So this week has been ..... how do I put this? Disappointing, for lack of a better word. In my previous post I released a new house, the ~*Cozy Caiden*~. I released at a special prices as a gesture of goodwill considering the season that is upon us .... Christmas. A time for caring, loving and showing appreciation for all that surround us. I received one complaint about this home, from a customer who described it as "full of flaws". Let me just tell you something, when you start a conversation with a creator in that matter, you are not likely to get a positive response.
I have been a creator in SL for over seven years now and I can say with pride that I have never sold anything that at the time I wasn't completely proud of. The wonderful thing about building in SL is there is always room for improvement and with each home or piece of furniture that I create I try to improve. I take a great deal of time developing new products, make them family friendly for the SL family community. That being said, there are also limitations, like for example, when you link a house together, there is a glitch in SL that causes some prim to go off by .05. You can fix these prim, but they will slip right back when you rez the house again. It's a glitch, we all have all learned to live with and to be completely honest, it drive me totally bonkers also. My point here is, I can't fix LLs issue within the game, I work with what is available and produce products that are as flawless as humanly possible.
Yesterday it came to my attention that the private conversation that I had with the complaining customer had been posted on a blog. Did I handle the situation the way I should have? Probably not! Did I become defensive? Yes I did! Because behind the avatar is a real human being, who has feelings, who was swamped with instant messages, who has a million things to do in a day and always tries to keep everyone happy. I pride myself on excellent customer service, I always have and I always will. To start a conversation out the way she did, immediately put me on the defensive. I refunded her the money for the house, I didn't yell at her, I didn't swear at her, I just disagreed with her opinion.
Now this has turned into some kind of personal attack on me and my products. I read comments about how expensive I am, about what a bitch I am, how I'm difficult to deal with, etc., etc. Well again I must disagree!
Let's start with the expensive comments:
Well we are all struggling in SL, I find many creators are simply undercutting everyone else to get the sales. My prices have always been about the same. The prices are determined by how many prim it will require to be kept on display, etc. The furniture prices are all determine by the number of animations that are within them. For example, if a couch has 120 animations, child animations, single adult animations, cuddles for couples, many of those animations are exclusive to Cozy. Has anyone stopped to think how much those animations cost to purchase or make? Or the time that it takes to set the animations up? I spend hours and hours setting up furniture animations. Tell me would you work for free? Do you expect all the exceptional creators out there to continue to produce wonderful creations and not get anything in return. For many of us, this is a full time job. Tell me would you go to work every day not to be paid at the end of the week? The price of that couch is normally about $1000L for 120 animations, work out the math, that's approximately 8 Lindens per animation. That's too expensive? Or should I do what everyone else does and undercut my competition and offer it for $100L? I'd sell thousands, but does that make it right?
To me it's not about how many Lindens, it's about fair competition within SL and not undercutting each other. I offer special prices on release, but I refuse to undercut just to make a sale. I believe creators deserve to be paid for their time and effort. What really makes me laugh, is people will go out and pay thousands for skins or breedables, but if I build a house that takes me two days to build and decorate, I'm suppose to sell it for what $100L?
Now let's tackle the "bitch" statement:
Let me refer to my profile picks page for all who haven't read it:
~*About Me*~
It seems to me in this wonderful world we call Second Life, so many form opinions on someone based solely on what someone tells them. From experience, I have learned most everything someone says when things fall apart are half truths or down right lies in order to make them look like the better person.
So here's some facts about me: I never have claimed to be perfect, how boring would that be. I would never set out to intentionally hurt someone, unlike so many others. I am loyal and honest, I don't play mind games or manipulate for sport. I believe what goes around, comes around, karma is a bitch, so I live my life accordingly. I don't need a man in my life to complete me, I can get off on my own. I am a strong, capable, beautiful woman and quite amazing all on my own.
So my advice for anyone who listens to others, that's their opinion. Maybe you should find out for yourself. Cause we all know, opinions are like assholes, everyones got one.
I stand behind every word!
And last by not least, difficult to deal with:
This one blows me away! Especially considering the source, one of the biggest bitches to walk amongst us in SL. Who would stab you in the chest as quick as she would look at you. So to her I say, "Kiss my ENTIRE ass". Someone who when a "friend" shares something personal with her, takes great pleasure in spreading that via notecard to anyone who will listen. If you are truly someones friend, you take their secrets, their venting to the grave, because that's what friends do, not to mention she was "suppose" to be family. I can hold my head up proudly, I would never do that!
I am not difficult to deal with, as mentioned before, I take great pride in providing excellent customer service to my customers. It doesn't matter if they spent $10L or $20000L, everyone gets treated the same, their problem is solved or they are refunded. Which is exactly what happened with the complaining customer. It was obvious from the conversation to me that she was nit picking. I may not have handled the situation perfectly, but I am not perfect. As for small flaw she found, which you had to zoom right in to even see, it was fixed. As for flashing textures, etc., this was her issue as she had retextured the house, my product was in my "opinion" flawless as humanly possible.
The wonderful part of this entire mess, was the support and amazing words of encouragement that I received from my friends, family and customers. I will continue to hold my head up high and make homes and furniture for all to enjoy. Haters ... move along, nothing here to see!
Hugs,
Paige
