New Tapes - Backup Exercisers

I am afraid that I join the group of Cathe advocates here who would like a more polite response from SNM regarding the progress towards filming the new series.

I do not care what they wear, nor who stars in the videos, nor who makes their music and whether I can buy it at a later date or not. I am not ever going to criticize Cathe's choices with regards to any of these aspects of her productions because she is the professional and her workouts are her creative enterprise. However, the response this poster here received from SNM was short and sharp, and quite honestly it does not take much time to appreciate all of one's customers and formulate a more polite and respectful response. I too have worked in Customer service.

I don't need bulletins every 5 minutes, but I think it would be nice to receive a brief update, a rough idea of when filming will begin, perhaps a sneak preview of photos as was shared with the I-series which we all were thrilled to receive, and a rough idea of when distribution may begin. "Summer" is such a vague date.

We may all love Cathe and feel her videos are the best in the business but this does not detract from the fact that she is marketing a product here and requesting her customers to pay in advance. We currently are taking a leap of faith that we do not take with other companies over the internet. If I give JCrew my credit card number, they ship the goods to me within 3 days. So, yes I am afraid Cathe does owe a responsibility towards her customers. Let us be reassured that our money has been well spent and she is making it into something she will be creatively proud of and that we wil thrill to receive and do several million times.

I am well aware that Cathe is a busy woman, but we all are, that doesn't let anyone off the hook of responsibility. I also work, I teach my students and am mother to 2 kids but I can't ever turn up to class without a class to teach, can't ever let the kids go to school in dirty clothes, etc, etc. We are all busy, it's the way in the 21st century!!! No-one has a monopoly on busy-ness!

Thanks for listening respectfully to an individual customer's opinion,

CLare :)
 
Cathe is not shirking any responsibility. We preordered workouts, and she will deliver those workouts. She never promised updates, photos, or anything else. She promised workouts. Anything else is gravy.
Deb
 
Actually, regular updates are addressed in the Body Blast series preordering information on Cathe's site:

"The new workouts are being filmed this Summer. We're going to do our best to ship your order by the end of summer, however, we can not make any promises. As always, we will keep you updated regularly on our website."

Personally, I don't think of responsive, informative, polite service before and after a sale as "gravy"; I think it should be an integral part of the transaction.

That's not to say that Cathe and her company haven't delivered great service in the past! I think I was all the more surprised about the refusal to post information about the upcoming series because Cathe and her corporate crew have always been so inclusive and sensitive to customer concerns.

At any rate, I think enough time and bandwidth have been used reacting to this non-issue. I'm absolutely sure that the Body Blast workouts will be Cathe's best yet, and I'm looking forward to receiving them by the end of the summer with great excitement and anticipation. In the meantime, I'm all involved with the Slim Series anyway!
:)
 
To Deb:

OK Deb, I get your point, but the real point is, Cathe is not making the videos for her CUSTOMERS. She is making them for herself because that is what she does for a living. So I really dont think she is making them for YOU or ME.

So then I asked everyone at the bank today if they were there for our customers and not one person said yes. Everyone was there to earn a paycheck. I am not trying to criticize, just simply stating human nature.

Thirdly, I am happy just to have this website. I come here everyday and read posts and to see what is new. I guess if enough customers complained, she will start posting updates on the new videos. But I also realize this web site is a tool for her to promote her videos so she is not doing me any favors.

So please dont take this post the wrong way. I know it is pollitically incorrect to post this. But I felt compelled to do so. I love this site and I love Cathe's tapes. But see it for what it REALLY is. Business.
 
must jump in here. i understand the point about going to work for the money - not for the customers. but i think that depends on whether you have a job, or whether you have a career that you love. if it was simply a matter of a paycheck, then i think cathe would probably have lower quality releases in order to churn them out faster. i think she would have an infomercial. i think she would dummy down her workouts to appeal to the masses rather than her current target audience. and i think her customer service and her shipping would not be top notch like it is now. i have NEVER ordered from another vendor and been treated as well.

i also think people get too caught up in message boards. remember, cathe is a wife and mother in addition to being a "fitness diva". she also does wonderful work with training service dogs. as a dog rescue person myself, i know how time consuming (and rewarding) that can be.

in short - we don't know her. we don't know her motives. we don't know what else is going on in her life. chances are the busier she is, the less time she has to be on this board. remember, in addition to the new videos, she is also working on introducing a clothing line. seems to me - like there aren't enough hours in the day for her.

one more thing, she doesn't make us pay for this board like some other fitness video personalities do. i'd think if it was all about the money - we'd all be paying for membership.

cathe rocks.
 
Yay Clare!

I am so sick of hearing people in all aspects of life exclaim "I am so busy!" It is used as an excuse for everything nowadays... almost as if it should be an exemption for common courtesy. (Sorry I didn't call, write, visit - "I've been so busy!") If someone has too much going on in their life that something always seems to fall short - an aspect of their business, a child, a family member, a friend, etc., then it is time for a big wakeup call with a very loud alarm clock. If you don't have enough hours in the day to get everything done then you are doing too much.

I have often had to deal with people thinking I am "boring", because I don't have a zillion different hobbies, interests and activities that keep me busy 24/7. Guys have stopped dating me because of this, and I wasn't even dependent on them for a good time. I like my quiet, alone time a lot. Yet in this world of busy, busy, busy, gotta do everything, see everything, experience everything, I am different and am often criticized for having a normal, balanced life.

But this isn't about me. I think Clare posted a very well thought out reply. No we don't konw Cathe personally and I really don't care what is going on in her personal life that might detract from her business responsibilities. The point is, if customers are unhappy, then it should be addressed.

-Roe
 
The only problem, Roe, is I would rather Cathe come up with 6 new work outs and her excellantly chaptered DVD's at the end of the summer and pay less attention to the message boards than to have 3 new work outs, maybe not as well chaptered and have her participating more on the boards. I think the over all picture is that she does address her customers a lot throughout the year, but some times are busier than others.
 
Double ditto to what Buttercup said.

I'd also add that Cathe seems to be one of the most accessible video fitness instructors I've ever seen. Do any other instructors even ask their customers what they'd like in a new series? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm curious, I've never seen it done before.

Someone else mentioned that these forums are FREE. You could chat with a Firm instructor for the low, low club membership price of $40 per six months. Something to think about.
 
I think that we should give whomever posted the SNM reply the benefit of the doubt-that they weren't intentionally being rude to customers.

It is very difficult to convey tone on message boards no matter how well crafted the message is. Yes, the message was short and to the point, but maybe he/she didn't really have anything more to say other than "there will be no more updates until after filming."

We pay Cathe and SNM to make videos, not have discussion board interactions. Like all of us,she has to prioritize her business (and personal) time. Making videos is what she's paid for and I honestly don't think she owes us updates-just a finished quality product!

Keep up the good work!
 
Wow - I can't believe all the discussions this created. I love that about this board. I love hearing everyone's opinion and trying to understand how they look at things.

Isn't it great that we don't all think exactly the same way?

Life is grand!
:)

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
bodykat you made some great points.

personally, i'd rather have 6 great workouts than mediocre ones that are put together quickly so we will have her presence on the board.

when i am busy, i don't have time to get on the forums so i can't fault cathe for having a life and still managing to make wonderful workouts for us. when cathe is not filming, she is on the forums always answering questions. this is in adddition to being a mom, wife, and fitness instructor.

i noticed last time when information came out for the intensity series, people got a little distressed when things didn't go "as planned." maybe they are trying to avoid upsetting everyone when something doesn't go as planned and only inform us when things are more concrete.

also, we are talking about fitness videos here. there are many more things in my life to get upset over - and this is not one of them. she delivered the product she promised with the intensity series. i have no doubt she will do the same on the body blast series.
 
SNM reply

Hi Punky, wow is right! Lotsa feedback here!
I just wanted to let you know that Cathe made an announcement a lil bit ago( in Ask Cathe) and she was unaware of the reply made to you! She apologized for any ill feelings and will update as there is more info available!
Let's put this thread behind us , be supportive and put our faith in Cathe , she never let's us down and her actions always speak louder than words;-)
 
RE: SNM reply

Hey Francine,

Thanks for pointing it out. Wow I had no idea how worked up everyone would get over this. I didn't really mean it to become a big deal. It really wasn't directed at Cathe in specific -I know how busy she is, in fact everyone at SNM. I was more just expressing being disappointed at not getting the updates, because I loved that so much for the last release.

I hope no one was offended - no offense was intended.
 
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