Re: WebCatalog Upgrade Pricing?
This WebDNA talk-list message is from 1997
It keeps the original formatting.
numero = 15141
interpreted = N
texte = Earlier today I wrote Jay at Pacific Coast Software saying that I was goingto report back to this list about the situation following the public brawlthat Grant and I had here last weekend. I'm sure that he, and a fewothers, are curious about what I have to say, because I am of course, freeto say whatever the hell I want (loved the Gates/Satan transcript earliertoday, thanks Natalie!).The dispute has been resolved to my satisfaction this afternoon. Theoriginal offer I received has been extended, and I informed Jay that Iwould let him personally know within one week (a time period I determined),whether, or not, I will be upgrading. I'm still at square one, in a way,but I can live with that.Even though I am satisfied, I fear that others might have lost someconfidence in WebCatalog and/or Pacific Coast Software. Relax. It's anoutstanding product in good hands.So what went wrong? A whole series of things went wrong. For my part, Ifeel it was a mistake to jump on Grant as I did. I still feel that I hadto say something, but I now regret parts of what I said because after Icame down on him so hard, I left almost no room for anybody to move.Somebody would have had to lie or cook-up some sort of cover story --- butthe people at Pacific Coast are not the right type for that (sorry Satan,maybe we should try StarNine?).A couple of the lessons I learned from this is that if you want somethingfrom somebody, leave some room for comprimise. Don't back them into acorner with no way out. And to remember that the reader of your email is(almost) always a human. And as such, unlike machines, they have the rightto be given a bit of slack.As the saying goes...hindsight is 20/20 vision... I wish that I would havejust responded with how he was mistaken about my serial number and hadunjustly jumped to some conclusions. I now think that any formula forPacific Coast to self-destruct would have to include Robyn and Granttrading jobs for a month or two. Although --- on the other hand --- I'venever actually talked technical stuff with Robyn :) Grant, you are one ofthe best, if not THE best, technical support person I've come across...butin sales... well... frankly, you suck (kinda like Hell's NT WAN server). :)Even farther back than that... The frustration that I was feeling couldhave ended with a simple email to Pacific Coast sales. Even though Ididn't think that PCS could have sold me direcly (couldn't find anything onthe PCS site), they could have asked the people at StarNine what theproblem was, and why they were not responding to a customer's request forpricing. There was no reason it had to go public, along with the griefassociated with that.I don't feel proud about the way I responded. At the time, my thoughtswere let's make sure there are plenty of fingers to point so that nobodycould be single-out to take the heat. Hanging the company Presidentseemed like a great idea. At the time. But now that the DATs have beenput away where they belong, I don't believe that Jay and Pacific Coast weretrying to rip anybody off. This it what happened...I bought WebCatalog 1.6.0 (yes, I still call it WebCatalog) directly fromthe Pacific Coast online store. Later, I was flipping through a MacZonecatalog that was sitting beside my desk. Whoa! I thought. This price isabout two hundred bucks less than what I paid (this is about a year and ahalf or so ago folks, so now I don't know how current that MacZone catalogeven was). In any case, at the time, a red flag went up, *price out ofsync*.I sent an email to Pacific Coast. Jay handled it, and responded with anemail saying my card was credited with the difference. Great service. Iused that against him and Pacific Coast. Bad form. Bad timing. Jay, Iapologize.Jay also told me that when the WebCatalog upgrade announcements went out,there were lots of bounces, and they did not bother to follow up. Heapologized for that, even though none of us could determine, for certain,that mine was in there. It very well could have been. Afterall, mymailserver is a 486/66 running SLMail ...so, naturally, I have had someproblems in the past (paging.... Wiillllliam Gaaates). Almost two yearsago I gave that box something useful to do --- it was looking lonely, andjust getting in the way of the hallway door.Anyway, like I said before, I still don't know whether or not I willupgrade WebCatalog, go to Typhoon, or use 2.0b13. However, I can honestlysay that even though emotions were running high over these last few dayssince our heated exchange, Jay treated me with respect and integrity. Myfaith in WebCatalog, and the people at Pacific Coast, is not shaken.Final thought on all this... I think that the number of posts on the samesubject after our brawl speaks volumes about the quality of this list. Itmight have been easy for some people to start attacking Pacific Coast,Grant, whoever... about some gripe or other. I did not want that tohappen, and I'm glad it did not happen. Thank you for giving us some timeto sort the mess out! More technical stuff, more humour, less sales, ...it works for me :)There. I'm finished. Sorry about the length.Now, on to my next question... Does anybody here know how one goes aboutswinging the same deal as Bill Gates?Cheers,Wendell KozakVancouver Island, Canadahttp://www.pollinia.com/250-751-9978
Associated Messages, from the most recent to the oldest:
Earlier today I wrote Jay at Pacific Coast Software saying that I was goingto report back to this list about the situation following the public brawlthat Grant and I had here last weekend. I'm sure that he, and a fewothers, are curious about what I have to say, because I am of course, freeto say whatever the hell I want (loved the Gates/Satan transcript earliertoday, thanks Natalie!).The dispute has been resolved to my satisfaction this afternoon. Theoriginal offer I received has been extended, and I informed Jay that Iwould let him personally know within one week (a time period I determined),whether, or not, I will be upgrading. I'm still at square one, in a way,but I can live with that.Even though I am satisfied, I fear that others might have lost someconfidence in WebCatalog and/or Pacific Coast Software. Relax. It's anoutstanding product in good hands.So what went wrong? A whole series of things went wrong. For my part, Ifeel it was a mistake to jump on Grant as I did. I still feel that I hadto say something, but I now regret parts of what I said because after Icame down on him so hard, I left almost no room for anybody to move.Somebody would have had to lie or cook-up some sort of cover story --- butthe people at Pacific Coast are not the right type for that (sorry Satan,maybe we should try StarNine?).A couple of the lessons I learned from this is that if you want somethingfrom somebody, leave some room for comprimise. Don't back them into acorner with no way out. And to remember that the reader of your email is(almost) always a human. And as such, unlike machines, they have the rightto be given a bit of slack.As the saying goes...hindsight is 20/20 vision... I wish that I would havejust responded with how he was mistaken about my serial number and hadunjustly jumped to some conclusions. I now think that any formula forPacific Coast to self-destruct would have to include Robyn and Granttrading jobs for a month or two. Although --- on the other hand --- I'venever actually talked technical stuff with Robyn :) Grant, you are one ofthe best, if not THE best, technical support person I've come across...butin sales... well... frankly, you suck (kinda like Hell's NT WAN server). :)Even farther back than that... The frustration that I was feeling couldhave ended with a simple email to Pacific Coast sales. Even though Ididn't think that PCS could have sold me direcly (couldn't find anything onthe PCS site), they could have asked the people at StarNine what theproblem was, and why they were not responding to a customer's request forpricing. There was no reason it had to go public, along with the griefassociated with that.I don't feel proud about the way I responded. At the time, my thoughtswere let's make sure there are plenty of fingers to point so that nobodycould be single-out to take the heat. Hanging the company Presidentseemed like a great idea. At the time. But now that the DATs have beenput away where they belong, I don't believe that Jay and Pacific Coast weretrying to rip anybody off. This it what happened...I bought WebCatalog 1.6.0 (yes, I still call it WebCatalog) directly fromthe Pacific Coast online store. Later, I was flipping through a MacZonecatalog that was sitting beside my desk. Whoa! I thought. This price isabout two hundred bucks less than what I paid (this is about a year and ahalf or so ago folks, so now I don't know how current that MacZone catalogeven was). In any case, at the time, a red flag went up, *price out ofsync*.I sent an email to Pacific Coast. Jay handled it, and responded with anemail saying my card was credited with the difference. Great service. Iused that against him and Pacific Coast. Bad form. Bad timing. Jay, Iapologize.Jay also told me that when the WebCatalog upgrade announcements went out,there were lots of bounces, and they did not bother to follow up. Heapologized for that, even though none of us could determine, for certain,that mine was in there. It very well could have been. Afterall, mymailserver is a 486/66 running SLMail ...so, naturally, I have had someproblems in the past (paging.... Wiillllliam Gaaates). Almost two yearsago I gave that box something useful to do --- it was looking lonely, andjust getting in the way of the hallway door.Anyway, like I said before, I still don't know whether or not I willupgrade WebCatalog, go to Typhoon, or use 2.0b13. However, I can honestlysay that even though emotions were running high over these last few dayssince our heated exchange, Jay treated me with respect and integrity. Myfaith in WebCatalog, and the people at Pacific Coast, is not shaken.Final thought on all this... I think that the number of posts on the samesubject after our brawl speaks volumes about the quality of this list. Itmight have been easy for some people to start attacking Pacific Coast,Grant, whoever... about some gripe or other. I did not want that tohappen, and I'm glad it did not happen. Thank you for giving us some timeto sort the mess out! More technical stuff, more humour, less sales, ...it works for me :)There. I'm finished. Sorry about the length.Now, on to my next question... Does anybody here know how one goes aboutswinging the same deal as Bill Gates?Cheers,Wendell KozakVancouver Island, Canadahttp://www.pollinia.com/250-751-9978
Wendell B. Kozak
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