As for PMs, I think sometimes things are better off out in the open. I am not asking for any kind of riot or anything negative. But I do think that if people aren't open and truthful about how they feel it leaves very little room for things to ever get better.
I definitely think there is room for improvement on a lot of the GBs...I think there were a lot of lessons learned here and anyone reading the thread would see that as well..
But people have to remember - you are not buying from a store. These things do take time. They often take a lot longer than people expect...if you're not ok with that, don't go into a GB...
There are plenty of people that will just refuse to buy from a GB..and they'll just try to source it after if they really want it..maybe they can get it later for less..maybe more..but they don't have to worry about waiting months and months...
Unfortunately, more than a few GBs end up being total screw ups...but if you stick w/ the guys that have a good rep, you'll be ok...
I will not address most of this, since I have desire to derail this thread. But I will say that I do know that they are not a business (I even pointed it out in my post). I also know that they took money and set an expectation. And business or not, expectations matter.
I know I sound salty. Perhaps I am. I don't mean to take away from any of the good work that has been done. And that is all I plan on saying on this topic for now.
It's not really about being salty. For better or worse, some huge mistakes were made. Hopefully this will be a learning experience for everyone. Alot of the issues were based on communication and the way ctrlalt's updates were perceived:
* The responsibility of communication was put on the consumer. Customers are asked to either directly contact ctrlalt or read through a forum post for updates. Updates should have been made regularly throughout the process, even if ctrlalt could no longer use mailchimp. The idea that a tech savvy group couldn't send off a couple of blasts even via sendgrid seemed disingenuous.
* The expectation was set multiple times that orders would be fulfilled imminently, followed by a period of silence and the update that there will be a delay. This made it clear that dates were based on hopes rather than reality
* Customers who believed that their orders were being fulfilled were notified that there would be delays while wholesale orders took priority. This should either have been accounted for before making announcements, or phrased in a way that didn't imply that retail orders are less important than wholesale orders.
* The technology for fulfilling these orders was rebuilt after many orders had been placed. The implication being either 1) The technology was never suitable to fulfill all of the orders, or 2) Priority was again taken away from fulfillment for a non-essential purpose.
* The communication that this is *not* a business was reiterated multiple times. After you've taken someone's money, it's unsettling to hear you argue that you're less accountable than previously assumed. At least lay off that topic while you're holding on thousands of dollars of other people's money. In the strictest sense, a business is any entity that hopes to achieve some profit from their current endeavor or similar endeavors that have taken place or are planned, so chances are ctrlalt actually is a business.
There is so much false and wrongly assumed information in that post
But that's my point, isn't it? So much was was unclear.
or too much was assumed
ill try and reply as best as i can but im looking after the baby right now so one finger typing
firstly
one huge mistake was made, and that was not having the sets pre sorted, the reason for this was an honest mistake, we wanted to accommodate as many peoples requests for extra keys as possible, we felt that it was something we could do, but with as many orders as we had, it turned in to a huge job, not just about time but just logistically in general
any time i gave an update on a timeframe, that is because it was given to me, if i am told something will be done by a certain time, i will of course update that, as i always update any new info, if this is not met, its entirely out of my control, all i am doing is forwarding on information as is requested
i post constant updates on the gb thread, which is where we have always posted updates, we are a group of people on geekhack, i dont post gbs anywhere else, the website is an order form, the gb thread is for information on the gb
nobodies orders were delayed due to wholesale orders, we dont accept wholsesale orders, people are welcome to order as many sets as they like, i assume you are referring to binge and just because he ordered 100 sets, doesnt mean he should be put to the back of the line, he ordered just like everyone else
yeah we have upgraded the site during this period, things like this happen during times when packing isnt possible, and to streamline the overall process
we did not hope to achieve a profit with this and nor did we, what i hoped to achieve was making the keyset i have always wanted and i achieved that, just because we make a nice website doesnt mean this is any different from any other gb, ctrl alt is no more a business than any of these people
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=70595.0https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=66550.0https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=78489.0https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77618.0https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=64915.0https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=75491.0https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=71551.0the website was born out of my reluctance to use google docs which i hate, and we have just improved and finetuned it based on our growing needs as we have gone along
