AWESOME Ex. PZ PF WAIT LIST THREAD, GO!

[pixletwin]

from the man whos order converted.....

Yup. Its something I am VERY happy about. But I am not going to be a jerk about it. Nor would I be flaming SSC with emails and angry over a statue. Order converted or not.

 

[ChrisCJ99]

SS gets $20 for cancelling a flexpay before the first payment, $40 after the second and $60 after the third.

Ahhhh. So what if you cancel before (if and when) it converts? Will I get charged $20 to cancel my WL?

 

[mr.thrifty]

Ahhhh. So what if you cancel before (if and when) it converts? Will I get charged $20 to cancel my WL?

read the terms..

there's nothing wrong with it. just helps them cover the costs of having to deal with your order three times instead of once. holding your $$ and possible returning it

 

[the angry orc]

pix, thanks. that was helpful. though i don't think i was being a crybaby or 'angry over a statue'. just didn't know. now i do.

 

[Blake]

Some of you guys are being real crybabies.

Nice jab. Let's try to make some points without name-calling.

1) still doesn't explain why flexpay reservations are being converted while full pay reservations that were placed before flexpays are being ignored.

She explained it already. Flex pay waitlisters get Flexpay conversions. When their are REGULAR conversion than REGULAR waitlisters get their slot filled (I also object to your use of the term "full pay reservations" as it implies that Flexpayers are paying less t han you, ergo less deserving).

I don't think anyone was trying to be high & mighty, I think that was just a term. Nonetheless, if that is indeed the case, it still is extremely flawed in that at the end of the day someone that ordered later got product before someone who ordered sooner. How can anyone argue this?

2) Maybe a little bit of insight as to how or why the system is apparently ignoring non-flexpay waitlists would be helpful, and if it is perceived as a problem and if it will be fixed or acknowledged even.

She also answered this. There system is in continual upgrade. When it next gets upgraded RoboDad's excellent solution will be taken into account and possibly implemented.

Maybe Robodad's suggestion will get used, maybe not. Seeing as how the wait list is nothing new, this has probably happened countless times before but has gone unnoticed because nobody has ever put a wait list thread like this together before.

Additionally, I don't think you would be so quick to jump on people if you were in the same boat.

 

[Mesa]

Some of you guys are being real crybabies.

1) still doesn't explain why flexpay reservations are being converted while full pay reservations that were placed before flexpays are being ignored.

She explained it already. Flex pay waitlisters get Flexpay conversions. When their are REGULAR conversion than REGULAR waitlisters get their slot filled (I also object to your use of the term "full pay reservations" as it implies that Flexpayers are paying less t han you, ergo less deserving).

2) Maybe a little bit of insight as to how or why the system is apparently ignoring non-flexpay waitlists would be helpful, and if it is perceived as a problem and if it will be fixed or acknowledged even.

She also answered this. There system is in continual upgrade. When it next gets upgraded RoboDad's excellent solution will be taken into account and possibly implemented.

Some of you guys have a right to be miffed (ala RoboDad) but I am not sure Mesa reserves that right seeing he was one of the guys rubbing salt in everyone's post-PPO wounds in the first place.

I'm not crying about it. Like you said, I was lucky enough to get an order through. I only care for future rerference, how should I be placing any future waitlist if I hope it to convert.

I didn't know what to call a non-flexpay order. You can interpret my wording however you'd like, there was no hidden meaning inferred.

Maybe I'm not as perceptive as everyone else here, but I haven't seen a good explanation yet. If it is true that there are indeed two waitlists pools to pick from, and they are dependent on what payment method you used, obviously this is not a "fair" way of handling reservations. I'm not trying to rub salt in anyone's wounds, just pointing out an obviously flawed system.

I work better in details and specifics and the excuses provided thus far have been short on both. This is a public forum after all, I'm allowed to post as I see it.

 

[Blake]

Maybe I'm not as perceptive as everyone else here, but I haven't seen a good explanation yet. If it is true that there are indeed two waitlists pools to pick from, and they are dependent on what payment method you used, obviously this is not a "fair" way of handling reservations. I'm not trying to rub salt in anyone's wounds, just pointing out an obviously flawed system.

I work better in details and specifics and the excuses provided thus far have been short on both. This is a public forum after all, I'm allowed to post as I see it.

Agree 100%.

 

[RoboDad]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

To be clear this is how the wait list is designed. We did not screw up.
The function of the wait list system may not be perfect to some but it does help us to place product with people who missed the opportunity to pre-order the product in an organized and fair manner. The wait list system manages reservations for hundreds of items and is tied to our accounting system in a specific manner, which is why the same item is tracked in two ways. While I appreciate the advice of the forum programmers, it is very easy to for one to assume the ease of a change if they do not have detailed knowledge of the structure of our inventory, accounting systems and all software involved.

As our business grows so do our systems and procedures. We are exploring some systems improvement and modifications in the upcoming year prior to a significant software upgrade. I will most certainly take all of this threads suggestions to our programmers to see what the possibilities are.

Cynics aside, we do not need to post in the forum to get people off our backs. We have a very talented customer service team that happily answers our customer questions directly. We do it as a courtesy to our collectors and to have a healthy discussion of ideas that may create positive change.

Best to all,
Chicky

Chicky,

Since much of the follow-on discussion to your original post seems to have stemmed from my response, I wanted to respond again, to clarify my thoughts, and (hopefully) remove any misconceptions they may have caused.

I never meant to imply that anyone at Sideshow screwed up, only that the ramifications of the design decisions made (whether in the software implementation, accounting procedures, inventory control policies, or some combination of the above) may not have been thought out as well as they could have been.

I also never meant to imply that the solution would be simple. As a software developer, I know that it most likely is not. The concept is simple, but the implementation may be quite difficult.

I am encouraged, though, that this discussion will spill over into design modification discussions at Sideshow, and look forward to positive outgrowth from this, and other, participation of Sideshow representatives here on this forum.

As to the fairness of the current model, perhaps an (admittedly extreme) example might bear out why some of us disagree. Suppose there is a product that is announced, with an edition size of 1000. It goes up for pre-order, and, after some period of time, sells out, with a mix of full-pay and flex-pay orders. In this example, once the sell-out is noted, 200 people place wait list reservations, all using the full-pay SKU, some placing their reservations within minutes of the sell-out. Weeks later, someone else decides to place a reservation, using flex-pay. Then, as the 30-day notice goes out to collectors, one of the existing flex-pay orders is the first to be canceled. Under the current system, the person who placed their flex-pay reservation weeks after the other customers who placed their full-pay reservations would be the first to have their reservation convert. That cannot be considered "fair" by any definition.

 

[pixletwin]

Edit: Meh nevermind. I am just grateful I was lucky enough to be converted.

 

[RoboDad]

Some of you guys are being real crybabies.

1) still doesn't explain why flexpay reservations are being converted while full pay reservations that were placed before flexpays are being ignored.

She explained it already. Flex pay waitlisters get Flexpay conversions. When there are REGULAR conversion than REGULAR waitlisters get their slot filled (I also object to your use of the term "full pay reservations" as it implies that Flexpayers are paying less t han you, ergo less deserving).

2) Maybe a little bit of insight as to how or why the system is apparently ignoring non-flexpay waitlists would be helpful, and if it is perceived as a problem and if it will be fixed or acknowledged even.

She also answered this. There system is in continual upgrade. When it next gets upgraded RoboDad's excellent solution will be taken into account and possibly implemented.

Some of you guys have a right to be miffed (ala RoboDad) but I am not sure Mesa reserves that right seeing he was one of the guys rubbing salt in everyone's post-PPO wounds in the first place.

Well said, Marc. And to be honest, at this point I am less miffed than "professionally curious". Once the explanation entered my domain (software development), my interest resurged, and my natural tendency to analyze software deficiencies and improvements took over. And, in an attempt to not bore non-techie types with too much jargon, I probably over-simplified my comments, making it appear that the solution was an obvious and simple one.

And let's face it. Who at Sideshow could have expected us to be the OCD, anal-retentive bunch that we are, making threads to track such things as wait list conversion rates? (No reflection on you, Marc. This wasn't the first OR last wait list thread on the forum, and I've created a few myself!)

 

[RoboDad]

Edit: Meh nevermind. I am just grateful I was lucky enough to be converted.

And I couldn't be happier for you. I just wish I was also among the "converted".

 

[pixletwin]

And let's face it. Who at Sideshow could have expected us to be the OCD, anal-retentive bunch that we are, making threads to track such things as wait list conversion rates? (No reflection on you, Marc. This wasn't the first OR last wait list thread on the forum, and I've created a few myself!)

Well this is Sideshow FREAKS after all.

 

[Blake]

I am not trying to jump on anyone. I think everyone is getting overly offended and hypersensitive about a statue. Saying I would feel differently if I was still on the wait list is a cop out on your part and an attempt to discredit what I believe. I felt the same way about all the belly achers in the days following the PPO and I feel the same way now.

"Some of you people are being real crybabies" - Jumping on people.

At this point, the item does not even matter. It is the fact that a system is incredibly flawed and has probably been unfairly converting those who ordered at a later time for quite a while. Sideshow has been quick to say how very complex the system is, but has completely ducked the question of fairness.

And yes, sorry, I think you would feel differently. It's curious how you were one of the fortunate ones and also the first to jump and call people crybabies for wanting answers.

 

[pixletwin]

Well I wasn't including you in the cry baby reference but now I am beginning to wonder. Seriously, if you are that bent out of shape because some comment by a nobody (me) than .... well... I don't know what to say.

 

[pixletwin]

Besides, if the shoe fits....

cry⋅ba⋅by
  /ˈkraɪˌbeɪbi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [krahy-bey-bee] Show IPA noun, plural -bies, verb, -bied, -by⋅ing.
–noun
1. a person, esp. a child, who cries readily for very little reason.
2. a person who complains too much, usually in a whining manner.
–verb (used without object)
3. Also, cry-baby. to cry or complain easily or often.

 

[RoboDad]

I don't think I would call the system "incredibly flawed", but that may be because of my background. I have seen far worse design decisions in software projects, and made more than a few myself. Again, I don't think it is fair to cast aspersions on Sideshow, especially since Chicky has already acknowledged that the ideas from this discussion will be included in discussions for upcoming system modification projects.

Given where we are today, I don't think we could ask for more than that. I certainly would not want to take an order away from someone who has already converted.

Oh, and one last thing. My use of "full-pay" versus "flex-pay" was meant in no way to disparage anyone who ordered using flex-pay. It was only meant to provide a way to distinguish between the two ordering systems in my comments. And, to be honest, I borrowed the idea from Chicky, who distinguished between "flex payments" and "full payments".

 

[nash]

I'll say it straight, Blake you are the biggest crybaby of them all. I bet you stomp your foot and pout while you type.

 

[Blake]

Well I wasn't including you in the cry baby reference but now I am beginning to wonder. Seriously, if you are that bent out of shape because some comment by a nobody (me) than .... well... I don't know what to say.

You aren't a nobody to me sweetheart.

 

[Blake]

Besides, if the shoe fits....

 

[Blake]

I'll say it straight, Blake you are the biggest crybaby of them all. I bet you stomp your foot and pout while you type.

I'm shocked that you showed up. You never do fail to disappoint! Always swooping in to take a crap, then flying away. You're like bad middle-management.