Sonic Reality

frootbat · Post by **frootbat** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 12:13 am

I received the package ordered through the recent group buy, but no Sampletank 2 LE, so I can't play any of the sounds.

E-mails to eSoundz/SonicReality support aren't getting any response and I haven't been able to get through via phone, so, how do I get ST 2 LE player that was supposed to come with my order?

funktest · Post by **funktest** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 12:32 am

frootbat wrote:I received the package ordered through the recent group buy, but no Sampletank 2 LE, so I can't play any of the sounds.

E-mails to eSoundz/SonicReality support aren't getting any response and I haven't been able to get through via phone, so, how do I get ST 2 LE player that was supposed to come with my order?

I am also missing ST2 LE, at least a serial nr for ST2. Also i did not receive support either. They do not react on email.

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:01 am

Did you order two library CDs or one? There was an option for either one library CD plus LE or two library CDs plus no LE.

Meffy

[edit] I'm not a mod, just another group buy member.

frootbat · Post by **frootbat** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:24 am

Actually, I ordered the big package, and, yest, ST 2 LE was supposed to be part of my order. I did check my order and the confirmation from eSoundz/Sonic Reality - both say Sampletank LE 2 is part of the order.

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:26 am

frootbat wrote:Actually, I ordered the big package, and, yest, ST 2 LE was supposed to be part of my order. I did check my order and the confirmation from eSoundz/Sonic Reality - both say Sampletank LE 2 is part of the order.

Well crud. :-( If you're sure the LE disc isn't in the bundle, it sounds to me as if you've done the right thing -- contacting the support people. Give them some time to get to your request and I'm sure they'll do right by you.

Meffy

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:40 am

funktest wrote:I am also missing ST2 LE, at least a serial nr for ST2.

Not sure whether you mean that you got the ST2LE CD or not... if you have the CD, examine its packaging. :-)

Hope everything gets fixed up ASAP!

Meffy

funktest · Post by **funktest** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:46 am

Meffy wrote:
frootbat wrote:Actually, I ordered the big package, and, yest, ST 2 LE was supposed to be part of my order. I did check my order and the confirmation from eSoundz/Sonic Reality - both say Sampletank LE 2 is part of the order.
Well crud. :-( If you're sure the LE disc isn't in the bundle, it sounds to me as if you've done the right thing -- contacting the support people. Give them some time to get to your request and I'm sure they'll do right by you.

Meffy

Then they have to wake up first. They should have react like: We have received your support request and we will come back to you. And now nothing, nothing, nothing for a COUPLE of days.

funktest · Post by **funktest** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:49 am

Meffy wrote:
funktest wrote:I am also missing ST2 LE, at least a serial nr for ST2.
Not sure whether you mean that you got the ST2LE CD or not... if you have the CD, examine its packaging. :-)

Hope everything gets fixed up ASAP!

Meffy

I have not received a CD with ST2LE. Nada, nothing, niets. And still waiting for a reply

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 2:05 am

Ah well, that exhausts my small store of ideas. My impression is that support's been digging into the requests fast as possible. Since you've let them know your situations, you should be in line to get fixed up.

The tech staff won't leave you hanging for no reason. It's been a big group buy, and even a small percentage of users having trouble adds up to a lot of people to help. Squids and his cohorts will reward your patience, I'm sure.

Meffy

munchkin · Post by **munchkin** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 2:33 am

I'm still waiting for my order but it has been dispatched. I hope ST2 LE was included. Meffy, no offence, but I reckon they would've considered all that and posted after a fair wait. It comes across like you're speaking to a couple of children and they're not.

unknown user · Post by **unknown user** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:27 am

I ordered SR Studio Drum Capsule (with ST2LE) well over two weeks ago. I called them today, but they couldn't tell me anything because "the shipping guy isn't in". Tonight I finally received an email that said the order shipped at noon today (email delivery was held up somehow).

I wrote a "feedback" type email to management with some friendly encouragement to improve the process. Seems like they could automatically send a status email like everybody else... For every Amazon order I place, I get like 3 emails...1)thanks for your order 2) paid and confirmed 3) it shipped, here's the tracking link. No surprises, no mysteries, no guesswork, no phone calls. I thought that was the norm these days. Guess not.

smp · Post by **smp** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:41 am

bithead wrote:I ordered SR Studio Drum Capsule (with ST2LE) well over two weeks ago. I called them today, but they couldn't tell me anything because "the shipping guy isn't in". Tonight I finally received an email that said the order shipped at noon today (email delivery was held up somehow).

I wrote a "feedback" type email to management with some friendly encouragement to improve the process. Seems like they could automatically send a status email like everybody else... For every Amazon order I place, I get like 3 emails...1)thanks for your order 2) paid and confirmed 3) it shipped, here's the tracking link. No surprises, no mysteries, no guesswork, no phone calls. I thought that was the norm these days. Guess not.

In the recent group buy I got (1) thanks for your order - please check that this is what you ordered (2) your order has shipped (which I believe is a process that they have introduced due to requests during the group buy). There will be no (3) because, as I understand, the postage system is through standard global mail (in order to qualify for the free shipping as part of the group buy - this keeps costs down) and you can't track standard mail packages. Using a delivery system that was able to be tracked I believe costs a lot more. However, I'm getting stuff delivered to Australia, so make of that what you will.

In my experience, the kind of email trail of notifications is a service only provided by the "big guys" like Amazon. Most small companies I have dealt with online that involve shipping send at most 2 emails - thanks for your order and your order has shipped.

I guess your mileage will vary, but remember that Sonic Reality are only a small company.

-s

unknown user · Post by **unknown user** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 4:03 am

smp wrote:I guess your mileage will vary, but remember that Sonic Reality are only a small company.

A high school teacher of mine had a wonderful saying...
"Excuses are the tools of incompetence, and those who specialize in them seldom excel at anything."

Someone (maybe more than one) obviously made a huge goof on this. Regardless, it is MY hard earned money at stake, and I really don't care whether it's Bigbux, Inc. or JoeBlow LLC. Successful companies should NEVER EVER break the explicit or implicit contract with the customer. Yes, explicit: read esoundz policies page.

unknown user · Post by **unknown user** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 4:42 am

I'm not clear on the business relationship between esoundz and SR, but it appears to be the same joint. Clearly it's but a handful of individuals. In fact I think "Dan" who answered my phone call today is the Product Manager for SR, however his email domain is esoundz.com.

Look, I'm not trying to lynch anybody, or poison the well here, or anything like that. But I sure didn't appreciate being left twisting in the breeze for over 2 weeks--AFTER my CC was charged. This is business 101. If inventory is on hand when the order is placed, and stock is committed, then there are no delivery issues. OTOH, if inventory isn't on hand when the order is placed, they should be honest and tell you it's back ordered, and when to expect it.

And because they are a small company, you can bet that they know PRECISELY what the daily inventory and sales figures are at all times. So I am left to wonder whether they are a) foolishly trying to run too lean, b) grossly incompetent, or c) having cash flow problems.

And what's more, if I don't get ST2LE with my order, or shortly thereafter, I'm going to make some MORE noise, both here and elsewhere.

Kim Lajoie · Post by **Kim Lajoie** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 8:34 am

bithead wrote:Look, I'm not trying to lynch anybody, or poison the well here, or anything like that. But I sure didn't appreciate being left twisting in the breeze for over 2 weeks--AFTER my CC was charged. This is business 101. If inventory is on hand when the order is placed, and stock is committed, then there are no delivery issues. OTOH, if inventory isn't on hand when the order is placed, they should be honest and tell you it's back ordered, and when to expect it.

I think the inventory was "on hand", but I think they're packaging and sending the boxes by hand. They had almost three hundred units to process, on top of regular eSoundz business.

i suppose they have a few people processing the orders, and it's enough for their usual amount of business, but the group buy would have made a significant difference to the processing delay.

If you want to compare that to Amazon... Amazon probably have an automated warehouse (or several warehouses!) and a small army of employees to run the place. They've probably got a much more stable order rate, and better historical data for spikes (and can deal with it better). This is the first time eSoundz has had a group buy, and probably the first time they had three hundred orders at once!

I agree that they could have handled it better, but they probably know that. I imagine the next group buy will be much smoother.

Forever,

Kim.

Sonic Reality

KVR Audio

To moderators: Why no ST 2 LE with group buy package?