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2000 AD - The Ultimate Collection

Started by Molch-R, 27 February, 2017, 06:03:27 PM

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abelardsnazz

#3840
Really enjoyed Caballistics, missed out on it first time round during my wilderness years. Great atmospheric art from Dom Reardon, and loved the references to Doctor Who, Quatermass etc. Roll on volume 2.

mitchuk

Doesn't really matter to me as I want the 4th Specials Book, but did anyone actually get an opt out letter with the last delivery?

IndigoPrime

I didn't get one in my bin bag, no. Got a response on FB. They added: "We have not got any control over packing unfortunately." (Which is true – this is the customer service lot, and it's been outsourced.)

sintec

It wouldn't surprise me to find that the warehousing is also outsourced tbh - it would explain the lack of "giving a fuck" in evidence.

Tomwe

You will be pleased to hear that Transformers Partwork customers got their latest delivery in cardboard not black plastic. Sadly it was an envelope not a sleeve. So things are improving but somehow still not good.

dossa1uk

Quote from: dossa1uk on 06 February, 2020, 09:11:36 AM
I might be barking up the wrong tree, but I've started a conversation with the head of the customer service company that Hachette has outsourced to.  I've spelled out all of the various issues that subscribers are dealing with, to the best of my knowledge, in the hope that either they deal with them themselves, or better yet, pass me onto someone at Hachette, and I can try and talk to them there.  There are loads of problems, obviously, but for me, the main one has been the poor communication of issues.  When people are left in the dark, then they are left to get understandably frustrated.  This new CS firm is a good step forward, so hopefully things may well improve. 

Hope springs eternal for this naive fool...

Will report back.

As promised, have received some feedback from the head of the (outsourced) customer service.  In answer to areas of concern I raised, the responses were as follows (I've paraphrased the to and fro) -

CUSTOMER SERVICE - they are aware of the issue, and have deployed additional staff on all bases to cover queries. 
SHOPS RECEIVING THEIR DELIVERIES FIRST - disputes that this is the norm, and suggests the only instances where customers are experiencing this are due to payment problems or admin issues that "push back" the delivery cycle.
DELIVERY STANDARDS - we had a bit of a debate over this.  He suggests that there is a cost versus reward argument regarding "how far" they should go with delivery packaging against the amount of problems that are raised.  My argument was the problem would be more than just those raising complaints, as many customers are cancelling subscriptions because of this over everything else, and Hachette need to understand the risk to their product(s).  I stressed how badly the "bin bags" were for the job, and he said he would continue to report back to Hachette.  (Bear in mind, this is an outsourced company, so there will be a limit to what they can do.  He did stress that any damages are swiftly replaced, though)
CUSTOMER SERVICE - I suggested that better communication of potential problems would be well-received, which he said he would pass on.  My argument is "knowing about a problem is better than guessing" even if the problem is a serious one.

He also stressed that the warehouse move is nearly finished, and "we will improve".  My feeling is that customer service has improved, and that they are definitely talking to Hachette about the issues.  Here's hoping. 

IndigoPrime

Perhaps worth passing on, if you've not already made these points:

Shops receiving deliveries first might be "the norm" with partworks, but it's very unusual for subscriptions (only one I've had – with Titan – has done the same), and this also doesn't explain how quite a few people's subscriptions have slipped over time. At the very least, there should be consistency: deliveries every 28 days +/- perhaps five working days. On average, you should get a delivery every four weeks.

Delivery standards: I agree there's a cost versus reward argument, but I have literally never had a professional organisation ship collectable hardbacks in a plastic bag. I mean, come on. Hachette has so far had three packaging types for this collection:

- Card sleeve that offered extra protection at the top/bottom. With those, damages were almost zero for me.
- Card sleeve that was almost the exact size of the books; prone to corner crush when dropped by carriers.
- Plastic bag, offering no protection at all. I wouldn't accept this from an eBay purchase, let alone a professional organisation.

Honestly, if Hachette now has that level of 'problem' with packaging, nuts to it. I'll cancel my subscription again and order through FPI.

dossa1uk

In their defence - or rather that of their CS provider - I think they are abundantly aware of the issue with the bin bags! He didn't commit but I got the impression this was understandably under review.

IndigoPrime

It is quite staggering. Hachette's long had a burning fire online, in the shape of inconsistent delivery and poor customer service. Now, the partwork feeds on social are full of people complaining about books being sent in big bags. It's a wonder they get any new customers.

It's just so dumb. It smacks of "these items you're buying have no value" and/or "we don't really give a shit about this stuff". Never again after this partwork ends – I don't care what Hachette releases in the future.

dossa1uk

I agree. I made the initial point to them to "just read the replies to *any* post on social" and that's just from my perspective of following the 2000AD stuff. Can't imagine it's limited to just this collection either.

Anyway - this chap I spoke to seems on the ball, so can only hope the message is getting through. Like I kept saying - the product is excellent, once you actually get hold of it.

Tjm86

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 11 February, 2020, 02:35:05 PM
It's just so dumb. It smacks of "these items you're buying have no value" and/or "we don't really give a shit about this stuff". Never again after this partwork ends – I don't care what Hachette releases in the future.

TBH that is one thing that partworks and cars share in common.  The nosedive in value is precipitous to say the least.  What Hachette seem to be doing takes it to a whole new level though.  To say that I don't regret signing up after the JD collection is a bit of an understatement.  My condolences though to those who did ...

IndigoPrime

I don't regret signing up. The books are good. What irks is how frustrating the entire thing is, to keep track of what you're owed, and when it should show up. Also, I'm a stickler for the condition of what I'm sent, but I also dislike the waste involved in sending out replacements. But then replacements should be a rarity, not a regular fixture. (Wordery also have this problem, albeit to a lesser degree. Mind you, their cunning tactic appears to be to offer an immediate 50% discount if you can stomach keeping a dinged item.)

karlos

Skimming  through the latest SD volume, there's at least 3 pages where the lettering is blurred to the point of unreadability - anyone else's copy like this?

Tomwe

Didn't notice the blurred text yet, I'm half way through.
This is my first read of the return of Johnny Alpha story. I thought Feral looked very un-feral-y, almost like Alan Grant. Or is that just me. You can tell the art at the beginning isn't 100% Carlos too, not for the better.

Dark Jimbo

Quote from: Tomwe on 12 February, 2020, 09:40:07 AM
Didn't notice the blurred text yet, I'm half way through.
This is my first read of the return of Johnny Alpha story. I thought Feral looked very un-feral-y, almost like Alan Grant. Or is that just me. You can tell the art at the beginning isn't 100% Carlos too, not for the better.

You can just tell that Feral isn't a character Carlos designed - he simply doesn't work in the King's style. Either that, or Carlos had very little interest in him, even this long after Strontium Dogs. Annoys me a bit that Feral wasn't coloured fushcia (as Colin Macneil did) or white (as Simon Harrison did). As a result he doesn't look much like either a mutant or an albino - just a random hair-metal has-been.
@jamesfeistdraws