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I just posted this over on the PTI forum, and I want to post it here too. Making this decision, and writing down my reasoning, has been very cathartic for me, because this has been bothering me for a while now. And I'm sharing my experience in case there are others out there who have reached their breaking point and feel the need to express:
This is going to be a hard post for me to write, but my conscience will not allow me to NOT write it. As I was mulling over the new website problems this morning, something clicked in my brain, that allowed me to understand why I've felt so frustrated with PTI for so many months now. In the beginning, when I first discovered PTI, I was totally captivated with their products, and more importantly, the inspiration they provided for use of those products (this was prior to the anniversary where they first announced a new, improved website would be forthcoming, along with other announcements that never came to fruition, such as the paint in cute little cans). Things seemed simpler back then. PTI seemed like a great, small company, offering cutting edge things that no other stamp company was offering at the time. I happily spent my money on their products (LOTS), and enjoyed using them. Later, some frustration seeped in, the things announced at that anniversary either didn't happen, or when they did, as in the first attempt at the new website, they didn't work. Hmmm I thought, OK, lets give them more time, they want to do this "right", and it's not happening as quickly as they had anticipated; stuff happens. Then I started reading more and more comments from customers who were having issues with customer service (international shipping issues, anniversary sets taking a year to arrive, prize packages taking months to reach the recipient, and on and on). Even though I didn't totally agree with some of their customer service policies (such as the return of damaged items), I had never had any major issues personally, but reading what other customers were dealing with was troubling me.
Jumping forward to this anniversary and the new website, and after reading all the issues people had ordering last night, it finally clicked why I'm so upset, and why I need to put PTI behind me now. I truly, honestly believe that they do not care about their customers (contrary to what I read here on the forum ad nauseum) and let me tell you why. They are happy enough to take our money, but yet they do not spend the money it takes developing the resources that will provide a top notch experience for their customers. It's almost as if they are thumbing their noses at us all, saying, yep, we'll happily take your $$$, but we won't spend the money necessary to provide top notch customer service, or to hire a professional, capable team to develop a website. Yes, they have recently hired a new customer service rep, which is a step in the right direction, but the website is a debacle. I'm not a web developer, but I live with a husband who's a top notch, crack programmer/developer, who works with major companies, and even he cannot believe how unprofessional the whole website roll out has been. And this after PTI has had several YEARS to get it right. I deal with many other online companies (I buy a lot online), and I've never experienced anything quite like this. I don't think I'm asking for anything extraordinary from PTI, just for some basic, common sense business practices, yet they still don't seem to get it.
So for these reasons, I'm saying goodbye to PTI, which I'm OK with now that I've come to terms with the "why". They don't deserve my business, and I won't give it to them anymore. I have a gift certificate to be used, and I have some reward dollars to spend, and I'll do that, but I won't be spending any more of my hard earned dollars here. There are way too many other great crafting companies out there who have provided me with an excellent shopping experience, and there's really nothing I can buy here that I can't buy with them. I'll miss seeing my friends here, although I'm connected with many of you on Facebook and Pinterest, or through emails, and I'll see you there. :grouphug: I don't wish ill will to PTI, I hope that some day they figure things out, and become the great company they "could be" based on their exceptional products.
I didn't even hear about the website issues last night. I said goodbye to PTI a couple years ago. Sorry that you, too, have come to the same conclusion. I do hope that they straighten things out.
Your comment about the paint cans made me chuckle though- whatever happened to those?? LOL
So many other amazing companies- many member companies here and many not- that offer fabulous products and top notch customer service that you won't want for another store to spend your money at!!
I bought PTI when they first started. I had their first set and many of the ones they released that year.
Later when they came out with their matching colors of paper, ink, and accessories, I had a friend buy some and show them to me. They did not "match" or "coordinate". There was a big difference in the ink and paper. She tried asking customer service about it and they didn't do anything for her. I posted a question on their forum and got reamed for it by their faithful customers.
I realized I wasn't using the PTI stamps I did have so I sold them and haven't bought anymore. I do like to look at what they release each month, but I haven't been compelled to buy.
I do hope they get their act together, before it is too late.
I completely understand your feelings, Diane, and I've been on the fence a long time myself. I ordered from PTI right from the start and used to look forward to every release. I used their cardstock exclusively before A Muse Studio and recommended it to everyone.
Lucky for me their stamp designs are not really my thing anymore. Too many 'building' sets and I'd rather just have a great image to start with than pick and choose pieces.
This month, I even kept forgetting to check the peeks and release posts.
I have a few reward dollars that I'll use toward the zipper dies and matching sentiment because that's unique and fun. But months from now - if they have it - because it is unavailable today (didn't plan on ordering, just curious how well the shopping cart/ordering would go on the first day).
Even though I've criticized their poor and illogical customer service, I still hoped that one day it would all come together. But you're right, things are not like they used to be and it doesn't look like it will be again. They've shot themselves in the foot so many times, it's just sad.
This comment you made really hit home with me: "I had never had any major issues personally, but reading what other customers were dealing with was troubling me." I said elsewhere that until I had cs problems myself, I'd continue to shop there but no second chances. But like Tracy says, why even deal with it when there are so many companies with none of these issues?!
There were a few threads here about PTI because their forum was down when they changed the site, but I've unsubbed to those because it just seems pointless to bother anymore.
The fact that customers who previously loved that company stuck with it through all of this, and still struggle with the idea of not buying from them anymore, just goes to show how deeply customer loyalty runs. But it needs to be respected.
You are totally right Diane that their website is a joke. I am a software engineer and I think their website is totally unprofessional. Also, the way they switched over to the new one was BAD. How can they expect to flip the switch 2 days before release night and expect everything to just work???
I have slowly been buying from other stamp companies and also realised that I still enjoy the PTI design team's creations and will use them as inspirations. But there are lots of stamps and stuff out there with better websites and customer service.
I haven't ordered from PTI since July 2011 because I couldn't get answers about my anniversary set, despite many emails to customer service. I did finally get the set right before Christmas, and I was starting to think about ordering again. Then I saw that they were rolling out the new website. I was really concerned that there would be problems so I decided not to order during the release frenzy. Boy, I'm glad I didn't!
I'm not surprised that the website was a mess and that people are mad, and I'm not surprised to hear that long-time customers are swearing off of PTI. It really is sad, PTI's product is top-notch and I'm not sure that any company has a better design team, but I'm truly afraid that their poor customer service is going to ruin their company.
I'm not exactly sure that I will never order from them again, but I do know that I haven't missed them that much since July. I see sets that I'm excited about when they release, but honestly, I usually forget about them by the next month. We'll see.
For me, it's the shipping to Canada...can't believe the cost. I have never had to pay what they charge when I've purchased from other on-line stores and the service that I have been getting from these other stores is outstanding.
It's ridiculous when you pay more for shipping and then get nailed with duty and the two combined are more then the merchandise you buy.
I understand and support your decision, Diane. Too many other companies who truly value their customers. Too many other companies who have much better business practices.
I've never ordered from PTI. Haven't belonged to their forum however, I do sub to their DT blogs and have made many a wish list for their products many times and every time I just can't commit.
Some how I think if PTI had the same customer service as say Oozak I would have taken the plunge already.
I think it would be worth the investment for them to take on a web designer.
Can't say as I blame you. I work in retail and try to be more willing to give more than a chance or two to get it right. I haven't ordered from them since they started having trouble with the inks. I have thought about ordering some of the dies, but honestly, never saw enough to order so that it made it worth it, especially since I do not like clear stamps. Hopefully whatever the issues are, they will get them fixed before it really hurts them beyond repair.
Maybe they'll see their sales start dropping and THAT will get their attention. All I ever order from them is the occasional card stock. It's nice quality and great colors and it's cheaper than SU cs. I don't have a good LSS anywhere close so I have to order most cardstock and patterned paper online.
I do need another place for CS- so perhaps I may still order CS from them since it is a nice, heavy weight with colours that I like, and at an affordable price if you have a shipping buddy (I don't live in the US so shipping is crazy and even crazier on this new site).
__________________ Steph - make up artist, canine chef, professional slacker, newbie stamper and cardmaker!
my blog and new shop
Have you checked out Gina K for Cardstock? She has heavy CS and some great colors. Her International Shipping is Flat rate $13.95 no matter how large the order.
Have you checked out Gina K for Cardstock? She has heavy CS and some great colors. Her International Shipping is Flat rate $13.95 no matter how large the order.
I have seen her shop, but the CS has different prices with shipping included for internationals, so CS does not ship under the 13.95 flat rate, which I think is a bit misleading given the way the site claims everything is flat rate... Hmm..
Also, to OP: sorry for hijacking the thread and going OT :(
__________________ Steph - make up artist, canine chef, professional slacker, newbie stamper and cardmaker!
my blog and new shop
I haven't bought from PT in ages, but when I saw the coupon on Nicole's blog yesterday, I was actually thinking about it. Until I went to the website and got errors when I went to look at ANYTHING. How can you buy without seeing the products? And of course it does work today when the coupon no longer does.
I have seen her shop, but the CS has different prices with shipping included for internationals, so CS does not ship under the 13.95 flat rate, which I think is a bit misleading given the way the site claims everything is flat rate... Hmm..
Also, to OP: sorry for hijacking the thread and going OT :(
I wouldn't dare get involved in this conversation except to address the comment related to my company-
Card stock is very expensive to ship. We ship three packs of card stock in an international flat rate envelope and add the actual shipping cost on to the price. You do not get an additional $13.95 charged on top of that unless you order other things that will ship in another package. (Our site is set up to ship card stock in a separate package internationally.)
I know it's expensive and we HATE that. We thought about not offering card stock internationlly due to the heavy weight issue however, we know that many of you love our card stock and still want the option to purchase it. I don't blame anyone for not ordering it from us due to the added shipping expense.
If you do not order card stock, our international shipping rate is $13.95 flat- no matter how large the order. We have had customers order over $1000.00 in stamps, tools, storage boxes, dies, etc... (combining orders with friends,) and the entire order shipped for $13.95.
We are always searching for ways to cut shipping costs for our customers. I am so sorry to everyone that our card stock shipping costs are not lower. But I assure you, we are only charging exactly what we are paying, not a penny more. We appreciate our customer's feedback and will continue to try to find ways to cut shipping costs in the future for our international customers. And, if anyone knows of better shipping options, please let our customer service dept. know. We truly appreciate that kind of feedback that helps everyone!
Hugs,
Gina K.
__________________ Be polite to those who are rude to you. Not because they are nice, but because you are.
Owner- Gina K. Designs
Well explained Gina!! I have only ordered from you once or twice, and it was easy peasy. To the OP, I also only ordered from PTI once, and it was fine, very easy, but it was a couple of years ago. I do hear that they have gone downhill since then. I won't take that chance.
Another vote here for Gina K's cardstock and service! I love having the choice of the layering weight in addition to the base weight (I know this is available for the white and ivory, but don't recall with other colors). Really nice product offerings!
This whole thing reminds me of High Hopes stamps....
TBH I help run a website (non craft related) and it is a PITA and we don't sell anything.
I order from GinaK and Clear Dollar Stamps often enough and they are easy to operate. Clear Dollar Stamps even has a wish list facility. Love that.
Hope PTI sort it out.
TBH I used to love Hero Arts then couldn't stand anything they put out for about 3 years and now I am back in love with them again so I think companies can turn things around.
I don't know exactly what PTI's problem is, but I hope they work it out.
This whole thing reminds me of High Hopes stamps....
TBH I help run a website (non craft related) and it is a PITA and we don't sell anything.
I order from GinaK and Clear Dollar Stamps often enough and they are easy to operate. Clear Dollar Stamps even has a wish list facility. Love that.
Hope PTI sort it out.
TBH I used to love Hero Arts then couldn't stand anything they put out for about 3 years and now I am back in love with them again so I think companies can turn things around.
I don't know exactly what PTI's problem is, but I hope they work it out.
Just as an aside since the company was mentioned. High Hopes has been purchased by new owners. I know there were issues in the past, but things got better once they started selling only wholesale. I believe the new owners might be taking retail orders again now, too. The new owners are great people and I wouldn't hesitate to order from them. :grin:
I also had some issues with them about a prize I won and didn't get.
I decided, not to buy from them anymore.
I thought, it would be very hard for me.
But it is so easy. Being so heavily disappointed, I really do not like their products anymore.
So, for me all the hocus-pocus has lost its magic.
I was a "lurker" in PTI for over a year before ever placing my first order and i loved the stuff i got except they were having all their ink issues so i ordered a couple cubes of the pallet ink..the noir and one other color... now i know that most computers are different with color so i checked on 3 differnt computers before ordering what i thought was going to be a pretty aqua/teal color (cant remember the name :/) when i got it and used it ..it was almost like a dark almost forrest green color- so i emailed Customer Service to see if maybe it was a mistake and the response i recieved was "no there was no mistake..most customers are happy with that color and explain it as a true papertrey ink teal" im sorry but htere was nothing teal about that color..i shoved it in a drawer and never use it now..:/ there are a few things there that i DO want and i probably will order at some point in the future but i will in no point consider myself a loyal customer and their new website is HORRIBLE! theres no navigation at all..you just have to keep scrolling and scrolling.. and if you try to click on the gallery almost all of the sets are linked to teh incorrect gallery... gah!! also i was making a cart the other day and halfway through (like 10 items in cart!) everything disappeared...i had to start over again which completely frustrated me...im gonna get the handful of stamp sets they have that i want but after that...yeah im gonna research other companies..
I feel sorry for the owners. The ink debacle was the beginning of troubles that have closed many shops....... quality of the products we stampers use has gone south, and we can't blame the Retailers for that. The Retailers are all stuck with shoddy products we return, and the manufacturers are sticking to their story that nothing has changed when in fact the changes have been HUGE.
Many, probably MOST, on-line shops are held hostage by the developers of their web sites. If the design is a failure, it isn't as if the Owners of PTI can fix that themselves. Whoever does their web site work has to have the resources to fix the problems, and there is every possibility fixing the web site problems could bankrupt the PTI owners and/or the site developers.
Bottomline, we're not privy to what's really happening at PTI but I'm 100% positive it' not just intentional sloth that keeps their web site nearly impossible to use. Jumping ship when they are in trouble doesn't seem the right choice, but then the right choice is so seldom the EASY choice. It's just that the right choice, in this case, takes a whole lot more time than most of us have for shopping the items PTI carries.
If you've looked at their Gallery lately you've probably noticed some pages have large advertisements for pharmaceuticals like Viagra, near the bottoms of the pages. You KNOW that wouldn't be the choice of the Owners of PTI.
Bahb, I hardly know where to begin with your comments. Any poorly run shop would love you on their side as you are perfectly comfortable absolving them of all responsibility. Blame the manufacturers. Blame the website developer. And yet hundreds of companies manage to have excellent products, excellent websites, and excellent customer service. Someone makes the executive decisions at PTI and at every other company. If suppliers, developers, and manufacturers are not providing a company with excellent products and services, then it is up to the owners or whoever is in charge to rectify the situation. To expect customers to stand by patiently and pour money into their company while they allow the problems to compound themselves into infinity is irresponsible to an absurd degree.
I have never ordered from PTI- I have a couple of the sets from a resale.....but- when they were at CHA a couple of years ago (in Chicago)- the line to check out was an hour wait all day long......I was looking at the products and decided not to take the plunge- an hour wait was too long for me....... There were ALOT of people who were waiting for an hour though....... I think it was saying to me alot of people love this store and their products.
I did not go to CHA in Chicago last summer- the paper crafting section was small....
I am always sorry to see companies have problems or shut down. I like to see the smaller vendors stay healthy. Have all of you who are unhappy addressed the issues to the owners of the company?
Have all of you who are unhappy addressed the issues to the owners of the company?
Shelly
Most of the customers claim about a horrible customer service.
So, yes, I tried over two months to get my problems solved.
It took weeks, to get answers and once they even lied to me.
And in the end, it was all my fault.
I had also issues with other companies. Nobody is perfect.
But I was treated in a completly other manner, even if they could not help me
But they took me serious. And that is all I want.
If you've looked at their Gallery lately you've probably noticed some pages have large advertisements for pharmaceuticals like Viagra, near the bottoms of the pages. You KNOW that wouldn't be the choice of the Owners of PTI.
I haven't seen any ads at all in the PTI gallery. Ever. I don't even see a space for them.
I haven't seen any ads at all in the PTI gallery. Ever. I don't even see a space for them.
This happened night before last, when I was looking in their Gallery at the Enjoy the Ride cards and at the Harvest Berries cards. The thumbnail photos were so small, I couldn't really tell what was on the cards, and clicking them didn't zoom them as usual. I honestly think their problems are all web site related. Why else would they still have descriptions for one thing but the photo for another, so you don't know if you'll get what the picture shows or what the blurb describes? And why else would you have many items listed twice, one right after the other?
When a company has IT problems, it isn't as if any kind of change can happen fast, unless their Web Developer has nothing else to work on. And untangling web design problems can be a huge resource expense........time, personnel, money.
This happened night before last, when I was looking in their Gallery at the Enjoy the Ride cards and at the Harvest Berries cards. The thumbnail photos were so small, I couldn't really tell what was on the cards, and clicking them didn't zoom them as usual. I honestly think their problems are all web site related. Why else would they still have descriptions for one thing but the photo for another, so you don't know if you'll get what the picture shows or what the blurb describes? And why else would you have many items listed twice, one right after the other?
When a company has IT problems, it isn't as if any kind of change can happen fast, unless their Web Developer has nothing else to work on. And untangling web design problems can be a huge resource expense........time, personnel, money.
Gosh, have you run your antivirus or antispyware lately? I don't think they have ads enabled in the gallery-- and I think it's on a separate platform from the store. (I think it's linked to the message board.)
(And we are talking about the gallery linked to the forum? Here?)
PTI may not have implemented their website, but ultimately they are responsible for it. They did not just cut a website developer loose to do a complete redesign. Someone on PTI's side would have (or at least should have) been directing the ship, outlining how they want the site to function, appear, navigate, etc. The developers are just the ones to make that vision a reality.
And the timing of the release and lack of testing prior also all falls on PTI. No one held a gun to their heads and forced them to switch over to the new site before it was ready and right before a release.
__________________ Traci
Who needs tattoos? I already have ink in strange places...
Gosh, have you run your antivirus or antispyware lately? I don't think they have ads enabled in the gallery-- and I think it's on a separate platform from the store. (I think it's linked to the message board.)
(And we are talking about the gallery linked to the forum? Here?)
I didn't go to the Forum because I didn't want to register. On one page, maybe a description of a stamp set, there was a place to click on to see the Gallery for that stamp set. I had been on the site a few days before and couldn't find a way to get to any Gallery, so maybe work on the web site is in progress.
My SuperAntiSpyware says my computer is clean. BUT I'm asking in a computer-techie Forum if my computer could cause national ads to come on a web site's pages, and if so, how do I fix it. Skynacho could be right, for all I know.
Last edited by Bahb; 06-06-2012 at 10:46 PM..
Reason: Fixed format.
Farewell to PTI
