,but nothing further.
8:46- word.
Come on Smackers, like Smacker III said: stop smacking each other. Group hug!
omathgoddess said... I can't keep up with all the comments! Not sure if that has been asked yet, but does anyone here know if the sale at Impress is going to include their online store? I received an e-mail tonight that their 20% off sale starts tomorrow but it only mentions in-store deals.
I think it's great that some people experience the freeing feeling of outing themselves (no sarcasm, seriously). However, I will not out myself. Not a single one of you know me personally (my friends don't read this blog), so I would hate to have my character judged solely on the few comments I make on a smack blog. If I were "public" in several places and on a blog, I would not hesitate to reveal my name here.
Anyways, it would be difficult for me to out myself since I don't actually have my own crafting blog. If I'm going to use my real name, I would want it to be verified so no one else could post under it.
More to what was posted about posting anonymously...
I don't understand what the fear is all about. I have never been part of the "in crowd" on the forum, so it is not like I am not used to being ignored when I post something stamping related. I don't believe that I have done or said anything that I wouldn't say to someone face-to-face. I have called PTI out on their lack of CS, and their incredibly rude comments on the forum. I won't put up with that treatment irl, so why would I let it slide on the forum?
And I have been smacked by other smackers. I have been snarky, and when it was unprovoked, I apologized. Not an "I'm sorry you feel that way" apology, either.
I am on the fence about the whole Rick thing. I was banned as well, and I did not receive an e-mail or apology from him. I still do not feel like anything I said was out of line, and I was well within the terms of service. I simply asked them to clarify why I was receiving board warnings, and they never did. However, I do think he has tried to bridge the gap between pti and the smackers, and I appreciate that he came "out" to us.
Please forgive my rambling - it has been a very long week at our house. Now to curl up and catch up on all the smacking. ;)
I ordered last month and cashed out almost 100 rewards points, and I ordered around release time. (I wanted those damn zipper dies and that's when they came into stock. Don't judge, lol!)
I fully expected the order to languish in PTI hell and for my package to take the usual 14+ days to arrive in California.
I was surprised, but still skeptical, when I received a shipping notice the DAY AFTER I ordered. You could have knocked me over with a feather when the shipping notice actually showed movement that night.
I received my order in 7 days - faster shipping than I've had in YEARS.
The real proof of change for me, though, needs to be a 180 when it comes to customer service issues (defective or missing items, etc.). That's where PTI has always caused the most conflict with customers, and that's what makes me worried about ordering again.
Good point about not having others post using your name, Naked Ink. I have had a few comments attributed to me that I did not write. I don't want to link my posts here to my blog because it is not crafting related - just a bunch of pics of my kids.
^^ OMG - I thought Rick apologized to you? I obviously remember incorrectly...but I thought you posted here that he unbanned you and I thought there was some exchange between you two on this smack blog.
On the last thread I asked whether the lady from Sth Africa (whose parcel was sitting in Australia) had received her package and someone kindly replied saying that no, she still hadn't received it.
That is what I mean by the new zenforum thingy - everyone will assume that everything has been fixed, but in actually fact it looks as though not much has changed.
Same goes for anniversary sets and prize packages - we still don't know if those poor people have received their stuff yet.
^^^Ooops - on the forum there is an update on the Anniv. sets - and yes, some still don't have them. How disgusting to be still on this subject a year after they were promised.
I FINALLY received all of my Anniversary sets. This took longer than finalizing my divorce. I have saved soooo much money ( and undue stress) not buying PTI. Nine months and I haven't ordered a thing and probably never will again. Never has a company made me feel so under appreciated. No apologies either. I have dealt with other companies and have gotten the BEST CS ever! Ellen Hutson and Alma at The Cat's Pajamas and Oozak. They know customer service! I ordered from Alma and 2 stamp sets were missing. I called, yes called, CS and she sent the sets out right away. CS at Ellen Hutson has helped me find missing shipments and even offered to re- ship at NO extra cost.
omathgoddess said... I can't keep up with all the comments! Not sure if that has been asked yet, but does anyone here know if the sale at Impress is going to include their online store? I received an e-mail tonight that their 20% off sale starts tomorrow but it only mentions in-store deals.
Thanks!
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I read about this too and searched FB. Their online sale will be on the 23rd. I want those inks! lol!
glad to hear that shipping times have improved. Suspect that is because they hired additional help and because the number of orders is down.
People and companies are complicated. Rick can be both helpful and a jerk. My problem with him is that he sort of put himself out here as a renegade -- implying that he came here without PTI's knowledge and that he was just trying to help customers, when it was clear that it was his job.
Nothing wrong at all with a PTI rep coming here to defuse. He was careful to say only nice things about the owners while acknowledging issues and never answered any questions about how things run behind the scenes.
And he doesn't get the years of frustration because he hasn't been a customer.
And he eventually showed his true PTI colors.
But that doesn't mean he isn't fun and helpful at times. You can be sure he is reading every post and reporting back.
Seriously junior high and such a fun distraction.
The company isn't going to really really change meaning the owners are who they are. But if to the outside they change -- then maybe PTI can recapture its successes. i would be happy to see that.
I for one just cannot buy from them again. Why? Because they aren't nice people. PERIOD.
And why am I anonymous? Because I want to keep my spot in the papercraft industry. anyone who publicly posts on a smack blog ain't going to get published in papercrafts or get on dts. and sorry smackers, that is important to me.
I don't think they hired additional help, they're just cracking the whip on all 2 warehouse employees packing thousands of orders, lol. For now anyway, as soon as things quiet down, they'll send the one employee back to work at Heskamp. (the more important business) It does seem like they have much fewer orders, I was looking through my order history and there have been between 3-4000 order #'s between releases, where 2 years ago there were more like 5-6000. That must add up to a lot of lost moo-lah!
I don't think she got her refund, yet - she just got emails saying they were working on it.
She said:
"Dave emailed me yesterday and then Julie did today and my shipping refund is in the works Very happy to see it resolved so quickly and just makes me more confident in the ordering process Woohoo"
Impress has 2 20% off Customer Appreciation Sales each year. One in April and the other in October (I think). Generally they have the in-store one and then a few days later they do an online version. You will not be sorry if you get those inks! I just added the Merlot and the Sky Blue to my collection and they are both so gorgeous. Do buy reinkers though because they are nicest when your pad is juicy. They also work well with Copics.
The forum is so boring now. Has been for the last few months. It seems like it takes days for a thread to work its way to page two. And so many new posters. I'm not saying it isn't good to have new posters, I'm saying that it seems like a completely different forum. I guess the reality of it is, it is a different forum. There's now the PTI forum BD (before decline) and PTI forum AD (after decline) which is the current forum. Maybe it seems so different to me because I have mostly been a part of the PTI forum BD. One of the things both forums have in common is the CS and lack of costomer appreciation.
ITA 8:21 The forum is a sad place to anyone who knows better. It's chock full of wide-eyed fools who have no ideas how many threads, and customers, have been "pruned". Pruned = shriveled into a tidy unappetizing little pkg.
I'm very disappointed that PTI would delete the Anniversary Sets thread like that, as I don't recall it having any negative activity yesterday. I had posted to that thread over a month ago so I used my historical posts list to confirm that the thread is indeed gone.
This is very sad, and just one more thing to irk us past loyal customers. Since I cashed out all of my points and stocked up on cardstock already, my wallet is saying goodbye to PTI. I'll monitor this blog to see if anything improves. In the meantime, I'm deleting all of the DT blogs from my RSS feed so I won't be tempted.
Donna (or anyone else who knows), are the Impress sales store-wide, or limited stuff including the inks? There are some things they carry that I'd love to get, and a sale could provide the motivation!
I don't think they hired additional help, they're just cracking the whip on all 2 warehouse employees packing thousands of orders, lol. For now anyway, as soon as things quiet down, they'll send the one employee back to work at Heskamp. (the more important business) It does seem like they have much fewer orders, I was looking through my order history and there have been between 3-4000 order #'s between releases, where 2 years ago there were more like 5-6000. That must add up to a lot of lost moo-lah!
==================================
Julie and or Jane thought it would be fun to put together a cute little side biz of stamps. It blew up into a very popular stamp co. thanks to Nicholes creativity and connections with that stamp mag (I can`t remember the name)
Now their cute little side biz grew up into this huge ugly monster they are having a hard time controlling.
The sad part of it all is that this co. could have been so great. Oh well, what could have been...
ITA 8:21 The forum is a sad place to anyone who knows better. It's chock full of wide-eyed fools who have no ideas how many threads, and customers, have been "pruned". Pruned = shriveled into a tidy unappetizing little pkg.
=============
Funny how this is the only thing PTI has been successful in correcting! (insert eye roll here)
If Julie and Jane were a fraction of the "brilliant businesswomen" Rick thinks they are, they would have sold PTI while it was hot. I guess they were *hoping* it wouldn't be a success and were bitterly disappointed??
Maybe this is how these "successful business women" have decided to run their business - get rid of the ones who point out areas of inefficiency - get a new load of customers. Then when they are disheartened and start to point out problems, get rid of them - get a new load of customers ............. et al.
Has anyone received the replacement stamp (sorry I can't remember the name of the set) from the "send pti a SASE" mess.? I thought I read on the smack that pti had *supposedly* sent them out. I haven't receive mine yet.
@ 10:13 Not that I know of, although Nichole said they were all mailed out. In fact she said that on several occasions, but surely the last time was for realz.
Perhaps we all need shipping buddies in Australia?? Packages seem to be routing through there lately.
lol well Rick showed his true colors didn't he? And right here on the smack blog. And out come all the little unicorns to fawn. Pathetic. Open your eyes ladies. This is a smack blog and its turning into a slightly ridiculous version of the main forum with all the smacking of the those of us with our eyes open.
How long before we need PTI smack 4 due to the irrational need to quash any dissension around here? Y'all are being led down the garden path. Zendesk is very obviously designed not to improve CS (after all, garbage in, garbage out eh Rick?) but to hide customer complaints. The only way you'll hear about the debacles now is if the people find this place (highly unlikely) or they take it to a less censored forum. Coz if they bring it to the main board, you can be sure they'll become the object of Rick or Nichole's wrath and be "pruned".
fuck off "dark stamper". no one said they were speaking for anyone else. everyone's opinions are valid on a SMACK board. this is exactly what happened on previous pti smack boards when the unis took over. no one gives a shit whether you come out or not. who the fuck are you anyway?
I'm afaid Rick lost all street cred for me when he referred to the PTB as brilliant business people. LOFL. That and throwing his weight around the smackers like he's back at the main board and asking people who they were. You don't get to control us here like you do over there Rick. Sorry and all that.
I received my Simply You replacement stamp today along with a folded in half label. If I recall Nichole said they would all be shipped by the 3rd, but she would update. On the 13th she said all were mailed except international. I am not international and my postmark, from Nashville, is the 16th. I am not pleased with the handling of this.
Clearly some still haven't come off of their period yet...
What are you implying when you say Rick showed his "true colors"? You saying that when he doesn't get fed up he's being fake? So it would be better if he blew up on people all the time, so as to come off as being more genuine? He's human, and he told someone who was being a deliberate ass to go somewhere and sit down. If you can't handle that on a smack blog, then maybe you should go sit down, too.
Anonymous said... Clearly some still haven't come off of their period yet..
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ah, that's mature. When you don't agree with someone assume there is something wrong with THEM. Hundreds of years of women fighting sexist stereotyping didn't rub off on you did it? And FWIW I dont' agree with you that the person Rick flipped out on was being a "total ass". But whatever, I'm probably just a stupid little woman with a hormonal imbalance. Yet it is the guy that is losing it and flipping out on people, both here and abroad. Got it. Thanks.
I still don't get how I "lost it" or "flipped out". Angry...sure...but I made some valid points and called someone out...like I have been called out a hundred times here in the last week or so..
Not a big deal when people call me a douche...but a big deal if I ask someone questions related to their complaints...
12:16 Save your feminist high horse finger wagging for some other board. This is a smack blog, and if I wanna call someone out who is acting a complete ass by saying their acting hormonal, I will do it.
Signed, the apparently immature smacker. (ouch that hurt)
I don't really get the assumption that a "PTI Smack" blog means that anything goes as far as personal attacks. Maybe "you get what you give," but there's always the option to take the high road.
And I have not seen unicorns here either.
For the record - I'm the one who said "garbage in, garbage out," not Rick.
" as a one-time courtesy, I will refund your gift certificate. Please be aware that it can take anywhere from 2-7 business days to fix account issues. That is true in any business."
Hmm...As a ONE TIME courtesy to me... Because their website "ate" my balance, I will get a refund. Wow.
Also, it seems that my "rewards points" are just lost now, because according to Julie no one in their company can add or subtract those from accounts - again, for our protectionn
That's BS. What a way to apologize for their mistake. Unbelievable.
And it's also BS that they can't add or subtract rewards points. A few weeks ago a lot of us had our points go missing (all and some) and then show up again. Magic? I don't think so. Calling that an outright lie too.
Rick, was still wondering whether you are denying what you said about the PTB being brilliant business people, or had honestly forgetten having said it. I'm not the only one who recalls the comment.
Zen dana thanks for unveiling what is happening behind the wall on the super seekrit forum where PTI are playing SSDD away from public view. Bringing that stuff here is the ONLY way we will now get to see how much they have changed. Not.
Can you add that to the comment section in the customer service forum? (So curious if it will be deleted.)
Even though most people think the zendesk site is a sham, why doesn't everyone post their issues there? Website Requests still only shows two items and I know people want more things fixed.
Community Help is wide open. Everyone could read Dana's story there if they were directed to it. If people still don't have anniversary sets, still don't have the Simply whatever sentiment, still can't use the site or have g.c., etc., issues -- why is no one posting it there?
It's really no different than the Ask Papertrey forum - just in a different location. So use it to blast 'em. And send everyone there if they have a problem or want to know how PTI handles CS.
I'm not shopping there and don't have any sagas to tell. But I'd be happy to refer people to it. But don't let it fill up with shoppers looking to get their next fix of whatever is out of stock. What a waste that would be.
Okay, is this the comment, some of you were looking for?
Rick Geymonat said... I really do not want to speak about her in a forum like this, because no matter what I say it will be misconstrued and will further the conversation.
Suffice to say I am very impressed with her business sense and know that without ALL THREE of the owners PTI would not exist in any way, shape or form. Good PTI, bad PTI, any PTI...
I have never run a successful business...NOT ONE.. and as such my opinions and thoughts about how they should run their business mean little to nothing, carry zero weight, and speak more about me than they ever could about them and their abilities.
Zendesk Dana- so they can't reinstate your rewards points? You didn't actually get to use them, right? The order glitched and it still subtracted your rewards points, right? Sorry, just trying to understand.
Even if it is true that they can't retrieve the lost points, why can't they issue a store credit or GC in the amount that you lost?
For the record - I'm the one who said "garbage in, garbage out," not Rick.
18 April 2012 12:29
And so? My comment was directed towards Rick, not quoting you. Go away Nancy. You are one of the chief unicorns here with all your ass kissing. 18 April 2012 12:36
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If being a chief unicorn means that you are a civil and respectful person that doesn't attack others with personal comments and someone that is able to state their opinion objectively and keep an open mind, then I agree. Nancy is the chief unicorn and I'll join her team any day. In fact, I think I'll be the chief's assistant because I have agreed with 99% of her comments.
"garbage in, garbage out, eh Rick?" sounds like an attribution to me.
Just setting the record straight. I'm not a unicorn, never have been. I'm not kissing anyone's anything and if you lived up to your own rules, you wouldn't be telling anyone to go away. Why is it fine for you to say whatever you please, but then boss around everyone else?
And if you only want to say something to one person, in this case, Rick, then don't say it in an open forum. He's provided his email address - you can write to him.
Nancy, I don't give a rat's ass what you think it sounds like, it was not a quote. Do you know what quotes look like? Now fuck off. Oh, and if I want to email Rick I will and if I want to address him here on this forum where he presents himself and posts himself then I will. So fuck off again.
"Zendesk Dana- so they can't reinstate your rewards points? You didn't actually get to use them, right? The order glitched and it still subtracted your rewards points, right? Sorry, just trying to understand.
Even if it is true that they can't retrieve the lost points, why can't they issue a store credit or GC in the amount that you lost?"
Yeah - the order glitched before I could USE the rewards points - I told the website to apply 10 of them...so then when the order glitched, it wiped my gift certificate balance AND those 10 rewards points, which, you're right, is essentially a $10 credit.
I asked to be given a $10 gift certificate because, according to Julie's email, no one in the company is able to apply rewards points to any accounts...and she just e-mailed me back asking what I was talking about, regarding a $10 credit. (I gave ALL that info in my very first e-mail to them)
yummy yummy on my unicorn tummy. yeah, it is starting to look a lot like sunshine and rainbows have replaced valid smack being voiced around here. now you have to be backed up and approved by nancy and her defenders in self appointed-chief. why does this always seem to happen with all the PTI smack blogs I wonder. Rick and nichole must be laffing their asses off.
12:53, first I did not say it was a quote. I was quoting you. I said it looked like an attribution to me. Maybe it wasn't intended to be - you could've just said so.
And once more (because beyond that is probably a waste of time), of course anyone can direct comments to any particular person they choose, just don't do it in an open forum if you don't want anyone else to remark about it.
I also preferred it when we were more civil, but perhaps the point of this blog is not to have any rules. I certainly don't want to create a blog #4.
@10:56 - what i didn't appreciate about your post was the use of the words "we" and "us" and "y'all" in combination with the negative view you portrayed...as if you're part of some superior group. based on the posts i see here, i don't think so. i think a good number of the smackers (based on past posts) are more open-minded. i consider myself to be more open-minded and therefore don't reject everything PTI does and hate them just to hate; and when PTI fails, point it out to everyone in an "I told you so" manner and then become condescending and rude to other smackers.
also, the tone of your post is condescending: And out come all the little unicorns to fawn. Pathetic. Open your eyes ladies. This is a smack blog and its turning into a slightly ridiculous version of the main forum with all the smacking of the those of us with our eyes open.
just because i don't share your extreme views of PTI doesn't mean i don't have my eyes open. i want PTI to do better and be better because I believe in their product. i am hoping for the best but not ignoring the worst.
yummy yummy on my unicorn tummy. yeah, it It's a PTI smack blog not a PTI CUSTOMER smack blog. Smack does not = hate.
is starting to look a lot like sunshine and rainbows have replaced valid smack being voiced around here. now you have to be backed up and approved by nancy and her defenders in self appointed-chief. why does this always seem to happen with all the PTI smack blogs I wonder. Rick and nichole must be laffing their asses off. 18 April 2012 13:02
To the person who asked, my PTI forum name is Nancy. Yep. Deep under cover here.
I started coming here because people were being open about their feelings about a company whose practices should be exposed because so many others behave like they could do no wrong. And PTI does plenty wrong. It's irritating and frustrating. And in my experience, the exception to the rule in this business. Along the way I found that most of you have a great sense of humor and it was fun to be here.
I didn't appoint myself anything, just state my feelings and opinions like everyone else.
But it looks like the conversation is now more about this forum than the reason everyone came here to begin with. Maybe it was better when everyone was anonymous because the focus was where it belongs, on PTI.
nancy, i think the way to keep the focus is to ignore the comments of the extremist haters. when you think about it, those comments aren't doing anything, except entertaining the extremist haters and making them feel better about themselves. we will have to treat them like trolls, except they are on the other end of the spectrum.
i will do my best to ignore more. sorry i became defensive - i will try to keep the smacking on PTI.
^^ yes, i agree now that i've seen what Zendesk does. and the fact that it's on another system entirely (not the forum or the main website), makes it a good way to segregate discourse.
damn, i think it's a good idea from their standpoint.
ZenDana's issue has shown me that Julie has not changed her attitude one bit. I am of the opinion that she is single-handedly bringing PTI down. Jane may be just as awful for all we know. That's the difference - Julie let's us know how she is, Jane doesn't.
Well, dark stamper, I think your 13:03 post made a lot of sense (and the bold and italic code was a nice touch).
I think everyone gets defensive when they are attacked and sometimes when they see others being attacked. That's not a bad thing. Especially if you address it in a reasonable way which you obviously did.
Like Rick said, "haters gonna hate." I hope no one really lets it get to them. I just don't think there's much sense in personally attacking other smackers.
I don't suppose I can say that there's a whole spectrum of people here.... sounds too much like a rainbow and I sure don't want to go there ;) .
jeeze let it go nancy. You are the one who kept it up after I DID "just say" it was not a quote. Obsessed much.
btw: can't believe I was actually sticking up for you a few weeks ago when people were smakcing on you about your home sales business. Try and be a little more accepting and objective when someone's pov does not line up with our exactly and maybe we can be bffs again. :-O
Dark stamper. You are the one who consistently keeps using the word hate, from the get go in your first out posting up thread. You are another one who needs to stfu. Everyone who disagrees with you is not a hater. You can play it that way as much as you like but doesn't make it true.
I received my Simply You replacement stamp today along with a folded in half label. If I recall Nichole said they would all be shipped by the 3rd, but she would update. On the 13th she said all were mailed except international. I am not international and my postmark, from Nashville, is the 16th. I am not pleased with the handling of this. 18 April 2012 12:07
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I am not a PTI defender at all, but to be fair, the 13th was a Friday. Maybe they had them all out late Friday, and so it got postmarked on Monday the 16th? Not totally sure how the PO works. But I don't know if it's worth being "unpleased."
quick poll: did anyone here actually order during release time? (i know that seems anti-smack, but it sounds like a few of you still order)
i was curious if the fast shipping times that some have reported on the forum are correct. it looks like people are getting their release night orders this week! :o
Whoever said the other day that Julie treats customers like Nigerian scam artists was so accurate. Z'Dana just got pummeled with courtesy. It cost her 6 days and $10. Damn!
dark stamper, I did order on release day, but not until about 5 hours after release went live. I don't have a tracking number yet, but not surprized because of the 5 hours. Last month I ordered shortly after release went live and had my package very quickly, can't remember exact days.
Even when things were really bad in terms of shipping times and customer service issues, there were still people that were getting their packages in record time. I don't know if the quick shipping is the new normal or not.
Only the gods of the zendesk know. How many tickets do they have screaming "where is my package from last year!!" How many replies going out saying, "We'll look into that for you. HTH".
You will only hear about fast shipping on the board.
LOL. yeah, i guess "normal" is also not the right choice of words.
the heart of my question is...is PTI really getting goods faster to customers than before? when i used to order from them, processing + shipping took over 7 business days. my impression from the forum is that a few customers seem to think it is faster now. i'm curious if that is truly happening or just a nice glitch with a few customers.
"I am not a PTI defender at all, but to be fair, the 13th was a Friday. Maybe they had them all out late Friday, and so it got postmarked on Monday the 16th? Not totally sure how the PO works. But I don't know if it's worth being "unpleased."" .......................
Considering Nichole said they were all going to go out on the 3rd, I don't really think that them going out the 16th is a very good effort.
I don't care how fast they start shipping. In the last 24 hours Julie and Nichole have both shown they are each still a bitch. For me, thats a deal- breaker.
Thanks for the explanation Dana. That sucks! BTW, don't let that handy dandy trustworthy website F-up your order again. Giving you your GC back was a ONE-TIME COURTESY you know. ;)
I'd have told her not to worry, my order was a one-time courtesy as well!
I ordered last Friday, the 13th. I hadn't intended to, but a well-meaning family member wanting to get me a gift sent me a GC. I figured I'd get on it right away and order ahead of the release. I was stunned when I saw that package today. I don't think I've ever gotten anything from them so quickly. In fact, the last time I ordered I was getting a bit peeved, because I made sure it was ahead of the release, and then people who had ordered during the release or just after were getting their stuff before mine had even shipped. It made me think orders were shipped on a lottery system.
Anyone who has worked for any type of business knows what corporate culture is all about. Sunning up the forum, fixing some things with the website, even zendesk, it is all window dressing. If the corporate culture does not change it boils down to the same old same old, CS wise.
The corporate culture at PTI is "we are always right and treat all customers as guilty until proven innocent." This comes from their innate hubris, so is unlikely to change. In all the years I've been watching their sagas unfold, i've yet to see a sure sign that they have really changed. I honestly don't think they can with the same people at the top. It's a top-down thang. Ask yourself why other small to medium size companies who popped up within the same time frame managed to flourish and have glistening reputations for CS? Because it is the corporate culture, which comes from the people at the top, that is why.
I loved the Nigerian Scam Artist comparison. I agree with whoever said that PTI blew up bigger than the Heskamp crew anticipated. Initially they were going to sell *cards* - and then Jane suggested Nichole design stamps. And then, they've suddenly got a snowball rolling downhill kind of growth. I wonder if Julie resents how much work PTI has become - she certainly seems to. If so, hand it off to someone else. Let them do the work so you don't have to. And I'm not trying to be a smart ass. That would be my advice to her. She can still own her part of the company, but hells bells, woman, hand off the decision making process to someone you trust. And then TRUST THEM TO DO IT. Stop assuming every customer is out to screw you out of a buck. Because I promise you, some of your printing company customers ARE trying to do just that. Maybe that's why she doesn't trust PTI customers? Because she's accustomed to dealin with companies who want to nickel and dime everything to death.
It made me think orders were shipped on a lottery system.
^^^ This makes me think of Hunger Games. PTI-land would be a great Hunger Games arena. A cornucopia full of GC's, prize pkgs, and reward points. (all useless of course) If you are lucky your order will eventually descend in a little parachute.
Sadly, we hear the cannon boom and see Zendesk Dana's picture appear. Another customer lost.
Geez, that e-mail from Julie to Zendesk Dana is leaving a really nasty taste in my mouth. How does a person use so few words and yet still manage to convey such lousy attitude? If the company is serious about making changes and has any clear ideas about what they need to improve, they should start with making sure that Julie does not communicate with customers.
There must be a magic rewards points fairy who showed pity on me because my rewards points have been restored!
After I explained the issue of the disappearing rewards points to Julie, she e-mailed me back saying that she wasn't sure what I was talking about because there are 15 points on my account right now.
She didn't say, what SHOULD your balance be, or what was it before you lost the points, or anything like that...she said there's the right amount of points there, none of them have been used.
I'm not going to call her out on a(nother??) lie, someone else can do that if they want to...but how could she know that the 10 points have been restored if she, or someone in the company did not actually restore them? I never, not even in my initial email, told her the total amount of rewards points that should have been there.
I should be happy that the points are back and a refund is on its way...but I'm pretty disgusted with the way this was handled. First she told me it's a courtesy that they're refunding me after their screw up, then she was so sneaky about (magically) giving me my rewards points back so they don't have to own up to that error either... Uggghhh! Bonkers.
"I'd have told her not to worry, my order was a one-time courtesy as well!"
and
"This makes me think of Hunger Games. PTI-land would be a great Hunger Games arena."..."Sadly, we hear the cannon boom and see Zendesk Dana's picture appear. Another customer lost."
Ugh. What in the world would be so difficult about saying, "We're so sorry that happened. I'll fix it for you right now. Is there anything else I can do for you?" I agree 100% with the person who said that Julie should not be allowed to communicate with customers. I've been saying that for years, ever since I had to deal with her to get a screw up fixed with a prize package in either their first or second year.
In this day of computers where everything leaves a footprint, how on earth can she say she is doing you a courtesy! You trace the order and see what exactly happened. You see that an order was placed using points and rewards and it didn't go through. This isn't rocket science. Sure, it may take a day to do the trace but I'm pretty sure you can tell whether a GC has been used or not. To act like she's doing you a favor is ridiculous.
Thanks, Nancy - I admit, it was not easy! My last email was a little snarky though...
"Hi Julie,
Somehow..magic, perhaps? The 10 rewards points have been restored to my account! That's great! They were not there after placing my order, and they were not there when I emailed you about them... But, now they're there!..."
Seriously Nancy, and I'm not meaning for this to come off snarky but....you really think they want the CS stuff on the main board? Hasn't everything they have done shown you that they just want to hide it all?
This is where I think PTI makes a major mistake - deleting posts and forums drives people to other more public forums (SCS, 2Peas) to air their grievances and that is definitely not a good thing. They need to lift the rug and deal with the dirt in the light of day if they ever hope to repair their image.
I understand why you say that but there's a whole sticky note from she-who-will-not-be-named (sorry but it's all just sickening anymore) about this new "Customer Service Communication Center and Forum." It wasn't a secret.
And there was a whole area of a "Forum" on full view to ANYONE. I'm not stupid (and I don't mean that snarky either - I guess it's directed more at pti) - of course I know they wanted to separate all CS and stick it over there. But why did they have that in it???
What's funny is if all this time they thought that was private. That kind of incompetence would be par for the course, too.
Rick, if possible, I'd like you to pass this on to your ex:
Dear Julie:
Your customers are not your adversaries. Every customer service inquiry does not need to be turned into a Mexican Standoff that ends with you "benevolently" letting the customer "win".
Returning monies that are owed to someone is NOT a "courtesy"; it's the law, Julie. I'd think a 'brilliant' business woman like you would understand that.
Initially, I thought you, Jane and Nichole might be worried enough to actually implement real change. Your response to Dana makes it clear that the only change I'll see in the near future is a change in the companies I spend my money with.
Outside of the fact that your "customer service" skills are piss poor, it astounds me that you feel justified in using that tone with another adult. The fact that you and Nichole (and Jenn, in the past) felt it was appropriate to talk down to customers says more about your smug attitude and unwillingness to change than any promises PTI makes.
If your goal was to destroy this company, you're doing a great job of getting there. If you want this company to succeed, then I suggest you stop treating your customers like enemies or hire someone who can at least feign an interest in resolving complaints in a positive manner.
Maybe you're not truly an arrogant, smug, clueless control freak. Maybe there is a warm, caring human being behind the completely bitchy facade you project via email, but none of your customers would know it.
Keep digging that hole. I hope the satisfaction you derive from being so condescending to your customer base is worth tanking your reputation and your business.
Oh, and just so you know: I'm a successful business woman and am providing this advice as a ONE TIME COURTESY TO YOU.
Perhaps PTI means for "FORUM" to be used in some kind of ancient greek definition of the word. We will put one unsuspecting customer-with-legit-issue in the middle for all to see. Now we will open the gate to reveal the three-headed owner beast who will make them dance then bite off their head.
I placed an order to use up reward points on release night. I got a tracking # pronto, but it's still sitting in the warehouse, and I'm sure it will sit there for a good while longer before they're good and ready to ship it out. I started shopping with PTI in 2009, I used to have my orders consistently within three business days of ordering. Now I get packages from the UK and Ireland faster than I get PTI's.
Someone needs to get 'Tabitha Takes Over' on their case, feed Julie some humble pie.
Brilliant 15:34. But Julie would totally tune out by the third sentence thinking it can not possibly be really addressed to her and some terrible mistake must have been made. Such is the nature of the beast and why they can't change.
On a positive note, Julie uses fewer words to piss people off ... thus an improvement in efficiency??
Had Nichole answered Z-Dana's email it might have read something like this:
I'm sorry you misunderstood the GC system. I will personally now take the time to respond and say I will look into this for you, as a favor, and a complete lowering of myself to your level. The reward points program is just that ... a reward. And they are pointy. Thus sometimes popping an disappearing. It is out of our control. In fact, it is our suppliers fault. We stated this clearly on page 35 of Ted's "I want to buy a cat" thread. That thread is open for all remaining, un-banned customers to read. I am sorry you did not do this. Because we care, I will be glad to enter your name into my next blog drawing. Unfortunately I will misspell your name, thus therefor wherewithal rendering your entry ineligible. Please feel free to enjoy the link to my upcoming feature film titled, "Cedar Ridgid. One woman's climb to the top"
open the gate to reveal the three-headed owner beast
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOL, this made me laugh and re-validated me in my decision several years ago to quit my otherwise lovely and well paid job. Same dealio, three "leaders" who acted completely shamelessly and routinely fucked people over and thought their own shit didn't stink. We always referred to them as if they were one because of their borg-like qualities and named them "the three headed monster". Maybe it is an undiscovered trait of three person managements that this is the way they operate. A study will be done one day.
I just realized that PTI has a yelp entry. I love yelp and review lots of things on there, so I made a review detailing my recent issue.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/papertrey-ink-cincinnati
I encourage anyone else who has had issues to post there - the smacky type reviews get filtered, and so do the unicorn and rainbow reviews, but if it is an honest, detailed, review - it should stay up there. I'm not saying if you haven't had a bad experience, you shouldn't post there - you totally should! Like I said, I love yelp! I love reading both positive and negative reviews about places - honestly, it gives the negative reviews more credibility if there are some other reviews in the mix :)
Anyway, I know if I had no experience with PTI, I'd love to know about the types of CS issues they have before I placed and order, and yelp is a pretty good place to check for that kind of stuff.
Please please out yourself and message me on the forum (danaquigley) I want to send you a thank you card for that laugh. That was hilarious. I had such a bad day (not even regarding this PTI stuff) and I laughed out loud at that! Thank you :)
Ok, now I know why they deleted that Anniversary Sets thread. From another thread on the PTI forum:
CUSTOMER SERVICE FORUM: There is a separate forum in this new area for people to discuss issues or ask general questions. This will be monitored by Customer Service Representatives as well as myself. Because this separate location will be in existence,customer service related posts will no longer be permitted on the regular forum here.If customer service issues are posted here the thread will be locked and the original poster will be asked to submit their issue or question via the new Customer Service Communication Center & Forum. We think that everyone will quickly see the benefits of this change.
Except that it clearly states that the thread will be locked, not deleted.
I do not lie. When I say I mailed the corrected sentiments on April 3, you must believe me, despite your postmark saying it left us on April 16. I am one of "three brilliant business women", according to Rick, and therefore I don't make mistakes. When it looks like a mistake, throw salt into the air and turn around and chant 3 times. "as a one time courtesy to me they will fix what has to be my fault". Any further errors will always, as they always have been, be my fault and I will be told I am argumentative and will banned if I bring it into the light of day. At this point the invisibility cloak will remove the thread so no others can see that it ever existed.
By the way, the blueprints for my pool are coming along nicely due to the newest first years students, who have no idea what I am doing to them and their money.
The Impress sale for the online customers is only what is listed online as far as I know (which is about 1/1000th of what is in the store). If you get a chance to go to one of the sales at the store, you will be in heaven.
I don't understand the posts that harp on N, J, and J (not) being "brilliant business women". I agree that they have made quite a few lousy business decisions in the past 2 years, but they had to be "brilliant" in some sense to grow the company to where it is now, right? And their branding has been marketed well, considering their size in this industry.
I agree with the theories that others have stated as to why they are hurting, and my personal guess is also that PTI doesn't know how to deal with their growth (and greed to a certain extent), and this is what's causing the strain and stagnation. But there have been great business minds (Gates, Trump, Jobs, Buffett, etc.) that have made career mistakes, and continuing to evolve and grow from those mistakes has helped lead them to success. (And yes, I totally get that comparing N, J, and J to "great business minds" is a little far-fetched.)
I'm personally watching to see if PTI can learn from their flubs. So far they're not doing so hot, but maybe some day...
Naked Ink said... I don't understand the posts that harp on N, J, and J (not) being "brilliant business women
*********
Oh that's ok. I'm sure there are lots of things in life that many of us do not understand. If you really mean you disagree, that is ok too. You are allowed to have your opinion here.
Believe it or not, some of us posting are successful business women or have observed other successful business women and understand the difference between actual successful business women and what we see happening year after year after year at PTI.
Do not confuse creative brilliance for business brilliance. The two quite often do not go hand in hand. Those artists who recognize the difference and realize their own limitations are the most successful ones.
Does anyone have links to PTI threads on 2Peas? I know of the 1 or 2 on SCS.
Also, it is NOT a new thing for companies to delete disparaging remarks against them on their forums. Stamping Bella had a flare up not long ago on the Member company forum and it was removed with a post from Em saying something to the effect of "let's all keep this a fun happy place to enjoy Stamping Bella products".
Whether we agree or disagree, it happens everywhere.
Brilliant businesswomen or successful businesswomen who got lucky? PTI products use to sell themselves because they were innovative, unique, and fabulously marketed. A little company growing like a weed in 5 years isn't a sign of their brilliance. A halfwit could've been at the helm and PTI would've still been a success.
The rapid decline in sales and soaring increase in customer dissatisfaction proves, at least to me, that they are not brilliant at running a business. Smart enough to recognize a product that can sell itself? Definitely. If they were truly brilliant, they would NOT be in this fustercluck of a mess.
I agree 17:02, the women of PTI are not brilliant.
Nichole got her start from being a member company on SCS when it was really getting hot. Then she jumped ship leaving SCS on less than good terms (which caused her A LOT of customers who were loyal to SCS).
They moved to their own forum and it grew pretty successful. And for a long time, good products and designs out weighted the bad customer service. But as those threads on SCS dated back to 2008 will show, they never mastered the customer service and shipping issues even when they were small.
Debacle after debacle and now they losing customers faster than they release matching dies to stamps. With NO clue how to stop it.
And no one is saying that they don't have the right to moderate their own forums as they see fit. What I am saying is that they better have the improved CS to back up that decision (to ban dissension) otherwise it can and will spill out into more public forums. Also in this day of immediate gratification social media, it only goes to show their excessive naivety if they think that is an effective way to quash disatisfaction. They run the risk of totally losing control of something that could have been confined to the relative "privacy" of their main board.
the.dark.stamper quick poll: did anyone here actually order during release time? (i know that seems anti-smack, but it sounds like a few of you still order)
i was curious if the fast shipping times that some have reported on the forum are correct. it looks like people are getting their release night orders this week! :o
18 April 2012 13:34
------------------------
Ordered on release night and still no tracking number and as per reading the PTI forum, I'm not alone.
Wooohooo! Did you see all the colors of Memory Box gingham at Impress? I am ordering a bunch of those and not waiting on the PTI stuff. If they do the online 20% off, it will be a good deal!
"Please please out yourself and message me on the forum" ------------------------ Thanks, ZenDana, but I was "pruned" from the forum in the first round. I doubt anyone would "know" me since I never posted anything. All the more lovely when I got banned (?!) but I digress.... It is enough to know that you laughed, and that you had the heart to *want* to send me a card. That made my day.
I agree with everything you said, but I did want to point out that there was a PTI forum before PTI became a member company on SCS. PTI was included with the first group of companies to become member companies. PTI decided to try the member company idea on SCS, but eventually dropped out because it made no sense to have the PTI owned forum as well as a community area on SCS. People were going back and forth between the two and it was just confusing. Imagine that. Wow, that was so long ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree 17:02, the women of PTI are not brilliant.
Nichole got her start from being a member company on SCS when it was really getting hot. Then she jumped ship leaving SCS on less than good terms (which caused her A LOT of customers who were loyal to SCS).
They moved to their own forum and it grew pretty successful. And for a long time, good products and designs out weighted the bad customer service. But as those threads on SCS dated back to 2008 will show, they never mastered the customer service and shipping issues even when they were small.
Debacle after debacle and now they losing customers faster than they release matching dies to stamps. With NO clue how to stop it.
Nope. Not brilliant in my book. 18 April 2012 17:11
^^^ Oh, and before anyone wastes their breath: I am aware I can email Rick and get the secret handshake to un-ban myself ... no thanks. I get all of my news here on the lip-smackin' smack blog. Everything I need to know is that Julie hasn't learned any people skills yet. The rest is all smoke and mirrors.
.......................................... Ready for another contest???
Contest is now closed and our number is...
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
525
Timestamp: 2008-01-16 15:15:56 UTC
So the winner, with comment #525 is:
"Papertrey RIBBON! Ribbon by the spool. How great would that be? :)"
Posted by: Dawn McVey (dawnsing) | January 15, 2008 at 08:30 PM
Dawn, you need to email Julie at customerservice@papertreyink.com to claim your prize! Congratulations! And perhaps your wish of Papertrey ribbon will come true! *wink*
"...there have been great business minds (Gates, Trump, Jobs, Buffett, etc.) that have made career mistakes, and continuing to evolve and grow from those mistakes..." ======================== I think the main difference is that these examples never relied on a mostly-female, customer-driven base. PTI sales are also 100% dependent on disposable income. Smart salespeople don't slap hands full of disposable income. No good ever comes of it.
I was trying to find an old thread that I had started a long, long, time ago and noticed that my post count number changed to a lower number...like 65% of my comments are gone. How does that happen?
Donna, I have a handful of the Fresh Ink from Impress. Here's my take on the colors that I have.
Red Currant - kind of pinky orange, not a true red Tomato Red - even more orange; a nice red-orange shade, but definitely not a true red either Pear - kind of halfway between Spring Moss and Simply Chartreuse, but a tiny bit bluer than either one Celery - good match for Simply Chartreuse, but a shade lighter Pool - pretty close to Hawaiian Shores Capri Blue - decent match for Blueberry Sky, but a shade lighter
When does the online sale start at Impress? I definitely plan to get some more of their inks.
I wonder if the fast(er) shipping has to do with the lesser number of orders shipped out? Less orders? I didn't order, I am just a little hesitant to believe the slow shipping has been solved...
If you have the new PTI inks would you buy the Impress inks too? How do the colors compare? Because there's a sale I am thinking of finally buying the whole lot but it's around $200 so I better be sure.
I only have one of the new PTI inks--Autumn Rose. I got it because there really is not a close Fresh Ink Color, but if there were I would have gone the Fresh Ink. IMO, it gives richer coverage and the color is just so consistent and smooth.
I take that back. When I bought the Autumn Rose, I had not yet purchased the Merlot because I did not think the color was close. Actually it is close and if I stamp the 2 side by side, I most definitely feel the Merlot covers better and is richer.
The Impress inks are pigment, right? Not dye like PTI's new inks? I don't have any of them, but I'm thinking they're just like Amuse ink. The one thing I don't love about the Amuse inks is that they're worse about staining.
They are just like A Muse Studio inks (the new ones). Yes, pigment but not the old pigment like Color Box that is gummy and thick. These don't dry quite as fast as dye, but almost. They are made by the same manufacturer as A Muse, but the colors are slightly different. Packaging is identical.
Re: N, J, and J being/not being "brilliant business women"
Actually, I didn't say I agreed or disagreed. What I alluded to was that there had to be some spark/brilliance (N's creative talents and eye for detail?) there to begin with for PTI to make it this far. And I don't agree that a halfwit could have been at the helm and they would be where they are today. Seriously, how many of you have launched your own product line with multiple partners and each raked in 6 figures from it, within just a few years? Maybe one or two, but I'm willing to bet no more than that.
What's kept me a customer for the past 3 years (I haven't bought enough in this last year to call myself a "customer") is their fabulous product. I don't think that it was dumb luck that they chose that specific fantastic white card stock or felt (...I promise not to mention their ink debacle). And I don't think it was dumb luck that they had a solid strategy to color match their inks, paper, buttons, AND ribbon. I've seen other brands try only 2 or 3 out of the 4 and the quality and color matching is just not the same as PTI's.
I myself am in the business world (and quite successful), but I am not an entrepreneur. That takes some creative finesse and skill, which I admit I don't have. To actually launch a product line, market it well, and capture a good piece of the pie for several consecutive years in this industry is saying something. My point was that I believe there is some credit due. If I'm the only one willing to give it, that's OK with me.
I do, however, think that creative genius can fade over time. It has to evolve and adapt with lessons learned. They are dreadfully failing on that, so whatever was there to begin with is quickly fading.
Two things I think gave PTI a leg up when they first started out: #1 that it was being added to an already established company (Heskamp printing); and #2 that Nichole was working for PC Magazine. Those were two huge advantages that allowed it to hit the ground running and take off very quickly.
I think Nichole's only "brilliance" as one of the owners is her artistic creativity and sheer ambition when it comes to marketing (though that can backfire when the taste of success lets greed start to enter). She certainly is no great brain when it comes to the way she presents herself verbally, nor is her personality endearing as other biz owners such as Gina K. Julie seems to act like PTI is the red-headed stepchild that nobody wants, resenting any time she has to give to it, and like all of her customers are out to screw her over. Jane? Who the hell knows? I never hear anything from or about her.
No, but your subsequent post was all in disagreement. As was your latest post. And again, that is ok.
I don't agree. And the reasons are legion and have been hashed and rehashed over and over on this blog.
As far as the concept of matchy-matchy products, i think that "solid strategy" is not brilliant or unique either, because it was executed highly successfully many years ago by SU. And they are still going strong.
Not to say that PTI products don't have a design element that sets them apart. They undoubtedly do. But if you believe that they have been very successful as is, then imagine the possibilites if they had had their CS and order fulfillment strategies in place.
All I can see is that they have squandered their customers' goodwill and brand confidence on the altar of ignorant pride. Right up to this very day, they are still doing it (dana zendesk).
btw, I personally hate their white cs because it is not really white. Have you tried other brands? Not just being a bitch now, but almost every other brand I have is much truer or more brilliant white than PTI. I have a shit load of the stuff and never use it because it looks greyish or off white to me. Hate it.
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Hey--where did you guys all go??????
Please tell me you haven't gone to the dark side (PTI forum)!
Looks like Moe, the girl who needed the shipping refund, got it. CS/Julie is definitely faster than they used to be.
FYI - I ordered recently during a non-release time and received my order in 5 business days. I was impressed. In the past when I ordered in non-release time, it has taken between 8-12 business days. I also ordered recently from Ellen Hutson and EK Success and have received those packages in about the same time, Ellen being a bit faster.
I don't know if this will stick, but I have to think they made some improvements in that arena.
And before any smackers jump all over me about the ga-zillion (and I agree, important) issues others are having...I am not down playing those. I am just saying that not everything is doom and gloom.
Oh, and as I posted last night - Rick helped me resolve one of my issues. I think it's unfair that some of you are jumping all over him because he is the only face that represents PTI here. That's low. Yes, he works for them, but it's obvious that he's not in a position to make major business decisions. I think he's helping where he can and I know for a fact that he has made improvements in his corner of the PTI world.
Be sure not to miss Chris's great post at the end of the last thread.
Thanks! I'll spare you the trouble of going back to find it in the last post:
Since I went public here, and also posted things on my blog and FB, I've received exactly one message from another PTI customer asking very politely what was up with my participation here (because I provided a pointer to help people find us) and my public boycott. We had a very nice conversation where both of us aired our views and I was not left feeling like I was looked down on in any way.
I worry less about what people might think about my being here now that I'm posting under my own name. Since I own the comments that I make, anyone can look and see what I'm doing here. I'm definitely more proud of my own behavior without the anonymous shield!
I'm glad you re-posted that Chris. I was going to if you didn't!
My reply to you again: That's a great point, Chris. I've often wondered about posting under my own name. I somewhat outed myself on the POC thread,but nothing further.
8:46- word.
Come on Smackers, like Smacker III said: stop smacking each other. Group hug!
Sorry - posted this on the old thread:
omathgoddess said...
I can't keep up with all the comments! Not sure if that has been asked yet, but does anyone here know if the sale at Impress is going to include their online store? I received an e-mail tonight that their 20% off sale starts tomorrow but it only mentions in-store deals.
Thanks!
I think it's great that some people experience the freeing feeling of outing themselves (no sarcasm, seriously). However, I will not out myself. Not a single one of you know me personally (my friends don't read this blog), so I would hate to have my character judged solely on the few comments I make on a smack blog. If I were "public" in several places and on a blog, I would not hesitate to reveal my name here.
Anyways, it would be difficult for me to out myself since I don't actually have my own crafting blog. If I'm going to use my real name, I would want it to be verified so no one else could post under it.
More to what was posted about posting anonymously...
I don't understand what the fear is all about. I have never been part of the "in crowd" on the forum, so it is not like I am not used to being ignored when I post something stamping related. I don't believe that I have done or said anything that I wouldn't say to someone face-to-face. I have called PTI out on their lack of CS, and their incredibly rude comments on the forum. I won't put up with that treatment irl, so why would I let it slide on the forum?
And I have been smacked by other smackers. I have been snarky, and when it was unprovoked, I apologized. Not an "I'm sorry you feel that way" apology, either.
I am on the fence about the whole Rick thing. I was banned as well, and I did not receive an e-mail or apology from him. I still do not feel like anything I said was out of line, and I was well within the terms of service. I simply asked them to clarify why I was receiving board warnings, and they never did. However, I do think he has tried to bridge the gap between pti and the smackers, and I appreciate that he came "out" to us.
Please forgive my rambling - it has been a very long week at our house. Now to curl up and catch up on all the smacking. ;)
I ordered last month and cashed out almost 100 rewards points, and I ordered around release time. (I wanted those damn zipper dies and that's when they came into stock. Don't judge, lol!)
I fully expected the order to languish in PTI hell and for my package to take the usual 14+ days to arrive in California.
I was surprised, but still skeptical, when I received a shipping notice the DAY AFTER I ordered. You could have knocked me over with a feather when the shipping notice actually showed movement that night.
I received my order in 7 days - faster shipping than I've had in YEARS.
The real proof of change for me, though, needs to be a 180 when it comes to customer service issues (defective or missing items, etc.). That's where PTI has always caused the most conflict with customers, and that's what makes me worried about ordering again.
Good point about not having others post using your name, Naked Ink. I have had a few comments attributed to me that I did not write. I don't want to link my posts here to my blog because it is not crafting related - just a bunch of pics of my kids.
^^ OMG - I thought Rick apologized to you? I obviously remember incorrectly...but I thought you posted here that he unbanned you and I thought there was some exchange between you two on this smack blog.
I was unbanned, but it was Donna C who told me about how to log back in.
On the last thread I asked whether the lady from Sth Africa (whose parcel was sitting in Australia) had received her package and someone kindly replied saying that no, she still hadn't received it.
That is what I mean by the new zenforum thingy - everyone will assume that everything has been fixed, but in actually fact it looks as though not much has changed.
Same goes for anniversary sets and prize packages - we still don't know if those poor people have received their stuff yet.
^^^Ooops - on the forum there is an update on the Anniv. sets - and yes, some still don't have them. How disgusting to be still on this subject a year after they were promised.
I FINALLY received all of my Anniversary sets. This took longer than finalizing my divorce. I have saved soooo much money ( and undue stress) not buying PTI. Nine months and I haven't ordered a thing and probably never will again. Never has a company made me feel so under appreciated. No apologies either. I have dealt with other companies and have gotten the BEST CS ever! Ellen Hutson and Alma at The Cat's Pajamas and Oozak. They know customer service! I ordered from Alma and 2 stamp sets were missing. I called, yes called, CS and she sent the sets out right away. CS at Ellen Hutson has helped me find missing shipments and even offered to re- ship at NO extra cost.
omathgoddess said...
I can't keep up with all the comments! Not sure if that has been asked yet, but does anyone here know if the sale at Impress is going to include their online store? I received an e-mail tonight that their 20% off sale starts tomorrow but it only mentions in-store deals.
Thanks!
-----------------
I read about this too and searched FB. Their online sale will be on the 23rd. I want those inks! lol!
glad to hear that shipping times have improved. Suspect that is because they hired additional help and because the number of orders is down.
People and companies are complicated. Rick can be both helpful and a jerk. My problem with him is that he sort of put himself out here as a renegade -- implying that he came here without PTI's knowledge and that he was just trying to help customers, when it was clear that it was his job.
Nothing wrong at all with a PTI rep coming here to defuse. He was careful to say only nice things about the owners while acknowledging issues and never answered any questions about how things run behind the scenes.
And he doesn't get the years of frustration because he hasn't been a customer.
And he eventually showed his true PTI colors.
But that doesn't mean he isn't fun and helpful at times. You can be sure he is reading every post and reporting back.
Seriously junior high and such a fun distraction.
The company isn't going to really really change meaning the owners are who they are. But if to the outside they change -- then maybe PTI can recapture its successes. i would be happy to see that.
I for one just cannot buy from them again. Why? Because they aren't nice people. PERIOD.
And why am I anonymous? Because I want to keep my spot in the papercraft industry. anyone who publicly posts on a smack blog ain't going to get published in papercrafts or get on dts. and sorry smackers, that is important to me.
I don't think they hired additional help, they're just cracking the whip on all 2 warehouse employees packing thousands of orders, lol. For now anyway, as soon as things quiet down, they'll send the one employee back to work at Heskamp. (the more important business)
It does seem like they have much fewer orders, I was looking through my order history and there have been between 3-4000 order #'s between releases, where 2 years ago there were more like 5-6000. That must add up to a lot of lost moo-lah!
@20:36
I don't think she got her refund, yet - she just got emails saying they were working on it.
She said:
"Dave emailed me yesterday and then Julie did today and my shipping refund is in the works Very happy to see it resolved so quickly and just makes me more confident in the ordering process Woohoo"
Does anyone know what happened to the forum thread about the anniversary sets? There was activity on it yesterday. Today I don't see it at all.
I don't see it either
Impress has 2 20% off Customer Appreciation Sales each year. One in April and the other in October (I think). Generally they have the in-store one and then a few days later they do an online version. You will not be sorry if you get those inks! I just added the Merlot and the Sky Blue to my collection and they are both so gorgeous. Do buy reinkers though because they are nicest when your pad is juicy. They also work well with Copics.
They also carry the really popular Memory Box and Poppystamps dies.
The anniversary set fiasco thread seems to have been removed.
Possibly could mean one or two things:
1. Everyone has now finally received their sets.
or
2. PTI doesn't want anyone to read about it anymore
^^ I would probably go with point no. 2
Another vote for #2.
WHO is this Teresa Collins woman? The whole family must have purchased stock in hair bleach!
1:39 - thanks for putting into words what I've tried to say on other threads and have been accused of PMSing. I agree 100% with you on all points.
"You can be sure he is reading every post and reporting back."
You cannot be sure of anything.
The forum is so boring now. Has been for the last few months. It seems like it takes days for a thread to work its way to page two. And so many new posters. I'm not saying it isn't good to have new posters, I'm saying that it seems like a completely different forum. I guess the reality of it is, it is a different forum. There's now the PTI forum BD (before decline) and PTI forum AD (after decline) which is the current forum. Maybe it seems so different to me because I have mostly been a part of the PTI forum BD. One of the things both forums have in common is the CS and lack of costomer appreciation.
I can't believe they just deleted the anniversary sets thread, although I am not entirely surprised. WTH?
ITA 8:21 The forum is a sad place to anyone who knows better. It's chock full of wide-eyed fools who have no ideas how many threads, and customers, have been "pruned". Pruned = shriveled into a tidy unappetizing little pkg.
I'm very disappointed that PTI would delete the Anniversary Sets thread like that, as I don't recall it having any negative activity yesterday. I had posted to that thread over a month ago so I used my historical posts list to confirm that the thread is indeed gone.
This is very sad, and just one more thing to irk us past loyal customers. Since I cashed out all of my points and stocked up on cardstock already, my wallet is saying goodbye to PTI. I'll monitor this blog to see if anything improves. In the meantime, I'm deleting all of the DT blogs from my RSS feed so I won't be tempted.
Donna (or anyone else who knows), are the Impress sales store-wide, or limited stuff including the inks? There are some things they carry that I'd love to get, and a sale could provide the motivation!
What's the coupon code for the impress sale? I didn't get an email ...
I don't think they hired additional help, they're just cracking the whip on all 2 warehouse employees packing thousands of orders, lol. For now anyway, as soon as things quiet down, they'll send the one employee back to work at Heskamp. (the more important business)
It does seem like they have much fewer orders, I was looking through my order history and there have been between 3-4000 order #'s between releases, where 2 years ago there were more like 5-6000. That must add up to a lot of lost moo-lah!
==================================
Julie and or Jane thought it would be fun to put together a cute little side biz of stamps. It blew up into a very popular stamp co. thanks to Nicholes creativity and connections with that stamp mag (I can`t remember the name)
Now their cute little side biz grew up into this huge ugly monster they are having a hard time controlling.
The sad part of it all is that this co. could have been so great. Oh well, what could have been...
ITA 8:21 The forum is a sad place to anyone who knows better. It's chock full of wide-eyed fools who have no ideas how many threads, and customers, have been "pruned". Pruned = shriveled into a tidy unappetizing little pkg.
=============
Funny how this is the only thing PTI has been successful in correcting! (insert eye roll here)
If Julie and Jane were a fraction of the "brilliant businesswomen" Rick thinks they are, they would have sold PTI while it was hot. I guess they were *hoping* it wouldn't be a success and were bitterly disappointed??
Maybe this is how these "successful business women" have decided to run their business - get rid of the ones who point out areas of inefficiency - get a new load of customers. Then when they are disheartened and start to point out problems, get rid of them - get a new load of customers ............. et al.
Has anyone received the replacement stamp (sorry I can't remember the name of the set) from the "send pti a SASE" mess.? I thought I read on the smack that pti had *supposedly* sent them out. I haven't receive mine yet.
@ 10:13 Not that I know of, although Nichole said they were all mailed out. In fact she said that on several occasions, but surely the last time was for realz.
Perhaps we all need shipping buddies in Australia?? Packages seem to be routing through there lately.
@ 9:47 Seems to be the policy for DT members as well.
lol well Rick showed his true colors didn't he? And right here on the smack blog. And out come all the little unicorns to fawn. Pathetic. Open your eyes ladies. This is a smack blog and its turning into a slightly ridiculous version of the main forum with all the smacking of the those of us with our eyes open.
How long before we need PTI smack 4 due to the irrational need to quash any dissension around here? Y'all are being led down the garden path. Zendesk is very obviously designed not to improve CS (after all, garbage in, garbage out eh Rick?) but to hide customer complaints. The only way you'll hear about the debacles now is if the people find this place (highly unlikely) or they take it to a less censored forum. Coz if they bring it to the main board, you can be sure they'll become the object of Rick or Nichole's wrath and be "pruned".
^^^ not all of us hate as much as you do. pls stop speaking for all of us.
i thought the goal of this smack board was to keep an open mind, not hate so deeply.
yes, i am coming out...i'm tired of the bs.
fuck off "dark stamper". no one said they were speaking for anyone else. everyone's opinions are valid on a SMACK board. this is exactly what happened on previous pti smack boards when the unis took over. no one gives a shit whether you come out or not. who the fuck are you anyway?
I'm afaid Rick lost all street cred for me when he referred to the PTB as brilliant business people. LOFL. That and throwing his weight around the smackers like he's back at the main board and asking people who they were. You don't get to control us here like you do over there Rick. Sorry and all that.
^^^ not all of us hate as much as you do. pls stop speaking for all of us
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Well who's "not all of us"? Aren't you speaking for them? Same rule applies to you. MYOB and speak for yourself. You are not speaking for me.
Some people need to realize that we don't all have to love Rick.
Others need to realize we all don't hate him.
^^^ and I think we all agree PTI needs lots of work.
Moving on.
and I didn't see anyone say they did hate him. but whatever. there are shades of grey here. doesn't have to be all or nothing like some are implying.
seems you just want to be contentious about every damn thing.
whatevs.
Wow, lots of fighting going on here today. I like it better when we're civil.
Rick is and always has been a douche! I'd love to say that on the forum but he'll do his usual prune and ban act!
I totally agree with this: I'm afaid Rick lost all street cred for me when he referred to the PTB as brilliant business people.
I received my Simply You replacement stamp today along with a folded in half label. If I recall Nichole said they would all be shipped by the 3rd, but she would update. On the 13th she said all were mailed except international. I am not international and my postmark, from Nashville, is the 16th. I am not pleased with the handling of this.
Clearly some still haven't come off of their period yet...
What are you implying when you say Rick showed his "true colors"? You saying that when he doesn't get fed up he's being fake? So it would be better if he blew up on people all the time, so as to come off as being more genuine? He's human, and he told someone who was being a deliberate ass to go somewhere and sit down. If you can't handle that on a smack blog, then maybe you should go sit down, too.
11:53 WHO are you addressing? I don't see anyone being deliberately "contentious". Nobody said they hated Rick. Fact. Put up or shut up.
Rick is and always has been a douche! I'd love to say that on the forum but he'll do his usual prune and ban act!
I totally agree with this: I'm afaid Rick lost all street cred for me when he referred to the PTB as brilliant business people.
------------------------------
Can you reference that post please? I am having a hard time finding it...
And define douche for me please...because the definition I find doesn't make any sense... :)
Anonymous said...
Clearly some still haven't come off of their period yet..
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ah, that's mature. When you don't agree with someone assume there is something wrong with THEM. Hundreds of years of women fighting sexist stereotyping didn't rub off on you did it? And FWIW I dont' agree with you that the person Rick flipped out on was being a "total ass". But whatever, I'm probably just a stupid little woman with a hormonal imbalance. Yet it is the guy that is losing it and flipping out on people, both here and abroad. Got it. Thanks.
OK....cue fawning unis.....one two three....
So easy for people to sling insults on the interwebs. Grow up people.
Rick, are you denying that you said they were brilliant business people? (I'm looking for that post)
I still don't get how I "lost it" or "flipped out". Angry...sure...but I made some valid points and called someone out...like I have been called out a hundred times here in the last week or so..
Not a big deal when people call me a douche...but a big deal if I ask someone questions related to their complaints...
12:16 Save your feminist high horse finger wagging for some other board. This is a smack blog, and if I wanna call someone out who is acting a complete ass by saying their acting hormonal, I will do it.
Signed, the apparently immature smacker. (ouch that hurt)
Next.
It's like deja vu all over again.
I don't really get the assumption that a "PTI Smack" blog means that anything goes as far as personal attacks. Maybe "you get what you give," but there's always the option to take the high road.
And I have not seen unicorns here either.
For the record - I'm the one who said "garbage in, garbage out," not Rick.
For anyone who is interested in my refund saga...
Most recent e-mail from Julie:
" as a one-time courtesy, I will refund your gift certificate. Please be aware that it can take anywhere from 2-7 business days to fix account issues. That is true in any business."
Hmm...As a ONE TIME courtesy to me... Because their website "ate" my balance, I will get a refund. Wow.
Also, it seems that my "rewards points" are just lost now, because according to Julie no one in their company can add or subtract those from accounts - again, for our protectionn
For the record - I'm the one who said "garbage in, garbage out," not Rick.
18 April 2012 12:29
And so? My comment was directed towards Rick, not quoting you. Go away Nancy. You are one of the chief unicorns here with all your ass kissing.
ZenDana,
That's BS. What a way to apologize for their mistake. Unbelievable.
And it's also BS that they can't add or subtract rewards points. A few weeks ago a lot of us had our points go missing (all and some) and then show up again. Magic? I don't think so. Calling that an outright lie too.
Rick, was still wondering whether you are denying what you said about the PTB being brilliant business people, or had honestly forgetten having said it. I'm not the only one who recalls the comment.
Zen dana thanks for unveiling what is happening behind the wall on the super seekrit forum where PTI are playing SSDD away from public view. Bringing that stuff here is the ONLY way we will now get to see how much they have changed. Not.
Beyond ridiculous, Dana.
Can you add that to the comment section in the customer service forum? (So curious if it will be deleted.)
Even though most people think the zendesk site is a sham, why doesn't everyone post their issues there? Website Requests still only shows two items and I know people want more things fixed.
Community Help is wide open. Everyone could read Dana's story there if they were directed to it. If people still don't have anniversary sets, still don't have the Simply whatever sentiment, still can't use the site or have g.c., etc., issues -- why is no one posting it there?
It's really no different than the Ask Papertrey forum - just in a different location. So use it to blast 'em. And send everyone there if they have a problem or want to know how PTI handles CS.
I'm not shopping there and don't have any sagas to tell. But I'd be happy to refer people to it. But don't let it fill up with shoppers looking to get their next fix of whatever is out of stock. What a waste that would be.
Okay, is this the comment, some of you were looking for?
Rick Geymonat said...
I really do not want to speak about her in a forum like this, because no matter what I say it will be misconstrued and will further the conversation.
Suffice to say I am very impressed with her business sense and know that without ALL THREE of the owners PTI would not exist in any way, shape or form. Good PTI, bad PTI, any PTI...
I have never run a successful business...NOT ONE.. and as such my opinions and thoughts about how they should run their business mean little to nothing, carry zero weight, and speak more about me than they ever could about them and their abilities.
Hth
Zendesk Dana- so they can't reinstate your rewards points? You didn't actually get to use them, right? The order glitched and it still subtracted your rewards points, right? Sorry, just trying to understand.
Even if it is true that they can't retrieve the lost points, why can't they issue a store credit or GC in the amount that you lost?
For the record - I'm the one who said "garbage in, garbage out," not Rick.
18 April 2012 12:29
And so? My comment was directed towards Rick, not quoting you. Go away Nancy. You are one of the chief unicorns here with all your ass kissing.
18 April 2012 12:36
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If being a chief unicorn means that you are a civil and respectful person that doesn't attack others with personal comments and someone that is able to state their opinion objectively and keep an open mind, then I agree. Nancy is the chief unicorn and I'll join her team any day. In fact, I think I'll be the chief's assistant because I have agreed with 99% of her comments.
"garbage in, garbage out, eh Rick?" sounds like an attribution to me.
Just setting the record straight. I'm not a unicorn, never have been. I'm not kissing anyone's anything and if you lived up to your own rules, you wouldn't be telling anyone to go away. Why is it fine for you to say whatever you please, but then boss around everyone else?
No that is not "the" comment
And if you only want to say something to one person, in this case, Rick, then don't say it in an open forum. He's provided his email address - you can write to him.
12:37 Pretty much....
Nancy, I don't give a rat's ass what you think it sounds like, it was not a quote. Do you know what quotes look like? Now fuck off. Oh, and if I want to email Rick I will and if I want to address him here on this forum where he presents himself and posts himself then I will. So fuck off again.
ok Rick, I will go and try to find that quote. Diving into the morass......weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Zendesk Dana- so they can't reinstate your rewards points? You didn't actually get to use them, right? The order glitched and it still subtracted your rewards points, right? Sorry, just trying to understand.
Even if it is true that they can't retrieve the lost points, why can't they issue a store credit or GC in the amount that you lost?"
Yeah - the order glitched before I could USE the rewards points - I told the website to apply 10 of them...so then when the order glitched, it wiped my gift certificate balance AND those 10 rewards points, which, you're right, is essentially a $10 credit.
I asked to be given a $10 gift certificate because, according to Julie's email, no one in the company is able to apply rewards points to any accounts...and she just e-mailed me back asking what I was talking about, regarding a $10 credit. (I gave ALL that info in my very first e-mail to them)
Oy!
Thanks 12:48 :) .
Nancy, since you are open about who you are on here, will you tell us your forum name. Maybe you already said and I missed it.
yummy yummy on my unicorn tummy. yeah, it is starting to look a lot like sunshine and rainbows have replaced valid smack being voiced around here. now you have to be backed up and approved by nancy and her defenders in self appointed-chief. why does this always seem to happen with all the PTI smack blogs I wonder. Rick and nichole must be laffing their asses off.
12:53, first I did not say it was a quote. I was quoting you. I said it looked like an attribution to me. Maybe it wasn't intended to be - you could've just said so.
And once more (because beyond that is probably a waste of time), of course anyone can direct comments to any particular person they choose, just don't do it in an open forum if you don't want anyone else to remark about it.
But then, I think you know all of that.
I also preferred it when we were more civil, but perhaps the point of this blog is not to have any rules. I certainly don't want to create a blog #4.
@10:56 - what i didn't appreciate about your post was the use of the words "we" and "us" and "y'all" in combination with the negative view you portrayed...as if you're part of some superior group. based on the posts i see here, i don't think so. i think a good number of the smackers (based on past posts) are more open-minded. i consider myself to be more open-minded and therefore don't reject everything PTI does and hate them just to hate; and when PTI fails, point it out to everyone in an "I told you so" manner and then become condescending and rude to other smackers.
also, the tone of your post is condescending:
And out come all the little unicorns to fawn. Pathetic. Open your eyes ladies. This is a smack blog and its turning into a slightly ridiculous version of the main forum with all the smacking of the those of us with our eyes open.
just because i don't share your extreme views of PTI doesn't mean i don't have my eyes open. i want PTI to do better and be better because I believe in their product. i am hoping for the best but not ignoring the worst.
ZenDana...wow. That incident seemed like a big waste of your time.
yummy yummy on my unicorn tummy. yeah, it
It's a PTI smack blog not a PTI CUSTOMER smack blog. Smack does not = hate.
is starting to look a lot like sunshine and rainbows have replaced valid smack being voiced around here. now you have to be backed up and approved by nancy and her defenders in self appointed-chief. why does this always seem to happen with all the PTI smack blogs I wonder. Rick and nichole must be laffing their asses off.
18 April 2012 13:02
^^^^^ sorry, I didn't mean to leave the first line of the quote on top of the comment.
To the person who asked, my PTI forum name is Nancy. Yep. Deep under cover here.
I started coming here because people were being open about their feelings about a company whose practices should be exposed because so many others behave like they could do no wrong. And PTI does plenty wrong. It's irritating and frustrating. And in my experience, the exception to the rule in this business. Along the way I found that most of you have a great sense of humor and it was fun to be here.
I didn't appoint myself anything, just state my feelings and opinions like everyone else.
But it looks like the conversation is now more about this forum than the reason everyone came here to begin with. Maybe it was better when everyone was anonymous because the focus was where it belongs, on PTI.
nancy, i think the way to keep the focus is to ignore the comments of the extremist haters. when you think about it, those comments aren't doing anything, except entertaining the extremist haters and making them feel better about themselves. we will have to treat them like trolls, except they are on the other end of the spectrum.
i will do my best to ignore more. sorry i became defensive - i will try to keep the smacking on PTI.
Zendesk is just another rug to sweep things under.
^^ yes, i agree now that i've seen what Zendesk does. and the fact that it's on another system entirely (not the forum or the main website), makes it a good way to segregate discourse.
damn, i think it's a good idea from their standpoint.
ZenDana's issue has shown me that Julie has not changed her attitude one bit. I am of the opinion that she is single-handedly bringing PTI down. Jane may be just as awful for all we know. That's the difference - Julie let's us know how she is, Jane doesn't.
Well, dark stamper, I think your 13:03 post made a lot of sense (and the bold and italic code was a nice touch).
I think everyone gets defensive when they are attacked and sometimes when they see others being attacked. That's not a bad thing. Especially if you address it in a reasonable way which you obviously did.
Like Rick said, "haters gonna hate." I hope no one really lets it get to them. I just don't think there's much sense in personally attacking other smackers.
I don't suppose I can say that there's a whole spectrum of people here.... sounds too much like a rainbow and I sure don't want to go there ;) .
I agree 13:24. I'm starting to see that the "improvements" are very one-sided.
Even the most optimistic among us are having trouble finding anything positive in PTI's recent actions to cling to. Do they even care?
jeeze let it go nancy. You are the one who kept it up after I DID "just say" it was not a quote. Obsessed much.
btw: can't believe I was actually sticking up for you a few weeks ago when people were smakcing on you about your home sales business. Try and be a little more accepting and objective when someone's pov does not line up with our exactly and maybe we can be bffs again. :-O
Dark stamper. You are the one who consistently keeps using the word hate, from the get go in your first out posting up thread. You are another one who needs to stfu. Everyone who disagrees with you is not a hater. You can play it that way as much as you like but doesn't make it true.
thanks, nancy! btw, i think your viewpoints are very much like mine so i can't help but be a little biased towards you.
also, i'm not sure why one (maybe two?) people are hating on you today. i will push my ignore button.
Anonymous said...
I received my Simply You replacement stamp today along with a folded in half label. If I recall Nichole said they would all be shipped by the 3rd, but she would update. On the 13th she said all were mailed except international. I am not international and my postmark, from Nashville, is the 16th. I am not pleased with the handling of this.
18 April 2012 12:07
----
I am not a PTI defender at all, but to be fair, the 13th was a Friday. Maybe they had them all out late Friday, and so it got postmarked on Monday the 16th? Not totally sure how the PO works. But I don't know if it's worth being "unpleased."
quick poll: did anyone here actually order during release time? (i know that seems anti-smack, but it sounds like a few of you still order)
i was curious if the fast shipping times that some have reported on the forum are correct. it looks like people are getting their release night orders this week! :o
^^ whoops, "correct" was the wrong term. i doubt people are lying.
what i meant was "i was curious if the fast shipping times that some have reported on the forum are normal."
Whoever said the other day that Julie treats customers like Nigerian scam artists was so accurate. Z'Dana just got pummeled with courtesy. It cost her 6 days and $10. Damn!
dark stamper, I did order on release day, but not until about 5 hours after release went live. I don't have a tracking number yet, but not surprized because of the 5 hours. Last month I ordered shortly after release went live and had my package very quickly, can't remember exact days.
Normal? Not sure what you are asking here.
Even when things were really bad in terms of shipping times and customer service issues, there were still people that were getting their packages in record time. I don't know if the quick shipping is the new normal or not.
Only the gods of the zendesk know. How many tickets do they have screaming "where is my package from last year!!" How many replies going out saying, "We'll look into that for you. HTH".
You will only hear about fast shipping on the board.
LOL. yeah, i guess "normal" is also not the right choice of words.
the heart of my question is...is PTI really getting goods faster to customers than before? when i used to order from them, processing + shipping took over 7 business days. my impression from the forum is that a few customers seem to think it is faster now. i'm curious if that is truly happening or just a nice glitch with a few customers.
based on some past forum and smack blog posts, i also have to wonder if there are fewer orders now, which could be helping the better times...
There are some customers who have said all along that they never have a problem and that shipping times are just fine.
I think they're just the vocal ones. A lot of people who had problems have moved on and sure aren't going to be commenting on the forum.
I kinda think that if PTI made some kind of major change that would assure reasonable or fast shipping they'd be bragging up and down about it.
"I am not a PTI defender at all, but to be fair, the 13th was a Friday. Maybe they had them all out late Friday, and so it got postmarked on Monday the 16th? Not totally sure how the PO works. But I don't know if it's worth being "unpleased.""
.......................
Considering Nichole said they were all going to go out on the 3rd, I don't really think that them going out the 16th is a very good effort.
I agree. She said the 3rd, then after awhile someone asked and she said the 13th. Then they said they went out the 16th - except international.
Wouldn't you get international out even faster, too?
I don't care how fast they start shipping. In the last 24 hours Julie and Nichole have both shown they are each still a bitch. For me, thats a deal- breaker.
I wish zendesk had a ticket for that.
Thanks for the explanation Dana. That sucks! BTW, don't let that handy dandy trustworthy website F-up your order again. Giving you your GC back was a ONE-TIME COURTESY you know. ;)
I'd have told her not to worry, my order was a one-time courtesy as well!
^^^^ Touché .
I ordered last Friday, the 13th. I hadn't intended to, but a well-meaning family member wanting to get me a gift sent me a GC. I figured I'd get on it right away and order ahead of the release. I was stunned when I saw that package today. I don't think I've ever gotten anything from them so quickly. In fact, the last time I ordered I was getting a bit peeved, because I made sure it was ahead of the release, and then people who had ordered during the release or just after were getting their stuff before mine had even shipped. It made me think orders were shipped on a lottery system.
I'd have told her not to worry, my order was a one-time courtesy as well!
^^^ BEST. COMMENT. EVER.
Anyone who has worked for any type of business knows what corporate culture is all about. Sunning up the forum, fixing some things with the website, even zendesk, it is all window dressing. If the corporate culture does not change it boils down to the same old same old, CS wise.
The corporate culture at PTI is "we are always right and treat all customers as guilty until proven innocent." This comes from their innate hubris, so is unlikely to change. In all the years I've been watching their sagas unfold, i've yet to see a sure sign that they have really changed. I honestly don't think they can with the same people at the top. It's a top-down thang. Ask yourself why other small to medium size companies who popped up within the same time frame managed to flourish and have glistening reputations for CS? Because it is the corporate culture, which comes from the people at the top, that is why.
I loved the Nigerian Scam Artist comparison. I agree with whoever said that PTI blew up bigger than the Heskamp crew anticipated. Initially they were going to sell *cards* - and then Jane suggested Nichole design stamps. And then, they've suddenly got a snowball rolling downhill kind of growth. I wonder if Julie resents how much work PTI has become - she certainly seems to. If so, hand it off to someone else. Let them do the work so you don't have to. And I'm not trying to be a smart ass. That would be my advice to her. She can still own her part of the company, but hells bells, woman, hand off the decision making process to someone you trust. And then TRUST THEM TO DO IT. Stop assuming every customer is out to screw you out of a buck. Because I promise you, some of your printing company customers ARE trying to do just that. Maybe that's why she doesn't trust PTI customers? Because she's accustomed to dealin with companies who want to nickel and dime everything to death.
It made me think orders were shipped on a lottery system.
^^^ This makes me think of Hunger Games. PTI-land would be a great Hunger Games arena. A cornucopia full of GC's, prize pkgs, and reward points. (all useless of course) If you are lucky your order will eventually descend in a little parachute.
Sadly, we hear the cannon boom and see Zendesk Dana's picture appear. Another customer lost.
Geez, that e-mail from Julie to Zendesk Dana is leaving a really nasty taste in my mouth. How does a person use so few words and yet still manage to convey such lousy attitude? If the company is serious about making changes and has any clear ideas about what they need to improve, they should start with making sure that Julie does not communicate with customers.
Best deadpan comment ever:
"I wish zendesk had a ticket for that."
:D love it.
There must be a magic rewards points fairy who showed pity on me because my rewards points have been restored!
After I explained the issue of the disappearing rewards points to Julie, she e-mailed me back saying that she wasn't sure what I was talking about because there are 15 points on my account right now.
She didn't say, what SHOULD your balance be, or what was it before you lost the points, or anything like that...she said there's the right amount of points there, none of them have been used.
I'm not going to call her out on a(nother??) lie, someone else can do that if they want to...but how could she know that the 10 points have been restored if she, or someone in the company did not actually restore them? I never, not even in my initial email, told her the total amount of rewards points that should have been there.
I should be happy that the points are back and a refund is on its way...but I'm pretty disgusted with the way this was handled. First she told me it's a courtesy that they're refunding me after their screw up, then she was so sneaky about (magically) giving me my rewards points back so they don't have to own up to that error either... Uggghhh! Bonkers.
Hahahaha.
"I'd have told her not to worry, my order was a one-time courtesy as well!"
and
"This makes me think of Hunger Games. PTI-land would be a great Hunger Games arena."..."Sadly, we hear the cannon boom and see Zendesk Dana's picture appear. Another customer lost."
<3
Ugh. What in the world would be so difficult about saying, "We're so sorry that happened. I'll fix it for you right now. Is there anything else I can do for you?" I agree 100% with the person who said that Julie should not be allowed to communicate with customers. I've been saying that for years, ever since I had to deal with her to get a screw up fixed with a prize package in either their first or second year.
LOL at "I'd have told her not to worry, my order was a one-time courtesy as well!"
And I'm another who agrees that Julie should not communicate with customers.
Smackers: spot on and funny, too.
Dana, I admire your restraint.
In this day of computers where everything leaves a footprint, how on earth can she say she is doing you a courtesy! You trace the order and see what exactly happened. You see that an order was placed using points and rewards and it didn't go through. This isn't rocket science. Sure, it may take a day to do the trace but I'm pretty sure you can tell whether a GC has been used or not. To act like she's doing you a favor is ridiculous.
Thanks, Nancy - I admit, it was not easy! My last email was a little snarky though...
"Hi Julie,
Somehow..magic, perhaps? The 10 rewards points have been restored to my account! That's great! They were not there after placing my order, and they were not there when I emailed you about them... But, now they're there!..."
I deleted my post to edit it (italics):
OMG and I usually mean omathgoddess.
I posted info on the pti forum about accessing the "open forum" on zendesk and now it's gone?
Par for the course. I may have had an ounce of hope left but that's the end of that.
Seriously Nancy, and I'm not meaning for this to come off snarky but....you really think they want the CS stuff on the main board? Hasn't everything they have done shown you that they just want to hide it all?
This is where I think PTI makes a major mistake - deleting posts and forums drives people to other more public forums (SCS, 2Peas) to air their grievances and that is definitely not a good thing. They need to lift the rug and deal with the dirt in the light of day if they ever hope to repair their image.
I understand why you say that but there's a whole sticky note from she-who-will-not-be-named (sorry but it's all just sickening anymore) about this new "Customer Service Communication Center and Forum." It wasn't a secret.
And there was a whole area of a "Forum" on full view to ANYONE. I'm not stupid (and I don't mean that snarky either - I guess it's directed more at pti) - of course I know they wanted to separate all CS and stick it over there. But why did they have that in it???
What's funny is if all this time they thought that was private. That kind of incompetence would be par for the course, too.
15:18, you're right. I think maybe there's need for an update on PTI in other places.
Hi Nancy (15:06)
I think I just saw your post on the PTI forum. Is this the post you are referring to?
Quote:
Well now the whole forum section has vanished. Hopefully some of the categories will remain but there's not much point to calling it a "forum.
Also, I still see the forum threads on zendesk (sp?)
What's funny is if all this time they thought that was private. That kind of incompetence would be par for the course, too.
18 April 2012 15:19
K, now I think you are onto something here. Would that not be totally hilarious though?
Rick, if possible, I'd like you to pass this on to your ex:
Dear Julie:
Your customers are not your adversaries. Every customer service inquiry does not need to be turned into a Mexican Standoff that ends with you "benevolently" letting the customer "win".
Returning monies that are owed to someone is NOT a "courtesy"; it's the law, Julie. I'd think a 'brilliant' business woman like you would understand that.
Initially, I thought you, Jane and Nichole might be worried enough to actually implement real change. Your response to Dana makes it clear that the only change I'll see in the near future is a change in the companies I spend my money with.
Outside of the fact that your "customer service" skills are piss poor, it astounds me that you feel justified in using that tone with another adult. The fact that you and Nichole (and Jenn, in the past) felt it was appropriate to talk down to customers says more about your smug attitude and unwillingness to change than any promises PTI makes.
If your goal was to destroy this company, you're doing a great job of getting there. If you want this company to succeed, then I suggest you stop treating your customers like enemies or hire someone who can at least feign an interest in resolving complaints in a positive manner.
Maybe you're not truly an arrogant, smug, clueless control freak. Maybe there is a warm, caring human being behind the completely bitchy facade you project via email, but none of your customers would know it.
Keep digging that hole. I hope the satisfaction you derive from being so condescending to your customer base is worth tanking your reputation and your business.
Oh, and just so you know: I'm a successful business woman and am providing this advice as a ONE TIME COURTESY TO YOU.
You're welcome :)
Perhaps PTI means for "FORUM" to be used in some kind of ancient greek definition of the word. We will put one unsuspecting customer-with-legit-issue in the middle for all to see. Now we will open the gate to reveal the three-headed owner beast who will make them dance then bite off their head.
I placed an order to use up reward points on release night. I got a tracking # pronto, but it's still sitting in the warehouse, and I'm sure it will sit there for a good while longer before they're good and ready to ship it out.
I started shopping with PTI in 2009, I used to have my orders consistently within three business days of ordering. Now I get packages from the UK and Ireland faster than I get PTI's.
Someone needs to get 'Tabitha Takes Over' on their case, feed Julie some humble pie.
So Rick cleared that up while I was typing. Now you need to log in to see the CS forum.
Brilliant 15:34. But Julie would totally tune out by the third sentence thinking it can not possibly be really addressed to her and some terrible mistake must have been made. Such is the nature of the beast and why they can't change.
On a positive note, Julie uses fewer words to piss people off ... thus an improvement in efficiency??
Had Nichole answered Z-Dana's email it might have read something like this:
I'm sorry you misunderstood the GC system. I will personally now take the time to respond and say I will look into this for you, as a favor, and a complete lowering of myself to your level. The reward points program is just that ... a reward. And they are pointy. Thus sometimes popping an disappearing. It is out of our control. In fact, it is our suppliers fault. We stated this clearly on page 35 of Ted's "I want to buy a cat" thread. That thread is open for all remaining, un-banned customers to read. I am sorry you did not do this. Because we care, I will be glad to enter your name into my next blog drawing. Unfortunately I will misspell your name, thus therefor wherewithal rendering your entry ineligible. Please feel free to enjoy the link to my upcoming feature film titled, "Cedar Ridgid. One woman's climb to the top"
HTH!
15:34, you get nothing short of a standing ovation for your open letter to Julie.
I especially love the part about the only change you're seeing is where you spend your $.
No... I can't say especially. It was a sight to behold.
open the gate to reveal the three-headed owner beast
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOL, this made me laugh and re-validated me in my decision several years ago to quit my otherwise lovely and well paid job. Same dealio, three "leaders" who acted completely shamelessly and routinely fucked people over and thought their own shit didn't stink. We always referred to them as if they were one because of their borg-like qualities and named them "the three headed monster". Maybe it is an undiscovered trait of three person managements that this is the way they operate. A study will be done one day.
15:37 and 15:47 -- I'm beginning to think I should be saving some of these for when I need a good laugh.
there are some really good writers here.
I just realized that PTI has a yelp entry. I love yelp and review lots of things on there, so I made a review detailing my recent issue.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/papertrey-ink-cincinnati
I encourage anyone else who has had issues to post there - the smacky type reviews get filtered, and so do the unicorn and rainbow reviews, but if it is an honest, detailed, review - it should stay up there. I'm not saying if you haven't had a bad experience, you shouldn't post there - you totally should! Like I said, I love yelp! I love reading both positive and negative reviews about places - honestly, it gives the negative reviews more credibility if there are some other reviews in the mix :)
Anyway, I know if I had no experience with PTI, I'd love to know about the types of CS issues they have before I placed and order, and yelp is a pretty good place to check for that kind of stuff.
12:37 Any luck?
We stated this clearly on page 35 of Ted's "I want to buy a cat" thread.
:-)
Your only omission was "in lieu of.."
@ 15:47
HAHAHAHAHAH - I LOVE THIS!
Please please out yourself and message me on the forum (danaquigley) I want to send you a thank you card for that laugh. That was hilarious. I had such a bad day (not even regarding this PTI stuff) and I laughed out loud at that! Thank you :)
Rick, you surely have an opinion about that, right? So what is it? Yay or nay?
LOL at "We stated this clearly on page 35 of Ted's "I want to buy a cat" thread."
That is so funny!
15:47, I do believe you've perfected Nichole-speak. That was hysterical! But you spelled and used all of the words correctly.
Ok, now I know why they deleted that Anniversary Sets thread. From another thread on the PTI forum:
CUSTOMER SERVICE FORUM:
There is a separate forum in this new area for people to discuss issues or ask general questions. This will be monitored by Customer Service Representatives as well as myself. Because this separate location will be in existence, customer service related posts will no longer be permitted on the regular forum here. If customer service issues are posted here the thread will be locked and the original poster will be asked to submit their issue or question via the new Customer Service Communication Center & Forum. We think that everyone will quickly see the benefits of this change.
Except that it clearly states that the thread will be locked, not deleted.
Dear Customers=
I do not lie. When I say I mailed the corrected sentiments on April 3, you must believe me, despite your postmark saying it left us on April 16. I am one of "three brilliant business women", according to Rick, and therefore I don't make mistakes. When it looks like a mistake, throw salt into the air and turn around and chant 3 times. "as a one time courtesy to me they will fix what has to be my fault". Any further errors will always, as they always have been, be my fault and I will be told I am argumentative and will banned if I bring it into the light of day. At this point the invisibility cloak will remove the thread so no others can see that it ever existed.
By the way, the blueprints for my pool are coming along nicely due to the newest first years students, who have no idea what I am doing to them and their money.
HTH
Headless Nichole
Looks like Seansee has revived the question...
The Impress sale for the online customers is only what is listed online as far as I know (which is about 1/1000th of what is in the store). If you get a chance to go to one of the sales at the store, you will be in heaven.
All the inks are online though.
I don't understand the posts that harp on N, J, and J (not) being "brilliant business women". I agree that they have made quite a few lousy business decisions in the past 2 years, but they had to be "brilliant" in some sense to grow the company to where it is now, right? And their branding has been marketed well, considering their size in this industry.
I agree with the theories that others have stated as to why they are hurting, and my personal guess is also that PTI doesn't know how to deal with their growth (and greed to a certain extent), and this is what's causing the strain and stagnation. But there have been great business minds (Gates, Trump, Jobs, Buffett, etc.) that have made career mistakes, and continuing to evolve and grow from those mistakes has helped lead them to success. (And yes, I totally get that comparing N, J, and J to "great business minds" is a little far-fetched.)
I'm personally watching to see if PTI can learn from their flubs. So far they're not doing so hot, but maybe some day...
Naked Ink said...
I don't understand the posts that harp on N, J, and J (not) being "brilliant business women
*********
Oh that's ok. I'm sure there are lots of things in life that many of us do not understand. If you really mean you disagree, that is ok too. You are allowed to have your opinion here.
Believe it or not, some of us posting are successful business women or have observed other successful business women and understand the difference between actual successful business women and what we see happening year after year after year at PTI.
Do not confuse creative brilliance for business brilliance. The two quite often do not go hand in hand. Those artists who recognize the difference and realize their own limitations are the most successful ones.
Good god naked ink, how long have you been around? This didn't just start yesterday or even just a year ago. Not to sound pessimistic or anything.
Does anyone have links to PTI threads on 2Peas? I know of the 1 or 2 on SCS.
Also, it is NOT a new thing for companies to delete disparaging remarks against them on their forums. Stamping Bella had a flare up not long ago on the Member company forum and it was removed with a post from Em saying something to the effect of "let's all keep this a fun happy place to enjoy Stamping Bella products".
Whether we agree or disagree, it happens everywhere.
Brilliant businesswomen or successful businesswomen who got lucky? PTI products use to sell themselves because they were innovative, unique, and fabulously marketed. A little company growing like a weed in 5 years isn't a sign of their brilliance. A halfwit could've been at the helm and PTI would've still been a success.
The rapid decline in sales and soaring increase in customer dissatisfaction proves, at least to me, that they are not brilliant at running a business. Smart enough to recognize a product that can sell itself? Definitely. If they were truly brilliant, they would NOT be in this fustercluck of a mess.
I agree 17:02, the women of PTI are not brilliant.
Nichole got her start from being a member company on SCS when it was really getting hot. Then she jumped ship leaving SCS on less than good terms (which caused her A LOT of customers who were loyal to SCS).
They moved to their own forum and it grew pretty successful. And for a long time, good products and designs out weighted the bad customer service. But as those threads on SCS dated back to 2008 will show, they never mastered the customer service and shipping issues even when they were small.
Debacle after debacle and now they losing customers faster than they release matching dies to stamps. With NO clue how to stop it.
Nope. Not brilliant in my book.
Obviously a number of people are still curious about the anniversary sets judging by the view #s.
Now... if they lock or delete threads like that one, are they also going to lock or delete all of the other cs-related threads??
Like "Release Tracking Number!" and "shipping charge on 71.00 order -resolved, thanks CS!!"
And I'm not really up on all things pti forum, but why is the one about adding to cart stuck to the top? Honestly I don't know.
I have always wondered what happened with her and SCS.
I have always wondered what happened with her and Gina K.
I have always wondered what happened with her and Becky O.
I have always wondered what happened with her and Genie Cassidy.
I have always wondered what happened with her and Lauren Meader.
I have always wondered what happened with her and Nikki Estes.
I have always wondered-------
And no one is saying that they don't have the right to moderate their own forums as they see fit. What I am saying is that they better have the improved CS to back up that decision (to ban dissension) otherwise it can and will spill out into more public forums. Also in this day of immediate gratification social media, it only goes to show their excessive naivety if they think that is an effective way to quash disatisfaction. They run the risk of totally losing control of something that could have been confined to the relative "privacy" of their main board.
17:17, that's a note they should read.
You know, if we ever thought they'd listen to anyone.
the.dark.stamper
quick poll: did anyone here actually order during release time? (i know that seems anti-smack, but it sounds like a few of you still order)
i was curious if the fast shipping times that some have reported on the forum are correct. it looks like people are getting their release night orders this week! :o
18 April 2012 13:34
------------------------
Ordered on release night and still no tracking number and as per reading the PTI forum, I'm not alone.
I don't care where this thread goes, I just had to laugh when I saw the title:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/general-stamping-talk-f17/has-paper-trey-ink-closed-t552442.html
For those of you who love Fresh Ink from Impress, what colors are must haves? The color chart, in my experience is pretty off for some of the greens.
Wooohooo! Did you see all the colors of Memory Box gingham at Impress? I am ordering a bunch of those and not waiting on the PTI stuff. If they do the online 20% off, it will be a good deal!
"Please please out yourself and message me on the forum"
------------------------
Thanks, ZenDana, but I was "pruned" from the forum in the first round. I doubt anyone would "know" me since I never posted anything. All the more lovely when I got banned (?!) but I digress.... It is enough to know that you laughed, and that you had the heart to *want* to send me a card. That made my day.
I agree with everything you said, but I did want to point out that there was a PTI forum before PTI became a member company on SCS. PTI was included with the first group of companies to become member companies. PTI decided to try the member company idea on SCS, but eventually dropped out because it made no sense to have the PTI owned forum as well as a community area on SCS. People were going back and forth between the two and it was just confusing. Imagine that. Wow, that was so long ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree 17:02, the women of PTI are not brilliant.
Nichole got her start from being a member company on SCS when it was really getting hot. Then she jumped ship leaving SCS on less than good terms (which caused her A LOT of customers who were loyal to SCS).
They moved to their own forum and it grew pretty successful. And for a long time, good products and designs out weighted the bad customer service. But as those threads on SCS dated back to 2008 will show, they never mastered the customer service and shipping issues even when they were small.
Debacle after debacle and now they losing customers faster than they release matching dies to stamps. With NO clue how to stop it.
Nope. Not brilliant in my book.
18 April 2012 17:11
^^^ Oh, and before anyone wastes their breath: I am aware I can email Rick and get the secret handshake to un-ban myself ... no thanks. I get all of my news here on the lip-smackin' smack blog. Everything I need to know is that Julie hasn't learned any people skills yet. The rest is all smoke and mirrors.
Oh look who one this contest way back in 2008.
..........................................
Ready for another contest???
Contest is now closed and our number is...
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
525
Timestamp: 2008-01-16 15:15:56 UTC
So the winner, with comment #525 is:
"Papertrey RIBBON! Ribbon by the spool. How great would that be? :)"
Posted by: Dawn McVey (dawnsing) | January 15, 2008 at 08:30 PM
Dawn, you need to email Julie at customerservice@papertreyink.com to claim your prize! Congratulations! And perhaps your wish of Papertrey ribbon will come true! *wink*
"...there have been great business minds (Gates, Trump, Jobs, Buffett, etc.) that have made career mistakes, and continuing to evolve and grow from those mistakes..."
========================
I think the main difference is that these examples never relied on a mostly-female, customer-driven base. PTI sales are also 100% dependent on disposable income. Smart salespeople don't slap hands full of disposable income. No good ever comes of it.
^^^^^^^^^^18 April 2012 19:20
I meant won, not one.
See what PTI is doing to me! Sheesh!
I was trying to find an old thread that I had started a long, long, time ago and noticed that my post count number changed to a lower number...like 65% of my comments are gone. How does that happen?
Papertrey puts the "sucks" in SUCCESS. (Or 'sucess' as NH printed on the 1500 notes with the free thank-you-stamp.
What in the hell made you go look that up???
Donna, I have a handful of the Fresh Ink from Impress. Here's my take on the colors that I have.
Red Currant - kind of pinky orange, not a true red
Tomato Red - even more orange; a nice red-orange shade, but definitely not a true red either
Pear - kind of halfway between Spring Moss and Simply Chartreuse, but a tiny bit bluer than either one
Celery - good match for Simply Chartreuse, but a shade lighter
Pool - pretty close to Hawaiian Shores
Capri Blue - decent match for Blueberry Sky, but a shade lighter
When does the online sale start at Impress? I definitely plan to get some more of their inks.
I wonder if the fast(er) shipping has to do with the lesser number of orders shipped out? Less orders?
I didn't order, I am just a little hesitant to believe the slow shipping has been solved...
Papertrey doesn't deserve me.
Thanks, Chris. Usually it is 2-3 days after the store sale.
Your info was great as I don't have Tomato, or Celery and they have been on my list along with Silver Lavender and Cocoa.
My favs are Mango, Merlot, French Lilac, Chamomile, Harvest, and Island.
If you have the new PTI inks would you buy the Impress inks too? How do the colors compare? Because there's a sale I am thinking of finally buying the whole lot but it's around $200 so I better be sure.
I only have one of the new PTI inks--Autumn Rose. I got it because there really is not a close Fresh Ink Color, but if there were I would have gone the Fresh Ink. IMO, it gives richer coverage and the color is just so consistent and smooth.
I take that back. When I bought the Autumn Rose, I had not yet purchased the Merlot because I did not think the color was close. Actually it is close and if I stamp the 2 side by side, I most definitely feel the Merlot covers better and is richer.
The Impress inks are pigment, right? Not dye like PTI's new inks? I don't have any of them, but I'm thinking they're just like Amuse ink. The one thing I don't love about the Amuse inks is that they're worse about staining.
They are just like A Muse Studio inks (the new ones). Yes, pigment but not the old pigment like Color Box that is gummy and thick. These don't dry quite as fast as dye, but almost. They are made by the same manufacturer as A Muse, but the colors are slightly different. Packaging is identical.
They stain a little, but staining does not bother me at all.
Thanks for the info, Donna.
Impress just verified for me via FB, that they will do their online sale on the 23rd.
Just caught up...
Re: N, J, and J being/not being "brilliant business women"
Actually, I didn't say I agreed or disagreed. What I alluded to was that there had to be some spark/brilliance (N's creative talents and eye for detail?) there to begin with for PTI to make it this far. And I don't agree that a halfwit could have been at the helm and they would be where they are today. Seriously, how many of you have launched your own product line with multiple partners and each raked in 6 figures from it, within just a few years? Maybe one or two, but I'm willing to bet no more than that.
What's kept me a customer for the past 3 years (I haven't bought enough in this last year to call myself a "customer") is their fabulous product. I don't think that it was dumb luck that they chose that specific fantastic white card stock or felt (...I promise not to mention their ink debacle). And I don't think it was dumb luck that they had a solid strategy to color match their inks, paper, buttons, AND ribbon. I've seen other brands try only 2 or 3 out of the 4 and the quality and color matching is just not the same as PTI's.
I myself am in the business world (and quite successful), but I am not an entrepreneur. That takes some creative finesse and skill, which I admit I don't have. To actually launch a product line, market it well, and capture a good piece of the pie for several consecutive years in this industry is saying something. My point was that I believe there is some credit due. If I'm the only one willing to give it, that's OK with me.
I do, however, think that creative genius can fade over time. It has to evolve and adapt with lessons learned. They are dreadfully failing on that, so whatever was there to begin with is quickly fading.
Can some do a list of the Impress inks (the names) that match PTI colors? I know that is a pain but I am ordering online so I'd be guessing!
I would also love to know if there is an Impress Ink match to PTI Melon Berry.
Two things I think gave PTI a leg up when they first started out: #1 that it was being added to an already established company (Heskamp printing); and #2 that Nichole was working for PC Magazine. Those were two huge advantages that allowed it to hit the ground running and take off very quickly.
I think Nichole's only "brilliance" as one of the owners is her artistic creativity and sheer ambition when it comes to marketing (though that can backfire when the taste of success lets greed start to enter). She certainly is no great brain when it comes to the way she presents herself verbally, nor is her personality endearing as other biz owners such as Gina K. Julie seems to act like PTI is the red-headed stepchild that nobody wants, resenting any time she has to give to it, and like all of her customers are out to screw her over. Jane? Who the hell knows? I never hear anything from or about her.
Actually, I didn't say I agreed or disagreed
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No, but your subsequent post was all in disagreement. As was your latest post. And again, that is ok.
I don't agree. And the reasons are legion and have been hashed and rehashed over and over on this blog.
As far as the concept of matchy-matchy products, i think that "solid strategy" is not brilliant or unique either, because it was executed highly successfully many years ago by SU. And they are still going strong.
Not to say that PTI products don't have a design element that sets them apart. They undoubtedly do. But if you believe that they have been very successful as is, then imagine the possibilites if they had had their CS and order fulfillment strategies in place.
All I can see is that they have squandered their customers' goodwill and brand confidence on the altar of ignorant pride. Right up to this very day, they are still doing it (dana zendesk).
btw, I personally hate their white cs because it is not really white. Have you tried other brands? Not just being a bitch now, but almost every other brand I have is much truer or more brilliant white than PTI. I have a shit load of the stuff and never use it because it looks greyish or off white to me. Hate it.
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