Rutledge
Master Sergeant
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2006
- Messages
- 1,219
Alright, well, seeing as the pot is already stirred, I’ve got a couple of more spoons….
First let me say I appreciate the warm welcomes, and even the not-so warms. I mean, we are talking toy soldiers right? Not politics or religion here or, god forbid, a combination of both… And also thanks to Andy. As he no doubt could tell, I am definitely “on board”, in more ways than one.
BTW, in my view Andy need not “answer” putting Canadian Samurai’s name in quotes. If an individual chooses to post under a somewhat aggressive moniker like CS, others have the right to challenge that aggression, with quotes, smileys, italics or other benign measures. As to why Andy gave me a warm welcome, Im sure he appreciates the positive feedback - aside from the sound of the cash register -- just a little more than the negative. That seems pretty human, and perfectly natural, to me. (and yes, I do know people compliment him all the time here)
Sorry Canadian Samurai, you are surely a swell guy and loved by all, but you and I couldn’t disagree more. So allow me to continue the debate:
- How exactly do manufacturers “get off lightly” with regard to supposed inaccuracies? Should there be violent protests in the streets? Lashings at the post? Unless I’m sadly mistaken, these are toys, not museum pieces. Interpretation, artistic license, imagination, along with lots of research, is no doubt all part of the creative processes. I would bet you the manufacturers care more about how well an item is received than minutia as to whether a patch goes on the right or left sleeve.
- I’ve conducted and been a part of many Focus Groups. Sometimes they are valuable, sometimes they aren’t. Plenty of new products come out and fail that Focus Groups loved. As Louis himself pointed out, even the most avid customers can be dead wrong about a new idea. In fact, unsolicited individual comments from customers really aren’t that helpful, unless perhaps the same one is received over and over again. Otherwise it’s just one person’s, or a few people’s opinion, which may differ considerably from “the crowd”.
- In order to get a truly accurate explanation as to why a product may not be selling, much more is involved than gathering random views from the internet. There would need to be a statistically valid sample population interviewed, to whom unbiased questions were asked in a consistent manner, and so on. There have been whole books written on this topic.
- We definitely see business relationships differently. Customers are often called partners, but that is typically at the B to B level. Between businesses and the end customer, there is always a ying and yang element. The customer wants to maximize their value, and the business wants to maximize their profit. Simple as that. Of course, the business that ignores the end client does so at their peril – there are any number of examples of that.
- While I believe K&C is privately held, Andy may have some investors or shareholders to whom he answers/deals (I don’t know at all). Regardless he surely has employees, vendors, distributors, suppliers, governments and other stakeholders. All of these entities want their “pound of flesh” as well.
- It seems a lot of your motivation toward giving feedback was the following:
“but I participate here because I know my suggestions can help make toy soldiers more like I want them to be, which will lead me to purchasing more of them, a win-win situation for me and the manufacturer. If I don’t tell them what I like and what I don’t, then I have no right to complain when future sets don’t meet my expectations.”
- You are certainly welcome to work your magic on Andy, so to speak. But did you ever think there may be others who don’t share your same views? Your “expectations” may be completely different from mine, as well as lots of other peoples’. Or perhaps we are perfectly aligned, I really don’t know. In any event, I don’t think it is your place to take on the mantle of “customer representative supreme” unless you have done the research about what others want, as well.
- The last point is key. If one wants to voice views about items that they would like, or adjustments they think should be made, that is fine. But really, it is Andy’s company, and it is his call at the end of the day. I trust Andy is doing his best to bring out the best product possible, at the most competitive price, in the quickest time frame and at the highest quality. And I am pretty darn sure no one wants to make K&C customers happier than Andy does – his livelihood depends on it, for god’s sake. Does yours?
PS: Think I got a little fired up at the end. Everything meant in good humor.
First let me say I appreciate the warm welcomes, and even the not-so warms. I mean, we are talking toy soldiers right? Not politics or religion here or, god forbid, a combination of both… And also thanks to Andy. As he no doubt could tell, I am definitely “on board”, in more ways than one.
BTW, in my view Andy need not “answer” putting Canadian Samurai’s name in quotes. If an individual chooses to post under a somewhat aggressive moniker like CS, others have the right to challenge that aggression, with quotes, smileys, italics or other benign measures. As to why Andy gave me a warm welcome, Im sure he appreciates the positive feedback - aside from the sound of the cash register -- just a little more than the negative. That seems pretty human, and perfectly natural, to me. (and yes, I do know people compliment him all the time here)
Sorry Canadian Samurai, you are surely a swell guy and loved by all, but you and I couldn’t disagree more. So allow me to continue the debate:
- How exactly do manufacturers “get off lightly” with regard to supposed inaccuracies? Should there be violent protests in the streets? Lashings at the post? Unless I’m sadly mistaken, these are toys, not museum pieces. Interpretation, artistic license, imagination, along with lots of research, is no doubt all part of the creative processes. I would bet you the manufacturers care more about how well an item is received than minutia as to whether a patch goes on the right or left sleeve.
- I’ve conducted and been a part of many Focus Groups. Sometimes they are valuable, sometimes they aren’t. Plenty of new products come out and fail that Focus Groups loved. As Louis himself pointed out, even the most avid customers can be dead wrong about a new idea. In fact, unsolicited individual comments from customers really aren’t that helpful, unless perhaps the same one is received over and over again. Otherwise it’s just one person’s, or a few people’s opinion, which may differ considerably from “the crowd”.
- In order to get a truly accurate explanation as to why a product may not be selling, much more is involved than gathering random views from the internet. There would need to be a statistically valid sample population interviewed, to whom unbiased questions were asked in a consistent manner, and so on. There have been whole books written on this topic.
- We definitely see business relationships differently. Customers are often called partners, but that is typically at the B to B level. Between businesses and the end customer, there is always a ying and yang element. The customer wants to maximize their value, and the business wants to maximize their profit. Simple as that. Of course, the business that ignores the end client does so at their peril – there are any number of examples of that.
- While I believe K&C is privately held, Andy may have some investors or shareholders to whom he answers/deals (I don’t know at all). Regardless he surely has employees, vendors, distributors, suppliers, governments and other stakeholders. All of these entities want their “pound of flesh” as well.
- It seems a lot of your motivation toward giving feedback was the following:
“but I participate here because I know my suggestions can help make toy soldiers more like I want them to be, which will lead me to purchasing more of them, a win-win situation for me and the manufacturer. If I don’t tell them what I like and what I don’t, then I have no right to complain when future sets don’t meet my expectations.”
- You are certainly welcome to work your magic on Andy, so to speak. But did you ever think there may be others who don’t share your same views? Your “expectations” may be completely different from mine, as well as lots of other peoples’. Or perhaps we are perfectly aligned, I really don’t know. In any event, I don’t think it is your place to take on the mantle of “customer representative supreme” unless you have done the research about what others want, as well.
- The last point is key. If one wants to voice views about items that they would like, or adjustments they think should be made, that is fine. But really, it is Andy’s company, and it is his call at the end of the day. I trust Andy is doing his best to bring out the best product possible, at the most competitive price, in the quickest time frame and at the highest quality. And I am pretty darn sure no one wants to make K&C customers happier than Andy does – his livelihood depends on it, for god’s sake. Does yours?
PS: Think I got a little fired up at the end. Everything meant in good humor.
