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Ok - I am sure that this post will bring out the yuckies - but let's try to keep it friendly. I know that there are a lot of SU! loyals out there - but don't take it personally.
I think that the way SU! handled their retired list mistake was horrible! They did not even post an apology or anything. I had $1200 worth of orders that quickly dropped to $280. I understand that they could not possibly offer all of those sets for 50% off - but to just sweep it under the carpet and then put it all on the demos. I feel very angry!
I completely get that mistakes happen and people are not perfect, but where is the good quality customer service and demo support that we hear so much about?
Was anyone else as disappointed at the way they handled (or did not handle) the situation?
I'm not surprised at the way they handled it. They didn't want to bring any more attention to the mistake. A few people saw the error, but so many more would see the apology.
I guess I'm not disappointed because they handled it the way I expected them to. Had I really been counting on getting the stamps at 50%, then yeah, I probably would have been a bit miffed. Please don't take this the wrong way, because it is not my intention to be disrespectful in any way, but you knew yourself it was too good to be true (as you noted in your post). You probably should have been telling your customers from the get go that it was 99.9% likely to be an error, and that you couldn't take any 50% off sales orders until it was definitely confirmed from SU!
Let's say it had been legit... Wouldn't you demonstrators have been given some sort of forewarning? Even if they wouldn't tell you exactly what the sale was I would assume they would have built up some excitement before it coming out with "GET READY FOR RETIREMENT!" messages or something like that....
I'm not a demo, just a customer posing a few questions and observations.
I thought it was odd that people would have expected to get 50% off the retiring list. It was not like they posted it and then changed their minds, it was just the way people interpreted a confusing web page. It seemed opportunistic to me that people wouldn't clarify it without getting all excited about an order. I think they handled it fine and I am not a demo, just a customer who has never been disappointed in their customer service. We have received so many neat opportunities over the past several months: free shipping, sellabration sets, 50% off sets. Really! It bites my butt that people complain about their customer service.
This is probably the wrong day for me to respond to this, I should go eat some chocolate.
I am sorry you are so upset & that your orders "dropped". I take it you are referring to the "TaskBar Incident". SU never said that their retired sets would be 50% off, (nor has the retired list ever been at a discount).
I think the blue taskbar inadvertantly had the "50% off" in it's title from the March sale, and a few people noticed this & rumors went flying in grand hopes that this would really be true. But the truth was that SU did not say this on the fliers or on their website, so in my opinion they don't really need to apologize just because others were hoping and speculating.
Hopefully you will have some really great orders when the new catalog comes out with all the new things we're speculating about now!
I'm sorry you are upset. I'm not sure what else to say. My perspective on the issue, demo'r or not, is different.
A 50% discount on retiring stamp sets was nowhere on the content of the flier. Myself as a consumer, I still wouldn't consider the error in the browser bar (the title of the web page) as anything more than what I just said: an error in the title of the web page. Not an error on the flier itself or within the promotion offer itself. Therefore, in all honesty, I wouldn't expect even an apology, no matter what company it was.
Some leading rubber stamp companies do not even publish a retiring list. The images are retired and they simply disappear from the company's catalog. Some do release a list to their retail stores, but do not discount the prices to the stores, and therefore, it is at the retailer's discretion on whether or not to offer a discount. Many of them choose not. A retiring stamp does not lose value; it increases in value.
So, business wise, it wouldn't make sense to offer any kind of a discount on something that will only increase in value, especially if the manufacturer has the capability to produce stock on demand on their site, rather than having warehouses filled/over-stocked with discontinued product that was manufactured abroad.
There are also other reasons why a 50% discount on retiring sets would be unwise on the part of a manufacturer, but I'll stop for now.
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
No offense but doesn't this gripe belong on the demo forum, especially since you're talking about orders and such? Is it really neccesary on the general board?
-Lisa
__________________ Wife of one amazing man! Mom of two great boys, two little princesses and a tie-breaker on the way this December!
I think it was an honest mistake on SUs part. The flyer never advertised 50% off retired sets. It was only the page header that had the wrong information. If they had given us something official with the error then they should have honored it, but a page header really isn't anything official (yes, I know it is their website, but it's not like a press release or flyer or anything like that).
No offense but doesn't this gripe belong on the demo forum, especially since you're talking about orders and such? Is it really neccesary on the general board?
-Lisa
I was wondering the same thing...
__________________ I am...Jessica Fierce (aka Shanaynay) I'm looking for my inner athlete, but I'm afraid I may have eaten her.
I remember your original posting and agree with the others: you knew when you took the orders that the retiring sets were not 50% off. NO WHERE in the flyer did it state or even give reference to a discount. I feel that SU didn't have anything to apologize for, their flyer was never incorrect.
I too had a couple of customers ask about the 50% off retirement sets. When I explained that the webpage designer had used the March page in designing the retirement page and just didn't change the title bar, they were totally understanding. They like the rest of us knew that it was too good to be true. Plus they read the flyer and it wasn't mentioned there. You should have told your customers upfront that this was more than likely an error in the title bar. This issue was discussed at length on both the General Board and the Demo Only Forum.
Edited for snarkiness....
__________________ Ashley - Banded 12-13-07 Ask me about it! Start 238 Current 138 Goal 125
Last edited by AshleyAnne; 05-06-2005 at 01:22 PM..
Reason: edited for snarkiness...
As my father always told me "if it sounds too good to be true - it probably isn't". From the first time I heard about this I was certain it had to be an unintentional error - and haven't we all made mistakes. SU is a wonderful company and to think that they would be offering 50% off the retiring sets just doesn't make any good business sense. If they did offer 50% off retiring sets this year, customers would assume that it is going to happen again and they would wait till the new retirement list came out. Sales overall would drop and to make up for a drop in revenue, either the price of the product would have to increase or the company would end up going out of business. And I for one don't want that to happen.
I think that the way SU! handled their retired list mistake was horrible! They did not even post an apology or anything. I had $1200 worth of orders that quickly dropped to $280. I understand that they could not possibly offer all of those sets for 50% off - but to just sweep it under the carpet and then put it all on the demos. I feel very angry!
Lori
Did I miss something??? What mistake???
Sorry, I've been at a track meet all day... and out of the SCS loop!
I have only been a demo for less than a year, yet I know from past experience and a great upline that retired sets are NEVER offered at a discount. I didn't even notice a mistake; guess I was basing my information on past history. I don't think SU needs to apologize because someone jumped ahead in the game without waiting for verification. Sorry you lost money, but that's how it goes in business.
Upsetness breeds upsetness. If you play this to your customers as being something questionable on the part of Stampin Up, you will instill a distrust of Stampin Up in them and lose them as customers. It is important to realize that even at the regular price, stampin up's stamps are a really good deal for wood mounted stamps.
I go to a stamp store and price individual wood mounted stamps about every 6 months just to remind myself of this. I recently purchased a disney stamp for 7.99 that is 1 inch x 3 inches. When they go on sale for 50 percent off, it is a steal. The march 50 percent off stamps aren't really meant for Stampin Up to make money. They help create good will for their customer base and get us all addicted even more to the thing we love to do, stamp.
I'm really sorry that you allowed your customers to think even for a second that this oversight might be a reality. As was stated on the sight the very first night, having the retiring sets on sale would be a completely unprecidented and poor business sense. If you feel your customers need an apology, as a representative of the company, feel free to apologize for them. It was an honest mistake that by no means represents a bait and switch, which would necessitate a change in policy on their part.
Take care. I hope your disappointment passes soon. Go stamp up a few cards. It always makes me feel better. Oh, and a Linder bar doesn't hurt either.
__________________ Life is too short: eat chocolate and stamp up a storm. It will come out OK in the end.
As a customer, I did not believe that SU meant to give anyone 50% off current sets. If they had intended to, it would have clearly stated that within the flyer with the reduced prices listed and special item numbers just for the sale (as they did with the March sale).
I'm sorry that you are still feeling hurt about the incident. I hope that you will be able to put it behind you.
There wasn't a situation as far as I'm concerned. The flier never said the sets would be 50% off and they never have been before. They did things they same way they have every other year.
__________________ Jess Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big your God is!
It to me seems like some people may have been trying to take advantage of an error heading in the web page title. (like what someone had mentioned in the post about the 50% off stamps)
Sad to see that happen, like the other posters here so far. Stampin up should not get the bad publicity for this. It is not deserved. It is one thing if it was in the flyer, but it wasn't.
__________________ Proud Air Force Wife Andi Wrenn
I was thinking the same thing, about them trying to take advantage. They sure tried to get those orders in fast. Heck I'd order the whole list of them for 50% off.
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
Prices were clearly listed on the flyer. The prices did not reflect 50% off and no where on the flyer was 50% off mentioned. People should not have expected 50% off. I don't see where SU did any thing wrong.
__________________ Martha
"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." Jean Shinoda Bolen
Prices were clearly listed on the flyer. The prices did not reflect 50% off and no where on the flyer was 50% off mentioned. People should not have expected 50% off. I don't see where SU did any thing wrong.
(EDITED AFTER RECEIVING AN ANGRY EMAIL WITH A BETTER EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED)
I'm a great customer. I received my flyer by email from my demonstrator. As a customer, I never saw a 50% off sale on the flier. The retiring stamp list created an instant buzz at work. The natural incentive to retiring stamps is to get them before they retire so you don't have to hunt for them later on ebay where the price is usually higher.
Last edited by CardFanatic; 05-07-2005 at 11:51 AM..
Just as an aside, I'm glad this thread is here and NOT in the demo board. I am merely a customer (albeit a VERY good one - lol). I would never check the demo board, but I do have an opinion about this topic (which you can see above!).
Has anyone thought that maybe the person who hacked into the SU website early somehow screwed up the webpage? If they are dishonest enough to hack into a company website, i would put it past them to try and change the page somehow. So.. Maybe it was not Stampin Up's fault after all.
SU! is such a wonderful company. They have given much over the past year. You and your customers need to reflect on this perhaps. In addition to the fabulous promotions and all of the FREE hostess benefits, they also have given to many charitable causes. Ronald McDonald House, Tsunami Relief (Save the Children), Cancer Research - I sure there's more. I would just bet that many demonstrators and customers can not or do not give personally to charity. It makes me happy to feel that I have contributed to these worthy causes by purchasing from SU!
They do all this and yet offer very reasonable prices (even without a discount). Please give them a break. Explain to your customers about the mistake and ask for their understanding and forgiveness.
Part of your obligation as an employee is to be loyal and supportive. That does not mean you have to agree 100%, just that you will uphold their way of doing business. If you feel you can not do this, you should consider seeking employment with a company that you feel more comfortable with.
As for the money you felt you lost, I think you may have overshot your expectations in a moment of excitement. We all have pipedreams sometimes. You will have great sales with the new caty and holiday promos coming up - if you can regain your enthusiasm. That's what I hope for you - don't give up - this can have a great outcome if you make it so.
Although I am not a demo for SU. I must say that SU is not obligated to accept the orders. I saw the flyer and didn't see anything about 50% off the retired stamps. I think that was a clear sign and I think also you could have either checked with your upline, sideline, or another demo to make sure it was correct. Even better to call SU to make sure. It doesn't hurt to double check and just make sure you are telling your customers correct information. I don't even remember the last time that SU ever put their retired stamps on sale.
Nicole
__________________ Nicole L.
The Angel Company Demonstrator #1260
Team Leader of The Elegant Diva Stamp Angels! Email
Has anyone thought that maybe the person who hacked into the SU website early somehow screwed up the webpage? If they are dishonest enough to hack into a company website, i would put it past them to try and change the page somehow. So.. Maybe it was not Stampin Up's fault after all.
Marcy, the website wasn't hacked. Some enterprising demos apparently figured out what to type in the URL. Now, you can type anything you want in the URL of your computer. You could type a mistake and get a weird website, right? Well, someone tried a URL and it brought up the Retired List early. Just like a day early. This means it was on the server but the link wasn't activated yet. Hacking is something different, if someone had gone into the website (hacked) and CHANGED the retired list, posted a false one, that's hacking.
My geeky DS set me straight on that one. Frankly, I'm the computer neanderthal of the house.
Anyway, all water under the bridge now.
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
"Part of your obligation as an employee is to be loyal and supportive. That does not mean you have to agree 100%, just that you will uphold their way of doing business. If you feel you can not do this, you should consider seeking employment with a company that you feel more comfortable with."
I am not an employee of SU! - check you demo manual. I am a demonstrator that sells for this company. You are right in that I do have certain obligations and responsibilities. And, so do they!
I guess I knew when I posted the original message that this would happen - so I have no one to blame but myself.
First, thank you to those who merely posted opinions regarding the issue. I did see some of the merit in that the flyers did not have the price etc.....
But, I am sadened by the number of such ugly posts. The ones in which people made personal comments and judgements.
I am not trying to get something for free and I did tell my customers that it was probably not true.... so many of you just assumed that I did not. My point was that I was left alone to deal with this when a simple note from SU! would have smoothed the issue.
I would like to point out a few things...
- this is on the demo board as well - but SU! has "no comment"
- I just wanted to see if I was the only one that felt slighted
- I don't think people seeing something advertised is "taking advantage" I guess there are many people who do not see the title of a page as an ad. I will remember that the next time I read the Sunday paper.
I hope that no one thinks that I am only looking for people to agree with me and that if you don't I do not want to hear from you. That is not the case, but "oh, for Pete's sake" do we really need to add such rudeness to our posts. I mean "good grief".
I will never never never post on this board again. The attacks just are not worth it. I think that some of us check our tact and professionalism at the keyboard.
I received many many many private messages from people who were afraid to post here in fear if the flames.
Whoever posted the page probably should have checked it out before posting to the live server. As an IT person in my office, I know that even if the link isn't published, that nothing should go on a live web server until it's correct, but mistakes do happen. I peeked on Saturday (I admit it) and noticed the title bar on the page but figured out what was the issue.
I could see how people might honestly mistake the retired list as 50% off, but ultimately, I equated the mistake with the same as if in a store, someone had placed a regular priced item on a shelf with a sign that said 50% off. I know I've picked up things from the "clearance" rack at Target only to find out checkout that it wasn't supposed to be there and was full priced. Was I disappointed? Sure, but hey, it happens.
I do agree with the Lori, that I too found it odd that SU didn't give a better explanation -- to at least the demos -- about the mistake. The only notice was that fliers which reflected accurate pricing and order numbers were now posted. Any demo who missed the title bar issue altogether probably would have had no clue if a customer mentioned the 50% off.
Those who've been with SU and are familiar with its practices and policies were probably fairly sure that the "discount" wasn't true and those who are computer-savy would have probably known why, but there are lots of folks out there who aren't either and could have seen the page and been mistaken. Let's also remember, that May 1 was a Sunday, so technically the mistaken title bar was actually "public" for a day before the mistake was fixed on Monday morning. I remember checking the site on Sunday, May 1 to see if it had been corrected.
No offense but doesn't this gripe belong on the demo forum, especially since you're talking about orders and such? Is it really neccesary on the general board?
-Lisa
Is it really that secretive? She's asking for a general opinion. *shrugs*
__________________ "Just because it's unexplicated does not make it unexplicable." - HOUSE
SU is a wonderful company and to think that they would be offering 50% off the retiring sets just doesn't make any good business sense. If they did offer 50% off retiring sets this year, customers would assume that it is going to happen again and they would wait till the new retirement list came out. Sales overall would drop and to make up for a drop in revenue, either the price of the product would have to increase or the company would end up going out of business. And I for one don't want that to happen.
You have a very valid point, one of the first I've seen on this particular thread that didn't jump to emotional ties with a company. :/ There are some people who would most definitely wait till a set retired, but... I don't think it would cause SU to go out of business. From a marketing perspective, SU could very well offer the retiring sets at a discount and do just fine because of a couple of reasons:
1) People never know beforehand which sets WILL retire. There are some sets in the catolog that have been there for YEARS. Most people won't wait that long for something they really want.
2) DIscounts on clearanced items are standard for 90% of all businesses. It's an inventory issue. How do you move items you no longer wish to sell- give a discount.
3) Stampin' Up customers are pretty loyal (from what I've gathered). There's a certain brand loyalty. If people know that they may get a discount sometime in the future, there are some psychological changes that actually make them want to spend more than they originally would have without the sale. Think about it...how many times have you bought something that you otherwise wouldn't have because it was "on sale"??
Just my thoughts!
__________________ "Just because it's unexplicated does not make it unexplicable." - HOUSE
I believe one big difference here is with item #2. Stores get stuck with merchandise, whereas SU! makes their own stamps, so they just don't make large lots of them, esp. once they retire. So it's not so much of a clearance sale.
You know it IS funny that people were ready to spend a lot of money for half-price sets but when you tell them it's not on sale, they don't spend nearly as much. Like, if they had the money why not? LOL People are just funny that way. The hunt for a bargain, I guess.
If I knew SU! had retired sets on sale every year, I would buy very little during the year. (Especially if it was 50% off!) Well, at least as a customer, I would. Demos don't want retired sets because they don't want to demo them.
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
I could see how people might honestly mistake the retired list as 50% off, but ultimately, I equated the mistake with the same as if in a store, someone had placed a regular priced item on a shelf with a sign that said 50% off. I know I've picked up things from the "clearance" rack at Target only to find out checkout that it wasn't supposed to be there and was full priced. Was I disappointed? Sure, but hey, it happens.
This is a very good comparison....Really, how may times have you seen things on the wrong shelf in a store.....even if the store's employee stocked the sheleves and put the wrong signup....it still doesn't mean it is on sale. The flyer included prices....which made it ever so obvious that they were not on sale.
I think we may be missing the original point here which was not necessarily if they (SU) should have honored the 50% off but rather should they have been more proactive in helping demos out there on the limb with their customers angry with them. I know they were not obligated to do so but I think the point she was trying to make was that an official word from SU saying no there is no 50% off would have been helpful.
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Last edited by mightymouse; 05-07-2005 at 01:57 PM..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stampin Wrose
You know it IS funny that people were ready to spend a lot of money for half-price sets but when you tell them it's not on sale, they don't spend nearly as much. Like, if they had the money why not? LOL People are just funny that way. The hunt for a bargain, I guess.
Call me jaded (or just Jade...that would be a cool name...), but I also wonder if the intent was to turn around and sell them on Ebay. I know that when I was discussing the retiring list with my dh (who is an entrepreneur at heart), he suggested that I should buy a few to sell on Ebay since they would be 50% off (I don't know why he made this assumption...I had told him nothing about the task bar!!).
My point is, if he thought about it, likelihood is that many others thought about the same thing.
Of course, IMO, all the MORE reason for SU! to not sell their retiring sets at a discount...
That's just my view point on the whole topic.
__________________ - Karen, mom to the gnome and the little cupcakes! Yep, I got A GIRL!! Fear is that little dark room where negatives are developed. - M. Pritchard
I will never never never post on this board again. The attacks just are not worth it. I think that some of us check our tact and professionalism at the keyboard.
Ok, no offense, but I totally saw this (the never never coming back thing) coming the moment I read the original post. I knew the responses were going to get ugly (and I think you did too, as you mentioned something originally about "bringing out the yuckies").
This whole issue has just been blown completely out of hand. Like someone said earlier (mamak maybe? can't recall) I saw the 50% banner, and didn't for one millisecond think "WOO HOO! Cheap stamps!" It's unfortunate that your customers dropped their orders, and I'm sorry SU! didn't give you the response you were looking for. Further, it's unfortunate that some of the replies here are perhaps a little more harsh than one would hope, but at the same time it seems kind of petty on your part to throw away a resource as valuable as SCS over such a petty matter. You're only hurting yourself.
Not SU's problem
