How Cineplex lost me as a customer...

[Coitusmysterioso]

What about ordering it through the closest US distributor and making a day trip across the border to pick it up?

You could even have it shipped to a receiver on the other side of the border and pick it up there! Possibly Chas at Stern could work that out with a US guy?

 

[Bigbossfan]

This isn't allowed. Wink Wink Nudge Nudge

 

[Coitusmysterioso]

Know what I mean? Know what I mean?

 

[Playboy1]

Playdium has been awesome with me. I bought a Met Pro. I actually had a couple of minor problems with it and the support from them was excellent. I also have contacted the Stern rep just to report how the playfield plastics had finger prints on them from factory.. I told them that they should be wearing white gloves when assembling these machines. I've very picky with details and at the prices of the machines they should be absolutely mint. In my opinion. If you need the factory rep let me know she is awesome.

 

[Jeff K.]

Overall, Playdium has also been great for me.
Guylaine was a pleasure to deal with in the past; and Jerry Power also seems very eager to help going forward.
Once you factor in fx, travel cost and customs taxes, I'm not sure the savings to pick up a game south of the boarder is going to make sense.
When I have had issues in the past with my Stern NIB purchases, Playdium/Starburst was always quick to order replacement parts and offer in-house service calls to fix the issues.
Hopefully, this great service won't be compromised by any changes in Cineplex policy going forward.

 

[maken]

Once you factor in fx, travel cost and customs taxes, I'm not sure the savings to pick up a game south of the boarder is going to make sense.

For pros, I agree, not much savings to be had.

But for premiums, you could save well over $500 buying from the USA.

 

[Jeff K.]

Maken that sounds about right and that's a decent savings on premiums.

For myself, I would personally rather have the convenience of delivery, set up and in home warranty not to mention Playdium ordering any replacement parts for no cost when under warranty.

Now in saying this, I'm not sure if the high level of service I received in past years is going to change or start costing me more if policies change under Cineplex. I have found Ian & Brian to be really helpful in Service and Doug is great for helping out with parts.

Both Stern and The Playdium/Store have resolved 100% of any issues I have ever encountered. It really is a shame when I hear stories like Dave's with his STLE issue. That simply shouldn't happen.

 

[Coitusmysterioso]

Yeah that's customer service 101. They lost an opportunity to gain a future customer and it wouldn't have cost them a dime. Instead they chose to be difficult and lose any chance of a future sale. Not smart business.

 

[meegis]

So I finally have parts I ordered come in to pick up.

I ask if I can pick up Saturday.

No.

I ask to leave them with showroom and I'll pick up from sales.

No.


I have been informed that playdium store is no longer open on weekends. At all. Not even sales Dept.

What the fuck is going on there? People who want to come and see shit in a weekend have now been screwed.


This new sales model blows my mind.

 

[brad808]

This new sales model blows my mind.

You can't come!

 

[Menace]

So I finally have parts I ordered come in to pick up.

I ask if I can pick up Saturday.

No.

I ask to leave them with showroom and I'll pick up from sales.

No.


I have been informed that playdium store is no longer open on weekends. At all. Not even sales Dept.

What the fuck is going on there? People who want to come and see shit in a weekend have now been screwed.


This new sales model blows my mind.

They figure those baller enough to own / purchase pinball machines must make enough money to not work a normal 9-5 Mon-Fri...

D

 

[Coitusmysterioso]

It is a business. If they don't get enough traffic and sales on weekends to warrant the cost of the employees coming in then it only makes sense to close.

I guarantee you if Saturday was a money maker for them they would be open.

 

[Slam_Tilt]

It is a business. If they don't get enough traffic and sales on weekends to warrant the cost of the employees coming in then it only makes sense to close.

I guarantee you if Saturday was a money maker for them they would be open.

I can guarantee you they would get a ton more traffic on Saturdays if they had the parts dept open. Close one day during the week and open up Saturdays.

 

[Menace]

The thing that boggles my mind is even when you spend north of 10K on a NIB game, they won't even make special arrangements for you to pick the game up on a Saturday... SAD! (said in my best Trump voice)

D

 

[Vengeance]

I can guarantee you they would get a ton more traffic on Saturdays if they had the parts dept open. Close one day during the week and open up Saturdays.

Traffic and sales are two different things.

They are going to make the same parts sales open saturday or not, and that isn't going to translate into new game sales.

 

[SuperPinball]

Traffic and sales are two different things.

They are going to make the same parts sales open saturday or not, and that isn't going to translate into new game sales.

Traffic generates potential leads and sales. Therefore the more traffic, the more sales. The parts dept is an excellent way to generate traffic and needs to be as accessible as possible or traffic and ultimately sales suffer.

This is the age of convenience, if people can't shop on Saturday, their parts can simply be bought anytime online . No visiting Starburt means no temptation in playing or buying the latest new game.

 

[Coitusmysterioso]

Well considering how long they have been open they know better than anybody what the traffic on different days is like. I'm sure corporate crunched all those numbers before making the decision.

It's easy to comment from the sidelines as a customer but we have no idea of their overhead costs and what Their ROI would be opening on Saturday.

 

[SuperPinball]

Well considering how long they have been open they know better than anybody what the traffic on different days is like. I'm sure corporate crunched all those numbers before making the decision.

It's easy to comment from the sidelines as a customer but we have no idea of their overhead costs and what Their ROI would be opening on Saturday.

In any commercial business, Saturday is prime time for shopping. There is no business that I can think of where they would close on Saturdays and expect to increase sales. If cost cutting was a concern, then they should as someone suggested ,close one day of the week like Mondays and open Saturdays.
The decision to close Saturdays didn't come from the salespeople but from the administration. I was told that the salespeople are against closing on Saturday and that they were not consulted in that decision.

 

[DRANO]

I think everyone is forgetting that SB probably does not see the individual hobbyist (the guy who wants to swing by on Saturday) as their client.
They are an operator... the largest in Canada and also the only distributor for other operators and re-sellers. It's a monopoly and they know it. I seriously don't think they care one iota about the individual pinhead collectors that want to come in and buy the occasional game. It's all about volume; we are an inconvenience. Anyone who deals B to B and not B to C is generally closed on weekends. THAT'S the model they are obviously following here.

 

[Vengeance]

I think everyone is forgetting that SB probably does not see the individual hobbyist (the guy who wants to swing by on Saturday) as their client.
They are an operator... the largest in Canada and also the only distributor for other operators and re-sellers. It's a monopoly and they know it. I seriously don't think they care one iota about the individual pinhead collectors that want to come in and buy the occasional game. It's all about volume; we are an inconvenience. Anyone who deals B to B and not B to C is generally closed on weekends. THAT'S the model they are obviously following here.

Exactly!