Whats the deal???

[pickle]

Anyone had any dealings with Dark Raven Designs lately? I was trying to put in an order for $25,000. - $30,000. worth of props, emailed them at least 3 times & left @ least 2 messages! Why do they bother going to Tradeshows/Conventions to sell their products? Their money could be better spent on sending the owners & employees to a customer service seminar because theirs SUCKS! If they can't even return an email or phone call to say "we're not taking any more orders @ this point", than they could @ least retain a possible customer for the future. But when you get ignored from the start it tells you something is not quite right with the company...other than shitty ass service. If I had run my biz like that I wouldn't have lasted 1 year let alone 25+ years. Customer service is crucial but obviously grabbing deposit money is what it seems a lot in this industry turn to. Can't wait til next years conventions so I can stand face to face with some of these companies & listen to their BS excuses! Well that's just my 2 cents!

P.

[HordeOfUndead]

Dark Raven Designs make excellent products which are not only reliable but second to none in my opinion. They are a local vendor where I live in Buffalo, NY.

To answer your post, the owner is more than likely in China still. They had a huge overseas order/project with another local haunt. Spoke to the owner last week to check the status of our order which hasn't been charged yet.

I was told he'd be back by the end of June. Orders on deck to be started asap early July. If you're trying to order anything from Dark Raven now (especially an order that big) don't count on it.

We waited too long to order an animatronic last season (as in by early June) and missed out due to so many orders before ours, not to mention the building material they need to make their props.

That's as much as I know, but should definitely answer your question as to why you haven't been able to reach them!

[pickle]

I understand stuff happens but whether your out of the country, overseas, whatever, there is all types of call forwarding, answering services & machines that could have left a msg. like that to alert customers. Last I checked emails can travel around the globe. I appreciate your thoughts on this but I am not an excuse man...I didn't make them over my years in biz & don't to easily except them. Bottom line is there needs to be communication within a company and someone needs to be responsible for that customer service. I would love to see the reaction from my customers if I left the country for a month and didn't communicate with anyone! Sometimes even great products get overshadowed by terrible customer relations and will eventually do a company in. Unfortunately I see it all the time.



P.

[freak 'n' stein]

I understand stuff happens but whether your out of the country, overseas, whatever, there is all types of call forwarding, answering services & machines that could have left a msg. like that to alert customers. Last I checked emails can travel around the globe. I appreciate your thoughts on this but I am not an excuse man...I didn't make them over my years in biz & don't to easily except them. Bottom line is there needs to be communication within a company and someone needs to be responsible for that customer service. I would love to see the reaction from my customers if I left the country for a month and didn't communicate with anyone! Sometimes even great products get overshadowed by terrible customer relations and will eventually do a company in. Unfortunately I see it all the time.



P.

I couldn't agree more! Communication is key in this industry. There have been TOO many shady dealings in the past. In all honesty, I'd feel more comfortable spending my money and buying second hand props from others rather than directly from some vendors. It's terrible when you haven't updated your website, when links don't work and when you don't return calls and have to rely on third party forum users to "vouch" for you. Simple as "We are no longer taking orders for the season" or the like. We UNDERSTAND lots of things are made to order, especially by smaller companies. Nothing excites a customer more than to be able to communicate with whom we're spending our hard earned cash with. I can't say enough about Frightprops and Darklight. Two AMAZING companies I have no problem spending money with because I've never had an issue. Ordering, Receiving, Communicating. I'm certain there are plenty of other vendors but for those who are slacking, maybe they should take heed. Not sure why I'm even soap-boxing seeing as this happens every few months but yeah...just my two cents...no change back.

[pickle]

O,

I agree with you 110%! These vendors act like their doing YOU a favor taking your money! Don't know where they get off but I for one am going to let my feelings be heard loud & clear with some of these vendors @ next years conventions. And I also agree with you that there are a certain few vendors (couple you've mentioned) that seem to run things properly. Other than those few I feel the same way...I'll take my chances buying used props & refurbish them...eliminates a ton of bullshit with some of these shady operators. They should stop spending so much money on their websites & a few cents more on customer relations...nothing travels faster than a bad reputation! This is what I stress everyday to my employees, so this is why these dealings have struck such a nerve with me.


P.

[MovieRelics]

Be sure to post your reviews and rating of Dark Raven here - http://www.hauntersdigest.com/2010/0...raven-designs/

[coasterfreak63]

Pickle check your pm's

[Terrorknight]

Owners need to have someone to answer calls. There is no excuse for not talking to customers. None

Robert

P.S. tired of hearing the same Bullshit every year

[pickle]

Thought I'd give anyone following this thread an update. I finally heard from DRD & they are indeed still overseas working on an attraction. I want to be the first to congratulate them on someone in this industry finally exporting our American products overseas. Just seems like the majority comes from over there & we have to get our people back to work making products we can be proud to offer the world!

That being said, I still believe what I said earlier about people in this biz have got to start taking customer service seriously. Maybe I get worked up more than the average customer, I don't know...but it just hits a very bad nerve with me because I beat customer service into my employee's heads everyday, so when I'm on the receiving end of bad service I don't take it well.

Anyhow, I was promised that the few props I'm ordering can be delivered before the end of August. Sooo, I've decided to place an order (much smaller than first) to see if they can deliver as promised...I feel everyone deserves a second chance. I've seen & heard some great things about Dark Ravens Designs, that's what caught me so off guard when this all started. Beings they are spoken highly of I thought it was best to at least "test the waters" with an order & see what happens...hopefully a successful delivery! Which by the way I will post as well...I am not one to only post negatives...good service should be rewarded with positive posts

By the way, I should mention so far Gore Galore, Fright Props & George Maser have been tops on my list for prompt customer service! Just my two cents...if anyone cares

P.

[legendsofthefog]

Does anyone have an alternate contact for dark raven designs? No phone answers, no e-mail answers, voice mail box full... doesn't look good for my props at this time. At this point I just need a yes, or a no answer from them. Any suggestions?