Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request

Subject: Feeling ignored
From: michaelr
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 08:25 PM

OK, now I'm getting peeved.

Being the good little Mudcat supporter I am, I recently requested some CDs I want to buy through the Mudcat's Product Request. I've had no response, not even a "got your message, looking into it".

A week later I PM'd Dick Grenhaus to find out whether he'd gotten my request. Again, no reply.

And just now, I posted to the Help and Trouble Forum to say "this is a bit lame"... AND THE THREAD DISAPPEARED!

What the hell is going on here?

Michael

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: Jeri
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 08:32 PM

This thread?
Don't have a clue about the other stuff.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: Ebbie
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 08:41 PM

I've ordered through Dick G several times and always had good service. Is it possible he's out of town?

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: Allan C.
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 08:44 PM

When I spoke with him yesterday he had just returned from a festival. Don't know how long he had been gone.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: open mike
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 08:55 PM

and merlefest is this weekend, too.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: michaelr
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 09:15 PM

Jeri, how did you find that? I've checked the Help forum several times, and I don't see my thread.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 30 Apr 04 - 10:04 PM

Aw, c'mon fellers. Yes, I've been at a festival (selling CDs, not being festive.) I've been unloading and inventorying some 2000 CDS, entering credit card slips and ordering stock replenishments. I've also been producing CDs for five different people.
   The Product Request section, while interesting, has turned out to a bit of a problem. I often don't have time to visit it for several weeks at a clip, and the requests there are what's best described as difficult-to-find (read low financial return for time expended) items. This puts me into a position analogous to that of a garage which gets known for difficult problems and ignored for easy, profitable jobs such as oil changes and general tune-ups.

   I'm really pretty easy to contact, either by E-mail ([e-mail]) or by phone (800/548-FOLK <3655>) US or Canada, or 203/531-3355.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 01 May 04 - 03:41 AM

I got v. good service from Dick on the Digital Child I got from him.

I was underwhelmed with the product itself when it arrived, but the service from Dick was first class.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 01 May 04 - 01:56 PM

As a frequent customer let me say that I've never had other than excellent service from Camsco. Response to my orders has always been speedy even though I'm in the UK. Not only that, but Dick has at times advised me when it would be cheaper for me to buy from somewhere else. When I want an interesting album from America it's Camsco for me every time. Burl

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 02 May 04 - 12:44 AM

Me, too, Burl. I wish all of you could have gone through the immense inventory of great stuff Dick brought to NEFFA. You'd all have gone home broke as we did!
    Sandy

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: michaelr
Date: 02 May 04 - 11:41 AM

Well, all that testimony is very nice, but no one has yet said squat about my requests.

Mind you, I know where to get these CDs. I just had this wild idea "hey, let's try the Mudcat thing and help them out". Silly me.

Dick, far be it from me to want to inconvenience you in any way. But you might want to think about taking down the ad that says "if it's on Amazon we can get it for you while supporting Mudcat".

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 02 May 04 - 12:13 PM

NichaelR-

A couple of points. Just got around to reading your requests--two of them are imports, and I'll have to scout around to see if I can get a reasonable price on them. Remember, the UK pound is up to $1.85-$1.90, and overseas shipping comes to about one pound for a jewel case alone. If I can't match or beat Amazon's price, I refer people back to them.


The offending phrase "If it's on Amazon...." isn't mine: neither is the Product Request page, although I seem to be the only one to provide any response whatsoever to it. I'll certainly try to fulfill all requests, but this kind of thing does take time, and I don't always have loads of that.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: Jeri
Date: 02 May 04 - 12:17 PM

Late reply, but...
Michael, the thread (in the Help Forum) was just there when I looked. It's possible your browser was defaulting to an old page in your cache. "Refresh" or "Reload" ought to fix it.

Hey Sandy - I put some money in your pocket! I put some money in Dick's too. Besides the great CDs, I can't wait to try out the Pub Prop for my fiddle - it even has a little doohicky to stick the bow.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: GUEST
Date: 02 May 04 - 01:47 PM

I think the advertisement should be deleted if it's true that it's just too much bother and nobody gets around to checking it. I've also seen plugs about CAMSCO being a source for hard to find recordings. Maybe that should be changed, too, if it isn't worth Dick's time to fulfil those requests. Personally I think Michael is being treated very shabbily. He ought to get an apology. He was only trying to help Mudcat.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: Allan C.
Date: 02 May 04 - 02:29 PM

Camsco is a VERY small company with VERY limited personnel. As I understand it, Camsco makes the majority of its income from sales at festivals. Clearly, one cannot attend festivals and handle shipping requests at the same time. I can't speak for Dick, but it seems to me that if you need something immediately, Camsco may not always be the best choice - especially during festival season. But is waiting a week or so for a response such a big thing? I sincerely doubt that the other companies would bother to tell you that you could purchase a product more cheaply elsewhere. I sincerely doubt that they would go to the lengths Dick does to locate those hard-to-find recordings. I sincerely doubt that the other companies would remember what your specific, favorite, albeit obscure, styles of music are and send you a note notifying you of a recording of that kind that has recently become available.

Someone once said that a good explanation is worth a thousand apologies. I believe Dick covered that very well.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: michaelr
Date: 02 May 04 - 05:14 PM

Thanks Jeri, that must be what happened. I see it now.

And I'm not criticizing you, Dick; I realize yours is pretty much a one-man operation, and I appreciate the good work you do. When I placed my request, it wasn't really clear to me that these things default to you only, and no one else. Guest: No apology is necessary.

I guess in this age of e-mail and internet access, we're maybe getting a little too used to instant responses to our communications. I shall endeavour to adjust my expectations. :-)

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 May 04 - 05:18 PM

Been wondering. How often do we have a public forum full of the vendors' potential customers, as a place to vent frustration about customer service glitches?

~Susan

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: GUEST,Bystander
Date: 03 May 04 - 01:43 PM

Well, Michael tried twice to get an answer privately - he posted a message in the "trouble" section and pm'd Dick. It wasn't until he finally posted in frustration that he received an answer. I don't blame him for posting to the forum. At least now we all know not to use that Mudcat link if we want an answer within a reasonable amount of time, and not to bother Dick with requests for hard to find CD's since he prefers the easy stuff that nets him a profit.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: Allan C.
Date: 03 May 04 - 02:15 PM

I hesitate to bother responding to a nameless Bystander; but here it is:

I don't blame michaelr for posting the tread. We are all pretty much accustomed to extremely rapid responses from most companies with whom we deal. Unfortunately, as we have discovered, this is not always possible at Camsco's one man operation. I do, however, think you do Camsco a disservice through your final statement. Dick is a businessman after all. He will make his best effort toward finding obscure recordings whenever possible. However, sometimes such research involves lots of time on the internet as well as email exchanges, PM's, faxes and even some book research. I think it is reasonable to assume that Dick's time is worth something. Sometimes, in terms of time spent, the process by which a recording can be made available, arrives at a point of diminished returns. Think about it. If you were to spend hours of your time researching the availability of a cassette tape that sells for a profit of $2.00, (or even sometimes at no profit whatsoever,) at what point would you decide that such research was not worth your time?

What if Dick were to tack on charges for his research time? Would you pay it? From what I have experienced thus far in my dealings with Camsco, Dick is the one who often winds up getting the bad end of the deal. Nonetheless, he often goes out of his way to look into such recordings for no other reason (that I can see) than that he loves doing it.

So, yes, do "bother" to ask him to find rare recordings. However, don't be surprised if he should decide that locating such a recording would be more difficult than he could reasonably handle or would cost you more than you might be willing to pay.

Subject: RE: Feeling ignored: Mudcat Product Request
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 May 04 - 03:15 PM

I agree. It isn't that it's not worth Dick's time. It's that he will not incur charges he has to pass on to a customer if Amazon has the item in stock and can give a better price.

~S~