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Post by mom on Aug 28, 2015 19:23:08 GMT
Take a look at the Baby Boy Bakery website for some clue as to what SC might be doing with her. Check out the whiteboards - looks like some kind of monthly subscription. A cooking planner of some type? There are albums on the table. Also take the Surveymonkey questionnaire linked on that page - it asks questions about cooking. My guess is SC is looking for massive numbers of new customers. BBB has 279,000 Instagram followers. Brene Brown has 530,000 Facebook followers. If they can get even a small percentage of these people to buy a co-branded product, it could be worth a lot of $$$. The partnership makes sense if you're planning to expand like you suggested. Funny thing is, SC seems to be struggling to keep up with curating and packing innovative, problem-free kits for current subscribers. I'd be wary of signing up for any SC/BBB venture in the future. But, there are a staggering number of BBB followers who may not know any better and get locked in using the new and insane subscription & shipping policies in place. I am placing my money on a kids cooking/creating kit. |
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Post by aggiebonfire00 on Aug 28, 2015 22:05:02 GMT
I LOVE Ali…but isn't her thread about her new class against April's new TOU?
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Post by lovestocreate on Aug 28, 2015 22:21:30 GMT
Abragg79 -
You mentioned this on the SC thread:
"I actually deleted most of my gallery...I got really upset with the TOU stuff - and I learned something that happened to other members who spoke up that really disturbed me and made me not want any of my stuff out here."
Is this something you're able to tell us about? I already deleted all personal information from my account over there but I'm definitely curious about this!
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Post by aggiebonfire00 on Aug 28, 2015 22:37:29 GMT
I just saw on FB that they are hiring.
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Post by anniefb on Aug 28, 2015 22:46:40 GMT
I just saw on FB that they are hiring. I see one of the positions is quality assurance. That should help. |
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Post by mdith4him on Aug 28, 2015 23:22:34 GMT
I'll just leave this here....
From the Junior Graphic Designer position info:
"Started in 2006, Studio Calico has rapidly become known as the go-to resource for a high-quality, cutting edge, monthly paper crafting kit. Though our company has grown up very quickly, we still have small business values, where the customer is treated like gold and our team members like family. When you walk in our office, it is not uncommon to find someone drawing on a chalkboard wall or brewing locally sourced coffee. You can call us creative, hipsters, dreamers, whoever you like. The bottom line is we enjoy every day and are always pushing each other to be the best we can for our customers."
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kaybree
Full Member
Posts: 248
Jul 23, 2015 10:38:23 GMT
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Post by kaybree on Aug 28, 2015 23:28:27 GMT
I'll just leave this here.... From the Junior Graphic Designer position info: "Started in 2006, Studio Calico has rapidly become known as the go-to resource for a high-quality, cutting edge, monthly paper crafting kit. Though our company has grown up very quickly, we still have small business values, where the customer is treated like gold and our team members like family. When you walk in our office, it is not uncommon to find someone drawing on a chalkboard wall or brewing locally sourced coffee. You can call us creative, hipsters, dreamers, whoever you like. The bottom line is we enjoy every day and are always pushing each other to be the best we can for our customers." *snort* |
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kaybree
Full Member
Posts: 248
Jul 23, 2015 10:38:23 GMT
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Post by kaybree on Aug 28, 2015 23:30:44 GMT
FWIW, I doubt very much they are trying to get rid of the kit club. Jasmine posted on IG that she's currently designing for March's kits (hilariously, with a picture of a shamrock).
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Post by maryboys on Aug 28, 2015 23:53:48 GMT
"...corporate narcissism occurs when a narcissist becomes the chief executive officer (CEO) or other leadership role within the senior management team and gathers an adequate mix of codependents around him (or her) to support the narcissistic
behavior. Narcissists profess company loyalty but are only really committed to their own agendas, thus organizational decisions are founded on the narcissist's own interests rather than the interests of the organization as a whole, the various stakeholders, or the society in which
the organization operates. As a result, "a certain kind of charismatic leader can run a financially successful company on thoroughly unhealthy principles for a time. But... the chickens always come home to roost"."
ETA: It seems that any employee who joins SC and "gets the picture there"? Always leaves. This is not just random. So it seems the SC solution has become acquiring contracts with known, trusted people in the industry (Ali E, Becky H); and also establishing contact with other women on social media who have large followings, whether due to a business (Elsie of ABM, Emily Ley) or because of personal tragedy (Baby Boy Bakery). I have to tell you that when I saw this bereaved mother being capitalized on - I truly felt ill. It violates everything I have ever believed in as far as human decency.
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Post by laila2207 on Aug 29, 2015 0:26:14 GMT
I agree that it seems like they want to quit with the kits, but why would they start with the planner kits then? Wasn´t that started in july?
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AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502 
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Post by AmandaA on Aug 29, 2015 0:28:08 GMT
Hello ladies! I decided it was time to stop lurking and join the community here since I am reading more here than SC these days and certainly feel more comfortable chatting over here at this point. I am alakard over at SC. I am not sure which of the 12 steps I am on officially, but I am trying to detox myself from SC so that I don't have to go cold turkey when I don't convert my PL sub come January. I tend to agree with the folks who don't think that SC has intentionally sabotaged their kit club business. I think they just assumed that it was on autopilot and could take care of itself while they go conquer the rest of the world with all of these new products and collaborations. Part of me thinks that they are all down there in their hipster offices, drinking their fancy coffee and high-fiving each other about what an awesome company "they" are because of their recent successes with Ali Edwards and ABM. Which I am pretty sure everyone here would agree has nothing to do with them and everything to do with people like Ali. Because lets be honest, she could put her brand on a bunch of crap at Wal-Mart and it would sell to her following (and not to disparage them- I subbed to her story kits for 6 months myself). So it is going to be huge regardless of, or in spite of, SC's involvement. But I doubt they have that same opinion. So for them, business as usual is awesome and they can do what they want to the kit club side because they have a new fan base that they mistakenly think is theirs. The thing I have been wondering, and don't think has been mentioned, is if Becky Higgins has any idea about what is going on over there with her brand on it. Now I don't know Becky, obviously, but after following her blog and brand since its infancy I would tend to think that she would not treat her customers they way SC has started to do. I follow her on IG and her feed is constantly overflowing with positive feedback and gratitude from customers about how awesome the customer service is over on her own Project Life website/shop/app/etc. And I tend to believe that is true. So I just have to wonder about the nature of her licensing PL kits through them. Do you think it is a permanent deal because of their affiliations through AC? In the past 2.5 years there have been many competitors come on the scene with PL kits under their own names that are just as good if not better than SC. Is it worth hoping that she might dump her deal with them and go elsewhere before they start to tarnish her brand too? I have always thought it was odd that the only thing she does with regard to their collaboration is post something on her blog and IG when new kits are released through SC. They don't seem to have any other interaction or presence together at trade shows, events, etc. do they? I just don't see her and April hanging out being BFF's, ha ha. So those are my thoughts for today that I couldn't post on the boards over there  But I must say that I am SHOCKED "the" thread that got started up yesterday wasn't deleted today over there. Hooray for free speech! |
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,862
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Post by lizacreates on Aug 29, 2015 5:15:29 GMT
I am not undermining the separation issues some people are experiencing, but there is life after SC, and it’s a good life!
I was a scrapbook kit subscriber since its first year. I cancelled a couple years ago. There were a number of reasons, primarily SC’s disregard for its customers’ perfectly legitimate concerns and complaints, exacerbated by meaningless placating by various SC employees, which were interspersed with veiled threats by “management.” The whole experience was patronizing and that kind of attitude smacked of arrogance. I might just accept that level of arrogance if they were paying me, BUT I was paying them! What’s wrong with that picture? I recall that the last really good customer service experience I had was with Lorie, and imho, service went downhill fast when she left.
Second, I just got plum tired of the mad dash for add-ons where I had to drop whatever it was I was doing, rush to the PC, and hope I score the kit I really wanted, something that was especially difficult to do when you’re working. That lost its novelty very, very quickly. I can’t even begin to fathom the dedication of international customers who had to prop their eyeballs open and stay awake at ungodly hours just to purchase add-ons that would disappear in a nanosecond.
Third reason was the diminishing amount of product and declining quality. Even now, I will look at kit contents and the price and actually laugh. I personally would feel bamboozled.
I’m a scrapbooker-I just want my pretty papers and stuff and I don’t like silly games and I don’t like being played. So, I hightailed it out of there. Since then, I’ve discovered so many other brands that I enjoy a great deal more, as well as many other online vendors who APPRECIATE my business and don’t routinely mess up my orders. I’ve been scrapping like mad every free moment I get, and I will say in all honesty—there was never a moment when I felt I missed the SC kits. Never. My layouts have not suffered one bit from the separation, neither has my scrapping style, and the best part is I get more bang for my buck.
Additionally, though minor, I don’t know why April even began to interact with the customers on her MB as if she was some sort of BFF. To me, that was a mistake, especially now that she has had to institute some punitive changes across the board. Truthfully, I found her involvement in the MB rather hokey and fake. I guess I just like things simple: I give you money, you give me product in an orderly and timely fashion, the end; we’re not girlfriends.
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Post by Skellinton on Aug 29, 2015 5:59:41 GMT
Yeah, I don't think that is it. April is a narcissist. I think she is so sure of people buying whatever she sells she doesn't see the need to treat her customers with any sort of care or concern. She knows no matter what crap they pull that there will be customers that back them up and sing their praises, I also think she is surrounded by synchophants and yes men. Remember when G-man came on the boards and chastised everyone for "attacking." April? She is a total snot on the boards, the once or twice a year she graces them with her prescence she doesn't exactly give off a supportive or encouraging vibe. I have always found it extremely odd that she isn't more present on the boards, heck, I think it is odd the DT isn't more present on the boards. But it is super odd that the woman who is the face of SC can't even be bothered to post on her message boards unless there is a major problem and she is getting raked over the coals.
Look at all the crap that has been happening for the past 2-3 years and people are just now finally starting to get fed up and finally dropping their subs. I think they might see a difference in January, but even then I don't know if it will be enough for April to admit it is because of the mismanagement, she will problaby chalk it up to the economy or scrapbooking being a sinking ship or some such nonsense. Of course, it could also be that there are so many people who are constantly busting SC balls on the boards (more so then I ever did, and for a lot longer!!!!) that still sport the pink frames that it won't effect their bottom line at all.
I would love for Lorie or RobBoye or Scarlet or any of the other former members to post anon what really happens behind the scenes, I bet it ain't pretty!
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Post by abr79 on Aug 29, 2015 11:51:30 GMT
Abragg79 - You mentioned this on the SC thread: "I actually deleted most of my gallery...I got really upset with the TOU stuff - and I learned something that happened to other members who spoke up that really disturbed me and made me not want any of my stuff out here." Is this something you're able to tell us about? I already deleted all personal information from my account over there but I'm definitely curious about this! I actually learned it here in this thread. It's back a few pages but it's the letters and emails that Skellinton and devildog received from April when they deigned to voice their opinions. It seriously troubled me - to the point that I felt it necessary to start the process of removing my info from their site. That's some serious crazy right there and I don't need any of that in my life - not for scrapbooking supplies. |
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Post by abr79 on Aug 29, 2015 11:53:26 GMT
I'll just leave this here.... From the Junior Graphic Designer position info: "Started in 2006, Studio Calico has rapidly become known as the go-to resource for a high-quality, cutting edge, monthly paper crafting kit. Though our company has grown up very quickly, we still have small business values, where the customer is treated like gold and our team members like family. When you walk in our office, it is not uncommon to find someone drawing on a chalkboard wall or brewing locally sourced coffee. You can call us creative, hipsters, dreamers, whoever you like. The bottom line is we enjoy every day and are always pushing each other to be the best we can for our customers."  The word "delusional" has been used pretty often when describing this company. This job posting further proves that. |
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Post by gigi333 on Aug 29, 2015 11:56:45 GMT
The mind boggles at what goes on behind the scenes
That advert is hilarious
The are so full of their own amazing eps it's just too funny to me
Yesterday yet again the email was wrong and wouldn't work for internationals. No follow up email for internationals with the new code!! They irritate me so much! I want to win the euro millions and but them out and then hire a selections of current and past subbers to be their bosses!
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Post by gigi333 on Aug 29, 2015 11:58:56 GMT
Abragg79 - You mentioned this on the SC thread: "I actually deleted most of my gallery...I got really upset with the TOU stuff - and I learned something that happened to other members who spoke up that really disturbed me and made me not want any of my stuff out here." Is this something you're able to tell us about? I already deleted all personal information from my account over there but I'm definitely curious about this! I actually learned it here in this thread. It's back a few pages but it's the letters and emails that Skellinton and devildog received from April when they deigned to voice their opinions. It seriously troubled me - to the point that I felt it necessary to start the process of removing my info from their site. That's some serious crazy right there and I don't need any of that in my life - not for scrapbooking supplies. I got an email asking me if Samantha's could ring me one Friday evening because she deleted my thread because I said shame on you in a post directed at April for comments she made about my friend!! I declined! |
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Post by abr79 on Aug 29, 2015 12:36:32 GMT
I actually learned it here in this thread. It's back a few pages but it's the letters and emails that Skellinton and devildog received from April when they deigned to voice their opinions. It seriously troubled me - to the point that I felt it necessary to start the process of removing my info from their site. That's some serious crazy right there and I don't need any of that in my life - not for scrapbooking supplies. I got an email asking me if Samantha's could ring me one Friday evening because she deleted my thread because I said shame on you in a post directed at April for comments she made about my friend!! I declined! Yeah, that's just weird to me! what was she hoping to achieve by calling you? I just don't get it. |
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Post by mdith4him on Aug 29, 2015 12:38:28 GMT
They wanted to CALL you?!? That sounds like you got in trouble at school and the teacher needs to call your parents. How ridiculous.
I totally get that forums and message boards have rules and yes, if a thread devolves into name calling and really negative, nasty stuff, then it should be locked or deleted. But calling and sending letters to members who have stepped over a line (in their estimation) is uncalled for. This is the internet. If a forum admin doesn't like the way someone is using the boards, block the user for a set period of time or ban them. And I would think that would only be after several warnings for really over the top commenting.
I wonder how many total subbers they have? Did enough people leave to really make an impact or not really?
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scrapandsee
Shy Member
Posts: 12 
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Post by scrapandsee on Aug 29, 2015 13:28:51 GMT
Almost succumbed to the lure of the sale, but there's really nothing worth it for me to buy - even w/the sale. If it was a similar 20% off and free shipping at SSS or another kit club, I'd be filling my cart. I know that SSS has Stamptember sales coming up, so I'll just wait.
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Post by gigi333 on Aug 29, 2015 14:26:38 GMT
I got an email asking me if Samantha's could ring me one Friday evening because she deleted my thread because I said shame on you in a post directed at April for comments she made about my friend!! I declined! Yeah, that's just weird to me! what was she hoping to achieve by calling you? I just don't get it. I don't get it either I found it intimidating tbh after refusing and emailing back and forth it was embarrassing how positive the comments about how wonderful April is as a person and friend! blergh!! |
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Post by gigi333 on Aug 29, 2015 14:27:44 GMT
They wanted to CALL you?!? That sounds like you got in trouble at school and the teacher needs to call your parents. How ridiculous. I totally get that forums and message boards have rules and yes, if a thread devolves into name calling and really negative, nasty stuff, then it should be locked or deleted. But calling and sending letters to members who have stepped over a line (in their estimation) is uncalled for. This is the internet. If a forum admin doesn't like the way someone is using the boards, block the user for a set period of time or ban them. And I would think that would only be after several warnings for really over the top commenting. I wonder how many total subbers they have? Did enough people leave to really make an impact or not really? That is exactly how I felt! Like a child at school. I don't think what I said was bad but maybe that's a cultural thing |
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,862
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Post by lizacreates on Aug 29, 2015 15:13:55 GMT
“I got an email asking me if Samantha's could ring me one Friday evening because she deleted my thread because I said shame on you in a post directed at April for comments she made about my friend!!”
That just sidestepped bizarre and walked right on to crazy.
Let's see...how do we solve the real problem of dissatisfied customers? I have a brilliant idea: Let's phone the members who have negative posts and strong-arm them into ceasing. Then, we can sell a class on marketing.
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Post by stahija on Aug 29, 2015 15:27:20 GMT
If the message boards on SC are too much for SC to police why doesn't Sc get rid of them? They could chalk it up to wanting to put their efforts into another area (design, classes, etc....). It blows my mind that a company could/would put that much time into policing message boards and not into something like customer service. And lots of other scrapbook sites don't have message boards.
And another thing, what was the deal with the 20% off plus free shipping code? They put so much effort into increasing overall kit coasts and shipping costs and then decide to give a big discount on both, seems odd. Do they think that code will make people return? As a business person most of what SC does goes against most of what I learned in college and most business practices used.
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Post by freeatlast on Aug 29, 2015 15:51:40 GMT
I am still a PL subscriber but that will end next month. Should have pulled the trigger already, I know, I know.
I find it interesting that on the cusp of the release of the September kits, all 4 of the August add-ons I am "allowed" to purchase are still available. The only things that sold out? Stamp sets!!!!
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Post by ScrapsontheRocks on Aug 29, 2015 15:51:56 GMT
Perhaps they are "afraid" to shut down the MB's. They know what happened when the Whites did this at 2P's, how quickly we regrouped here and how negatively we all spoke about the Whites. Oh wait... ETA: I was responding to stahija |
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Post by icequeen on Aug 29, 2015 15:53:20 GMT
If they really want to provide proper customer service, they'd get a 1-800 number. I can't understand a mail order company that refuses to allow customer-initiated phone conversations. It would alleviate a lot of public airing of grievances and probably resolve issues faster than starting convos. Confused or unhappy customers want and need to have their voices heard, and if the only place to speak is the message boards, well no surprise every post ain't from a cheerleader. Creating a TOU to silence this doesn't make the problems go away. Of course, you'd need competent CS reps answering the phones who have a level of autonomy to offer reasonable solutions on the spot. Not sure how that idea would be received by management.
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michellegb
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,919
Location: New England and loving it!
Jun 26, 2014 0:04:59 GMT
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Post by michellegb on Aug 29, 2015 16:02:54 GMT
So the OP of the "where is everyone thread" actually just asked for it to be locked or deleted because of all the negativity! I've been watching the train wreck and this is just completely indicative of how only rainbows, puppies and unicorns are allowed or wanted for discussion - not only by the SC staff, but the members too. I miss the old SC but am so glad that I moved on from their kits a couple years ago when it started going bad.
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Post by mdith4him on Aug 29, 2015 16:08:00 GMT
If they really want to provide proper customer service, they'd get a 1-800 number. ... ...Of course, you'd need competent CS reps answering the phones who have a level of autonomy to offer reasonable solutions on the spot. Not sure how that idea would be received by management. But a lot of the problems people complain about aren't things CS reps could do anything about. Yes, they could help with broken items, missing products, etc. and that would alleviate some of the message board topics. But they can do nothing about policy changes. They can't help with miscommunications or announcements about new stuff that doesn't work right. Can you imagine a 1-800 number during reveal/preview?? That'd be a mess. |
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Post by anniefb on Aug 29, 2015 17:21:09 GMT
I got an email asking me if Samantha's could ring me one Friday evening because she deleted my thread because I said shame on you in a post directed at April for comments she made about my friend!! I declined! Yeah, that's just weird to me! what was she hoping to achieve by calling you? I just don't get it. That is just bizarre. What company would do that? |
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But I must say that I am SHOCKED "the" thread that got started up yesterday wasn't deleted today over there. Hooray for free speech!
The word "delusional" has been used pretty often when describing this company. This job posting further proves that.
