I love you Cathe but I am tired of waiting.....

[neleh1004]

Valuable lesson

I have to agree with Gymenie. Asking people to pre-order DVDs costing $200+ when filming hadn't even begun is poor business practice. I keep thinking I will hear "sorry, we have nothing in our computers that indicate you have pre-ordered and paid for STS." Can't imagine how I would explain this one to Visa. How could I ask them to withold payment on an item that they paid for in March?! Guess I learned my lesson.

 

[princessbear]

I have to agree with Gymenie. Asking people to pre-order DVDs costing $200+ when filming hadn't even begun is poor business practice. I keep thinking I will hear "sorry, we have nothing in our computers that indicate you have pre-ordered and paid for STS." Can't imagine how I would explain this one to Visa. How could I ask them to withold payment on an item that they paid for in March?! Guess I learned my lesson.

I don't see how that would happen - Cathe and SNM are honest business people and are on top of the pre-orders I think - I'm sure they have everybody who preordered in their computer and ready to go!

 

[SNM Videos]

I have to agree with Gymenie. Asking people to pre-order DVDs costing $200+ when filming hadn't even begun is poor business practice. I keep thinking I will hear "sorry, we have nothing in our computers that indicate you have pre-ordered and paid for STS." Can't imagine how I would explain this one to Visa. How could I ask them to withold payment on an item that they paid for in March?! Guess I learned my lesson.

neleh1004, I see this is your first post. We have been in business for 20 years and have been doing presales for the majority of that time without what you seem worried about being a problem. Sure, it is possible that we could somehow misplace an order, but this is true of regular orders too. If that would ever happen it is very easy to resolve as Visa will have a record of the transaction that can be looked up by both the customer and us. If this is something that truly concerns you, then why preorder?...Just wait until STS is in stock and order then.

 

[pchart]

Saw it for sale...

I almost forgot about pre-oredering STS until I saw it for sale in Collage Video catalog. What's up with that? I know you have to pay more by ordering through them, but I'd rather have it now and pay the x-tra $$ then wait any longer.
I love Cathe, but this kinda upset me...
Patty

 

[intensityjunkie]

collage doesn't have them yet that is a pre-order. It says below the red DVD button Expected available: January 7.

 

[SNM Videos]

Collage Video does not have STS yet. Catalogs are designed and printed in advance and they wanted to make sure to have STS included in their January catalog. ALL STS DVDs will first arrive at our facility from SONY and then will be shipped out to our customers and distributors.

 

[SassyLady7]

Usually lurk, but just had to chime in! I've pre-ordered workout videos from other company/fitness celebrities & I must say that by far, Cathe & SNM has the best communication & customer service. I seen complaints go completely ignored or even the complainer's post deleted & the user banned from the forum! It's great that SNM allows us all to voice our concerns/complaints & most of all that they respond.
I've been very impressed with the updates of the timeline/progress of STS & it's anticipated release date. Cathe's blog posts have been honest about changes in the timeline. It's always hard to wait when you know the product is going to be great, but I'm certain it will be worth it. I'd rather have quality than to receive something quickly & be disappointed in the product (seen that happen with other company's fitness video orders too). Keep up the excellent customer service & preorders opportunities, SNM!

 

[Elle_p]

The OP posted the following(and I'm paraphrasing):

I'm tired of waiting. The pre-sale has gone on too long.

A difference of opinion would be:

I'm okay with the pre-sale the way it is.

This, however, is not a difference of opinion:

I'm tired of waiting. The pre-sale has gone on too long.

Why don't you cancel? Stop whining. Don't you have bigger things to worry about?

That is an attack on the OP's opinion. Again, it is not *differing opinions.* It is telling the OP that her feelings are invalid. It is dismissive and rude.

If people want to debate the merits of different pre-sale methods, great. But telling one person that her feelings are *wrong* seems unfair.

Everyday in the OD forum there are threads about finding jeans that fit, or neighbors that are irritating or some random comment that a bank teller made to someone. And I ask all of those people who come here to vent or gather information or look for support how they would feel if the day they asked for help or opinions someone responded by telling them *don't you have bigger things to worry about* or *if this is your biggest problem you should feel grateful* how would you really feel?

You'd be hurt. Someone would be telling you that your feelings seem unimportant.

Just because I don't think something is a big deal doesn't mean it isn't to the person posting. Every day people post things that seem ridiculous to me but I never feel the need to tell them that I think their concerns are silly. I just don't see the value in that.

Pippa,
ITA. You took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[Donnysgirl]

I'm also happy I got the presale price, however I must admit to a bit of impatience as well. I know it's got to be a long, time consuming process and this is not my first presale by a long shot. I'll be glad when they finally arrive I can tell you that! Oh, did you guys know that Collage Video is offering the entire STS series in their latest catalog which I just received today? It didn't say anything about a delay in shipment, backorder or anything of the kind. Does this mean Collage already has it available? Oh, and yes we saved a bundle of money by preordering way back when - just about 100 bucks! Thanks Cathe. Hopefully they'll be here soon.

Sharon

 

[Dela]

Oh, did you guys know that Collage Video is offering the entire STS series in their latest catalog which I just received today? It didn't say anything about a delay in shipment, backorder or anything of the kind. Does this mean Collage already has it available?
Sharon

Hi Sharon, I read either on this thread or another from SNM that Collage does not have STS yet, and they will distribute STS to all pre-orders from this site before distributing elsewhere.

 

[DDRdiva]

In my experience - from a Firm preorder - Collage doesn't always have things available on the date they say they will. Sometimes I think they just pull a date from their rear end.

 

[Gymenie]

The reason we don't respond to questions like will STS be finished by the summer is that at that time we had no idea on how much longer the project would take

I simply don't believe that you had 'no idea how much longer it would be.'

If that's the case, I go back to my original point that SNM has poor business practices.

To go into a venture on customers money with absolutely 'no idea' of a timeline at the beginning or even during the process is poor business. I've never heard of a production company working without a timeline - especially on a high budget project.

Typically, a production budget and time line are created before production begins. It can be updated as production continues, but to work with 'no idea of a deadline' is not wise.

Announcing 'it will be a long time' is not a 'timeline.'

We will certainly listen to everyones feedback on this issue and take it into consideration if we have another presale in the future.

Here's my feedback: Create a realistic time line, and don't announce a presale until you have a handle on that timeline.

Don't presale until you've started production.

Be truthful with your customers, rather than make statements like: 'We had no idea when it would be done...'

Again, it looks like it's 'about' to be released, and I'm sure we'll all love it - seriously, I'm planning on LOVING it...but moving forward, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it if you'd clean things up a bit in your interaction with customers.

We have been in business for 20 years and have been doing presales for the majority of that time without what you seem worried about being a problem.

Bernie Madoff had been in business a long time, too, without a problem. (Not that I'm comparing Cathe to Bernie Madoff...just pointing out that your comment doesn't really mean anything.)

My feeling is that you could continue doing year-long presales forever without issue, if you'd just be more up front about the deadlines - even if they change over the course of production.

You've been producing videos long enough to make realistic production skeds. Of that, I'm confident.

And again...I'm confident, I'm going to love STS.

 

[athomedavina]

I simply don't believe that you had 'no idea how much longer it would be.'

If that's the case, I go back to my original point that SNM has poor business practices.

To go into a venture on customers money with absolutely 'no idea' of a timeline at the beginning or even during the process is poor business. I've never heard of a production company working without a timeline - especially on a high budget project.

Typically, a production budget and time line are created before production begins. It can be updated as production continues, but to work with 'no idea of a deadline' is not wise.

Announcing 'it will be a long time' is not a 'timeline.'



Here's my feedback: Create a realistic time line, and don't announce a presale until you have a handle on that timeline.

Don't presale until you've started production.

Be truthful with your customers, rather than make statements like: 'We had no idea when it would be done...'

Again, it looks like it's 'about' to be released, and I'm sure we'll all love it - seriously, I'm planning on LOVING it...but moving forward, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it if you'd clean things up a bit in your interaction with customers.




Bernie Madoff had been in business a long time, too, without a problem. (Not that I'm comparing Cathe to Bernie Madoff...just pointing out that your comment doesn't really mean anything.)

My feeling is that you could continue doing year-long presales forever without issue, if you'd just be more up front about the deadlines - even if they change over the course of production.

You've been producing videos long enough to make realistic production skeds. Of that, I'm confident.

And again...I'm confident, I'm going to love STS.

I have not pre-ordered but would have liked to have; it just wasn't in my budget. I did believe them when they said it would be a long time. I have been in some form of retail for many years and know that things like this take time to get right. Everyone had a choice to pre-order or not to pre-order. Just because someone doesn't get a product when they think they should get it does not mean the company has poor business practices. If an exact date was never given then the company is right on time! BTW, they have said over and over that nothing like this has been done before, so what do they have to go by to give a more exact date. I understand impatience. It's my middle name; however, accusing a company of bad business is something else. I've lurked on the STS site for a while and they seemed pretty upfront to me and they always adjusted the time frame. My thoughts are if you don't have an exact date, know that you'll get it when you get it and it's your choice to pre-order.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope all of you enjoy STS when it arrives and I hope to one day join you in the pain

 

[gettingfitmom]

I look at it this way, when STS does arrive, I don't have to worry about the credit card bill beacuse it is already paid for. and after the holidays, that is one les headache

 

[careyben]

"You've been producing videos long enough to make realistic production skeds. Of that, I'm confident."

SNM-

Yeah... like all the other times you put out 41 videos at a time with original music and graphics and the 100 page books you've always done, and the workout managers and nutrition software like you do with every project. I mean... what's the big deal??

Ben

 

[melissa0528]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I appreciate all the hard work that everyone at cathe.com, SNM, NFL Films, etc., have put into making this project. I was on the July RT and witnessed how much you guys care about your fans, the hard work that goes into everything you do, etc.

I just wanted to add my voice to those who are understanding and willing to wait -- because it was a choice I made knowing full well there was no set time table. You guys have always been upfront about that -- it was our choice to make whether to purchase or not -- griping and getting worked up about it now seems a bit silly, IMO. That's just my two cents.

 

[Shoegal]

Everyone sounds like they are in a cult or something.

I've read throught this thread and truthfully everyone sounds as if they are absolutely terrified of making SNM video/ Cathe angry if they DARE (gasp!!) question anything that is going on with this project. Yeah, yeah, yeah - it takes a long time to do a good job - got it - but frankly, you all have a right to voice your opinion whether it is positive or negative - your money is gone -and you don't have the product - you all have a genuine stake in this. I say question away.

 

[Liann]

"You've been producing videos long enough to make realistic production skeds. Of that, I'm confident."

SNM-

Yeah... like all the other times you put out 41 videos at a time with original music and graphics and the 100 page books you've always done, and the workout managers and nutrition software like you do with every project. I mean... what's the big deal??

Ben

Lol, well said!

 

[LauraMax]

I've read throught this thread and truthfully everyone sounds as if they are absolutely terrified of making SNM video/ Cathe angry if they DARE (gasp!!) question anything that is going on with this project. Yeah, yeah, yeah - it takes a long time to do a good job - got it - but frankly, you all have a right to voice your opinion whether it is positive or negative - your money is gone -and you don't have the product - you all have a genuine stake in this. I say question away.

We're not terrified. We love Cathe. We love SNM. We're grateful for the very existence of Cathe, without whom we'd have to haul our jiggly butts to the gym every day for a decent w/o. What you're seeing isn't terror, it's LOYALTY.

Yep, it's a cult. It's a cult of health & fitness, & I am a proud member.

That's MY opinion. Thanks for giving me the right to post it.

 

[kims]

We're not terrified. We love Cathe. We love SNM. We're grateful for the very existence of Cathe, without whom we'd have to haul our jiggly butts to the gym every day for a decent w/o. What you're seeing isn't terror, it's LOYALTY.

Yep, it's a cult. It's a cult of health & fitness, & I am a proud member.

That's MY opinion. Thanks for giving me the right to post it.

YEAH!!!! Sing it, sister!!!!!
Bravo, LMax, BRAVO!!!