AscendingMatt
Well-Known Member
NOO i missed the video! lame... sounds like jim is embarrassed tho from all the reads.
I got my Strictly 7 Boden and....
- Thread starter leonardo7
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
- Status
This site may earn a commission from merchant links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
Loganator259
Well-Known Member
>Says he has no time.
>Makes hour long rant video at work, and then makes it private in a few shorts hours.
I think this stress is getting to him...
>Makes hour long rant video at work, and then makes it private in a few shorts hours.
I think this stress is getting to him...
Someone else from/near Tulsa appears!
This was supposed to be an update for people that have outstanding orders with Strictly 7, but it nosedives into a rant about his financial troubles.
Danukenator
Kane's Bane
I feel like a dick for not DL'ing these. I KNEW they were going to go private...
Could someone fill me in on what happened with the rouge employee that borderline committed "sabotage?"
Could someone fill me in on what happened with the rouge employee that borderline committed "sabotage?"
Scattered Messiah
Kassandrian Dreams
As I woke up this morning, I took in a good 30mins of the first video, and then went to a movieshooting, where I am in charge of the choreography.
Now back home again, from a long and in it's own way pretty draining day, I wanted to round up my day with some more real life soap opera - but I find out the videos are private ...
I try to sse both sides of the fence, really hard.
Most of us will be able to understand, emotionally and rationally, that if someone is attached to something (in this case Jim to his own company) and feels this "investment" is in danger and threatened in some aspects, we will automatically engage a defensive and potentially aggressive mode, that's only natural
...
natural but NOT professional!
I understand a person's decision, to prefer direct communication methods like phonecalls to a more indirect approach as emails etc. However when you are running a business, you should adjust to your customers, or at least make clear in a polite and precautionary fashion, that in case of emergency one of those methods is to be preffered.
again, understandable but not professional.
even more so, as your customers might be from different time zones, and have their own duties ("Boss, I can't really attend to the meeting - gotta ring up a guy for personal matters and was not able to get a hold of him up to now...") - the reason why emails are so handy is that emotion is partially camouflaged, and it is not requrired for both persons to have time at the same moment.
Frustration about seemingly unresolved or not nicely resolved issues concerning former employees or their behaviour is also totally comprehensible - but airing this as a part of an open debate, in a personal manner, is (again, see?) not professional. no matter how much it set you back, you are the head of your company, and as such you are responsible for your company's ....ups at the end of the day.
Airing your frustration about details in the building process (like the Oil thing, the sidedots, the hardware) is also unprofessional as hell. If it really would have been such a problem, then why not explain this to the customers in question (leading to a constructive discussion with maybe Ola invoved) ... like this it comes off more as an excuse that just fit in well with the scheme.
A prof I admire for his broad knowledge once said to me, that big part of an independen business and good customer service is to be able to apologize for every little """issue""" a customer brings up, while SILENTLY thinking "you dumb SOAB", and then trying to do everything so the customer has it the way HE wants ... not the way it necessarily was meant to be or wanted. because - that's actually how a good deal of product development/optimization happens...
So I believe, that a huge part of the unintelligent reaction on Jim's side is due to stress (Ola's contract not prolonged, backlog, woodsourcing problems, personal problems withing your staff, ...).
But, for christs sake, this does not excuse the (unbacked) use of materials that are commonly regarded as flawed, shoddy work, personal insults, badmouthing, etc...
this does not excuse fanning the flames of this flamewar into every direction possible...
Plus I think with todays speed of information, the standarts for "high end" products are higher than ever, as the - maybe - few bad products you produce might really start an avalanche.
tl, dr:
If I claim to take pride in my products and pretend to be a professional, instead of "self proclaimed", then why do I let things like this happen?
Now back home again, from a long and in it's own way pretty draining day, I wanted to round up my day with some more real life soap opera - but I find out the videos are private ...
I try to sse both sides of the fence, really hard.
Most of us will be able to understand, emotionally and rationally, that if someone is attached to something (in this case Jim to his own company) and feels this "investment" is in danger and threatened in some aspects, we will automatically engage a defensive and potentially aggressive mode, that's only natural
...
natural but NOT professional!
I understand a person's decision, to prefer direct communication methods like phonecalls to a more indirect approach as emails etc. However when you are running a business, you should adjust to your customers, or at least make clear in a polite and precautionary fashion, that in case of emergency one of those methods is to be preffered.
again, understandable but not professional.
even more so, as your customers might be from different time zones, and have their own duties ("Boss, I can't really attend to the meeting - gotta ring up a guy for personal matters and was not able to get a hold of him up to now...") - the reason why emails are so handy is that emotion is partially camouflaged, and it is not requrired for both persons to have time at the same moment.
Frustration about seemingly unresolved or not nicely resolved issues concerning former employees or their behaviour is also totally comprehensible - but airing this as a part of an open debate, in a personal manner, is (again, see?) not professional. no matter how much it set you back, you are the head of your company, and as such you are responsible for your company's ....ups at the end of the day.
Airing your frustration about details in the building process (like the Oil thing, the sidedots, the hardware) is also unprofessional as hell. If it really would have been such a problem, then why not explain this to the customers in question (leading to a constructive discussion with maybe Ola invoved) ... like this it comes off more as an excuse that just fit in well with the scheme.
A prof I admire for his broad knowledge once said to me, that big part of an independen business and good customer service is to be able to apologize for every little """issue""" a customer brings up, while SILENTLY thinking "you dumb SOAB", and then trying to do everything so the customer has it the way HE wants ... not the way it necessarily was meant to be or wanted. because - that's actually how a good deal of product development/optimization happens...
So I believe, that a huge part of the unintelligent reaction on Jim's side is due to stress (Ola's contract not prolonged, backlog, woodsourcing problems, personal problems withing your staff, ...).
But, for christs sake, this does not excuse the (unbacked) use of materials that are commonly regarded as flawed, shoddy work, personal insults, badmouthing, etc...
this does not excuse fanning the flames of this flamewar into every direction possible...
Plus I think with todays speed of information, the standarts for "high end" products are higher than ever, as the - maybe - few bad products you produce might really start an avalanche.
tl, dr:
If I claim to take pride in my products and pretend to be a professional, instead of "self proclaimed", then why do I let things like this happen?
Loganator259
Well-Known Member
Someone else from/near Tulsa appears!
This was supposed to be an update for people that have outstanding orders with Strictly 7, but it nosedives into a rant about his financial troubles.
Don't see many people from/near Tulsa on here!
And yep, watching that right now. Feel bad for the guy because of his financial issues, I'm sure that can't be fun, but this just seems like a very poor way of handling it, imo.
xCaptainx
Dr Djodson
I have no sympathy for the email thing. Have someone doing it!
I administrate one full time and one part time employee handling 350+ emails a week with no concerns at all. AND talking phone calls.
I administrate one full time and one part time employee handling 350+ emails a week with no concerns at all. AND talking phone calls.
capoeiraesp
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2009
- Messages
- 2,877
- Reaction score
- 781
Can someone please make sure these videos are being downloaded in case they're removed? I don't mean this in a malicious manner rather if someone has to use his response in a legal situation they may be useful for evidence.
RagtimeDandy
On a Musical Journey
Lol, I don't even care to try to see his side of the story anymore. That guy is a financial dipshit, clearly has no idea how to run a business, got way in over his head, and doesn't have the maturity to figure it out
BOOOOHHOOOOHOOOO 34 EMAILS PER DAAAAAY! My ....ing dad gets ~75 per day, answers all of them, and has no issues whatsoever
BOOOOHHOOOOHOOOO 34 EMAILS PER DAAAAAY! My ....ing dad gets ~75 per day, answers all of them, and has no issues whatsoever
Don't worry guys, the videos are safe and sound. 
Don't worry guys, the videos are safe and sound.
This is what I hope you did.
I shouldn't be getting my hopes up though.
leonardo7
Banned
Someone else from/near Tulsa appears!
This was supposed to be an update for people that have outstanding orders with Strictly 7, but it nosedives into a rant about his financial troubles.
35 emails a day is no biggie! 35 phone calls is going to take up way more time. Typing for 30 seconds x35 takes up way less time than talking for 2 minutes or more x35. Anyways, so now he says he's going back to his day job? Now he has the perfect excuse for taking EVEN longer to finish guitars
capoeiraesp
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2009
- Messages
- 2,877
- Reaction score
- 781
So his day job isn't building guitars? Damn...
Not being able to spend an hour a day firing off 30+ emails is a pretty weak excuse. It's like studying at uni whilst also living your life, working on the side and enjoying life in general. If you let the work pile up you're going to drowning in it before long and everything else in you're life becomes difficult.
"if you pizza when you french fries, you're gonna have a bad time."
Not being able to spend an hour a day firing off 30+ emails is a pretty weak excuse. It's like studying at uni whilst also living your life, working on the side and enjoying life in general. If you let the work pile up you're going to drowning in it before long and everything else in you're life becomes difficult.
"if you pizza when you french fries, you're gonna have a bad time."
L1ght
Truth Over Triumph
No, apparently there are not, because said imperfections are a natural occurrence on that specific type of wood and it's nearly impossible to find one without some degree of the flaw. However, just like there are different grades of maple tops in regards to the strength of their figure, there are also pieces of Claro Walnut that have less imperfections than what is typical. THOSE are the pieces that need to be carefully selected and applied to a +$3k musical instrument. You can't just "settle" on a piece of wood for an instrument of this caliber, and it's irresponsible to buy cheap shit wood in batches in order to save money. It just doesn't translate. This is where S7 went wrong in my opinion. And the proof makes it painfully obvious; a few customers got fantastic tops and cuts of wood for the bodies, and many others got garbage. A prime example of what you find when you buy cheap batch wood and you get a couple really nice pieces and the rest are sub-par, and then you just settle for whatever you get.
Forget the aftermath of this whole situation... that's just a reaction to the problem and a completely different story.
HighGain510
Contributor
Behind on payroll - check
Bank repo'd his car (i.e. MULTIPLE missed payments) - check
Four months behind on mortgage - DOUBLE-CHECK.
Yeah, dude has spent money he doesn't have, and ....ed up dozens of guitars (how many times did he say "finish issues" in that last video? that shouldn't even be plural...) and shipped them anyway because he can't afford to eat the cost of scrapping a junk build at this point.
I'm just shocked that he said "those guys who ordered in the last 2 weeks...." in the video... who in their right mind is still sending this guy money?! 
Leonardo, if you're smart, I hope you stick to the plan of working with your card to get your cash back and you don't mail this dude back a thing until you're fully-compensated in advance. Anyone with the above financial problems is running a sinking ship and it's a matter of time before he folds and regardless of the fact that he doesn't consider himself to be dishonest, he has no money to back up his claims that he's not out to screw anyone when he literally can't afford to cover the cost of scrapping a shit build and re-building someone a decent replacement. Desperate people do desperate things, fact of life unfortunately. 
I do love how passive-agressive he is in this video talking about the people that would be bitching and sending him complaints if he sent out the flawed guitars he has sitting in the shop... yet the recent guitars he's sent out have had flaws?
The video(s) have done nothing but made him look even worse, I'm not sure why he thought ranting and badmouthing customers like this would be a good idea...? 
Don't email me, but call me... because phone calls take less time? He shouldn't be building a guitar while he's on the phone, so that means he's NOT focusing on building while he'd be sitting around chit-chatting on the phone all day if he was fielding 35 calls instead of 35 emails per day. Dude is struggling financially and seems REALLY angry, and that's not someone I personally would ever do business with, I sincerely hope folks got to see the videos before they all disappear so they get an idea of who they're sending their money to before they cut that check and mail it his way. 
Bank repo'd his car (i.e. MULTIPLE missed payments) - check
Four months behind on mortgage - DOUBLE-CHECK.
Yeah, dude has spent money he doesn't have, and ....ed up dozens of guitars (how many times did he say "finish issues" in that last video? that shouldn't even be plural...) and shipped them anyway because he can't afford to eat the cost of scrapping a junk build at this point.
I'm just shocked that he said "those guys who ordered in the last 2 weeks...." in the video... who in their right mind is still sending this guy money?! Leonardo, if you're smart, I hope you stick to the plan of working with your card to get your cash back and you don't mail this dude back a thing until you're fully-compensated in advance. Anyone with the above financial problems is running a sinking ship and it's a matter of time before he folds and regardless of the fact that he doesn't consider himself to be dishonest, he has no money to back up his claims that he's not out to screw anyone when he literally can't afford to cover the cost of scrapping a shit build and re-building someone a decent replacement.
Desperate people do desperate things, fact of life unfortunately. I do love how passive-agressive he is in this video talking about the people that would be bitching and sending him complaints if he sent out the flawed guitars he has sitting in the shop... yet the recent guitars he's sent out have had flaws?
The video(s) have done nothing but made him look even worse, I'm not sure why he thought ranting and badmouthing customers like this would be a good idea...? Don't email me, but call me... because phone calls take less time? He shouldn't be building a guitar while he's on the phone, so that means he's NOT focusing on building while he'd be sitting around chit-chatting on the phone all day if he was fielding 35 calls instead of 35 emails per day. Dude is struggling financially and seems REALLY angry, and that's not someone I personally would ever do business with, I sincerely hope folks got to see the videos before they all disappear so they get an idea of who they're sending their money to before they cut that check and mail it his way. 
TIBrent
Drop Z regular
I don't think Jim is a bad guy nor is S7G a bad company. I think they are the perfect example of a company that grew too fast beyond their own means. Too much happening too quickly means quality control often suffers & attention to detail is lost. Clearly they are not business managers nor do they have business degrees, but they are trying to make things right in their eyes. I can appreciate that. But what you see is guys who are trying to pour water out of a sinking boat. We can pretty much already see what is going to occur in the end. I feel for the guy, he doesn't know how to properly handle the situation of bad past business deals, customers who makes things personal/not professional & the other 98% who want to jump on in & get their voices heard (mostly against the man & the company)...I feel for him, I mean we have ALL said things out of spite & anger in the past especially when our boats are taking on water & we are doing everything we can to keep it afloat, but it didn't make it right then, & this doesn't make this right now. Sinking down to the depths of despair the masses have for you will only make you are more easily reachable target in the future.
I hope the best for S7G & their customers.
I hope the best for S7G & their customers.
L1ght
Truth Over Triumph
I'm just shocked that he said "those guys who ordered in the last 2 weeks...." in the video... who in their right mind is still sending this guy money?!
Now this question piques my interest quite a bit. Other then our website here, what other kinds of advertising about these guitars is out there? I mean of course I know there are other guitar forums out there, but these are ERG instruments and I could be talking out of my ass here but... aren't we like the biggest ERG community? Don't the people here make up the majority of these ERG sales they get?
Seriously I'm curious to know who else out there is buying these guitars that isn't already a member of this forum, and watching all this douchewankery go down?
engage757
Banned
Alain, you should post under your avatar, "Stupid, uninformed, and ignorant."
CAN't believe he said that at you.
CAN't believe he said that at you.
I had GAS for a Solar 8 in the online shop. I still want one, but I'm not comfortable with a $2200 gamble. I'm not picky. I can let cosmetic issues slide, the guitar will get a little beat up from myself anyways, but in the event that the guitar has some nigh-catastrophic flaw...
Well, I won't go into details on my feelings and how much of a pansy I am. I certainly won't be happy...
So I guess I'm looking elsewhere for a good 8 string. I've been watching Jackson's affordable DKA8. Still not out...
Electric Wizard
it's my first day
Whoever posted the Kitchen Nightmares clip is spot on, S7G seems to be in the same spot as any of the restaurants you'd see on there. Jim's too invested to do anything but hang onto S7G. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like he's up for the situation he put himself in.
That last video is really something. I couldn't believe the part where he criticized customers for wanting instant gratification. I think it really says something about his current situation when he resents customers for wanting their guitars, rather than being able to see that they are just excited about the product he's offering.
That last video is really something. I couldn't believe the part where he criticized customers for wanting instant gratification. I think it really says something about his current situation when he resents customers for wanting their guitars, rather than being able to see that they are just excited about the product he's offering.
- Status
