(Topic ID: 106316)

Delete This Stern!

By KingNine

9 years ago


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  • 282 posts
  • 73 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 years ago by KingNine
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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    #98 9 years ago

    Melony.jpgMelony.jpg
    #108 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    You wouldnt sale many pinballs than wood you?

    15
    #119 9 years ago

    You guys are pretty funny in your expectations of Stern's Facebook.

    I work for a company that does billions in sales.

    If you post anything on our Facebook page that is a criticism, a direction "You guys oughta...", a technical question, looking for employment, or anything else that is not front page material - you are getting instantly deleted.

    After being deleted, you get a PM directing you where you would be better served:

    Suggestions, directions and criticisms are all sent to our forum. Our forum is where you can throw out ideas, see if others have tried something, complain about the latest firmware, suggest changes....

    Questions are directed to our help desk system. We have a toll free number, new customer relations, online manuals, FAQ, forum, service bulletins, even FAX-back (remember that???).

    Employment questions are sent to our Human Resource page (believe me, you are not getting hired if you asked on Facebook, rather than going to the "Careers" page on our website, LOL.)

    -

    According to our boss, Facebook is our front lawn.

    It has to be perfectly groomed. No weeds or trash is ever going to be allowed to be seen by the public.

    We have 2 full time Facebook employees that maintain our page. They are the groundskeepers.

    They are not qualified to answer any questions or address any criticisms ; just like the groundskeepers at our physical headquarters. The guy mowing the lawn can probably tell you what door to go in, but you should not think that he is qualified to answer your protest of our overseas labor practices.

    -

    #128 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    They don't even respond to emails I've sent asking questions

    In Stern's defense, they have answered my technical questions in less than 24 hours a few times.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    They don't even respond to emails I've sent suggesting themes, etc....

    Stern can't answer those kind of questions.

    Stern has a Licensing Department. Those are the guys who are working on the next 4 to 10 titles. Remember it takes 12-15 months to develop a new pinball machine.

    As Gary Stern has said many times "We only do Licensed Themes that have appeal in Europe. 50% of all our games get shipped overseas".

    The movie studios meet with potential licensees and tell them what is coming up, and what they think will be the next big release. You have to sign to a Non Disclosure Agreement before you are allowed into those valuable meetings.

    So if you email Stern and say "Hey, I hear Disney is rebooting The Black Hole next year. You guys should do a pin based on the movie.", Stern can't acknowledge that they've already known about it a year before you did. The NDA means they are allowed no comment whatsoever.

    The Licensing Department knows what the #1 TV shows are. They know what the next (hopefully) blockbuster movies are. That's their job. They've got it covered.

    What new theme suggestion are you going to possibly have, that Stern is not already aware of?

    #130 9 years ago
    Quoted from pinball_customs:

    I was banned from Stern's FB page after I called Jody creepy for snapping pics of women's butts and posting it on the Stern page. I mean seriously, if I were Gary and I found out my marketing guy was doing that I'd be PISSED.
    Anyway.. FU, Jody.

    Of course, no company is going to leave an alleged sexual harassment claim on their page!

    Of course you got banned (as Jody used to maintain the Facebook page), and does not want you getting himself fired.

    I'm sure Gary never even saw your allegation.

    If you wanted to bust Jody, you should have called Gary directly.

    #132 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    That is a no win question.
    Since Stern can't confirm or deny they thought of it, we will never know.

    Exactly.

    Before you had ever even saw that first clip of the new Starwars7, Stern's Licensing Department already had read the script and had seen the storyboard art.

    #134 9 years ago
    Quoted from pinball_customs:

    All i said was "that a little creepy, jody..", and i was only half kidding. I believe the pic is still up there if anyone wants to pursue it further.

    Yep.

    Jody nipped you in the bud.

    He is not a dumb as he looks.

    #140 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    The more I reread your post to me the more I get offended.

    No reason to get offended.

    You don't work in Licensing, so it is not your area of expertise.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    I don't like the tone of "your not good enough to come up with a theme they haven't thought of" in your post.

    I do believe you certainly COULD come up with a theme that Stern has not thought of.

    But Stern does not build games around themes, they ONLY do LICENSED THEMES with INTERNATIONAL APPEAL.

    Gary has stressed this point for many years now.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    All theme's don't have to be Movie's or TV shows.

    True!

    Stern has done other Licensed Themes like Bands (AC/DC, Elvis) Video Games (BBH, RCT), and porn (Playboy).

    Quoted from KingNine:

    Asking me what possible ideas I could have is insulting and is below you Vid!

    Nothing is beneath me, I've sunk as low as a soul can go.

    I just wanted to hear some of your ideas.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    Many films are shot and produced then brought to a major film company for distribution.

    True.

    Not only have I acted in many Hollywood films (57 IMDB entries), I attend SXSW each year to check out the new blood.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    So I do know of two or three movies at the moment that Stern has no idea exists as the producers haven't even approached a movie company to distribute it.

    Excellent.

    Now to be of service to Stern, how could you give Stern's Licensing Department 15 months notice about these movie's commercial debuts?

    Stern needs 12-15 months to produce a pinball title, so you would need very early permission from the film's producers to shop the theme option to Stern.

    If the movie has not found distribution yet, Stern may be cautious in investing the over one million dollars in pinball production costs on a yet unproven theme.

    It's kind of a Catch22, but if you can swing it, there could be a nice percentage in it for you......

    #144 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    Ok, again, this has nothing to do with my topic and is still on the condescending side. My whole point is that Stern needs to respond to, and not ignore, customers. Their practices are barbaric in today's world. As I stated, I've been to many education classes on business protocol in the social media world. The only thing Stern has done right was set up a Facebook page. Their management of it is terrible. Every interaction a prospective customer has with a company needs to be positive, helpful or informative in some way. Negative is NEVER an acceptable customer reaction. I'll repeat it, NEGATIVE is NEVER acceptable!! Will there be negative reactions? Sure, no one or no company can avoid it all together. But it doesn't mean you go out there and create the negative reactions yourself. That is plain stupid. Negative reactions should be treated as opportunites to show off how much you care about their concerns and how good your customer service is. Even if the negative problem doesn't get fixed it can be abated by good communication.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    This is long but I've cut the unimportant parts that didn't pertain to this discussion. Stern needs to read this! It is from an article I found on connecting with customers in both social and standard mediums.
    14 Proven Ways to Connect With Customers
    Today, there are more ways than ever to connect with customers. ...
    Data integration is often underestimated and poorly implemented, taking time and resources.
    1. Survey your customers.
    2. Use newsletters.
    3. Blog. "One of the best ways to connect with customers is by blogging," says Deborah Sweeney, CEO, MyCorporation.com, an incorporation and trademarking service. "If you actively keep up a quality blog, not only will your customers read your blog, but they will respond to your blog," she notes. "This creates a positive flow of communication"--and helps build customer loyalty.
    4. Pick up the phone.
    5. Go visit.
    6. Respond to email. "At our company, we make it our goal to respond to customer emails within five minutes, and the response we receive from our customers is usually something like 'Wow, that was fast' or 'Fastest response I've ever received. Thanks so much," says Giancarlo Massaro, the cofounder of ViralSweep, which provides businesses tools to create giveaways on their website. "How has this helped us? People love amazing customer service and in turn have been referring people to our service, all because of our customer service."
    7. Send a personalized note or a postcard.
    8. Be active on Twitter and Facebook. "One of the best ways to connect with customers is through social media, such as Facebook and Twitter," says Ian Aronovich, cofounder and president, GovernmentAuctions.org, a site that compiles and provides information about government auctions of seized and surplus merchandise from all over the country.
    "With social media, you can reach out to your customers at any moment rather than wait for customers to send you emails or phone calls with feedback," Aronovich says. Use your company's Facebook fan page or Twitter account to "engage your followers and keep conversations going. Social media can also be used as a form of customer service, where company representatives can directly answer customer questions and concerns," he says.
    “It's critical to have a social media listening post to quickly respond to each issue that arises," notes Chuck Wall, founder and CEO, Customer CEO Consulting. "You may not be able to solve their specific problem, but don't ignore them. They will give you credit for listening and acknowledging their situation."
    9. Use Instagram.
    10. Offer webinars.
    11. Empower salespeople.
    12. Provide exceptional customer service. "One of the most powerful tools an organization has to connect with its customers is its employee base," says Rick DeMarco, managing director, West Coast Operations, Inward Strategic Consulting, a marketing, branding and positioning firm."Every interaction between a customer and employee, whether that is pre-sale, the actual sales process, after sales support or billing, provides an opportunity to either add or detract from the equity of your brand and company," DeMarco says. "Significant empirical evidence exists that makes a direct connection between employee engagement and satisfaction and customer satisfaction and loyalty." So one of the best ways to connect and engage with customers, he says, is to "turn your employees into company ambassadors and brand advocates who deliver on your brand promise and business strategy at every single customer touch point."
    13. Go mobile.
    14. Monitor review sites. "Whether it's Yelp, TripAdvisor or Angie's List, find out what customers are saying about your business [on review sites]," says Lisa Parkin, president of Social Climber, LLC, a social media consultancy.
    "Responding to customer reviews on these popular sites shows that your company is aware of any problems and is willing to fix them," Parkin says. However, she urges caution when replying to negative comments. Instead of being defensive or picking a fight, try to understand and offer to fix the problem or provide an inducement for the customer to try your product, service or establishment again.
    Jennifer Lonoff Schiff is a business and technology writer and a contributor to CIO.com. She also runs Schiff & Schiff Communications, a marketing firm focused on helping organizations better interact with their customers, employees and partners.

    You will probably have to call Stern and make an appointment to speak with Gary directly.

    Gary is great on the phone, you will enjoy his frankness.

    No one here on Pinside is going to be able to implement the above changes you believe need to be made at Stern.

    #151 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    You seem to know a lot of people there. I nominate you to call since you think the phone is the best way to get them to see how many people the've upset. With your gravitas they'll listen more than if just I call.

    Thanks for the nomination.

    Although honestly, I don't think too many people are upset.

    Sure, someone's bunghole might hurt a little when they get banned from a Facebook page, but a week or two goes by and you forget all about it. I mean really, who cares?

    I don't have a Facebook account, but when I look at Stern's page, there is nothing on there but a bunch of hammy pictures.

    I don't feel compelled to "like" Stern (they seem well liked already).

    I don't feel compelled to leave any posts on their page.

    Who would care if I did? No one important at Stern reads that stuff. I've got hemorrhoids older than most of the people who post comments there.

    #159 9 years ago

    Haha.

    Stern says there are 11 people banned from their Facebook.

    They said that if you posted anything even remotely negative, you will at first have your post deleted.

    The second time, you will be banned.

    Stern's Facebook is supposed to be fun. Un-fun posters do not fit their intended atmosphere.

    Questions or complaints? http://www.sternpinball.com/contact Be sure to leave your phone number!

    #162 9 years ago
    Quoted from tracelifter:

    At Gary's age he should know about shrink tube.

    Gary is just a figurehead.

    He does not design anything.

    #164 9 years ago
    Quoted from jlm33:

    Wait a minute. Heard of Mustang?

    They are heavily promoting the 2015 Mustang in Europe and even have a right hand wheel one for Great Brittan and HK.

    -

    Car and Driver mag said:

    The 2015 Ford Mustang is on display at the Paris motor show, marking the car’s official debut in Europe. The new-generation car will be the first Mustang made widely available on the Continent—and Ford of Europe is ecstatic. “The new Mustang is one of the most hotly anticipated cars ever; we are very excited to now give drivers in Europe the opportunity to experience the real thing,” said vice president of marketing Roelant de Waard.

    -

    I don't know how many people in Europe will want one, lol, but it will be fun to see if I can rent one on my next trip over the pond.

    #167 9 years ago
    Quoted from Arcade:

    Also they should have told you that most bans are not permanent. Just a day or so.
    So the fact that 11 are currently banned is still a bit ridiculous.

    I think they meant that 11 people are permanently banned.

    #170 9 years ago

    FORD MOTOR COMPANY FACEBOOK

    In the event that you feel the need to communicate with Ford, please go to http://corporate.ford.com/about-ford/global-vehicles-sites.com

    If you have a complaint or issue with your vehicle we want to help, but we can't do it here.

    Please contact us in the U.S. at: 800-392-3673 or visit: http://corporate.ford.com/owner-services/customer-support/contact-ford.com

    Ford deletes over 25,000 posts a year.

    You would think that car drivers would be smarter than pinheads (you have to obtain a license to drive a car), but even Ford has to remind it's Facebookers that Ford can't communicate or help owners of their product through Facebook.

    #172 9 years ago

    My friend posted his totally wrecked Focus picture and said "I can't believed I walked away from this with only a bloody nose", and they deleted it.

    To me, that would be a great testament to Ford's safety, but clearly Ford did not like it.

    #193 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    I appologize for the condescending tone of this post in advance. I'm just so tired of the people trying so hard to prove I'm wrong

    I don't think anyone is trying to prove you wrong.

    Pinsiders are just trying to point out to you that different companies use Facebook in different ways.

    One company might be more conservative than Stern, another might be more lax.

    Some companies have a single employee that maintains their Facebook for a few minutes a week, other companies have 25 full time Facebook employees that monitor 24/7.

    Some companies don't let people leave any comments at all.

    -

    So quit worrying about Stern's Facebook, or that people are trying to prove you right or wrong.

    There is no right or wrong, it's friggin' Facebook, and before that it was Myspace, and before that it was Geocities, and before that.....

    #199 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    For you to say "It's just Facebook" is a statement from someone who doesn't understand the importance of social media today.

    I know why kids used to like Facebook (they are obviously done with it : http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/10/teenagers-messenger-apps-facebook-exodus ) but I can't understand why any adults would bother with Stern's page.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    Business, and the world we conduct it in, is changing.

    It's been like that since Cain killed Abel.

    And once the wheel got itself developed, look out !

    Quoted from KingNine:

    The practices are giving their customers negative experiences and I am obviously one of them. How can a business think it is a good idea to give negative experiences to their customers on a daily basis?

    The best negative experience web site is Priceline.

    You name your own price, and most of the time you get nothing.

    So I get a negative experience almost every time I use it.

    Amazing, yet I keep going back.

    In the same way, you keep going back to Stern's page to see if you can post again, so clearly Stern has you firmly in it's maw.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    Can Ford make that lady like the shirts?

    The Ford Facebook employees are just toying with that woman.

    They know she is an idiot for even posting that she does not like the shirt design (Who cares that she does not like something???), so they are laughing their asses off showing her where to look for other designs.

    Anyone with even 1% of their brain functioning would be able to find plenty of additional Ford T-shirt designs, without Facebook assistance.

    BUT, maybe that's the point of Facebook.

    It might appeal more to people who are constantly looking for approval, looking for other's opinions, or looking for direction.

    #201 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    Yes I've checked to see if and when I would be reinstated. We do a lot with our local pinball group (and all the other nearby groups around our area) on facebook keeping up with each other and all the local tournaments and games for sale.

    So Stern's Facebook allowing you to post was important with your local pinball group?

    I don't understand Social Media I guess, because I don't see the connection.

    Quoted from KingNine:

    I am far from a facebook fan and really only use it to keep up with this hobby I love and a few friends and family.

    I don't have any friends or family.

    When I die, they will only find what's left of me that my dogs have not eaten.

    #202 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    Once again I want to see Stern utilize it in a fashion that promotes customer loyalty not to turn them away.

    Once again, there is no one on Pinside that can help you with that.

    #203 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    C'mon man, the point was how rapidly things are changing and they aren't even close now to the way business has been conducted in the past 300 years. The past 10 years has been a renaissance of how business works.

    I'm telling you, every few years there is a disruptive innovation that changes how business works.

    It's nothing new.

    The Wheel, the Sail Boat, the Windmill , Gunpowder, the Terrestrial Telescope, the Telegraph, Refrigeration, the Telephone, the camera, Movable Type, Steam Power, the Railroad, the Internal Combustion Engine, the movie projector, Mail Order, the Computer, the Home Computer....all disruptive technologies that totally changed how business works.

    #210 9 years ago
    Quoted from marcos:

    Then I saw "Champaign" on their shirts, and I remembered the "controversy."

    I remember it slightly differently.

    fact.jpgfact.jpg
    #232 9 years ago
    Quoted from KingNine:

    They delete and ban users on a daily basis. This is a known mistake in the corporate advertising/marketing world.

    You've got to keep your front yard clean.

    One kid always throws his Red Bull cans into the pond on my front lawn.

    Even though I know it pisses the kid off, my lawn guy cleans them out.

    I'd rather have 99% of my neighbors happy, and have a nice looking home, than worry about the one retarded kid.

    #252 9 years ago
    Quoted from Roostking:

    I hate to break it to you, but there is NO ONE who is going to pass up a great game, a great theme to them, just because they got banned off of the page they use to advertise with/
    Not. Even. You.

    Metallica is proof of that.

    No matter how much you hate the band, what they did to Napster, and Lars, it is an excellent game you can't stop playing.

    .

    #267 9 years ago

    Just like anything else in life there are going to be a few people you can't please.

    Stern has probably 15 people who don't like how their Facebook page is moderated (we know 11 people for sure don't like it, lol).

    And probably 50,000 who are fine with it (a few weeks ago I saw that 15,000 people took the time to say they "liked" Stern's Facebook page).

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