Battlefront.com Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Hi all, It is with great disappointment and embarrassment that I have to make this post. As you all know, we pride ourselves on quality and attention to detail. Sadly, as I will explain below, we had our first failing in regards to our high standards. We also consider the support of our customers something that should NEVER be taken for granted or abused. Hopefully you all will see in this post how seriously we take legitimate customer dissatisfaction and how completely we seek to address it. As most of you know the Combat Mission - Barbarossa to Berlin Strategy Guide (Strategy Guide for short) was released a few weeks ago. You also know that it didn't take long before people started posting typos and mistakes found when their copies arrived. At first we thought this was not surprising since the book is 300 pages long and it is a first edition. We thanks people for the corrections then sent them off to the author for a 2nd edition print run. A little while later some more mistakes were pointed out. We started to feel like the number of errors was getting to be a bit much, but we didn't feel that even this number was a "killer". Again, we took the errors and handed them off to the author. Argh... another week went by and even MORE mistakes were pointed out! Now we knew that was something seriously wrong with the text. The new batch of mistakes were handed over to the author and we stated that we needed to put out a PDF errata correction ASAP. *SNAP* the straw that broke the camel's back hit us this weekend. Yet another thread was started up detailing errors, both grammatical and factual, which clearly showed that the bottom of the problem had not been found. The problems found thus far were enough that even a PDF errata correction wasn't likely to be good enough. We had a very quick conference about the problems with the Strategy Guide, and everybody agreed that we needed to do the following: 1. Stop the sale of the Strategy Guide without further delay. This was done on Sunday, December 22nd. All orders placed before we put up the backorder notice will be sent out. 2. Work hard to get the author to make all corrections and changes ASAP so we can produce a 2nd edition that will be free of mistakes. 3. Inform you all of the problem and... 4. Promise to send a corrected 2nd edition to each and every one of our customers who took receipt of the 1st edition. The replacement will be sent out automatically and free of charge as soon as we have a corrected print run in our warehouse. When will this be? We don't know, but it is certain to be no sooner than mid to late February. Well, there you have it. We are formally apologizing for what can only be described as an unacceptable screwup. The number and nature of the mistakes is inexcusable. Although Battlefront itself did not wish or cause this problem, we must accept full responsibility for it and therefore put things right with our customers. For those of you who might speculate, the costs of such a remedy were computed but not part of the decision to send out replacements or a PDF. If we had valued the costs more than our customers' good will, I can promise you we wouldn't be sending out replacements Hopefully our admission, apology, and remedy will reassure everybody that we are still the same crazy idealists that we were 5 years ago when we started up Battlefront. You folks are the reason we are here. We intend to never take this fact for granted. Thanks, Battlefront Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 and that's why I will always be willing to buy your games and products. Come Home, all is forgiven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 That's great news, Steve. You're reputation is untarnishable, man. Now go celebrate the holidays for a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilBohin Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Agree with previous comment. It's good to see there are still some idealists left out there. Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Crowley Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Now that is what I call customer-service, with a capital C. A mighty fine move which I am sure will not only eradicate the buggy problems but demonstrates,once again, BFC's longtime commitment to excellence. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all at BFC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determinant Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 You guys are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sitzkrieg Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 WOW! :eek: Now that's support! As someone who purchased and received the first edition strategy guide, this is fantastic news. I was a bit disappointed with the number of errors (made it hard to read at times) but still found it to be a good guide overall. Looking forward to the second edition. A now very loyal supporter of BFC for life, Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Very impressive! Happy to hear the old spirit is alive Thank you! M. [ December 23, 2002, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Mattias ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeknodathon Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Originally posted by jd: and that's why I will always be willing to buy your games and products. Come Home, all is forgiven Hear, hear, jd! BFC gets my money every time... I hope they win more customers with this devotion to detail and customer satisfaction. Alex [ December 23, 2002, 02:37 PM: Message edited by: Yeknodathon ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argie Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 I didn't thought into buying the guide. You will be receiving my order soon now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Byte Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 thank you battlefront and for my part I will destroy the .....1st edition and not pass it on or sell it 2nd hand ...might even keep it could become a collectors item ...you guys rarely screw up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Steve, good on you. I am just sorry it all happens at the same time. The CompUSA stuff and now this. It never rains, but pours it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeknodathon Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 .... Of course, I have a pristine, original first edition copy... must be a collector's item... open to reasonable offers... Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelas Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Works for me, thanks. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Bellator Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 That is incredibly big hearted of you BFC and very much appreciated. A Christmas cheer to you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Carr Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Thanks for the terrific support. I hope that this mistake did not cost BTS too much money. I would hate to see such a great company take a hit. Looking forward to purchasing more of your great products in the future. Merry Christmas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 I totally agree with the rest of the people, this is excellent service. Merry Xmas to all at BFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holien Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Well I only bought it to give you guys some money I have not even read it yet... Have a great break and treat your partners and kids with some of your valuable time and love. Merry Christmas... H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markgame Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Originally posted by Yeknodathon: .... Of course, I have a pristine, original first edition copy... must be a collector's item... open to reasonable offers... AlexHAH! I have a first edition with the misprinted pages! EBAY here I come! Seriously, this is pretty first-rate on the part of Battlefront. Now let's see, what else can I buy from them...??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzertruppe Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 That's all anyone could ask for...support! ( which is a dying thing these days) Merry Christmas guys...and thank you for making my gaming even better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou2000 Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 To Battlefront - Thankyou. Not an easy decision to make ... but yet again it shows the true excellence of BFC's customer service and dedication to high standards. Lou2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agua Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Damned! Impressive. Thanks a ton. I'll probably get flambayed here, but I don't think your long time customers would fault you at all for simply releasing a .pdf errata. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaBellum Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 I didn't order the strategy guide vor a number of reasons. But after this exhibition of customer service and dedication to their fans I've decided to order it as soon as the 'corrected' version will be available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markgame Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Originally posted by ParaBellum: I didn't order the strategy guide vor a number of reasons. But after this exhibition of customer service and dedication to their fans I've decided to order it as soon as the 'corrected' version will be available.Actually you can order it now, since they aren't shipping any more of the "bad" versions. That way you'll get it as soon as it's available and also give Battlefront a little Xmas bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Sgt. Havilandt Posted December 23, 2002 Share Posted December 23, 2002 Thank you battlefront and Happy Holidays to the crew and the rest of the board members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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