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Pathfinder 1E Collective thread for Paizo problems
- Thread starter amaterasu
- Start date
Jason Horton
First Post
You shouldn't have to hunt for an announcement. Paizo.com is an attractive website that appears well laid out and navigable (if that is a real word). However, like many sites that offer a variety of products that change regularly (monthly in this case) it has become quite cluttered. In other words there is a lot going on.
I am guessing, of course, but the fact that there is a lot going on may be the cause of the subscription problems. Understaffing or poor resource allocation may mean that a simple problem has been overlooked until it became a big problem.
So a distributor was having difficulties and maybe was waiting for someone at Paizo to fix the problem but as nothing happened the problem got worse. Only the disgrunted voices of a few subscribers appeared on Paizos email and on their message boards so it wasn't really a big problem for them.
Now they have people threatening legal action and making (rightful) demands for their subscriptions to be fulfilled.
This is something that could have been avoided by identifying the problem in the early stages and working to overcome it before it effects too many people and turns a little problem into a nightmare (not the horsey kind).
Again I am guessing but my thought is that Paizo has grown very quickly from small firm where everyone knew what was going on to a larger firm where things can be overlooked. Hopefully this change has caused a few shortlived problems and processes are being put in place to allow things to run more effficiently in the future.
Someone should take ownership of problems that are identified. Jeremy Walker (jeremy.walker@paizo.com) seems to be the person to deal with for European subscription problems although he has a backlog of emails that run to a day or two by all accounts. My advice is to find out (or pick someone) who should be responsible for Undefeated subscriptions and hound them mercilessly (like a hell hound after crispy bacon at a summer barbecue).
Start a new thread on Paizo's message board and tell everyone who you are dealing with. Don't let them off the hook.
I've just mailed Jeremy again and hope to receive a reply.
Jason
I am guessing, of course, but the fact that there is a lot going on may be the cause of the subscription problems. Understaffing or poor resource allocation may mean that a simple problem has been overlooked until it became a big problem.
So a distributor was having difficulties and maybe was waiting for someone at Paizo to fix the problem but as nothing happened the problem got worse. Only the disgrunted voices of a few subscribers appeared on Paizos email and on their message boards so it wasn't really a big problem for them.
Now they have people threatening legal action and making (rightful) demands for their subscriptions to be fulfilled.
This is something that could have been avoided by identifying the problem in the early stages and working to overcome it before it effects too many people and turns a little problem into a nightmare (not the horsey kind).
Again I am guessing but my thought is that Paizo has grown very quickly from small firm where everyone knew what was going on to a larger firm where things can be overlooked. Hopefully this change has caused a few shortlived problems and processes are being put in place to allow things to run more effficiently in the future.
Someone should take ownership of problems that are identified. Jeremy Walker (jeremy.walker@paizo.com) seems to be the person to deal with for European subscription problems although he has a backlog of emails that run to a day or two by all accounts. My advice is to find out (or pick someone) who should be responsible for Undefeated subscriptions and hound them mercilessly (like a hell hound after crispy bacon at a summer barbecue).
Start a new thread on Paizo's message board and tell everyone who you are dealing with. Don't let them off the hook.
I've just mailed Jeremy again and hope to receive a reply.
Jason
HellHound
ENnies winner and NOT Scrappy Doo
Erik Mona said:
Okay... So far, there has been no actual news about Undefeated that I've seen anywhere. I just scoured the Paizo website and message boards and didn't find any confirmation or denial of rumours of Undefeated closing up.
So, I take it from this post that Undefeated is indeed closing up for a while / long while / ever... Which makes me sad because my first RISK 2210 article is in issue #10.
with fingers crossed...
It even started at the Beginning of November
Another non-served subscriber just pointed out another thread at Paizo's so-called "cust serv message boards" to me. It was started on 4th of November by a European subscriber reported the missing of several Dungeon-Mags. While it was promptly answered by Jeremy Walker, he focussed only on finding out why the mail hadn't reach him. Which is the smaller part of cust serv. But what never appeared in this thread was an offer to provide the starter of the thread with the mags he was (and still is) missing. Unbelievable. But true, look for yourself: http://www.paizo.com/paizo/messageb...oesAnyoneAtPaizoEvenKnowWhatCustomerServiceIs
-Hajo
Another non-served subscriber just pointed out another thread at Paizo's so-called "cust serv message boards" to me. It was started on 4th of November by a European subscriber reported the missing of several Dungeon-Mags. While it was promptly answered by Jeremy Walker, he focussed only on finding out why the mail hadn't reach him. Which is the smaller part of cust serv. But what never appeared in this thread was an offer to provide the starter of the thread with the mags he was (and still is) missing. Unbelievable. But true, look for yourself: http://www.paizo.com/paizo/messageb...oesAnyoneAtPaizoEvenKnowWhatCustomerServiceIs
-Hajo
I'm still waiting for a reply from Paizo. As they've had email and network problems I've re-sent the e-mail and forwarded on to other staff, including their CEO.
I personally get the feeling that Paizo have a big problem and are not handling the situation too well. Hopefully someone at Paizo will start to take control of things before it gets worse and someone sends in the angry Tarask.
:\
I personally get the feeling that Paizo have a big problem and are not handling the situation too well. Hopefully someone at Paizo will start to take control of things before it gets worse and someone sends in the angry Tarask.
:\
Simon Collins
Explorer
Hi
I am torn as to whether to submit this postl, since Paizo's customer service was so good to me. However, for others' information I want to impart my experience here in the Republic of Ireland with Dragon & Dungeon magazine subscriptions over the last few years.
After all the problems with the handover from the previous UK distributor, I finally got my subscription for Dragon and Dungeon moved over, and my refund from my previous subscription with TSR I may add. However, I continued to have permanent ongoing problems with VERY late arrival of magazines (e.g. 3 months after they were available in game stores (which I can't buy from, since the nearest one is about four hours drive away from me) or often no arrival at all. I did get one six months late that had been incorrectly addressed ICELAND instead of IRELAND - maybe there is a very happy Icelandic fisherman in Reykjavik reading my other magazines!
Finally, after a couple of years of this, I came to the end of my tether and requested a full refund of my remaining subscription, which was provided to me last year. Since then, I have not renewed my subscriptions for either magazine and will not do so again for the forseeable future (not only due to these problems, but also because the contents of both magazines seemed to have become less relevant and useful to me in the last year or two, and a lack of money at the moment - these are expensive magazines to get considering the additional postage charges).
I must say that in the nearly two years where I experienced these problems before I finally gave up, customer service was fantastic in terms of reacting to my mails, apologies, sending out missing magazines directly, and my eventual refund. However, they were never able to resolve the issue of sending the magazines out in a timely fashion, or sometimes, at all.
It is evident that the company has had since the beginning, and continues to have, a serious problem with fulfilling subscriptions in Europe, which was not previously experienced with TSR and Taylor Nelson Sofres (the UK distributor at the time). I certainly feel that Paizo need to look at the logistics of European distribution and find a resolution that will not continue to disillusion their existing European customers. There are certainly companies in the UK that would act as a central distribution point for the magazines and this would seem the most effective solution but I am woefully ignorant of the laws regarding these matters, so I will leave it up to those more knowledgeable to confirm if this is indeed a reasonable solution.
Best of luck to all with resolving this.
Simon Collins
I am torn as to whether to submit this postl, since Paizo's customer service was so good to me. However, for others' information I want to impart my experience here in the Republic of Ireland with Dragon & Dungeon magazine subscriptions over the last few years.
After all the problems with the handover from the previous UK distributor, I finally got my subscription for Dragon and Dungeon moved over, and my refund from my previous subscription with TSR I may add. However, I continued to have permanent ongoing problems with VERY late arrival of magazines (e.g. 3 months after they were available in game stores (which I can't buy from, since the nearest one is about four hours drive away from me) or often no arrival at all. I did get one six months late that had been incorrectly addressed ICELAND instead of IRELAND - maybe there is a very happy Icelandic fisherman in Reykjavik reading my other magazines!
Finally, after a couple of years of this, I came to the end of my tether and requested a full refund of my remaining subscription, which was provided to me last year. Since then, I have not renewed my subscriptions for either magazine and will not do so again for the forseeable future (not only due to these problems, but also because the contents of both magazines seemed to have become less relevant and useful to me in the last year or two, and a lack of money at the moment - these are expensive magazines to get considering the additional postage charges).
I must say that in the nearly two years where I experienced these problems before I finally gave up, customer service was fantastic in terms of reacting to my mails, apologies, sending out missing magazines directly, and my eventual refund. However, they were never able to resolve the issue of sending the magazines out in a timely fashion, or sometimes, at all.
It is evident that the company has had since the beginning, and continues to have, a serious problem with fulfilling subscriptions in Europe, which was not previously experienced with TSR and Taylor Nelson Sofres (the UK distributor at the time). I certainly feel that Paizo need to look at the logistics of European distribution and find a resolution that will not continue to disillusion their existing European customers. There are certainly companies in the UK that would act as a central distribution point for the magazines and this would seem the most effective solution but I am woefully ignorant of the laws regarding these matters, so I will leave it up to those more knowledgeable to confirm if this is indeed a reasonable solution.
Best of luck to all with resolving this.
Simon Collins
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dlane001
First Post
Not just a European problem!
This isn't an exclusively European problem. As others have mentioned, the mags show up in the US on the newsstand first. That's unacceptable, especially since the Paizo website says subscribers get their's first.
My mags ALWAYS come two-three weeks after the newsstand. Paizo is saying one thing and doing another. And no, customer service hasn't helped, at all. "We'll send another out to you." It comes four weeks later.
Erik: a quick solution: just change the website to say subscriber issues arrive two - three weeks after the newsstand copies. Paizo is setting expectations that it can't meet, obviously. So change the expectations.
-Derek
This isn't an exclusively European problem. As others have mentioned, the mags show up in the US on the newsstand first. That's unacceptable, especially since the Paizo website says subscribers get their's first.
My mags ALWAYS come two-three weeks after the newsstand. Paizo is saying one thing and doing another. And no, customer service hasn't helped, at all. "We'll send another out to you." It comes four weeks later.
Erik: a quick solution: just change the website to say subscriber issues arrive two - three weeks after the newsstand copies. Paizo is setting expectations that it can't meet, obviously. So change the expectations.
-Derek
Thanks Simon and I would totally agree with you, were it not for the change in policy at Paizo. They stopped sending magazines directly after you report them as missing. And they sopped answering the questions European subscribers posting at their message boards. Well, they reply, but offer no solution, instead buying time for - ? - I don't know what.Simon Collins said:
That's good to hear, since they seem to have a procedure for that. Did you get back your remaining subscription in EUROs or at a reduced Dollar exchange rate?Simon Collins said:
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