Sun Oct 22, 2017 2:51 am
Like everyone else, I'm eager to get the new cards as well, and it's frustrating to have delays. However, the way I look at it is that if this is the biggest issue in my life right now, or at any time, I am truly fortunate. And if it is the biggest issue in my life, maybe it's me who needs to get a life.
While SOM sometimes fails to meet expectations, at times shooting itself in the foot and angering customers, such are minor issues on an otherwise stellar product. The game engine, the product itself and customer service has vastly improved over the days when TSN ran the online game. While the community has a right to expect good customer service, sometimes the community as a whole behaves like a drug addict whose next fix has been delayed.
Also, regarding John Garcia, I email him a couple or 3 times a month with SOM issues or questions and he has always replied promptly and graciously, and quickly resolves any game issues.
While John is the front man for SOM when it comes to the online game, I don't think that he is the source of the issues, but rather the solution to any problems that arise. Like any other employee for any other company, John takes his orders from his boss. Like employees everywhere, there are probably things that John doesn't like and he probably wishes he could do and tell us more, but his hands are likely tied. Compounding the problem is that John takes a beating in this forum, but is unable to reply in any detail to tell us what's really happening behind the scenes. Also, Hal Richman runs a tight ship and employees are probably required to wear multiple hats because SOM is a small company. While such may cause problems when it comes to customer service and support, we should probably be grateful for Hal's financial acumen, for if Hal didn't run a tight ship, the company probably wouldn't have survived all these years. Don't forget, Hal began experimenting with dice and baseball cards as a hobby when he was just a kid, so this has been a labor of love for Hal. If he was in it just for the money, he probably would've quit long ago. My understanding is that Hal was always on hand to greet customers picking up their new cards on opening day and to thank them for their continuing support and to listen to their concerns about the product. While Hal obviously likes what he is doing, he has the difficult task of trying to strike the proper balance between product development and production costs, customer service and support, and sustained profitability. I'm sure that Hal would be the first to say that there is room for improvement in customer service, but I don't think even the most demanding among us would expect him to do so at a loss. I would rather have the occasional delay than to pay double for the product so that Hal can hire more people to improve customer service. So we wait with gritted teeth and shrugged shoulders.
Now if only I could figure out a way to get the powers that be at SOM to take their heads out of the sand regarding the super reliever fiasco in the ATG online game! - Bernie
