John Flynn
Sherman,#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, January 02, 2013
Here's my response to this nutjob liar...
YOU SAY:
A friend of mine yesterday told me about a webguy who he had paid, who then decided he wanted more money for the job, AFTER he was paid in full
So my friend, a well-respected and seasoned businessman, decided he would not support such unethical business practices. But, unfortunately, this guy took down his site.
So he did his homework and forced this vendor's hand through saying he would use this site. His site files were promptly returned.
ANSWER:
This is complete and utter hogwash and your imaginary "friend" is just that. First of all I never raise my prices for any reason and all expectations are clearly communicated in writing. First of all I only take 50% of the payment up front and do not even get the remainder until the client is in full possession of the site. It would be impossible for me to be "paid in full" and then demand more money as the finished product is in the clients control and I do not even have access to the site.
Second of all, "his files were promptly returned" is another outright lie. As previously mentioned it would be impossible for me to "return" a clients files as it would be impossible for me to get those files as I do not even revieve the rest of the payment until the files are under the client's control. Good try though...
ON TO "YOUR CASE..."
You are correct, this is very simple...
We have a design "process" that is clearly defined both vocally and in writing before we start work. We do not simply give one design and "voila" it's perfect. Although this cometimes happens it is rare. We go back and forth with our client UNTIL THEY ARE SATISFIED. We have never not done this. We also clearly state in wirting that because this is a process that we are both investing in that it is a non-refundable deposit. In other words if you elect to stop the PROCESS and quit then that is on you and you do not recieve your deposit back.
So when you say, "unanimously advised NOT to continue with this design firm" what you are really saying is that you were advised to forfeit your money because you quit the process.
YOU QUESTION:
Yet how was I to know?
ANSWER: How about actually reading the extensive written communication that summarizes the process?
YOU SAY:
The efforts to try to get him to refund my money over the next six weeks resulted only in more aggravation and insult. Then, my family had a life-threatening health crisis that took its toll for over a year and I had no more energy to pursue this.
ANSWER: Exactly. This is why we have written agreements. It's very simple. When you agree to something you stick to it. You decided not to do this and so you paid the price. You then whined about it for the next 6 months not six weeks.
YOU SAY:
On my last call to him during this time period, he said he would give me a refund on this condition: If I referred two $2,000 clients to him!
ANSWER: Yes, when I invest time in a project, schedule that project, turn away other projects and then a client quits this is a problem for me. Returning your NON REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT would be ludicrous. I gave you anoither option which was that if you didn't want to continue with the project then you could find someone else who wanted to fill the space and I would put your deposit towards their site. This seems like a pretty simple compromise which of course I was under no obligation to do according to our contract. But no, once again, that wasn't good enough for you.
YOU SAY:
Humm, I am an unhappy customer, so he thinks it is perfectly ethical to suggest this. Obviously, he also thought I am the sort of person who would turn around and make myself culpable in convincing two unsuspecting people to hand him over money so he can possibly again NOT deliver on his promise that he boldly stated on his home page (at the time) and therefore, possibly sting two
more people with his then posted website promise: ".... you will be wowed by the results".
ANSWER:
As someone in customer service we strive to make all "unhappy customers" happy. However, sometimes an "unhappy customer" is impossible to make happy and this is the area in which you fall. You want to break your word, go back on a written document with expectations because you changed your mind. The bottom line is that you started a project and then ran into money issues because of your alleged family crisis and so you made an excuse to stop the process. This is your problem, not mine. When you start a project make sure you can actually afford to finish it. Simple. It is not my responsibility that you didn't plan accordingly.
Okay, let's talk about the site link:
This is a very standard process. We are very proud of our work and of our relationshup with our clients. We charge significantly less than other firms with our wealth of experience. Many of those firms do not put a site link on the sites they build, they just charge 3 times our rate for creation. We derive all of our business from site links on satisfied clients websites. We do however recognize that someone might not want a site link on there and so we give an option to not put one on and we charge accordingly. This is a choice for our client once again, that you knew about in writing up front. For you to see all of this stuff in writing up front and agree to our terms of service and then come back later and badmouth us for it makes you an idiot. If you had an issue Dawn then you shouldn't have worked with us in the first place.
Bottom line Dawn...
1. You didn't read the clearly defined written terms of service.
2. You got in over your head on this project.
3. You broke the terms of service.
4. Now you run around on the internet talking smack.
Time to act like an adult. Read things like "terms of service" and actually follow through and magically all of these issues will disapear for you.
Dan
United States of America#3Consumer Comment
Tue, January 01, 2013
John built my site at www.RCSpiritualDirection.com. He was referred to me by a well known internet marketing person who also was very happy with his work. He did a fantastic job, at a reasonable price, within a reasonable timeframe. John is an honest reliable guy. I am not refuting the case below but I have been in the technology business for many years and am a published author in the field (See "Business @ the Speed of Stupid" on Amazon.) As I write in the book, vast majority of challenges between vendors like John and their clients rest in expectations and communication. Because of my experience I knew exactly what I was getting with John's stlye and approach. Both worked out fine for me.
I will address one thing in the complaint below. The idea that a web designer wants to have their signature on the site they designed is standard industry practice. This is in no way an ethical issue.