Totally turned off Five Pawns - absurd story from an absurd company

[Frankenmizer]

..and the thread devolves to ad hominem..I'm out

 

[GameDesigner]

..and the thread devolves to ad hominem..I'm out

Where did that happen?

 

[RPadTV]

I watched the video review of the new 5 pawns juice and my instant opinion was that the reviewer was in their back pocket..

I am not saying that was the case but it was my opinion..

I appreciate your opinion and can only tell you that it wasn't the case.

The implications are not what you might imagine. I'm not suggesting that you were bought off with secret handshakes and backroom bargaining or, in other words, that you're a shill. Nonetheless influence works in subtle ways. Naive as you may seem at the moment for someone who has worked in the enthusiast press, you surely understand that in the mind of Five Pawn's management you're simply a marketing tool. And as when videogame publishers host lavish events and provide the press with memorabilia, Five Pawn's management gives you the red-carpet treatment as well as gifts with the understanding that no matter what you may tell yourself, they do indeed stand to subconsciously influence your thinking and subsequent coverage.

I've been covering various consumer products since 1996. I hope I'm not naive at this point. That's how product coverage works in all the businesses I've covered. I am not under the illusion that PR people are my friends. Certainly there are some flaks that I like and a few that I'm close with, but for the most part I see them as someone there to help me to my job, which is what they see me as too.

I'm also not sure what "red-carpet treatment" you're talking about. I drove down the 405 in a Corolla. It wasn't a luxurious trip. I spent time at their office filming two spots. While the people there were pleasant, it was hardly a grand vacation. Most of the time was spent setting up shots and filming. I was given two free bottles of water. That's a far cry from videogame junkets. I've written several negative reviews of games by publishers that held press junkets all over the world. I wrote a negative column about a company that sent me to press events in Hawaii -- the column even got me banned from the corporate office for a month. I've given average to low scores to games that were made my close friends. Whatever the case is, I put the reader/viewer first.

While you say that you weren't implying anything in a nefarious way, you did post it on a public forum where your statement could easily be inferred in a nefarious way. It's one thing if we were emailing each other or something, but you put something out there that could be interpreted as a jab to my credibility.

I've had similar discussions on the same issue as it pertains to the gaming press and will paste some snippets from one that occurred on the NeoGAF forums.

I'm afraid I can't touch that one, as I think a lot of the current gaming press is bad, especially one of the people you address on that GAF thread.

Ask yourself this: Would you inadvertently do damage control for a vendor whose product you've tried but have had no professional connection with and whose company you haven't covered?

Yes, because I don't see it as a matter of coverage. It's a matter of information. Your legitimate complaint started a flood of Five Pawns "hate" and some of those opinions are based on bad information. If I have information that adds to the discussion, corrects misinformation, or brings another data point, then I'll post it whether I've covered the company or not.

You know the ripple effect a well-written post can have. From your professional work, you understand influence and how people can use information incorrectly. Bringing it back to e-liquids, you're a big Ahlusion fan. You can find hundreds of negative posts about Ahlusion on ECF. Some of them are legitimate complaints and some of them aren't. It's a shame that the negative posts have kept people away from a company that we both hold in high regard, don't you think?

 

[oh u mad]

you guys should see this thread which is also posted on reddit.... redditors REALLY don't hold anything back when giving their thoughts on Five Pawns ROFL

top comment is "Those guys have been called greedy f### since they opened."

http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_...ive_pawns_fiasco_well_sell_you_a_sample_of_a/

 

[GameDesigner]

RPAD, I hope you haven't taken any of that heart. Even in the press, my manner was matter of fact, even with colleagues on the public record of podcasts: 1UP Yours Shane's MGS4 Adventure - YouTube I certainly wasn't attacking your character or integrity.

 

[RPadTV]

RPAD, I hope you haven't taken any of that heart. Even in the press, my manner was matter of fact, even with colleagues on the public record of podcasts: 1UP Yours Shane's MGS4 Adventure - YouTube I certainly wasn't attacking your character or integrity.

I know you weren't. But the casual observer could see it another way.

Now I kinda wish Shane vaped so that we could attack him for liking Mt. Baker or something. To the Mt. Baker fans out there, I'm totally kidding.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

lol jesus christ I come back to the boards and people are still doing 5 pawns hate threads lol

if its too much and you don't like what you percieve as thier attitude toward you as a customer, just don't buy from them!! Why is this such a big deal? I dont like Apple's attitude toward software and marketing but I dont go on boards ranting and raving about it constantly, I just dont buy thier products...why is that so hard

 

[raqball]

lol jesus christ I come back to the boards and people are still doing 5 pawns hate threads lol

if its too much and you don't like what you percieve as thier attitude toward you as a customer, just don't buy from them!! Why is this such a big deal? I dont like Apple's attitude toward software and marketing but I dont go on boards ranting and raving about it constantly, I just dont buy thier products...why is that so hard

But if people didn't share their story then others may never know..

In this case they treated the OP poorly! When you charge gold like prices for subpar juice then you could at least have friendly customer service and they don't...

 

[Racehorse]

In the e-cig bizz word of mouth is even more important than it is for other types of businesses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemming

 

[Altaire Versailles]

But if people didn't share their story then others may never know..

In this case they treated the OP poorly! When you charge gold like prices for subpar juice then you could at least have friendly customer service and they don't...

I dont see how they treated him poorly. Some places don't mind giving a sample or two(which makes sense from a business standpoint) and some dont. Some you can add in the shipment notes you wanna try something, and its in the package. Some dont. Some give you free stuff without you having to ask. Some dont. In this case he asked for something they dont ship. They said they would do it. It does sound greedy to ask someone to spend 55 dollars to get a 4ml sample. Me personally, I wouldnt not buy from them for that, but it would be a turn off. I wouldnt ask them for a sample though because I know that company's attitude.

Its just another company. Theyre not making you buy anything. They offer good juice if you want some. Its not the best juice on the market, no. There is really no ABSOLUTE BEST juice. But its there, and it costs maybe a third more than any comparable quality juice. That's how they want to run thier business, and they have more overhead than others because of how they want to run it. Theyre gouging, yes. If you dont like what there doing let your wallet do the talking! If they dont get enough customers theyll either lower thier prices and or quanity they sell in or shut down in which case no more 5 pawns rants will be necessary and everyone can sleep in peace at night.

 

[GameDesigner]

lol jesus christ I come back to the boards and people are still doing 5 pawns hate threads lol

if its too much and you don't like what you percieve as thier attitude toward you as a customer, just don't buy from them!! Why is this such a big deal? I dont like Apple's attitude toward software and marketing but I dont go on boards ranting and raving about it constantly, I just dont buy thier products...why is that so hard

Why is it hard to understand that message boards are made for discussion. If I'm not interested in a thread, I just don't click it.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

Why is it hard to understand that message boards are made for discussion. If I'm not interested in a thread, I just don't click it.

never said I wasnt interested in the thread, what's your point?

 

[Caridwen]

Closed. Thread has veered wildly off topic of OP's intent.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo.../374905-why-my-thread-closed.html#post8472936