Loyalty Discount: HALF OFF all new teams this week
by bernieh » Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:31 pm
I don't know what kind of realistic response I can give to make 100% of you happy.
Giving [i:647e8b959e]everyone[/i:647e8b959e] a refund or free teams is not realistic. Not only is it a logistical nightmare, but no business could survive if they did something like that, period. The analogy that someone brought up about a restaurant giving a customer a free steak because their meal was bad does not apply - the more accurate analogy would be if that restaurant were willing to give free steaks to everyone else in the place at the time, and [i:647e8b959e]everyone[/i:647e8b959e] who [i:647e8b959e]ever[/i:647e8b959e] came in to eat there over the past month, even if there had been nothing wrong with their meal. That restaurant would not be in business anymore.
The accusation that we do not have our customers' best interests in mind is flat-out wrong. This Loyalty - yes, [i:647e8b959e]Loyalty[/i:647e8b959e] - Discount we offered was the most realistic way of making as many of you happy as possible, and not just to appease the upset ones, but also to thank the already-satisfied ones for showing their support. Check this very thread for evidence. Most of you are saying "thanks"... "the gesture is much appreciated"... "a more than fair offer." As far as I can see, this is direct evidence of their best interests being served.
The implication that we offered the discount out of [i:647e8b959e]greed[/i:647e8b959e]? I don't think you realize how dramatic a discount this is. Yes, what we get out of this is is that we keep you playing, but no, this discount is way too steep for us to enjoy a big profit from. So what benefit do we, as a business, get out of this? Again, we get to see [i:647e8b959e]most[/i:647e8b959e] of you happy.
We're not offering the same discount on the new 2006 game because that simply is unrealistic. We're willing to offer the current sale as a gesture, AND we're willing to work out BUTTS off making the best game we can make, but we're not willing to put ourselves out of business. This is as much black and white as it gets - if we offered a similar deal on the new game, we wouldn't be able to sustain the franchise. This is the end of the story. There will be the already-discounted 5-pack available - which wasn't even available before the middle of the last year.
The accusations flying around that I, as a developer, or The Sporting News, as a company, have ulterior motives is also, frankly, insulting. Someone quoted back to me something I said about putting you existing customers first - well, I don't know how I can be working any harder towards fulfilling that goal, or for The Sporting News to be more unfailingly devoted to your best interests. I don't have to be spending my nights working on the new game, personally addressing customer issues, and ignoring my wife and kids, but I am. TSN didn't have to introduce the discounted 5-pack last year, but they did. And they didn't have to invest in more resources for Strat-O-Matic than ever before this year, but they did. Trust me, if all TSN were interested in was the bottom line, they would be spending my salary on fantasy football.
The fact that we are spending so much effort on the SOM franchise means that WE CARE.
Thank you.
Giving [i:647e8b959e]everyone[/i:647e8b959e] a refund or free teams is not realistic. Not only is it a logistical nightmare, but no business could survive if they did something like that, period. The analogy that someone brought up about a restaurant giving a customer a free steak because their meal was bad does not apply - the more accurate analogy would be if that restaurant were willing to give free steaks to everyone else in the place at the time, and [i:647e8b959e]everyone[/i:647e8b959e] who [i:647e8b959e]ever[/i:647e8b959e] came in to eat there over the past month, even if there had been nothing wrong with their meal. That restaurant would not be in business anymore.
The accusation that we do not have our customers' best interests in mind is flat-out wrong. This Loyalty - yes, [i:647e8b959e]Loyalty[/i:647e8b959e] - Discount we offered was the most realistic way of making as many of you happy as possible, and not just to appease the upset ones, but also to thank the already-satisfied ones for showing their support. Check this very thread for evidence. Most of you are saying "thanks"... "the gesture is much appreciated"... "a more than fair offer." As far as I can see, this is direct evidence of their best interests being served.
The implication that we offered the discount out of [i:647e8b959e]greed[/i:647e8b959e]? I don't think you realize how dramatic a discount this is. Yes, what we get out of this is is that we keep you playing, but no, this discount is way too steep for us to enjoy a big profit from. So what benefit do we, as a business, get out of this? Again, we get to see [i:647e8b959e]most[/i:647e8b959e] of you happy.
We're not offering the same discount on the new 2006 game because that simply is unrealistic. We're willing to offer the current sale as a gesture, AND we're willing to work out BUTTS off making the best game we can make, but we're not willing to put ourselves out of business. This is as much black and white as it gets - if we offered a similar deal on the new game, we wouldn't be able to sustain the franchise. This is the end of the story. There will be the already-discounted 5-pack available - which wasn't even available before the middle of the last year.
The accusations flying around that I, as a developer, or The Sporting News, as a company, have ulterior motives is also, frankly, insulting. Someone quoted back to me something I said about putting you existing customers first - well, I don't know how I can be working any harder towards fulfilling that goal, or for The Sporting News to be more unfailingly devoted to your best interests. I don't have to be spending my nights working on the new game, personally addressing customer issues, and ignoring my wife and kids, but I am. TSN didn't have to introduce the discounted 5-pack last year, but they did. And they didn't have to invest in more resources for Strat-O-Matic than ever before this year, but they did. Trust me, if all TSN were interested in was the bottom line, they would be spending my salary on fantasy football.
The fact that we are spending so much effort on the SOM franchise means that WE CARE.
Thank you.
Last edited by bernieh on Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by Detroit-Tigers » Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:37 pm
Stop whining and say "Thank you for the Discount".
/support Bernie
/support Bernie
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by bernieh » Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:42 pm
Thanks for the support, Detroit-Tigers, but just to make it clear - our position is not "shut up and say thanks." I do acknowledge that some of you were inconvenienced last weekend, and we wish we could erase that from history. But given the no-win situation, I believe the sale we are offering is the best, and most sincere, way of making as many of you happy as possible. I believe that is the most that can be expected given the circumstances, and many of you are even saying we went above and beyond.
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Amen, Bernie!
by teepack » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:08 pm
When your AOL goes out for six hours, does AOL give you a credit on your bill? No.
When your cable TV goes out for a Saturday afternoon, right in the middle of your college football team's game, does your cable company give you two free months of service? No. Do they stop the football game so that you won't miss any of it? No.
When your phone line gets cut and you have no phone service one evening, does your phone company give you 50 percent off your next six months of service? No.
In fact, you normally don't even get any kind of explanation from any of them when there is a service interruption, and they certainly never make any kind of offer to their customers to try to make up for it. Something happened that was beyond TSN's control. They fixed it as quickly as they could and made up for it the best way they knew how. Some customers were inconvenienced more than others, but that's life sometimes. You just deal with it and move on.
Give these poor guys a break. If you are unhappy, you can always take your fantasy money and spend it elsewhere.
When your cable TV goes out for a Saturday afternoon, right in the middle of your college football team's game, does your cable company give you two free months of service? No. Do they stop the football game so that you won't miss any of it? No.
When your phone line gets cut and you have no phone service one evening, does your phone company give you 50 percent off your next six months of service? No.
In fact, you normally don't even get any kind of explanation from any of them when there is a service interruption, and they certainly never make any kind of offer to their customers to try to make up for it. Something happened that was beyond TSN's control. They fixed it as quickly as they could and made up for it the best way they knew how. Some customers were inconvenienced more than others, but that's life sometimes. You just deal with it and move on.
Give these poor guys a break. If you are unhappy, you can always take your fantasy money and spend it elsewhere.
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Tee:
by FoggyOne » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:24 pm
Actually, cable companies WILL give you a pro rata discount for service interruption (other than as a result of weather) if you ask.
On Long Island, I've gotten a free month or two when they have a software glitch and my "on demand" service didn't work for a few days. I complained (I was cranky then), got a supervisor on the phone, got a pro rata discount for missed days on the service and 2 months free.
So, I disagree. Like nearly everything in this generation, you get BUBKUS unless you ask for something. Generally, these transactions are small and service providers trust that ordinary people won't take the time to make a stink. I wouldn't have made a stink with LARGE CABLECO unless my internet service wasn't adversely affected (HORRORS!).
Not that this is germane to the current subject. TSN has stated that insofar as 2006 is concerned, the answer is BUBKUS in any event (except of you have no credits left, buy one and port it over to 2006.....I think).
Cheers :)
On Long Island, I've gotten a free month or two when they have a software glitch and my "on demand" service didn't work for a few days. I complained (I was cranky then), got a supervisor on the phone, got a pro rata discount for missed days on the service and 2 months free.
So, I disagree. Like nearly everything in this generation, you get BUBKUS unless you ask for something. Generally, these transactions are small and service providers trust that ordinary people won't take the time to make a stink. I wouldn't have made a stink with LARGE CABLECO unless my internet service wasn't adversely affected (HORRORS!).
Not that this is germane to the current subject. TSN has stated that insofar as 2006 is concerned, the answer is BUBKUS in any event (except of you have no credits left, buy one and port it over to 2006.....I think).
Cheers :)
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by FRANKMANSUETO » Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:16 pm
Thank you for a response Bernie. I realize that you have been VERY busy, especially the past few weeks.
A few pages back, I did say I appreciated all of your help AND thanked you for it as well.
I understand wholeheartedly your/TSN's position in this matter. I may not agree with it, but I see where you are coming from.
So not that it matters to TSN, but I won't be taking advantage of the discounted 5-pack, because I already have a credit that I would like to transfer to the 2006 game. Having 5 more credits while the 2006 game is out, is useless to me.
I WOULD buy a 5-pack in the near future ONLY if I could use these credits for ANY Stratomatic game.
A few pages back, I did say I appreciated all of your help AND thanked you for it as well.
I understand wholeheartedly your/TSN's position in this matter. I may not agree with it, but I see where you are coming from.
So not that it matters to TSN, but I won't be taking advantage of the discounted 5-pack, because I already have a credit that I would like to transfer to the 2006 game. Having 5 more credits while the 2006 game is out, is useless to me.
I WOULD buy a 5-pack in the near future ONLY if I could use these credits for ANY Stratomatic game.
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