Quality of First Blood

I mean...does Black Chantry think this is an acceptable response?

I think it is.

Did you actually buy one of the affected products, though? I did not, but, putting myself in the shoes of someone who did, I'd be annoyed by that response Black Chantry put out for the reasons I stated previously.

Indeed. Handling things more professionally and not downplaying print problems would be a good start. I was going to buy the Ventrue bundle, but not going to spend money on faulty products. Going to wait for the next print run.

TwoRazorReign wrote:

To sum up:

"There was a problem at the printer. The cards are readable and functional. We'll have a solution in a month." I mean...does Black Chantry think this is an acceptable response?

What other response is possible? If the preview of the cards that BCP received was not tainted with the printing flaw and most of the cards direct-ship to the distributors when was BCP supposed to find out about the issue? Since the root cause of the error has to be discovered before attempting a reprint and a reprint takes time, do you think that BCP should invent a time machine to get them out sooner?

TwoRazorReign wrote:

It's almost like the people in charge forget that they are no longer volunteers and there are financial transactions happening. (as an aside: Why not offer to give people refunds? Is there a reason other than you don't want to lose money, which is what most people are likely to assume? This is a glaring omission from the release).

Some distributors and retailers, such as myself, have already laid out our replacement policy. Given that BCP cannot control the ways in which its distributors handle the replacement, what is your expectation here?

TwoRazorReign wrote:

The biggest offender is this post I am replying to, which I will paraphrase here: "The print proofs were fine, so it's the printer's fault, not Black Chantry's fault." This attitude is pervasive among the release about the printing issue. There's a lot of pointing fingers at the printer and not directly taking responsibility.

What responsibility are they supposed to take when the product doesn't actually pass through BCP's hands before getting to the distributors?

kschaefer wrote:

TwoRazorReign wrote:

To sum up:

"There was a problem at the printer. The cards are readable and functional. We'll have a solution in a month." I mean...does Black Chantry think this is an acceptable response?

What other response is possible?

"There was a problem with the printer. We apologize for this error. We will offer refunds to those who bought affected products. We will also print more cards in a month."

If the preview of the cards that BCP received was not tainted with the printing flaw and most of the cards direct-ship to the distributors when was BCP supposed to find out about the issue? Since the root cause of the error has to be discovered before attempting a reprint and a reprint takes time, do you think that BCP should invent a time machine to get them out sooner?

Yes, I expect them to invent a time machine. That's exactly what I wrote in my post. Thank you for reading it.

I'll restate what I said in my post: Black Chantry should have had a little more tact when responding to the issue. Instead of a release where they point fingers at the printing company, do not seem to take much responsibility for the issue, downplay the issues as "slight" and "somewhat," and not offer any refunds, they should have issued a release apologizing for the issue, recognizing it was unacceptable, and offer refunds. No time machine necessary.

It's almost like the people in charge forget that they are no longer volunteers and there are financial transactions happening. (as an aside: Why not offer to give people refunds? Is there a reason other than you don't want to lose money, which is what most people are likely to assume? This is a glaring omission from the release).

Some distributors and retailers, such as myself, have already laid out our replacement policy. Given that BCP cannot control the ways in which its distributors handle the replacement, what is your expectation here?

I think I may be misunderstanding something here: Black Chantry also sells direct to consumers via DriveThruCards. They are themselves a retail outlet. Am I wrong about that? Correct me if I am. If they are not a retail outlet, then I understand why they would not offer refunds. Everything else about the language used in the release, though, I stand by.

The biggest offender is this post I am replying to, which I will paraphrase here: "The print proofs were fine, so it's the printer's fault, not Black Chantry's fault." This attitude is pervasive among the release about the printing issue. There's a lot of pointing fingers at the printer and not directly taking responsibility.

What responsibility are they supposed to take when the product doesn't actually pass through BCP's hands before getting to the distributors?

Their responsibility is to release a more tactful statement about the issue. That is really it.

TwoRazorReign wrote:

I think I may be misunderstanding something here: Black Chantry also sells direct to consumers via DriveThruCards. They are themselves a retail outlet. Am I wrong about that? Correct me if I am. If they are not a retail outlet, then I understand why they would not offer refunds. Everything else about the language used in the release, though, I stand by.

These cards have never been release by DTC heretofore. Even if they had, it's a completely different printing company, which is unlikely to make the same printing error.

So, BCP is not a direct retailer of this product.

TwoRazorReign wrote:

kschaefer wrote:

What responsibility are they supposed to take when the product doesn't actually pass through BCP's hands before getting to the distributors?

Their responsibility is to release a more tactful statement about the issue. That is really it.

All joking about DeLoreans aside, I thought the press release was tactful. To each his own, I guess.