pdxjims opened this issue on Aug 18, 2003 ยท 36 posts
ChromeTiger posted Wed, 20 August 2003 at 8:36 AM
I have to stand with pdxjims on this one. CL made a public statement, in writing, from a high-ranking member of the staff, promising certain items (in this case, the new animals). It stands to reason that a certain percentage of pre-orders, and even post-release orders, were influenced in their purchase decision by these public statements. The promised items have yet to be delivered. Yes, CL has undergone some rather drastic changes, and dramatic upheavals. This changes none of the above statements. In some states, this could be considered grounds for a class-action lawsuit, under the allegation that CL made these public statements to promote sales, knowing full well that the promises could not be fulfilled...basically, intent to defraud. Laugh if you like, shake your heads and say to yourselves 'couldn't happen'. I work with a contract and copyright lawyer, and it happens more often than you think. Now I think the majority of us know that isn't the case. The circumstances CL was faced with determined that the additional promised content could not be delivered. Does this relieve CL of their obligation to somehow compensate for this? No, it does not. Even if they have decided that the additional content can't/won't be done, they have an obligation to the customer base, as a company of conscience (which they proved to be under the leadership of Kupa), to make some small compensation for promises broken, even if it means a hit to the bottom line. How to do this? Well, a very simple and obvious means would be a $10-$20 DAZ gift certificate to every registered Poser 5 user. (Yeah, I know...CL giving you 10-20 bucks to spend at DAZ...like that would ever happen). I'd almost be willing to wager that DAZ would even cut them a deal on the total bill...what do you think? In one fell swoop, CL could make every current Poser 5 user feel somewhat better about the money they spent, and reaffirm their commitment to the Poser Community. Instead, they're repackaging Poser 4 to draw in the "consumer" base, and enlarge the market. No, they're putting a new package on an old product because it's a cheap way to suck in new users and generate nearly overhead-free revenue, which 'positive cashflow position' or not, they need. Let's call a spade a spade. Instead, they're in the planning stages for Poser 6, and Poser 5 SR4...How long has it been since Poser 5's release, and it's still not working properly? And they're planning 6??? "They don't see DAZ Studio as competition for Poser". No? Then why are they now looking at a complete rework for Poser 6, to include the OpenGL functionality that DS has already shown to be using? It would be far more honest a business stance to say "Sure, we can see DAZ Studio as a competing product, and we hope that will fuel us to make Poser that much better a product."...far more believable anyway... I guess my overall opinion is this: Curious Labs is now a cold corporate machine. The 'family' atmosphere is gone, they have your money, and they need to focus on selling more product. If you're not buying, you're not high up on the priority list. That is, until the next product is (supposedly) ready for market....then they're all about the customer. DAZ, conversely, has steadily proven to be about the customer...past, present, and future. They listen, they respond (without making us feel like idiots), and they support every product they offer, without exception. And when they screw up (and they have), they fix it, plus. That, in my opinion, is the sign of a well-run business. Wow...didn't mean for that to rant on...guess I had it built up... :-) ChromeTiger