We just wanted to let you know that we are working on all these questions and concerns. We want to be sure the information we share is accurate, so please be patient with us as we await some answers. We sincerely apologize for the frustrations and the inconsistencies you have dealt with over the past couple days.
The KOTM Team
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JAN09 KOTM: Becky Higgins' Project 365
NOV08 KOTM: Becky Higgins' Holiday Card Kit
PLEASE OVERSTAFF your phone lines on Monday as all the thousands of us with or without orders will be calling in and I do not want to be on HOLD for hours just to get some questions answered. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOne question you could answer for many of us: if we received an email confirmation with an order number and quantity and price listed but no shipping information and a 0.00 total, does that mean we have a kit ordered or not?
ReplyDeletePam
I am also one of your customers that tried all day on Jan 1st to obtain the 365 kit, but was unsuccessful in getting it to come up. I would love to purchase this if possible. Please advise. Vicki coulteralex@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI was successful in ordering 2 kits (one kit, two times), but would love to check the order status and shipping status to ensure they went through. I have a link that was provided on both receipts, but it doesn't seem to work.
ReplyDeleteI just talked to customer service and if you received an email with an order total of $0.00, your ordered DID NOT go through. You are NOT on a waiting list and basically you have order all over again!
ReplyDeleteI have more to say about this whole situation, but like my mom always said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!"
When you sort things out can you keep some kits for international ordering so we at least have a chance of getting one via the phone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wnderlnd - it'd be nice to be able to double check my order status without calling a phone number. I have an email receipt with an order number, but with all the problems people say they're having/have had, it'd be great to double check this.
ReplyDeletePlease just let us know if we recieved an email with the "zero" total if we have a kit or not...
ReplyDeleteI received 2 emails - one that shows the total with shipping and everything and lists the Project 365 kit and order number. The other email just has an order number, but nothing else. I'd like to be able to verify online somehow instead of calling and sitting on hold for hours on Monday.
ReplyDeleteSo are those of us with an order number but no order going to have priority when the kits come in again???
ReplyDeleteBecky's blog AND THIS BLOG both stated specifically that $0 was still a valid order. Did customer service tell anyone why this changed?
ReplyDeleteIs it possible for CK to set up a Pre-Order system so that the gazillion of us that wanted this kit can order one now? What a let down. What a waste of time. I feel like I got suckered into a big "Ha, ha got you!" hype. Why not just make every kit a pre-order--wouldn't that be the NICE thing to do?
ReplyDeleteAgain, I just want to reiterate to the KOTM team that if at all possible, why not make this kit a standard product and just sell it? Forget the monthly concept, realize how popular this is and will CONTINUE TO BE, and work to make it available in large quantities, perhaps over the course of this year. Is that even possible? I'd love to know. I have more friends who will love this kit once they see (if I ever get one). And you're missing out big time if you don't make it available for more than just a "second round" . . .
ReplyDeleteI am trying to stay positive about project 365, but after hours yesterday and no success at getting an order made, it is difficult to keep checking back and hoping. I was so excited and now even though I am still taking pictures, it's hard to maintain enthusiasm without even a kit on it's way or an answer about whether one will be made available still for those of us who didn't get through. I agree it's been a HUGE bummer to start the year off this way with CK... I've been a loyal customer for years and have never been so disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be nice because ya'll need some nice in your life right now! Just please please please make more and ....put me at the top of the list to get it! There is no way for me to put this idea together without this kit! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI agree with bunno, please keep some aside for international orders. Time differences etc make it really difficult if we can only order over the phone. Please, please get some more...I would love a kit and missed out the other day.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt has been stated before, but hopefully there is power in numbers. These Kits of the Month (not just Becky's, but especially Becky's) need to be offered on a pre-order basis. End of story. This mess has happened more than once, and it didn't need to happen this time. With all of the hype that was created surrounded this kit, there should have been plans put in place for the impending demand. Also, a kit like this (one that most people would like to start on the first of a new year) should have been offered in November so people could have had it in their possession long before January 1st. Finally, how is this going to be rectified? I thought I ordered my kit, as I have a confirmation e-mail, but now I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem like they have changed their story when it comes down to it. I was one of the many who received a "0" amount on the order confirmation. I received my email at 11:15 cst yesterday, Becky posted on her blog at about it at 10:25 cst. I thought I was getting a kit, and had known that I didn't, I would have tried again!
ReplyDeleteI feel that CK should honor this (and everyone elses!) They have our credit card information, this should become a pre-order item for us. We shouldn't have to try and get it again.
Also, while I know that people had a much longer wait online and on the phones, I would personally like to "Thank You" Creating Keepsakes for having wasted my time on New Years Day away from my family. What are you going to do to make THAT time up???????????
Is it true that there was nobody there to answer the phone? So that I and many other International callers have wasted money on a phone call that was never going to be answered?
ReplyDeleteI have sent several emails and called with no answer about the errors in my order, and no response.
ReplyDeleteOne of the orders I made had a total. One I made for a friend, was $0 total. I need clarification ASAP.
I know there are a lot of people that say "get perspective". Well, thing is, I was on the phone for hours, and on the computer for over 1 1/2 hours, trying to order a product that was ADVERTISED as being available to order January 1st. I don't order from CK-tried for the school kit with no luck (and didn't know about their being available again.) But I knew enough to get up early and order RIGHT at 9am... I am not on the message boards for CK, or anyone else lately, I don't work there, etc. etc.... but I could see a train wreck about to happen. It is in the reputation/track history, I figured. I am sorry I figured right.
How many people are disappointed that will NEVER comment, and never order again??
WHY exactly do these things happen? Poor planning. Period.
This could have been avoided. A pre-order through December would have been a MUCH better idea. Ya get a handle on exactly how many you need, and many people would have the darn thing close to the first of the year!
I can't imagine the headache, no... the horribly avoidable headache.
What I find totally maddening about this whole mess is the complete lack of professionalism involved. CK is not a little company. These kits are not being made in someone's basement. This is a large corporation running a respected publication with thousands of paying subscribers. How is it possible that the popularity of this kit could be "unprecedented" and "unexpected"? Isn't there someone in charge that is paid to expect and prepare for these things? I know there is, and I am sorry, but at any other corporation this would be considered as incompetence, and it would not fly. Of course CK knew that this kit would be extremely popular. This isn't their first kit and they have been through this exact thing with the school kit. Becky Higgins is a very popular scrapbook celeb and anything she designs is gold. They devoted an entire section of their January magazine to it to promote it (and these articles are made up months ahead of the actual publication date of the magazine). Becky herself has spent many entries on her own blog promoting the kit. Every scrapbook/stamping message board has been abuzz with talk of the kit since it was first introduced. I'm sure much of the buzz came from actual CK people and designers themselves, again as a way of advertising their product. All of this and we are led to believe that the company and the "little KOTM team" had not the slightest inkling of how big this was going to be? I just am not that naive folks! This is just totally unacceptable behavior from a company. When you combine the incompetence with the lack of information sharing and horrible customer service that we have all encountered; well of course people are upset! Yes, this is not the end of the world, and yes we can still complete the project on our own, but is that really the point here? No, I think the point is that CK and Leisure Arts need to be held accountable to those people who have supported them through thick and thin. We are the reason you exist and we expect more than this from you. YOU should expect more than this from you. Please get ahold of a real PR person who can act as a mediator and get our questions answered in a timely matter. It is the least that you can do. Thank you for hearing me out. I love Becky Higgins and I really do love CK and I want to be able to count on you all to do the right thing to rectify this fiasco.
ReplyDeleteif i received a confirmation that has a total (kit + shipping) and that same total is showing up as a pre-auth on my bank account, do i DEFINITELY have a kit coming to me??
ReplyDeleteya know-- I don;t even friggin care anymore . If they couldn't "deal with the volume" then why not sell it n QVC ??? THEY know how to handle the volume . Wasn't LISA was JUST on there ??.
ReplyDeleteI thoght I pre- ordered 4 kits then I was told to double ck I called the system was down i got another number and gave them my order # and was told that no my order was not taken that the system when overwhemed just started spitting out order numbers and email confirmations that I could try to call in if they got more and fight for it again after spending so many hours from 10:50-12pm dealing with this debacle on New Years day didn't count for anything..then I read Jennies post I checked my bank accountI have a pending charge for 460 from CK the number makes no sense I hape they clear this up soon this is a very bad case of poor planning and worse back up
ReplyDeletesorry $60
ReplyDeletePlease address your poor customer service. Who cares about the product, the money, the ordering issues. You have poor,poor,poor customer service. This is not the first time this has happened. (school kit)No more excuses. You are dealing with millions of people here. Hopefully, your business (like any other poorly run business) will face the consequences of not putting your customers first.
ReplyDeletea friend of mine sent me this post from another board: OdessaW. said...
ReplyDeleteI just got off line with customer service, then to her supervisor. it is 2:30 PST, that means at 4 MST yoy are in limbo. So, here is the real bummer, everyone with $0, you and I will not have a order, even with an order number in your email. Tell us, Becky, what do you make of this. O ladies, means 0, we got 0 for our time. We can call back on Monday and start the process again if they get this sorted out.
Please email me at d.dog3@yahoo.com, if you are interested in signing a petition of NO CONFIDENCE addressed to the CEO of CK. They will of course, take your money for the 5000 kits they have on hand. If no one bought these we could make a difference, but that is a mute point, they are going to market them, they are going to get your money and who cares about your day. I will make my own kit, Becky, I don't want CK to have any of my hard earned money. I'll take whatever ideas you have and I'll do what I can. But CK, just interrupted alot of people's holidays because of greed.
Zero! Zero! Zero! We have nothing.
I have to say that it is really disheartening to read all the mean, negative comments that are being left for CK. It is not their fault that they underestimated the popularity of this item. Don't you think they would have made more kits if they'd known?...of course they would have. I'm sure everyone of us can think of a time when we "unintentionally" let someone else down. Show them the patience & understanding that you would want someone else to show you. They are "real" people with "real" lives too.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the meantime, keep up on "Project 365". Because with or without Becky's kit, you will still benefit from recording the day-to-day things that otherwise go unnoticed.
Thank you Becky & CK for doing all that you can to make the best out of the situation & don't let all the negative comments spoil such a good thing! Kudos to you for coming up with such an inspiring product!
Creativity by Crystal-it absolutely is CK's fault. They have been through this already...school kit, foam stamps. Ring a bell? They should absolutely be ashamed of themselves for putting it out there with so little planning. What about the international customers, some of whom wasted a great deal of money calling a number that they were told would allow them to order a kit? Then, come to find out no one was even there to answer the phone because it was a holiday. They should pay the bill for these people and send them a kit.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't hold Becky Higgins responsible, I absolutely hold CK responsible. This is such a huge mess and once they hyped it on a blog and in the magazine, they should have made it a pre-order item. Think about how the result would be different if people could have pre-ordered. No one would have gotten upset on the first of the year. The site would not have crashed. International customers (I am not one by the way) could have been given access like everyone else. Hostility would have been avoided.
I think for right now, CK is reaping what they sow.
I am totally shocked. Amazed even. As a UK customer, I waited 20 minutes on the phone being told that someone would be with me in a moment! If it is true that these lines were not manned then I am horrified truly. I am a Creating Keepsakes Subscriber - a magazine I have been loyal too for many years, but this is appalling planning and appalling customer service. I reckon my call wasted about $30 - I will find out soon enough. I thought it was down to popularity. Eventually, I too got one of those $0 emails. I am gutted. Sure I will live of course, but i just have a bad taste in my mouth. If the lines truly were not manned then in my mind its a form of theft. Someone must have made that decision not to have anyone there in the full knowledge that 100s if not 1000s of international readers of the magazine would ring as instructed. I wrote to the customer services team, I wonder what response I will get.....
ReplyDeleteI don't have an issue with Becky, or the fact that I didn't manage to get a kit.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do have issue with, is staying up until 2:00am in the morning, and being instructed that my only way to order was to call (international)- to sit on hold for over 30 minutes, when there was no one there to answer it. Seriously?
I think the LEAST CK can do is reimburse for the call cost.
There absolutely should have been a message on the phone to say that "the office is closed" not "we'll be with you momentarily".
I think the whole thing is disgusting. I feel completely misled. And like someone said before, CK is big business - not run from the kitchen table.
Someone needs to be trained in customer service!!
I am shocked too to find out that no one was there to answer our international calls. When I rang before and after hours there was a message to say the office was closed. Why was this message not left on so us poor suckers didn't have to stay up all night to try and get through. I prefer honesty in this case to say the office is not manned on a public holiday and bad luck but you will miss out rather than call a number at 3am that has no-one there to answer it.
ReplyDeleteI had been really looking forward to getting this kit and starting Project 365 on January 1st. Like many others, I tried the website at 9am but wasn't able to get an order placed.
ReplyDeleteI do think it would have worked out much better if the kit had been available as a pre-order item that would have shipped in time for everyone to have it by the start of the New Year.
All that being said, I think it would be great if the KOTM team could figure out a way to offer the kit again. I don't think I'm going to try to start Project 365 right now in the hopes that it is available again. I just don't think I could keep up with it without having that instant gratification of being able to do it every day. But I think another really neat idea would be to start it on my next birthday and show my life at age 36. So I just wanted to let you know that I would definitely purchase this kit if it's offered again.
Did ANYONE get through? I have a hard time believing that the phones were not manned. If anyone DID get through on the phone lines, can you post?
ReplyDeleteCK did withdraw $46.06 out of my account, so I'm assuming that they DO have me down as getting a kit. I'm hoping that they didn't start charging people, only to have their system so messed up that they don't know who they actually recieved payment from. YIKES!
I didn't even try to get this kit as it took about 6 calls to customer service, to Sherry Jarrett, and about a week and a half to find out what happened to my order for the baby kit. I had a preorder, a confirmation email, and no order existed. When I reordered, ck messed up the shipping address, sending my kit to Oregon.( I live in Ohio). What burns me is no one at any point apologized, or offered to compensate me in any way. Maybe Ck should stick to publishing a magazine instead of attempting to sell these kits. I am writing a letter to Lisa Bearnson to tell her about the abysmal lack of customer service I recieved.
ReplyDeleteI have chosen to address this issue here rather than on Becky's blog because I feel that this isn't her problem. (She should, however, consider demanding a preorder for any kits that she designs in the future, so she and her fans don't have to go through this again.) She has designed a beautiful kit, and frankly, I wouldn't have even considered starting this project without the kit. For me to trudge out to the stores or online to find my own replacement for the kit completely negates the reason Becky designed this kit to begin with. SHE couldn't find anything acceptable out there, so she designed it!! She wanted an easy system that busy people could actually keep up with. What's easy about running around the stores, and going through all of this mess?
ReplyDeleteI am a paying customer who wanted (and still does want) the product that was advertised (quite heavily). This is a customer service issue and nothing more. I would expect that more kits have already been ordered by CK, and at the very least, those of us who received this silly "$0 Confirmation" would be the very first to get the kits when they become available again. I also, don't feel like we should have to waste our time ordering it again, or calling customer service to confirm on Monday. I already spent my morning the other day trying to buy one, even setting my alarm clock to make sure I would be ready. That, and my $0 confirmation, should count for something, and I am hoping CK will chose to make things right.
Unfortunately, I think many of us who were interested in this kit because of it's ease of use will simply falter and quit Project 365 all together. And that is a very sad thing for me and all other customers who have been anticipating this for so long and have been let down. Hope you set things straight....
I suppose my greatest frustration at this point is not knowing if we will have the opportunity to order this kit again. I'm taking my pictures, doing my bitty journaling, looking forward to continuing this process...but I WANT THE KIT! My fear is that the KOTM team will just allow the "hoopla" to die down at which time the project kit will fade away like yesterday's dream.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above poster who suggested that this product be available from here on out, not just as a one time order. The concept is valid and workable as you all have been promoting for so long now. I am beyond the initial frustration of not being able to get throgh online to order. Now I would like for the KOTM folks to offer us that which was promoted so heavily for so long.
I look forward to the opportunity to order this item soon. Thank you for your efforts to make this happen for us.
I will not do business with CK ever again. I will not give my business to a company that does not appreciate my business. CK needs to realize that they are not the only game in town. It really is a shame that the magazine has gone down the tubes and now they can't sell a kit without screwing that up.
ReplyDeleteIf I were Becky I would bail while her name still has some value.
Amen.
ReplyDeleteWe await with baited breath how we can access any future kit from overseas
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to have this come available. I'm frustrated that it sold out, because this has happened with CK a lot with the kit of the month. Why can't they figure out how many to order? The other kit that I KNOW they ran out of was Becky's School Days album. In the end we were able to order again with a preorder period. I'm waiting sorta patiently for the same thing to happen again.
ReplyDeleteWhat ticks me off is that there are 15 of these available on Ebay.
You keep saying that charges will not be put thru until the kits ship...however, my debit card has been charged not once but TWICE!! What's up with that??
ReplyDeleteI don't think that your information is accurate when you say that even those who got a $0.00 receipt have successfully ordered a kit. I ordered 2 and received a subtotal, shipping amount and total in my confirmation e-mail immediately afterward. Also, my debit card was charged immediately. So it's not true that peoples' cards aren't going to be charged until the item ships (as is the law, BTW).
ReplyDeleteIt's not fair to disseminate this misinformation via this blog and BH's blog if you're not positive that it's true. People who got tha $0.00 receipt - as it's already been stated - could have kept trying had they known.
I have a pre-order reciept email with $0 total then another confirmation email I called and was told that my order was not accepted they had no record of it however my debit card has funds preapproved (set aside ) for Ck charge my friend got trhough 8 mins before me on site and got a confirmation with a total (not zero not pre-order) and her card has not been charged I think they have a big mess to clean up and hopefully when all is said and done it will end up with almost everyone who tried for those 2-3 hours will get one that is only a hope and for now everything else is up in the air heres to hoping our time, stress, hope, planning, picture taking. organizing and aggrevation will pay off in the end
ReplyDeleteI want to address the fact that this completely unacceptable from a business as large as CK. I am truly upset with anyone that states that "we" the customers are upset over nothing and that we need to calm down. Just because this is a scrapbooking company does not mean that customer service is not "required"! If this had happened with any other company everyone would be in an uproar about it.
ReplyDeleteI find it incredible that CK promoted this kit for months, not only on their site, but also in the magazine, on Becky Higgins blog, etc, and than to turn around and say that they were overwhelmed by the demand is laughable. How a company cannot prepare for this type of interest from their customers is only proof that they have absolute no business sense or that they do not care about their customers.
CK…you asked your customer to come on to your site and purchase this kit on New Years’ Day, the least you could do handle the process in a professional manner. How many of your customers were online for hours trying to “GIVE YOU” their money only to be left with nothing? How many customers from other countries spend their time holding on the phone for hours to again be left with nothing but a large phone bill?
The updates that you have given us so far are not sufficient. We all need answer on how this situation will be rectified. I am extremely frustrated and would really like something other than “we are working on it”. That just does not cut it!
I highly doubt that any of this will be handled since it is not the first time that you have allowed this to happen.
A very Frustrated Customer,
Ana
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was disappointed when I realized that it was already sold out at 3pm, I think I would have been a little more upset if I had to deal with all of the mess that those of you who "thought" you got an order and now, are not sure. How frustrating!!! I was sooo looking forward to this project and this kit. I'm amazed that a Company as large as CK doesn't realize the popularity of Becky Higgins? Did this not just happen with the School kit? I'm mean really! Are you kidding me? You had enough kits to have all of your "Celeb Scrabpookers" giving them away on their blogs....nice slap in the face to the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteIf you wanted hype about your product.....you got it!
oh my. i just read some of the comments at becky's blog and i can't help but be disappointed. i am international and it appears that there were no reps to man the phones when this kit was made available. how can you misled us to believe that your reps will be there to take our orders on jan 1st? this is the first time that i tried ordering from you and this experience will not be forgotten. yeah, it may appear as if i am only one person from overseas less enthusiastic about CK. i just hope you improve your process, for your business' sake. as for me, i will just have to deal with the huge phone bill for spending an hour being on hold trying to order the kit on January 1 9AM MST (your time). grrrr.
ReplyDeleteI am yet another person who is confused as to whether I have a kit coming. I got the $0 email but this was followed with a confirmation that has a total with shipping and tax. Do I have a kit coming? Do I not? No response from emails to CK. While initially I was annoyed at the negative comments people were leaving on Becky's blog, today I am starting to lean their way. 2 days later and no word. No answers to our questoins. I know it is a weekend but we are stuck waiting not knowing whether a kit I think I've ordered and have been charged for is actually being shipped to me. So frustrating. If I had time to go make a kit I would, but let's face it - I'm spending the money on a kit to save time and effort. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that we are still to get any type of answers? I don't even care that its the weekend, seriously you asked us the customer to interrupt our holiday to order this kit, and now we are all being left out in limbo.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that tomorrow morning there will be some kind of solution to this massive mess.
I am eager to see what you will say come Monday. I received 3 confirmations with an amount and order number but I have not received a confirmation e-mail that I hear are being sent. I will be extremely upset if there isn't a kit for me. If I didn't have one, I would have kept trying to get one but I thought that my order was golden. I think you need to do pre-orders on at least Becky's kits as well. This has happened too much with her stuff.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell-said.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I removed my comment, but thanks for the positive feedback from those who commented on my 1:29 post!...Basically I said that I am not going to support a company that does not support their customers, weekend, holiday or not, when we spent part of our holiday lining the pockets of CK, I agree with Ana. I do not know if my checking account will be debited or not, or will I be charged some outlandish amount for shipping as I have read in other posts...I have other bills to pay and would love to know! I also stated that the company I work for would have already had this handled, regardless of it was during business hours or not. Everyone makes mistakes, but usually will try to learn form them. Did I mention my company is consistently on Fortune magazine's, top 100 companies to work for" list? I was also annoyed by negative comments at first, but it has been three days and it is just plain irritating now.
ReplyDeleteI am astounded by CK's lack of professionalism!
ReplyDeleteGiven all the past problems with KOTMs and the popularity of Becky's kits, it is just not excusable to claim that demand was underestimated.
As plenty of others have pointed out, a simple pre-order could have solved that issue before it ever became a problem.
I am dismayed to see a company as large as CK directing their customers to Becky's blog for answers. She designed the kit-she did not orchestrate the marketing and management fiasco! I certainly hope that a designer as talented as she is can find a better company to lend her name to.
CK has really let a lot of people down with this incident, and I hope that consumers will be wise enough to take their business elsewhere.
This whole thing is a disaster that could have been prevented!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought I bought two, which is how many I wanted. I had to reregister since it wouldn't acknowledge me. Ok fine. That happens. But it looked like it never went through but then I got a no-itemized email receipt (just an order number) and now NO ONE seems to know what in the world is going on - did we get one or not?
ReplyDeleteNow I am at the point where I really don't care if I spent almost $100 with this company or not. I read somewhere else that Hobby Lobby has the 3 ring binders and the photo inserts. I am headed there today. I can design my own with little trouble since there are pictures all over the place. I have tons of seasonal and other papers and it is easy enough to put my own date on items. I am happy that CK gave me the idea and now I am even happier I probably won't be spending my money with CK. I would ratehr give it to Hobby Lobby!!!!
It really has been a long time since I have been this frustrated by a company. No, world peace doesn't rely on this incident and in 10 years it may not matter to me either but in 10 years, with service like this, I am not sure that Creating Keepsakes will be in business and that should matter to them.
I am not in the business and even I figured out this would melt the lines!!! Geesh....
They couldn't predict this? look at the response to the constant advertising they did for this kit. It was huge!!!!! I read somewhere else, and I totally agree, they should have let this be the TSV at QVC. QVC knows how to handle an influx of calls and a high demand for something. Every time Lisa goes on QVC she sells a ton of things so she should have had a better idea of how many units this kit would sell. I would think that she would only have to look back at the fiasco of the school kit to see they could have handled it better.
I don't mind a company making mistakes. We all do. Fine. But if you do not learn from your mistakes and do them time and time again, obviously you don't care. I am really feeling like they don't care. So, if a company doesn't care and makes no motion to correct the old mistakes, they won't be getting my money.
Amen. Very well-said.
ReplyDeleteI am just very confused right now... and really wish you would answer the simple question of if we have a kit or not for those that got the $0 balance and then recieved a second email stating a total. ... do we have a kit or not? and if we do... when will it ship? please just answer that one for us all :) thanks!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why they make it really hard to check your order. Sites have been doing online order status for YEARS, yet we have to call a number during business hours to see if the order number we got in email is actually valid? Not only is that messed up, but I don't get why people have emails with order numbers and then are being told their order isn't in the system. I have extreme doubts about my order now (being one of the lucky ones to have gotten through), and I have an email with an actual total in it.
ReplyDeleteCan you PLEASE let us know ASAP if more of these kits are going to be made in the near future. Please don't drag this along. If I hear that it is soon, I'll wait and order one, but I don't want to get too behind on this whole 365 thing, so if it isn't, I'm going to do it on my own. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI just went to eBay and saw fourteen of the 365 kits for sale going for as much as $102. Maybe when a kit is this popular there should be a limited quantity per order. Very frustrating to not get a kit and see someone else profiting at my loss!
ReplyDeleteCheck out Becky's Blog for her "SUNDAY UPDATE", which in reality is pretty much nothing.
ReplyDeleteCK, you've let me down for the last time :(
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is that we aren't about to get any of much-hyped kits anytime soon (if at all), unless we were some of the lucky 365 people that got through (365 is only because it seems that 365 kits were actually available for purchase). So, in light of this and previous mistakes made by CK, I hope that some questions are answered and some issues/problems are taken care of for future releases. I really do believe that if CK continues its current standard of customer service and product availability, that eventually people will get tired of dealing with CK and take their business to another company. CK must realize that they are not the end-all of scrapbooking companies these days. So, the questions that I think need to be answered and issues that need to be addressed are:
ReplyDelete- Were there any customer service reps available for the international callers to order kits?
- Have ordering procedures been examined and a best practice decided upon for maintaining product availability? It sounds like pre-order is a strong possibility so that CK knows how many kits are desired (rather than guessing).
- Is the website being analyzed to make sure that their servers can handle high volumes of traffic, especially during a special event/sale?
- Is a limit going to be placed on the number of kits a person can order? Just look at the eBay auctions - some are going for more than $100!
- Is the team going to look at dates that are just not conducive to having a sales event (such as NYE) or, if the date is tied to the promotion, make sure that there is adequate support?
- Is the sales/shopping system going to be reviewed to see if it is adequate to handle customer look-up of order information? Or to allow orders to go through when there is product available (or not available)?
These are just a few of the questions that CK needs to address. And some need to be answered and published on CK's website - not some blog. CK also needs to apologize to its customers for this huge fiasco and the loss of their time on a holiday. Thus far, this hasn't been adequately done. I can see CK losing a lot of customers if this type of repeated behavior is corrected.
I don't even know what to say at this point that hasn't already been said but I feel the need to chime in.
ReplyDeleteI love Becky! I love scrapbooking! I was so excited when I was able to purchase one of these kits and then to come to find out that there was a mistake and I don't actually have one is such a huge bummer!
Yes, I realize that it's paper and plastic and there are far more important things in the world but what a disappointing way to start the new year. I was hoping for much better from such a reputable company.
And I really don't understand the lack of communication within the company. Becky's handing out phone numbers, the magazine is publishing info, and yet the company doesn't know to man the phones and expect calls and orders. REALLY? Sorry, I don't mean to sound bitter but I just don't get it. And apparently I won't be getting a kit either.
I really hope CK will make every effort to rectify the situation, make more kits quickly, and give priority to those with an invalid confirmation number, followed by those who weren't even able to get through.
FYI - I ordered 3 kits (for my 3 adult kids)and received an email with a confirmation number only - no mention of what I had ordered or any dollar amounts). I just (12:30am 1/5/09)received an email that says I am confirmed to receive 3 kits with a total dollar amount of $122.21. The confirmation number matches the original number that I received. While I do hope that I really will receive the kits, I am appalled at the way this whole experience has been handled. The lack of customer service will certainly discourage me from ordering from CK in the future.
ReplyDeleteI got an email this morning (1/5/09 at 2:01am) confirming my order...with all pertinent info and dollar amounts. My original emails just had confirmation numbers only.
ReplyDeleteMaybe more people will get these this morning and some of this mess will be cleared up. Yes, should never have happened but hopefully everyone will know where they stand.
I was extremely frustrated by the customer service end of this whole sales event.
ReplyDeleteI was away from home for the New Years holiday, so I first started with a dial up laptop. Since that was too slow I went to the phone lines. It took me several hours to actually get through to the recorded message "we will be with you momentarily" (CK, you really need to look that word up in the dictionary). When my call finally got through, I was on hold for 2 hours. This was a long distance call!!! And then I found out that the product was not even available--the whole time that I was on hold. That is unacceptable. How hard would it have been for CK to change their recorded message to one stating that the product was out of stock? Then we could have all hung up immediately instead of mindlessly wasting our time and money on hold.
And why was there not a toll free number posted so that we did not spend a fortune on long distance (the only toll free number that I could find was to CK customer service that we off for the holiday)
And please, in the future, avoid holidays for big rollouts like this unless you have the staffing and resources to better manage it.
I'm very disappointed that a successful company like yours was blind sided like this. How could you not see this coming? Your magazine and many blogs have been hyping this for weeks. Its a concept that applies to everyone--regardless of there place in life--and regardless of whether or not they are scrapbookers. And it was a good value. And one blog even suggested that we "order early as they are not going to last".
All in all, your customer service end of the business dropped the ball and left a lot of us very frustrated and disappointed--and most importantly, poorer as well, without a product to show for it!
CK….It is Monday morning and still not update on this site! You would think that your first course of business this morning would be to address all of the concerns addressed to this blog & Becky Higgins blog over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely revolting to see that this company as no regard for their customers and the horrible way in which they have been treated these last few days. I am not even sure where to turn anymore for answers to this entire fiasco, since you are directing us to Becky’s blog; however she seems to have absolutely no idea what is going on either. Calling customer service is a WASTE OF TIME. I was on hold for over an hour and finally had to give up and end the call. I have two young children at home and cannot spend my time on the phone for hours before someone picks up. More frustration on my end because you knew how many calls you would be receiving this morning and still you do not have enough staff to handle the volume.
This is not a life or death situation…yes, I understand that. I really cannot stand to hear from anyone again that I need to get my priorities straight. This is about how as I customer I am being treated like crap. I cannot and will not accept that!
Ps. And one more thing…I know that on Becky’s blog she compared this fiasco to getting a Wii for Christmas. Bad comparison!!!! While trying to buy one for my husband as a present, I did not encounter HORRENDOUS customer service. That is my main concern here!
Marisa, don't forget that nobody seems to be answering the emails to customer service either. I'm guessing they have the same people handling emails as they do the phone calls, so that would explain it, but it's so weak. I have an order number, an email with all the charges (including shipping), but my card hasn't been charged yet, like others have said their's have. Am I getting one or not? No way for me to find out until I either get one, wait on hold for over an hour, or someone finally gets around to the emails.
ReplyDeleteI am somewhat encouraged that people rec'd their "confirmation" email today. I thought per Becky's blog that we should have received one over the weekend if we were for sure getting a kit. I guess they are still sorting thru their mess and trying to figure out who actually gets one??? I can't believe it would actually take this long and apparently the information they are giving Becky is not accurate if they are still sending emails to people.
ReplyDeleteI was going to call this morning but have only rec'd a busy signal for the last 30 minutes. Per Marisa she was on hold for over an hour, so I will wait, even though I can't stand not knowing.
Just off the phone with Customer Service (wait time 72 minutes)...I was one of the $0 orders who received an email around 2am this morning with the actual total including shipping. I was told that although I won't be getting one of the kits they have now, more are being manufactured and it should take around 6 weeks and I'll receive one of them.
ReplyDeleteJust thought some of you might want to know...
If you are frustrated with this whole situation you DO have a recourse. Creating Keepsakes bottom line is revenue! If you cancel your subscription to their magazine (which is already struggling) and stop buying their products then they will no longer have the upper hand.
ReplyDeleteThere is NO excuse for poor customer service and it seems that CK could care less. Why should they care? Scrappers like us keep getting treated like meaningless customers and then keep coming back for more! They do not have any motivation to change.
This is not the first time CK has screwed up with the KOTM. If we continue to support such a poor organization they will continue to provide this horrible standard of service.
The bottom line is CK has NO reason to care! They are getting YOUR hard earned money regardless of how shoddy they treat you.
Stop now and be heard!
Wow, I just spent 50+ minutes on hold, then all of a sudden there was extremely loud static that lasted a couple of minutes, then absolute silence-I had been disconnected. I will not order from CK again, and I will not renew my magazine.
ReplyDeleteFYI, I originally had an email with an actual dollar total on the 1st. I did get through on the phone this morning after about an hour, they confirmed they have my order, but they couldn't tell me whether mine would ship this Friday or in 6 weeks with the second shipment. I can see my charge is already pending on my credit card.
ReplyDeleteI will be totally irritated if I do not get ine shipped this week as my card is already charged. I have always read the problems people have ordering and I have never had problems, but I'll tell ya, this will be the last time.
ReplyDeleteWell I just spent 64 minutes on hold, and I'm in Colorado. I had gotten an "Order Confirmation" email over the weekend for one of my orders.
ReplyDeleteI had ordered three kits total, but with all of the problems that had happened, it looked like it went through twice for a total of SIX, which I didn't want. So got the email over the weekend, with an actual dollar amount, and then checked my checking account and the funds have been taken out.
The customer service lady said that if you have the order number, of "0000000000.000000.1" and that number ONE (1) at the end then it went through for sure.
My order number is ten numbers, (0000000000) then a dot, then six numbers (000000) then dot, then a 1 ONE at the end. That means that it went through and you are for sure getting one, plus the fact that my card has had the funds taken out.
Hope everyone was able to get this email for what they ordered, it's still a good idea. They still needed to have this as a pre-order but hopefully this will fix any future KOTM programs.
Oh great...I have a confirmation e-mail and number which I received 15 minutes after the kit went on sale...but no 1 at the end!!! I have been trying to get though on the phone for 3 hours now!
ReplyDeleteYeah, when I had ordered on Monday, I got two emails that had "thank your for your order" with order numbers, but no other amounts, and when I called and actually go through they said to call back on Monday to see which ones if any went through. Kept the emails and the numbers. Then on Saturday evening like 10:30 at night got the one stating the actual dollar amount, shipping and total, and one of the order numbers, (the first one I tried) has the full order number, then an extra ".1" at the end and that's the actual one that went through and that I've gotten charged for.
ReplyDeleteIf you are able to put your phone on speaker and walk around it makes it much easier. The first time I tried to call them on Friday it was about two hours or so also. I was actually amazed that it only took 60+ minutes this morning.
You know. It would be nice if they would give us ---OFFICAL-- information on this website. There are so much conflicting information. I really don't want to spend 2 hours waiting for a real person but I would like to hear "officially" that a 1 at the end means it is going through!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a one but nothing has been charged to the card.
We have heard that tomorrow they will start shipping and also that the kit won't be in the warehouse until Friday.
HELLO??????? CK - where are you??????
I understand that these things happen. I was one click away from confirming my order for a kit when I got kicked off and didn't manage to get one. I would hope that if more kits are ordered that there is some sort of pre-order so that those of us still out here waiting can possibly get one. Another infuriating part of this is that there were some that ordered more than one kit (either on purpose or by accident) who are selling them on ebay already for $150! They don't even have the kits yet and they are selling them for four times the original price. I also hope that it doesn't take six months to a year for more kits to be ordered since this is a time sensitive kit and many want to get started on this project before the year is already over. Also more communication regarding this issue would be great. Becky has been wonderful on her blog offering what she knows but CK needs to step up and keep us informed better about this issue, Becky only created the kit and she's taking alot of heat for this when she shouldn't be.
ReplyDeleteI updated my situation on Becky's blog, but for some odd reason couldn't post here from my blackberry earlier.
ReplyDeleteFor all of you saying that some of us have taken this too seriously and that its just a kit; let me assure you its much more.
I tried for 2 hrs to get the kit but kept on getting errors @ check out. I never received a confirmation, but my debit card was charged for over $250! It gets better...customer service cannot find my order since I don't have a confirmation #, and pretty much called me a liar about the charge on my debit card.
So yes I am frustrated/upset & much more. I now have to call my bank and figure out my next step.
But again its just a scrapbook - so I must just take what they did to me & be happy!
CK trats us this way because even after this whole mess, people are still blaming us the customers & sending good vibes/prayers/hugs to the ones @ fault.
And one more thing! I could never ever excuse any problems or mistakes made by the company I work w/by stating that I'm just an employee, a monthm & wife struggling to manage all of my roles. My clients would never accept that,
I am done!
--------------------------------
PLEASE PLEASE check your Credit Cards & Debit Cards...........
Oops I meant to say "mom" not "month".
ReplyDeleteok, after trying to get through on the phone for 4 hours! (Yes, 4!) and calling from 2 different phones I got through to a Stephanie, who found my order and it is currently in "fulfillment" (will be shipped today OR tomorrow. I never got an e-mail over the weekend, my order number does not have a .1 at the end, and my cc has yet to be charged. I got my original confirmation e-mail 15 minutes after the kit went on sale. NOt sure if this helps anyone, but this is where my order stands. Good Luck everyone!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit confused. I've gone up and I've gone down. I was happy and then I was sad. I was disappointed and then I was hopeful ... where is it going to end?
ReplyDeleteI had a horrid time ordering. I don't know what MST actually is here in Connecticut, but it's not 9:00 EST or 10:00. I think it's 10:30. Because that's when I finally got the KOTM page to change from 'coming soon' to 'now available'. So, I tried to order. Had to try several times to log in. Had to try several times to get it in my cart. Had to restart and try several more times for it to take my credit card information. I finally got it to accept and got a 'Thank You for Your Order' page and a confirmation email that only stated that I had placed an order, my order number and that I would be charged once it was shipped. I was very happy.
Then, I checked Becky's blog ... and heard what everybody was going through. I felt so bad for them. And so happy for myself because I thought I had been one of the lucky ones :)
And then I heard that even people like me weren't actually getting our kits. That because I had a $0 confirmation email, that it wasn't going to work ... devastation! My credit card hadn't been billed - despair!
But, wait, I might actually get one ... but then no ... then yes! ... then no.
What was going on?
I didn't get a confirmation email over the weekend. Should I call on Monday? I thought I would.
Then, I received a confirmation email this morning with an actual amount, all the details, telling me it was being shipped ... I was so happy! I was so relieved! I thought for sure that I was one of the lucky few! I double checked - my credit card had been billed! I was so excited!
I wasn't going to call anymore because why do they need me adding to the chaos when I had my blissful confirmation number?
And then ... I read these comments and some people say that an email this morning means I'm not getting one but that I'm on pre-order. My order number ends in a .1 ... MY CREDIT CARD HAS BEEN BILLED!
What's going on? What's actually going to happen? I sent an email off and will call tomorrow, but I doubt I'll get a real answer. I'm so disappointed right now.