Page 1 of ONE FOR THE MODERATOR - PLAY 247

BEING A FREQUENT VISITOR TO YOUR EXCELLENT WEBSITE AND FORUMS I HAVE NOTICED AN ALARMING NUMBER OF DISGRUNTLED PLAY 247 SHOPPERS.

AS PLAY 247 ARE THE SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE, HAS ANYONE FROM DVD REVIEWER POINTED OUT TO THEM THE NUMBER OF DIS-SATISFIED CUSTOMERS THEY ARE CURRENTLY BUILDING UP?

BEING A REGULAR SHOPPER WITH PLAY, I NOW FIND MYSELF LOOKING FOR A MORE RELIABLE SOURCE........AND SO ARE A GOOD FEW MORE PEOPLE.

I FEEL THIS IS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS, BECAUSE IF PEOPLE STOP SHOPPING WITH THEM....THE HUGE "CASH COW".......NAMELY PLAY 247 WILL CEASE TO EXIST AND DVD REVIEWER?........JUST MAYBE?

One for Robert or Mark I think.

Go easy on the CAPS though.

A "cash cow" ?!?!? Geez, some of you guys have some funny ideas...

DanB

Please turn your CAPS LOCK key off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before an official response from Rob or Mark, a few points from me.

1) As I understand it, Play are just one of the advertisers on the web site so they are not "the sponsor"

2) If Play take customer service seriously then someone there will have started to notice the number of unhappy customers building up, and will hopefully be doing something about it.

3) Play a "huge cash cow"? Perhaps more accurately a successful company who have built up a large customer base through their excellent and very competitive pricing. Maybe it`s because there are now so few viable alternatives (particularly when it comes to reasonably priced R2 DVDs) that Play are experiencing increased customer numbers and this might be causing them difficulties.

I have never had any problems with Play, The last DVD I bought from them was the simpsons box set (R1). It arrived on my doorstep on the day of release, the money didnt leave my account till a week later

Shaun

I placed my first order with play247 on saturday and was wondering how long I can expect to wait before my dvd is delivered

I have been a happy Play247 customer this year, having purchased some 20 DVDs from them. However, over the last 2 mths their service has hit rock bottom. I had an e-mail today some 2 wks after numerous e-mails from yours truly. The DVDs in question arrived 4 wks after paying for them. There are creditable alternatives inc Encoredirect ( under new management) and Futureent - who are based in Kent and still provide DVDs at the same price as Play247. I have just rec`d a DVD 3 days after paying for it from Futureent and that is delivery to France - it was also 1 pound cheaper than Play247. Yours Vern.

I think people are being unfair with Play - they`ve been pretty much the best retailer for quite a long time now, and just because they`re starting to have a few problems, people are digging in.

Bear in mind, shall we, that postal services of Region 1 discs (which is largely what we`re talking about) have hardly been normal recently... September 11 anyone ? Complete paralysis of the US air network (which handles most of their freight). Anthrax ? Serious effects on the US postal system. Let`s face it, getting your DVD`s a few days or a week late is hardly a true crisis, and bearing in mind the circumstances I would think people could give suppliers a bit of slack right now.

If their customer service IS crumbling, then I hope they are reading these forums and getting about fixing it, but that won`t be an instantaneous thing so you can`t expect immediate resolution of all outstanding issues.

DanB

My personal experiences with Play have always been good, I order pretty much all my DVDs from them.

I would point out that happy customers are quiet customers and extremely hard for the likes of you and me to count effectively, however the odd disgruntled customer is often very noisy and easy to spot. I think it is extremely unfair to take a few threads on these forums as being typical of the average Play customer.

I bet if you started a thread entitled "Play247, any good or not?" you would get way more yays than nays. :)

Plus as Dan has pointed out, the US postal service has been effected somewhat by Anthrax scares and so forth. Also we are approaching the busiest period of the year in the retail sector, and this is often the messy weeks between rises in sales (and the need for support) and before seasonal staff are recruited. I`m sure it will get better.

Some retailers always give me the impression of a big corporate money grabbing elephant that isn`t really fussed who it treads on, as long as it is making money. Others make me feel they are trying to strike a good balance between making money and giving the customer the best deal. Play are definitely the latter. :)

Just thought it would it would make an interesting thread.

On a personal note.............i have never had any problems with Play 247........guess I`m just a bit fickle?

Gaz

This item was edited on Wednesday, 31st October 2001, 08:25

Here`s my late addition,

Play247 have and always will be my number one choice for dvd`s. Besides some fantastic service over the two years i`ve been using them, their prices remain consistent and their special offers are actually offers that are worth taking advantage of.
I am far from the voice of reason, but as a retailer i have this to say. Good retailers exist to make the odd mistake along the way, which can only be good as these mistakes can be ironed out in time. As human beings we will never be totally happy with anything in life, 95% of the work you`ve worked hard for will be dismissed in a second for the 5% you haven`t achieved-and i do believe the responses posted about Play recently are this 5%. For many they remain the centre of excellence for all things DVD.
As the site people have said-considering the circumstances surrounding political and terrorism issues, it`s a miracle we`re getting the service we are!
Give Play a break, there are retailers out there who offer far far worse service than Play-its only cause Play are so good that people are disappointed at the moment-i`m sure it`ll pass.

Right, i`m off to order some cheap Columbia Tri Star discs from Play....

Westy