Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)

[MikeH]

Oh I get it, but I don't think it's a big stretch for them. In the case if Dexter Gordon they first blamed a company they partnered with, then one of their own departments, then somehow it turned out they were capable of doing the right thing after continued pressure. If anything, I think blaming each other is a step in the right direction? The only real question to me is whether it's all down to ineptitude and lack of ability to communicate or just full blown lying?

I think a little from column A and a little from column B. Their lack of communication is astounding. Storf is sent out to talk to people on reddit (and the old forum) but isn't told info about pressings, mono/stereo, 45RPM vs 33, when things are being shipped or if releases are open to the public or not. That also seems a bit like ineptitude and if I was him, I'd be pissed about being thrown to the wolves every single time a release comes out. Or maybe he just doesn't care too...and then they just lie when someone calls them out (i.e. the Dexter Gordon situation).

Look, I get it--sometimes things get mixed up and if he was wrong about 1 or 2 titles, I could let it slide. But he is consistently wrong or people change things without telling him and then it's a shit show. How hard is it to keep track of 2 titles or so a week and have a spec sheet on each one that gets updated as details are released? How can you be so consistently wrong about every detail of nearly every release? And when you are, how does it not occur to him to maybe be prepped better about it? If the company is selling 10mil+ in records each year, then how the fuck can they not afford to A) get an experienced manager to put some structure into the company or B) have someone keep track of releases and details? It's year 6 of their company.

If I was VMP's owner or an investor, I'd be firing a lot of people there and replacing them with people who actually know how to run a business. Whoever thought to revamp the site during holiday season should be fired on the spot. I can't imagine how much money they are bleeding with all of the mistakes lately.

 

[Btsvinylfarm]

Anybody else's shipment look like this?

View attachment 26095

That's the most jacked up looking pizza I've ever seen.

Sad

So they had a system error AND a human error and the only thing that WAS supposed to happen was members getting shafted?

I still don't buy it. They either fucked over members by allowing this highly sought after album to be open to non-members, or they fucked over members with an accidental system fuck up. And Paulie is covering for the web platform saying this was intentional?

VMP sucks, but usually it's accidental. They're not good enough to fuck this up on purpose.

So Paulie, a CS rep, just calls out Storf ..the editor or something (dept unknown) publicly with a "he was out of his lane"?


lol what is this company

Id hire Paulie when this thing all melts down.

Don't think so on storf.

Still no shipping notice for my December bucket of pizza, supposed to be a big bucket this month:
Aretha Pizza - ROTM
Brittany Howard Black Friday Sale Pizza
TLC 7 month old Pizza
Kate Bollinger EP Pizza
Both Fiona Pizzas
Charly Bliss & Clairo randomly restocked Pizza

I'm sure Woozy Pizza won't ship until next month, but I'm feeling more and more certain that if I ever receive my bucket of pizzas this month it will just be Aretha Pizza... with Pineapple... and a slice tax taken by the delivery driver.

View attachment 26102

My pizzas are still in the oven too apparently

Blossom Dearie Supreme Pizza
Lucille Pizza Pie
400 Degreez Hand-Tossed Pizza
Idler Wheel Stuffed Crust Pizza
Bad Vibes Spicy Pizza
Still Woozy Margherita Pizza
Left My Blues In San Francisco Deep Dish Pizza

Waiting on:

Idler Wheel White Pizza
Aretha I Never Loved Pizza...
Lucille Garlic and Sausage Pizza
Alex Cameron Miami Pizza
The Time for Pizza is Now
Sister Gertrude's Special Pizza
Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Pizza
Loretta Fist Pizza
Willie's Both Pizzas Now
Konradsen's Saints and Pizza Stories
Beck Hyperpizza

These people know pizza.

I love that the pizza thing took off

 

[Tys1]

Look, I get it--sometimes things get mixed up and if he was wrong about 1 or 2 titles, I could let it slide. But he is consistently wrong or people change things without telling him and then it's a shit show. How hard is it to keep track of 2 titles or so a week and have a spec sheet on each one that gets updated as details are released? How can you be so consistently wrong about every detail of nearly every release? And when you are, how does it not occur to him to maybe be prepped better about it? If the company is selling 10mil+ in records each year, then how the fuck can they not afford to A) get an experienced manager to put some structure into the company or B) have someone keep track of releases and details? It's year 6 of their company.

If I was VMP's owner or an investor, I'd be firing a lot of people there and replacing them with people who actually know how to run a business. Whoever thought to revamp the site during holiday season should be fired on the spot. I can't imagine how much money they are bleeding with all of the mistakes lately.

My level of experience in the financial field stops at watching every episode of Shark Tank.... but isn’t customer retention a very big and very important thing? If during the holidays you’re increasing your orders by like 30% and most of those are newly acquired customers.... and then you straight ignore them, send them the wrong product, don’t send the product at all, and don’t communicate it, I can’t imagine that their retention is going to be that great.

 

[Colonel_Angus]

I do remember that, but my point was that from what I understood Paulie was a CS rep and not really a senior member of the company like Storf is. So it sounds like a total throw under the bus on a senior employee. But I work for a real corporation my culture is likely different than VMP

 

[YimYames]

The fact that they are claiming they didn't know Woozy would sell so quick really just shows how much effort is being put into their product.

How are you signing contracts to press records and not have a clue about the artist's popularity?
It's a straight up lie to try and save face, again.

 

[Btsvinylfarm]

If the company is selling 10mil+ in records each year, then how the fuck can they not afford to A) get an experienced manager to put some structure into the company or B) have someone keep track of releases and details? It's year 6 of their company.

$10M in revenue, not $10M in profits. They probably can't really afford to hire that much more staff. On months where they don't have a QOTSA-type release, I'd guess they probably are just breaking even. This likely is not a very profitable business with healthy cash flows or balance sheet. There's probably a reason why there's no pay-when-it-ships option.

But their issues aren't staff bandwidth related. Proper structure and management doesn't require extra headcount. It just requires competence.

And that's the issue with this company. They're incompetence knows no limit.

 

[TimmahTao]

My bad: they made the call to have it be open to all, and I’m out house hunting today. The good news is that Woozy still has his portion of the 500, and should be selling them at shows, and probably via his site too (we have always split Risings with the artists if they ask)

This will probably make things worse, but given the way that most of our Rising release stick around for a while, we NEVER thought these would sell that fast. We love Woozy, but we didn’t know people would blow this out that fast. We’re all genuinely shocked.

Sorry to everyone who didn’t get one who wanted one. For some of you this is another thing to make you upset with VMP, and I’m sorry for that.

Not his department, am I right?

Ban Storf.

 

[Tys1]

Alright, I’ll raise my hand here. After all the lies, upon lies, and deceit and just shitty awful things. YES. I want to see them burn (metaphorically). Not only will I not be a member, but I will root for their failure. I will do so as long as they have the same people in command of this ship. Because even if the product improves, the sacks of shit that run this circus have already proven their lack of sympathy or integrity, and when somebody shows you who they are you should believe them the first time. Fuck them.

 

[Bloodlemons]

Alright, I’ll raise my hand here. After all the lies, upon lies, and deceit and just shitty awful things. YES. I want to see them burn (metaphorically). Not only will I not be a member, but I will root for their failure. I will do so as long as they have the same people in command of this ship. Because even if the product improves, the sacks of shit that run this circus have already proven their lack of sympathy or integrity, and when somebody shows you who they are you should believe them the first time. Fuck them.

HA! It's happening! It's REALLY HAPPENING!!!

 

[YimYames]

$10M in revenue, not $10M in profits. They probably can't really afford to hire that much more staff. On months where they don't have a QOTSA-type release, I'd guess they probably are just breaking even. This likely is not a very profitable business with healthy cash flows or balance sheet. There's probably a reason why there's no pay-when-it-ships option.

But their issues aren't staff bandwidth related. Proper structure and management doesn't require extra headcount. It just requires competence.

And that's the issue with this company. They're incompetence knows no limit.

Agree, if it was profits there would already be a company that actually knows what they are doing, rivaling them and taking advantage of the ones looking for an alternative.

 

[MadLucas]

That's not how you spell PIZZA

View attachment 26039

I am legitimately surprised no one has referenced this yet!

The first time I heard it, I was at a party, and I SWEAR I thought I was listening to some Ween song I had never heard.

 

[Tys1]

I am legitimately surprised no one has referenced this yet!

The first time I heard it, I was at a party, and I SWEAR I thought I was listening to some Ween song I had never heard.

This is incredible! Is this a YouTube edit or was it released like this?

 

[frodo-pkt]

Big email from customer support ...

----------------

Hi there,

Sincere apologies about the shipping delays and the confusion that this has caused. Our warehouse is currently working extended shifts during the week, and extra shifts over the weekend, but we are still catching up. We know you may be hoping to get your orders delivered in time for the holidays and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience these delays may cause. Our entire team is working extended hours and doing everything we can to get your records to you as quickly as possible.

BUNDLING:

If you ordered multiple records for December (or have outstanding records from November that you’re waiting on), you may be wondering why you are getting multiple shipments, or why some of your records have shipped already but others haven't. This is because of the way our system has been bundling orders. In prior months, all of your orders would have been bundled into a single shipment. This process is still being refined on our new system and is not yet perfect. We’re working on tightening the bundling process up moving forward, and we expect things to be more like the old experience in the coming months.

PROGRESS UPDATE:

With Black Friday, December renewals, and so many titles that were previously on pre-order coming into stock this month, our orders in December are 20%+ higher than they have been in any previous month. Our warehouse has completed about 60% of the December orders thus far, and is continuing to work overtime until we get the remaining 40% shipped.

We understand this is not an ideal experience for customers who have bought more than one thing or have subscriptions to several tracks. We recognize these people are amongst our most valuable customers and those people remain a priority for us. We will be tightening the bundling process up moving forward, and we expect things to be more like the old experience in the coming months.

INVENTORY / SHIPPING TIMELINES:

Currently, there are no delayed titles, including titles that were previously delayed in November. This includes:

John Coltrane 'Blue World'
Merle Haggard 'Live From Austin, TX '78’
Waylon Jennings 'Live From Austin, TX '84'
Floating Points 'Crush’
Vince Guaraldi Trio 'A Charlie Brown Christmas (Audiophile Edition)’
Spoon ‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’
Wild Flag ‘Wild Flag’
Sholohmo ‘Bad Vibes’
Black Pumas ‘Black Pumas’
The Rolling Stones ‘Let it Bleed’
TLC ‘Fanmail’, ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’
Beck ‘Hyperspace’ -- This was originally delayed to January due to the label’s warehouse but is now en route to us and will ship this month.

Fulfillment status for individual orders is different on a per customer / shipment basis. As noted above, our warehouse will continue to run overtime until everything is shipped out.

Unfortunately, at this time, our customer support team members are unable to offer detailed statuses on orders which are marked “unfulfilled”. Please know that these orders haven’t been lost, and will be packed and shipped out as soon as possible. All tracking information will be sent via email as things leave the warehouse.

A NOTE ABOUT THE MIGRATION

We fully recognize and take responsibility for the issues caused in our recent system migration. We understand it’s been bumpy, has caused confusion, and has not been perfect in its execution. Our team has been working around the clock for the last several weeks resolving bugs and stabilizing the system to ensure a smoother experience moving forward. We appreciate everyone’s patience and support as we continue to work through this migration.

Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by all of this. Please let us know if you have any other questions or if we can do anything to help.










Jason
Customer Support Agent
Vinyl Me, Please
Now spinning: -aire by The End of the Ocean

This email is a service from Vinyl Me, Please.
[Z3POZ0-027D]

What a load of BS that email is. My November box is a single record and still hasn't even shipped. So no it's not bundling, they just fucked up. But it's really cool to know that they've fulfilled 60% of the December records before getting to my November one even though I've now been in contact with them via email 4 separate times. Just astounding a company who leaned on good CS as a way to sell their product reach pinnacle levels of incompetance.

So Paulie, a CS rep, just calls out Storf ..the editor or something (dept unknown) publicly with a "he was out of his lane"?


lol what is this company

I mean, he's not wrong. Storf really should STFU on CS related issues if he doesn't know what he's talking about. Just stick the not my department or ignore. There are people at your organization paid to handle this. Do your job and let them do theirs.

 

[WhiteDahlias]

This is incredible! Is this a YouTube edit or was it released like this?

The original song was from a movie they did back in the 90's. My sister used to watch it on repeat as a kid. This gave me a good laugh.

 

[MadLucas]

Still Woozy’s sound is truly unique.

...

I highly recommend that you grab this VMP Rising as soon as it drops!

Yes! It’s like a bit claustrophobic, yet so warm, cute, dizzying and comforting. I feel like it is an actual unique sound. It’s not just dreamy and sensual and romantic, it has that stuffy, claustrophobic element that is unique!

Glad you like it. Hope you get it.

Meanwhile, I'll be fine over here with that Kindness album that you oh-so-quickly shit on me for enjoying and recommending.

...

 

[Dead C]

I think a little from column A and a little from column B. Their lack of communication is astounding. Storf is sent out to talk to people on reddit (and the old forum) but isn't told info about pressings, mono/stereo, 45RPM vs 33, when things are being shipped or if releases are open to the public or not. That also seems a bit like ineptitude and if I was him, I'd be pissed about being thrown to the wolves every single time a release comes out. Or maybe he just doesn't care too...and then they just lie when someone calls them out (i.e. the Dexter Gordon situation).

Look, I get it--sometimes things get mixed up and if he was wrong about 1 or 2 titles, I could let it slide. But he is consistently wrong or people change things without telling him and then it's a shit show. How hard is it to keep track of 2 titles or so a week and have a spec sheet on each one that gets updated as details are released? How can you be so consistently wrong about every detail of nearly every release? And when you are, how does it not occur to him to maybe be prepped better about it? If the company is selling 10mil+ in records each year, then how the fuck can they not afford to A) get an experienced manager to put some structure into the company or B) have someone keep track of releases and details? It's year 6 of their company.

If I was VMP's owner or an investor, I'd be firing a lot of people there and replacing them with people who actually know how to run a business. Whoever thought to revamp the site during holiday season should be fired on the spot. I can't imagine how much money they are bleeding with all of the mistakes lately.

2 things. The first is that people actually base their purchases off the misinformation they're given and it seems like VMP never acknowledge or respect that fact.

Secondly, I think they believe they have the right people with knowledge, but they are motivated by the wrong things, so it blows up in their faces. Let's assume they drove Tyler off by eschewing customer care and communication as a focus. They bring in this Adam guy who immediately has them setting up major deals they can't get paid for, because they can't work through the invoicing, and setting up this kickfurther shit to get fronted on financing for product. They have to believe those are the type of people they need and the moves to make, while believing that the philosophies that Tyler was endorsing in that article are naive and something they've outgrown, rather than exactly the sort of model that gained them any sort of notoriety or success in the first place.

 

[djdavedk]

I am legitimately surprised no one has referenced this yet!

The first time I heard it, I was at a party, and I SWEAR I thought I was listening to some Ween song I had never heard.

Tastes good on the bun!

P I C C A

 

[Dead C]

My level of experience in the financial field stops at watching every episode of Shark Tank.... but isn’t customer retention a very big and very important thing? If during the holidays you’re increasing your orders by like 30% and most of those are newly acquired customers.... and then you straight ignore them, send them the wrong product, don’t send the product at all, and don’t communicate it, I can’t imagine that their retention is going to be that great.

Anyone remember when Paulie tried to tell us that they were focusing on customer retention and had some big plans in the works making that a priority?



Still waiting...

 

[Dead C]

Tastes good on the bun!

P I C C A

 

[Tys1]

Anyone remember when Paulie tried to tell us that they were focusing on customer retention and had some big plans in the works making that a priority?

View attachment 26119

Still waiting...

I think he may have been referring to getting rid of the one month’s in favor of a 3 month minimum.
I mean on paper, you can say your one month+ membership retention is 100% but just like cheating in school they’ll cancel a few memberships in the middle as an “accident” (they’ve already done this) so that they can say they’re retention is over 90%