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Originally Posted by cknutti
Maybe I feel that way because I have to feed dinner to 7 other people every night, and NO ONE ever likes everything I make. And I don't give refunds...
you TOTALLY made me LOL. I couldn't agree more -- and really, when we get down to it...it's PAPER, INK, and STAMPS -- none of it is vital for survival... (well, not entirely, anyway ;) )
I guess it goes to show that you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. That's the double-edged sword of an open forum like Papertrey has. I think it's fair to remember that we are dealing with real people here, so there's no need to bash. I'm just glad I'm not trying to run a company like PTI, because I know I'd fail miserably. Like PTI products? Great. Don't like some or all of them? Fine. No biggie. There are plenty of other places to go. No one is going to like everything about any company. Be honest about what you would like changed, but don't take it personally when a business decision is made that you don't like.
Maybe I feel that way because I have to feed dinner to 7 other people every night, and NO ONE ever likes everything I make. And I don't give refunds...
I've read the entire thread. I've not ordered any of their ink (or if I have, I can't remember and I haven't used it :-)), but I'm sorry for those of you impacted by their decision to discontinue the line. I can understand the frustration you must be feeling.
I'm in the same boat as most of the posters here - get frustrated that things are out of stock, don't like the late night releases...but I love the sneak peeks and the easy order options. I was more disappointed when Nichole stopped designing most of the sets herself and introduced new designers. I've actually bought less since that switch over.
My experience with them has been nothing short of pleasant. My orders arrived in a timely manner. Nothing's been broken or damaged from shipping, the quality of their products is outstanding, and the one issue I had with a stamp set was resolved in a timely and more-than-adequate fashion.
That said though, I hope that those of you caught in the ink situation can get an appropriate resolution that satifies all involved.
As far as returning the inks you have currently, PTI is accepting returns on an individual basis, so you can send an email to customer service to return any pads you don't like. You may not like the way they handle returns or their customer service, which is definitely your right, but it's simply not true that they won't do anything for customers who have defective ink pads.
Actually, I have a different experience. Back when they had the first ink pad change over I had 3 of the too light colors that were "returnable". I followed the instructions and sent them back. Well, I didn't hear anything for about a month and a half. I sent an email and got a reply asking for my purchase info. I emailed back with my email/address/Paypal account/etc.
She could not find the info for one of the ink pads. Now, I only live in one house, only have one Paypal account, and have only 2 email adresses that I could have used. Period. I told the "Pt rep" that ...she still said she could not find the info so she could not refund the ONE ink pad.
I told her that it was not my fault the ink pads were faulty. I was only following their procedure. The product is only available from their website ....how else would I have the ink pad?? I still wonder if they were implying I stole it? I mean, why haggle over $5?
It certainly was not the $ amount...it was the principal. VERY poor customer service. The whole return experience took about 3 months.
The stamp designs are very creative and the samples are top notch. Some of the design team are some of the nicest stampers out there. (Debbie, Niki, and Dawn come to mind)
Without a doubt some of the best talent is on the DT.
I agree their DT is so amazing. That is one big reason why I order from PTI. I am so enabled by them!
I think (from a business stand point) they need to have better control over inventory. In this fast changing, supplier-heavy industry, you need to meet demand and meet demand "now." If this means they need more cash, then they need to maybe bring in another investor/s.
I know I've ordered less and less because this or that item is out of stock. I agree it's very frustrating to put together an order.
I think another place they really need to focus on is their website. Since they sell direct, this is THE only way the customer can buy their goods and their only face to the public. PTI needs to spend money and make that right. I could not even believe they tried to go live with a new site on/near release day. Worst possible business decision you could make.
I think I've suggested this before, but I think PTI needs to have a business school do a case study on them. They have amazing products, but just need some tweaking on the business end. I think they could really grow their business even more. But right now, it's just not right.
I don't even know what to say about that LOL!! And once, someone who was ordering twice actually said she felt guilty about getting free shipping on her second order!! That one blew my mind.
I do love a lot of PTI products, too... but as you mentioned, there are some big issues.
The cardstock is just ok. I can't use my intricate border punches with it which is something I like to use a lot. I got the dots patterned paper and the lines of dots are not straight. Someone else complained about this a while back too. I know most people don't care but when the dots line up on one side of the paper and not on the other side it bugs me. PTI said it was supposed to be that way. Since I don't like them not lining up, I don't like it. I haven't used any more of it (and I think I've had it for a year or more) but I will for things like cricut cutouts or small punched shapes where the unevenness won't show up.
Ah.... I get it! I know what you mean about some of the punches -- my MS punch pretty much would only punch through DP. And I remember the talk about the dotted paper, too!
Personally, I LOVE the cardstock weight, which is why I was so curious . I have some of the patterned paper too but find that I don't use theirs that much so whenever I'm tempted, I put the brakes on!
I agree their DT is so amazing. That is one big reason why I order from PTI. I am so enabled by them!
I think (from a business stand point) they need to have better control over inventory. In this fast changing, supplier-heavy industry, you need to meet demand and meet demand "now." If this means they need more cash, then they need to maybe bring in another investor/s.
I know I've ordered less and less because this or that item is out of stock. I agree it's very frustrating to put together an order.
I think another place they really need to focus on is their website. Since they sell direct, this is THE only way the customer can buy their goods and their only face to the public. PTI needs to spend money and make that right. I could not even believe they tried to go live with a new site on/near release day. Worst possible business decision you could make.
I think I've suggested this before, but I think PTI needs to have a business school do a case study on them. They have amazing products, but just need some tweaking on the business end. I think they could really grow their business even more. But right now, it's just not right.
I can think of other companies also that would and should have this done also.
I'm also not pleased with the tone of some of the responses to questions posted on their Ask The PaperTrey Team board. In my opinion some of them have been downright rude.
.
Good to know I am not the only one who noticed this. It's like if you did not catch the info the first time (which is sometimes buried in the middle of other info) you are an idiot. Very snippy.
If someone was replied to (like some I have seen on the PT forum) from SU....people would FREAK out.
I think this goes to prove that ANYONE can start a business, but not just everyone can run one. YKWIM? (We have seen this MANY times before.)
We are seeing the same problems every month- items out of stock and issues with the web site and ordering. I never did buy any of their inks because of an ongoing problem with it. Honestly, I will not be jumping to buy the new ink either. We know that big companies work on a product for months, even years before they are happy with the results. I have a feeling that switching to a new manufacturer will not be a quick fix.
IMHO, a monthly release does not leave any time for quality control. Even before on month is released they are working on the next one and apologizing for all the issues with the last one.
__________________ Lisa -
Married my sweetheart 1-26-02 Mommy to Hunter 9-3-04 & Hailey 7-26-06
I do use my MS punches on SU cardstock and while it does take a little effort, it works so far every time. Even on black which some people say is thicker. I do like the weight for card bases but I can't afford to buy one brand for bases, one for layers, one for punching, etc.
Yeah, I know what you mean. With SU's new colors coming out, I'm somewhat torn.... I like the heavier PTI but how do I resist those beautiful colors from SU!?!?!
Many companies will not pay for return shipping even if the item is defective.
They better. Or I will never shop there again and spread the word as far as I can!
I got an order from my medical supply company today- and it was wrong. They sent the wrong part, not for my mask. I called, they not only apologized, they put the reorder in right then and added a note for the packers to be more careful this time. AND told me I could throw out the parts they send wrongly. I offered to bring them in the next time I was in town, they said absolutely not, don't worry about it. The order was over 40 bucks at least. Just not for my mask.
If they told me I had to pay to ship the parts back, I would pry still be pitching a fit.
I'm not an every-month customer, but I've placed several PTI orders over the last couple of years and have always been very happy with their products. I have probably 8 or 10 different ink pads - some of the original formula, some of the new pigment - and haven't had any problems with the quality, although some of the colors aren't a perfect match to the cardstock, IMO (a little too dark). There was a bit of a learning curve for me with the pigment inks, but they work fine for me now, and they haven't dried out, either. I had one ink pad where the plastic bottom cracked not long after I started using it, and when I contacted them about replacing it, they were very helpful and responded within a couple of days.
I do wish I'd known they were going to discontinue the inks a little sooner - there are a couple that I don't have reinkers for (like True Black) that I would have ordered, and now they are probably gone, or I'm sure they will be before I'm ready to place another order in a month or so.
Regardless, I will continue to order from them, mostly because I love their stamps! Sorry to hear so many have had bad experiences with them - hopefully they'll take care of some of the problems soon.
OK, I've been reading this thread since it began, considering if there is anything constructive that I can add to the conversation...
Several people have mentioned issues with dies being out of stock. I'm afraid that some people may be remembering the stock issues when PTI first came out with the dies, and not realizing that things have changed dramatically since then. The next month they ordered 3 times more quantity, and still ran out. Each month they ordered more.
So, here we are on the 17th - 2 days after a big release. Reading the previous comments, you'd think that there should be quite a few dies out of stock, right? Well, I just did an experiment. I just now tried to add every PTI die (all 30 of them) to my cart. Amazingly, 29 are in stock, just 2 days after a release! Only the cloud dies were not available. (note to self: remember to empty 29 dies from cart before placing next order)
For those who read all the posts on SCS, StampinUp is obviously having their own issues right now over stocks of their retiring colors, and they've been in business for 20 years, right? AT&T has cut off preorders of the newest generation of iPhone due to unexpected through the roof demand. I don't even have a clue how long AT&T has been in business. It's not just a problem for PTI.
The unfortunate result of today's forms of instant communication (ie forum posts) can be that past issues which made customers unhappy tend to get rehashed over and over, even after the issue that caused the frustration has been addressed and overcome. For some, it seems that their original personal problem with PTI lives on, even if that particular thing is no longer an issue for current customers. (I'm specifically NOT referring to the ink issue right now)
As long as it took me to compose this post about dies, it will take quite a while longer to put in writing my thoughts about the ink situation. Sorry for being off topic regarding the original content of this post, and thanks for reading this far!
What gets me about this ink pad switcheroo is that I was unhappy the FIRST time they switched. I loved the hybrid pads (although aqua mist was pretty useless, lemon tart and sweet blush worked okay) and I don't like pigment inks because of the drying time. This ink switch was supposed to solve all the problems! Glad I didn't order any of the pigment inks! That being said, I love the CS and ribbon, though I agree the CS is really too heavy to use with a lot of border punches. And I do love their stamps! I personally have not had any issues with their customer service, but I know a couple of people who have. All in all, I think they do a pretty good job, considering they are stampers and not MBA's.
What I always wondered about the one person who seems to answer all the CS emails I've ever had to send, or responding to forum questions--is there only one person doing this? Shouldn't there be a larger CS staff? As a CS rep, that is your job, and repeat questions are a part of it. If it's a job you're agreeing to do, do it politely or don't do it at all. I agree that some of the responses have been a little rude. I suspect it's because that person is waaaay overwhelmed, and with no one else to take up the slack, it's no wonder they get frustrated answering questions! PTI- hire more people to help you out! We as your faithful customers deserve at least that!
What I always wondered about the one person who seems to answer all the CS emails I've ever had to send, or responding to forum questions--is there only one person doing this? Shouldn't there be a larger CS staff? As a CS rep, that is your job, and repeat questions are a part of it. If it's a job you're agreeing to do, do it politely or don't do it at all. I agree that some of the responses have been a little rude. I suspect it's because that person is waaaay overwhelmed, and with no one else to take up the slack, it's no wonder they get frustrated answering questions! PTI- hire more people to help you out! We as your faithful customers deserve at least that!
Actually Jenn, who answers most of the emails, is the SWEETEST lady ever. I've had the pleasure to meet her in person as she lives very near to me. I'm sure that she is doing the very best that she can to handle not only questions on the forum, but also answer emails, deal with missing or defective products and all other customer service issues. I also think that she is Nichole's "assistant" and has many duties related to that as well. If responses are a bit short sometimes, I'm certain that all of this is the cause.
I do think (and assume that Jenn would welcome as well! LOL~) an additional CS person is needed, at least part-time around the releases.
PTI is a company. You want to make money from the public, you take your lumps on the internet. But please don't get personal about Jenn, its customer service rep. If you've ever worked with the public, you know that there are 2 sides to every story.
I have also been fortunate enough to meet her. The first word that comes to mind when I think of her is professional. She is also very caring about PTI and its customers. (And she has THE cleanest craft room on the planet).
No one is perfect, but I have 100% confidence in Jenn.
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
OK, I've been reading this thread since it began, considering if there is anything constructive that I can add to the conversation...
Several people have mentioned issues with dies being out of stock. I'm afraid that some people may be remembering the stock issues when PTI first came out with the dies, and not realizing that things have changed dramatically since then. The next month they ordered 3 times more quantity, and still ran out. Each month they ordered more.
So, here we are on the 17th - 2 days after a big release. Reading the previous comments, you'd think that there should be quite a few dies out of stock, right? Well, I just did an experiment. I just now tried to add every PTI die (all 30 of them) to my cart. Amazingly, 29 are in stock, just 2 days after a release! Only the cloud dies were not available. (note to self: remember to empty 29 dies from cart before placing next order)
For those who read all the posts on SCS, StampinUp is obviously having their own issues right now over stocks of their retiring colors, and they've been in business for 20 years, right? AT&T has cut off preorders of the newest generation of iPhone due to unexpected through the roof demand. I don't even have a clue how long AT&T has been in business. It's not just a problem for PTI.
The unfortunate result of today's forms of instant communication (ie forum posts) can be that past issues which made customers unhappy tend to get rehashed over and over, even after the issue that caused the frustration has been addressed and overcome. For some, it seems that their original personal problem with PTI lives on, even if that particular thing is no longer an issue for current customers. (I'm specifically NOT referring to the ink issue right now)
As long as it took me to compose this post about dies, it will take quite a while longer to put in writing my thoughts about the ink situation. Sorry for being off topic regarding the original content of this post, and thanks for reading this far!
I got the dots patterned paper and the lines of dots are not straight. Someone else complained about this a while back too. I know most people don't care but when the dots line up on one side of the paper and not on the other side it bugs me. PTI said it was supposed to be that way. Since I don't like them not lining up, I don't like it. I haven't used any more of it (and I think I've had it for a year or more) but I will for things like cricut cutouts or small punched shapes where the unevenness won't show up.
That was me!! I would love love love that paper if only the dots were straight. I could not get over the fact that the company that prides itself on clean & simple & perfection would purposely wonkify their dots. FYI, the bitty star paper is also wonky.
(ps as always, Gale, love your avatar and siggy quote!)
What I always wondered about the one person who seems to answer all the CS emails I've ever had to send, or responding to forum questions--is there only one person doing this? Shouldn't there be a larger CS staff? As a CS rep, that is your job, and repeat questions are a part of it. If it's a job you're agreeing to do, do it politely or don't do it at all. I agree that some of the responses have been a little rude. I suspect it's because that person is waaaay overwhelmed, and with no one else to take up the slack, it's no wonder they get frustrated answering questions! PTI- hire more people to help you out! We as your faithful customers deserve at least that!
I work for a HUGE worldwide athletic web company and we also have stores. You would know this company.
If you ask a question online - only 1 of 2 people will answer them.
If you do a product inquiry - only 1 of 2 people will call you about the answer.
We employee hundreds of people but these two areas are specific jobs. I do imagine many companies are like this including PTI.
The reason is this way there are consistent answers given each time.
I would rather have one person answering questions and emails than different people giving different answers like I have had with SU when I was a demo. One thing that was talked about on the demo side is that if you call DS and you don't like the answer - then call back and talk to someone else or send another email. To me that type of CS is not good as you know you will get different answers everytime.
Last edited by meluvstampin; 06-18-2010 at 02:26 AM..
Actually Jenn, who answers most of the emails, is the SWEETEST lady ever. I've had the pleasure to meet her in person as she lives very near to me. I'm sure that she is doing the very best that she can to handle not only questions on the forum, but also answer emails, deal with missing or defective products and all other customer service issues. I also think that she is Nichole's "assistant" and has many duties related to that as well. If responses are a bit short sometimes, I'm certain that all of this is the cause.
I do think (and assume that Jenn would welcome as well! LOL~) an additional CS person is needed, at least part-time around the releases.
I need to clarify something.....
When I said replies are sometimes "short", I didn't mean terse or snippy. I meant in length. When you have 100 emails or posts to answer, you sometimes don't have the time to use lots of adjectives. ;)
I agree with Joan. Jenn has always been very professional and MORE than helpful on the few occasions that I have had problems.
When I said replies are sometimes "short", I didn't mean terse or snippy. I meant in length. When you have 100 emails or posts to answer, you sometimes don't have the time to use lots of adjectives. ;)
I agree with Joan. Jenn has always been very professional and MORE than helpful on the few occasions that I have had problems.
To claify my last comment also, I did mean "snippy" but I was not talking about Jennifer Elleson. (sp?)
All that said, lately I'm getting really turned off by PTI. They have grown so much, which is great, but they have NOT staffed for it, until recently. Although from what�s been posted in forums, I can�t say that it�s helped that much.
Their new website launch attempt in May was a complete disaster and the timing was a very poor business decision.
Their inventory management or lack of is very frustrating and my biggest complaint. They obviously know their customer demand since we're going on 5 months of new products (dies, felt, etc.) but still they can't manage to order the appropriate quantities.
The handling of their ink issues has been quite disappointing as well. I�m glad they decided to discontinue their current line of ink but I do think the people that have invested a lot of money in inferior product have a right to be PO�d.
I'm also not pleased with the tone of some of the responses to questions posted on their Ask The PaperTrey Team board. In my opinion some of them have been downright rude.
They've definitely changed from the small friendly customer service oriented business they used to be. They have simply not kept up with their customer growth. Until a few months ago, I felt like Nicole was always there specifically on her blog keep us informed and entertained with her creativity. Now it rarely gets updated outside of the countdowns.
This is exactly how I feel! I just quit ordering the last 2-3 months. It is just too fustrating, feeling like you have to stay up to order if you want to get everything you want on one order. IMO PTI is very fortunate to have such a talented design team...if not for them and their blogs driving me (and I'm sure lots of others) to desire their product so much..I'd have quit ordering a lot sooner because of the fustrations. Now I'm not saying I will never order again, but I have slowed waaaaaayyyy down. And I also agree very much with the customer service issues, (response time and attitude). I spent a great deal of time on trying to fix stamps that had issues with not sticking, finally some of them do stick, but not very well (IMO) and they seem to get worse as time goes on. And why did I have to try and "fix" something that was wrong with their product? Offering a replacement would have been the correct thing to do (Again, IMO!). And the timing of the "attempted" launch of the new website, really, on release night? Glad I didn't stay up.
__________________ Always stampin' with my feline helpers!
If you don't like the ink, don't buy it. If you don't like the paper, don't buy it. If you don't like any of their products, don't go to the site.
There are lots of companies out there that arent my style, or have products that I don't like the look, feel, consistiency, etc...so I just don't buy it. I don't go to their site and complain about it. They are a business and frankly wouldn't do anything to change their line for little ole me and end up having other people who like it mad.
There are plenty of choices out there. Find one you like and move on.
As far as Customer Service, I feel for people like Jennifer in that position. You have to deal with the "Princesses", who think the world revovles around them, the people with too much time on their hands, the rude and nasty people, the people looking for something for nothing, the people who are nice, and the people who are frankly not all "there" upstairs etc.
It is a rough job and sometimes people wear on you. I'm sure with the unexpected increase in business the past three months, the complaint and issues have increased to a full time job that she doesn't get paid for.
If I get a rude response from any Customer Service, first I check my own inquiry to them to make sure I didn't write in a tone that caused the rudeness to begin with (or was interpreted that way).
Knowing that PTI customer service used to be the tops and now it is lacking, and the only change in volume, I can only assume the poor girl is overwhelmed and stressed out and not having the tools she needs/power to make the decisions to fix problems. If all she does is take notes and passes it on to the owners for a decision on what to do about it, that is a huge bottleneck. She should be empowered to do things like send replacements, refunds, certificates, etc to fix problems and keep customers.
That being said...There are only two rules in good business:
1) The customer is always right
2) When they are wrong, see Rule 1
If you don't like the ink, don't buy it. If you don't like the paper, don't buy it. If you don't like any of their products, don't go to the site.
There are lots of companies out there that arent my style, or have products that I don't like the look, feel, consistiency, etc...so I just don't buy it. I don't go to their site and complain about it. They are a business and frankly wouldn't do anything to change their line for little ole me and end up having other people who like it mad.
There are plenty of choices out there. Find one you like and move on.
As far as Customer Service, I feel for people like Jennifer in that position. You have to deal with the "Princesses", who think the world revovles around them, the rude people, the nasty people, the people looking for something for nothing, the people who are nice, and the people who are frankly not all "there" upstairs etc.
It is a rough job and sometimes people wear on you. I'm sure with the unexpected increase in business the past three months, the complaint and issues have increased to a full time job that she doesn't get paid for.
If I get a rude response from any Customer Service, first I check my own inquiry to them to make sure I didn't write in a tone that caused the rudeness to begin with. Especially if the customer service has been known to be excellent and all of the sudden I am getting a rude response. It always ends up being one of two thing: 1) I was rude to them first (or it was interpreted that way), or 2) the person is having a bad day.
In my case I am talking about an item I had already bought. I think most people here are talking about the same. (as opposed to future items...ie.continuing to order when you are not happy with a product)
I imagine some people are doing just what you suggest in taking their money elsewhere. I totally agree with you on that.
We should all be careful what we say about others...I doubt anyone on this thread is a "princess" or is "not all there". (not that you were implying that..just saying.)
I have been on SCS for 6+ years and I have never complained about a company here. I happen to have an issue that really bothered me relating to this topic.
If you don't like the ink, don't buy it. If you don't like the paper, don't buy it. If you don't like any of their products, don't go to the site.
There are lots of companies out there that arent my style, or have products that I don't like the look, feel, consistiency, etc...so I just don't buy it. I don't go to their site and complain about it. They are a business and frankly wouldn't do anything to change their line for little ole me and end up having other people who like it mad.
There are plenty of choices out there. Find one you like and move on.
Many companies depend on consumers providing them feedback on the quality of products carried. If x company has a product that isn't doing so well and consumers provide them feedback that the quality of the product isn't great then the company knows it isn't the product concept itself, but the quality of what is being produced and they can take steps to improve it.
As stampers it's one thing if we choose not to shop with a company becuase it's not our "style". There are plenty of companies that I don't shop with for that reason. However when there is a company's product, for example PTI ink, for me the concept of the product is great because it matches their cardstock/ribbon/buttons/felt, but the quality isn't great so as a consumer if I want them to know that then I will tell them.
For the most part a lot of people on this thread love the concept and "style" of PTI and don't want to see them get to a point where they are failing as a business so we are providing them feedback on how they can make things better for us as consumers.
That being said...There are only two rules in good business:
1) The customer is always right
2) When they are wrong, see Rule 1
I must say I loath the phrase "the customer is always right". I work as part of a team that handle complaints/compliments for my companies retails stores and while I don't actually handle the calls or emails that come in, I get to listen to a lot of them. I could provide you with plenty of examples where the customer is not always right.
That being said...There are only two rules in good business:
1) The customer is always right
2) When they are wrong, see Rule 1
That's right! See, they would not refund one ink pad..that they admit was defective... because they could not locate my email? Paypal account that it was ordered from? (I only have one) Two other ink pads were located.
Obviously, I purchased it from them..you can't get it anywhere else! Not to mention the whole situation took 3 months.
And, yes this really bothered me. I expect to get a good product and if it is not, I expect it to be taken care of.
I think the majority of this thread IS talking about the product quality (ink pads) and customer service issues.
I must say I loath the phrase "the customer is always right". I work as part of a team that handle complaints/compliments for my companies retails stores and while I don't actually handle the calls or emails that come in, I get to listen to a lot of them. I could provide you with plenty of examples where the customer is not always right.
Technically, of course, this is NOT true. However good customer service goes a long way in sales.
This is a quote from a customer service website...
"Waller said this statistic is particularly dangerous for businesses because if a dissatisfied customer can�t express their complaints to a business, they�ll express them through other outlets such as friends, neighbors and family. A typical dissatisfied customer will tell eight to ten people about their problem. One in five will tell 20. �It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for one negative incident,� Waller said. �Seven out of ten complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor. If you resolve it on the spot, 95 percent will do business with you again.�
So, when you are talking about a $6 ink pad, $25 set of stamps it is not a good business strategy.
With that being said....the design team is amazing!
Technically, of course, this is NOT true. However good customer service goes a long way in sales.
This is a quote from a customer service website...
"Waller said this statistic is particularly dangerous for businesses because if a dissatisfied customer can�t express their complaints to a business, they�ll express them through other outlets such as friends, neighbors and family. A typical dissatisfied customer will tell eight to ten people about their problem. One in five will tell 20. �It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for one negative incident,� Waller said. �Seven out of ten complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor. If you resolve it on the spot, 95 percent will do business with you again.�
So, when you are talking about a $6 ink pad, $25 set of stamps it is not a good business strategy.
With that being said....the design team is amazing!
It does go a long way in sales, however companies also need to look at how they handle customer issues and what the risk is to a company. While we look at our issues on an individual basis a company has to look at them on a broader scale at times. It is easy for me to say to a company well it's just $6, but the company may be in a situation where the decision they make will cost them more than $6. Sometimes it is worth it to lose some customers than to possibly lose thousands of dollars in sales/profit.
I don't necessarily have an opinion with have PTI has handled the ink situation. I myself really haven't had any deal with any issues and can't really say what is the best decision for them on how to handle it. The only comment I really have on dealing with customer service at PTI is that I do think they need to add additional people to help address issues and give those people the power to handle most issues and not have to go back to someone else and then have that person respond.
I have a lot of their ink pads and reinkers...many of them still in the plastic they come in..it pains me to think about how much money I have wasted on them. I never use them because of the blotchy look they give when stamped.
blessings.
I must say I loath the phrase "the customer is always right". I work as part of a team that handle complaints/compliments for my companies retails stores and while I don't actually handle the calls or emails that come in, I get to listen to a lot of them. I could provide you with plenty of examples where the customer is not always right.
That's the whole point. In reality, the customer ISNT always right. But in functionality it is required to have a good business, and get repeat customers. You need to follow the mantra that the customer IS always right (even when they are wrong).
For instance, in the example one woman gave above where they bought a defective stamp pad for $5 and was following the protocol to return it, but the company couldn't find her order information....the correct response should have been to please return the pad to the service reps attention directly and she would refund the $5 and work out the database problem on the backend. As the woman said, she obviously bought it at PTI since it isnt sold anywhere else.
I've been in Customer Service for 25 years in some fashion or another. I can tell you that some customers can be irrate before they even get a person on the phone and by the time you answer, they fire away at you. It is very difficult to be called every name in the book, and still remain calm and polite. It is even harder to do customer service by email when you cannot set "tone" very well in writing.
And it is very true that a company depends on feedback from their customers as to their line. But feedback on Splitcoast Stampers on PTI products doesn't do PTI any good. That is complaining and looking for people to co-miserate with, not trying to give constructive feedback to a company.
While there is much room for improvement at PTI, I think they do bend over backwards to make sure they listen to their customers and participate in discussions about how things are going. It is a rough pill to swallow at any time, but they do it month after month trying to make their business better.
They could have just told everyone we're doing what we're doing and that's that. But they never have. They constantly ask for ideas for stamps sets, look for feedback on how to improve, and ask their customer base for criticism. Not may companies anywhere do that.
They are a new company and have many more bumps in the road before they become "big business" like SU. But if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.
I have never bought any PTI ink expressly because of everything I read out here concerning problems with quality! I just recently bought a two stamp sets, and a variety pack of all their 2009 colors in card stock.
The stamp sets are wonderful and give me a good image when I use ink appropriate to clear stamps such as Memento. The card stock is very nice quality, heavy weight, almost TOO heavy for layering. Some of the colors are gorgeous in person, some just aren't my style and will probably make their way to the B/S/T forum here on SCS.
I have no complaints either with my order or the speed of delivery; and I've not had to try to resolve any problems with customer service.
I think it's good they've finally decided to discontinue their ink and want to start over with a new manufacturer. Apparently it was such an inconsistent problem, some users did fine, some awful, some did well with certain colors but not others. That would be a nightmare to try and set a consistent policy for resolving issues and still remain cost effective as a business.
I hope PTI continues to grow and thrive. I think they have great designs and mostly great product to bring to the marketplace. Resolving this ink problem will take time. Hopefully the owners are still trying to figure out SOME way, however small to make it up to the customers who have spent so much money on their ink and not gotten any use of it.
Perhaps some kind of discount, on a sliding scale toward purchase of the new inks when they come out? If you return 10 defective old style ink pads we will give you 20% off the purchase of your first order of the new ink when it becomes available. Return 5 ink pads you get 10% off....something like that.
PTI is a business as many have said, this has to be hurting their bottom line to cut off production and start fresh with a new manufacturer. And it seems apparent they GENERALLY, as a rule, do care about their customers and what to make them happy. It also seems apparent that they may need to increase their customer service staff for the rest of this year and give them power to resolve complaints without having to wait for approval from someone else. At least until the ink pad debacle settles down. Just my two cents.
But in voicing them I didnt start the thread to start arguements or bring down the PTI company. I just wanted to know how everyone felt about the ink pads and your opinions on what I should do. That was before I knew about the announcement.
Personally besides the ink pads, I love PTI's cardstock, stamps, buttons, dies, etc. The ink has been the only fault. I wish they really had been better with responding to my emails but now that they have finally addressed the ink issue I really hope they get it worked out. Personally will I try the new ones, most likely not until everyone else has tried them and at least someone can give some honest feedback on them first.
As far as the thread heading in this direction, these are not my opinions of the company. Theres no reason to argue about 'user errors' or other issues. Im not stepping into this argument at all. I just had allot of frustrations with the ink and now with money that I put into buying there inks only to have them become useless. I hope they do something for everyone who bought their ink, but that remains to be seen.
As for me, I will still order from PTI. I love their cardstock, its really good... very heavy and works well for cardmaking. I have tried Gina K cardstock as well and I really like it to. Although the ink and service to me wasnt the best I will continue to be a customer... maybe just on a more limited basis.
I think what it come down to is that every company has its issues.
Su has issues, PTI has issues and I name several others that have issues.
No company is immune to them.
But it is us customers that have to decide for ourselves if we really want to comtinue to order and deal with those issues.
SU has many faithful customers. PTI has many faithful customers. And that is good.
We choose to order or not to order from any company.
Personally I choose to spend most of my stamping money with PTI now. Before PTi it was SU for me. I still buy from SU but not very much. The style does not fit mine anymore. Maybe with the new catty I will find stamps I like again and if so then i will buy them.
Well said. Im the same way. Every company has issues, its just how they choose to deal with them. I think PTI waited a little too long to deal with the ink issue but I hope it works out for everyone including the customers in the end.
If you don't like the ink, don't buy it. If you don't like the paper, don't buy it. If you don't like any of their products, don't go to the site.
There are lots of companies out there that arent my style, or have products that I don't like the look, feel, consistiency, etc...so I just don't buy it. I don't go to their site and complain about it. They are a business and frankly wouldn't do anything to change their line for little ole me and end up having other people who like it mad.
There are plenty of choices out there. Find one you like and move on.
As far as Customer Service, I feel for people like Jennifer in that position. You have to deal with the "Princesses", who think the world revovles around them, the people with too much time on their hands, the rude and nasty people, the people looking for something for nothing, the people who are nice, and the people who are frankly not all "there" upstairs etc.
It is a rough job and sometimes people wear on you. I'm sure with the unexpected increase in business the past three months, the complaint and issues have increased to a full time job that she doesn't get paid for.
If I get a rude response from any Customer Service, first I check my own inquiry to them to make sure I didn't write in a tone that caused the rudeness to begin with (or was interpreted that way).
Knowing that PTI customer service used to be the tops and now it is lacking, and the only change in volume, I can only assume the poor girl is overwhelmed and stressed out and not having the tools she needs/power to make the decisions to fix problems. If all she does is take notes and passes it on to the owners for a decision on what to do about it, that is a huge bottleneck. She should be empowered to do things like send replacements, refunds, certificates, etc to fix problems and keep customers.
That being said...There are only two rules in good business:
1) The customer is always right
2) When they are wrong, see Rule 1
I have to say to this, you dont know if you dont like something UNTIL you buy it. So thats kinda pointless. And I started the thread to get everyones opinions on their issues with the ink and see what they recommended. Lets not be rude just because people have thoughts and opinions. Thats not where I was going with this thread.
Most definitely time for me to unsub from this thread. I like most of PTI products. I don't like their inks. I don't have much money invested in PTI inks because I only buy one cube and reinker at a time and see if I like them. I have PTI and other company inks that I don't like but hey that is just the way it goes.
I have a lot of their ink pads and reinkers...many of them still in the plastic they come in..it pains me to think about how much money I have wasted on them. I never use them because of the blotchy look they give when stamped.
blessings.
Why did you keep buying them then?
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