How long should I wait?

[spazlabz]

First let me explain the situation. My boss bought some non exclusive content for some sites we have that are not a part of our program. The content company is located in Canada so I have made a few calls to them asking for some details that my boss needed. No problem, calls went through, I talked to a friendly helpful person and we made the purchases.

Thats when things started to go wrong. When our content manager went to download the videos everything was fine... but zero documentation. I was asked to contact the company and inquire about the docs... or we can't use the content right?

I tried the same day... no answer at the phone
so I tried for several more days with no answer at the phone at all and on ICQ and not received anything from them there as well. I have watched the contact for this company come on line and go off line for several days but no acknowledgment that they have received any messages from me... ICQ sucks, but where I was getting a menu when i called before, now I am just getting a ring... which I let ring continuously for over a minute and no answer.


so how long should I wait before I call them out on the boards by name?


spaz

[Jim]

Spaz, have you done business with them in the past? By the looks of your post, I would guess no.

I would send one more email giving them 48 hours to answer and then go from there.

[Jim]

One more thing...
Send the same email to every address you can find for them.

[SaucyPanties]

You could always point them to this post and warn them that you are going to release details if they don't play fair...

[spazlabz]

Originally Posted by Jim

One more thing...
Send the same email to every address you can find for them.

when we first started to communicate with them it was after we had set up what we were going to purchase but we had not paid them yet. Multiple e mails to them went unanswered and we determined that their spam filter was deleting our mails. so I don't hold out much hope for the e mail to bring much success. It is the first time our company has done business with this company


spaz

[spazlabz]

Originally Posted by SaucyPanties

You could always point them to this post and warn them that you are going to release details if they don't play fair...

That's great advice. before this thread was a minute old I had sent the URL to my bosses and to the contact I have for this company on ICQ...
no reply


spaz

[GonZo]

I would have already busted them out.

[spazlabz]

Originally Posted by GonZo

I would have already busted them out.

LOL and they call ME a spaz!!


spaz

[GonZo]

Originally Posted by spazlabz

LOL and they call ME a spaz!!


spaz

I could relate to you a story about a sponsor that purchased an ad on Oprano for $1500. How he waited half way into the deal to tell me that he needed 90 days AFTER the ad ran to pay me.

Then how he would rather to barter content. But he didnt have time to find the content. And when he did in Feburary what he found been running it on clips for sale for 4 months making sure to get that last dollar out of it before he passed it along to me in a non exclusive license.

Then the delay was caused because he had changed book keepers and she could only cut a check.

Sounds like working with some of those Phillipino design companies doesnt it?

All this changed when I got pissed off and told him to not to bother I would just tell the story to the rest of the folks in this business. Then a check arrived for $500 of the $1500.

And all along this person was telling me how his videos were flying off the shelf thats why he was so busy. But yet he could only finally send me a third of what he owed me.

I think what pissed me off more was when he found time to hire a PR person. Im certain his book keeper cut them a check.

Your getting less than the obvious lip service I was getting.

[Allfetish]

I'd probably do what Jim said and also post a message at a forum they frequent with the subject "<COMPANY NAME> Contact me please" explaining that you have a serious unresolved matter and have been unable to contact them by other means. It is also kind of a warning shot that shows what you are about to do.

[Jim]

It's always much better to get them talking again than to blow your load with a post. It's the thread that does the most good. Once the post is out there, there's about a 50/50 chance that you will never hear from them.

[Licker4U]

Whois have a mailing address? Send a certified letter maybe? I know, snail mail sucks when you want answers...Hell, put 'em in the spotlight and watch them squirm

[sabin]

if its a canadian company they might not have the docs at all, and thats probably not illegal in canada. but if they told you they had them and didn't deliver, then its useless to you as a US webmaster and constitues fraud on their part. i think a paper letter is in order and will probably get more attention than a board post.

but if it doesnt pan out, Im sure we'd all like to know who was involved in order to avoid the same problem.

[Useless]

I'm with Gonzo. You've been in business long enough to know when things are going smoothly and when something just isn't right.

[spazlabz]

I wanted to post a follow up to this post and to repeat advice I got a long time ago about making posts like i was leaning towards (you know, stark raving pissed off posts blasting someone who made me angry)

The advice I got was 'never post when your pissed... because a post on a webmaster board is forever and once the milk is spilled, theres no getting it back in the bottle'

Here is the follow up. I called the company today and got a hold of the rep I had been unable to contact previously.

I could not get in contact with him by phone because.... their phone system is in the process of being completely redone and they have gotten many complaints and have complained about it to their providers. It is being fixed.

He never received any of the ICQ messages i sent him as I was not on his list.. we are talking about ICQ here and I was on the phone with him when he added me to his list and received the messages I had sent to him previously he was sincerely apologetic as he prides himself on responding quickly and he had no explanation as to why he didn't get the messages... I did.. its ICQ

as for the missing documents... all the content in question was shot previous to the big 2257 ruckus of 2003. And they have all the necessary documents but the contracts they had at the time adhere very strictly to Canadian laws which means they MUST protect the privacy of their models. After the 2257 stuff hit center stage they amended their contracts so that they would be allowed to give out the docs upon request (I believe but I may be wrong on that point) but the old contracts are already done and cannot be changed.

Their legal info has 13 points to their potential customers. Number 13 is

13- Model IDs and 2257 Documents.

Being a Canadian company, 2257 documents are not available for the content sold here, because of privacy issues.

had we read the legal notices posted on their page we would have not expected the documentation.

Now a word about this company. I was completely unimpressed with them as all this unfolded. But a simple phone that did get through today enabled me to see the strange events that took place and the sincerity of their rep. I was very impressed with how easy he was to talk to, how sincerely bad he felt about the ICQ thing, how uncontrolling he was about this thread (he felt it was my thread and I should say whatever I wanted about them in it) and how positively willing he is to go above and beyond in order to make this right for our company. He wants us to be happy and is willing to do whatever he can within the boundaries of the Canadian laws to make it right for us up to and including a full refund.

This content company, as it so often happens in our industry, was actually something that is not the focus of the company any longer. They have moved on to bigger and better things but still want to take care of those people who have purchased their material. So while this company is almost a side line for them, he treated me as if it was the most important thing he had to do. Hell if I make it to a show this year he and I will be sipping drinks joking about this entire thing. I won't mention the name of the company because there may be doubt about them still even after I made this wordy post, but if they would like everyone here to know just who they are and how impressed I was by their company I invite them to reply.


spaz

[Jim]

Spaz
That seems like a few strange turn of events. One might say, an answer for everything Anyway, I would imagine that you are glad you didn't post anything about the company.

[Chris Corn]

Always nice to deal with great people!

[jackbdirty]

I would just make sure to contact them one more time. If you don't get a reply, forget about them and do business with someone else.

Jack

[oldbrad]

Guess you missed spaz's post above

[Useless]

I'd still flame them for being Canadian.

Originally Posted by spazlabz

The advice I got was 'never post when your pissed... because a post on a webmaster board is forever and once the milk is spilled, theres no getting it back in the bottle'

Surely, you jest.