Thursday, October 19, 2006

Lack of Comics... Again!

I walked into my retailer on Wednesday only to find that the majority of the books had been incorrectly shipped to Phoenix. All that had arrived was one box, and that was mostly special orders. I basically walked out with the Fables: 1001 Nights hardcover and a couple of books.

This isn't the end of the world by any means, but I am finding that when I go and visit other blogs, there are excellent reviews up, as well as thought-provoking comments. As much as I appreciate this, it can end up being spoiler-ridden, which I try and avoid.

I guess I just need to keep to myself... or read the stuff I picked up in Seattle. Yeah, that's the ticket!

At any rate, this is the third time in five weeks that our two retailers have had their Diamond orders shipped to the wrong place. As a business person, I would have made Diamond track those boxes down and get them to me next day, but my retailers tell me that Diamond won't do that. Okay, that is great for business- damn monopoly. Once again I find that being a comic book reader makes me the lowest common denominator in the industry. The big two are busy making money off movies, and the distributor can't be bothered to step up it's quality control. Nice.

At least I know the books are supposed to show up tomorrow. Like I said, it's not the end of the world, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is irritating. I keep a tight schedule at my job and can't just go to the comic book shop at the drop of a hat, so I have had to re-set my appointments tomorrow so that Jim and I can go together to run errands and pick them up.

BOTTOM LINE: Not life threatening but slightly maddening.

6 comments:

Tegan said...

This keeps happening to Seattle shops, too. Diamond blames UPS and UPS blames Diamond. Whoever is at fault (and I suspect Diamond) the shops and the customers are the ones who suffer for the lack of professionalism.

John Holland said...

I understand completely what you mean. Last month the same thing happened down here. Like you said, it's not the end of the world, but I only have so much time to drive to the comic shop to pick up new comics. Uususally if they're not there that week I might not be back until the next week. It's a lack of professionalism. All we're asking is that they do their job. It's very frustrating. And who can you compalin to? Diamond, like you said is a monolopy. It's like the cable companies. Whenever I have a problem with my cable or internet service (which is run by the cable company) it is an orderal to get anything right by them. What should be a day job ends up taking a week or more. And trying to complain to them? Forget it! I know my local comic shop guy was furious when his comics didn't come in. He's always complaining about Diamond and basically saying that they're more interested in the big accounts, if you're a small guy you're pretty much screwed. But where else is he going to go?

Anonymous said...

Ack, that would drive me insane. I go nuts enough when comics don't come out on time, but when they do and you can't get them, that's... torture!

I hope things get better soon.

Heidi Meeley said...

Tegan- I sometimes wonder if the people at Diamond have an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude towards the Pacific Northwest. My local shops have so many problems that it has almost become the norm.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The lack of professionalism is searing.

Heidi Meeley said...

John- it sounds like you encounter the same problems as we do. Having a life and a busy schedule, we can't always drop everything to make a run to the shop. It makes me wonder if Diamond thinks we're all just a bunch of geeks at their beck and call.

I hate the fact that Diamond is a monopoly and wish I had the cash to give them some competition. I would focus on customer service and scare the crap out of them!


Your cable company problem is a perfect example of this. We have had the same problem over and over, and they don't seem to give a dang.

I agree with your retailer that the bigger fish get better service. I can't imagine that Mile High Comics runs into this problem. They probably have their own Diamond rep.

There isn't anything we can do, and that is what makes it frustrating. It isn't the end of the world, but it is inconvenient.

Heidi Meeley said...

Shelly- thank you so much!

We were a bit irritated about this, but were mostly dismayed that it was the third time in five weeks. I can see where our part of the world is in the Diamond food chain!!

Thank you again!