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island reptiles(bad buisness skills)

J

jon-m

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my name is jonathan mckinney.

I was on kingsnake and clicked a link to island reptiles, when I got on thier site I immediatly noticed some really big flaws in the design of the site so since I had nothing better to do right then I decided to drop the an e-mail and let them know of some of the problems I had. I can see how my e-mail(below) could have been taken as an attack but it was only meant as constructive criticism. the real problem was the way in which they handled it.

"hello
my name is Jonathan. I just visited your web site and I thought I would let you know that it is very difficult to navigate and not set up very well.Even though you may run a very honest business the quality of the web site has made me push toward not doing business with you as I am sure it has others.
the problems I have found are:
1. your welcome page is unattractive and uninformative

2. after you start navigating the site the scrolling bar turns a solid black color (which may fit with the color scheme of the site but also makes it impossible to use affectively)

3. when you go from page to page the "black hole effect" gets EXTREMELY annoying and really slows down navigation.

4. when you click a picture of an animal it opens the picture up in a size so large that you have to use the scroll bars to look at it. that makes looking at the snake very difficult, and most people will click the back button before the pic even starts loading when they see that it is going to be so large.

5. whatever that picture is that has been put beside all the links is unattractive and should be removed

6. on your price list page the table that names all the snakes you have and thier prices is horrible. it may look different on different computers but on mine you have to scroll over to look at the prices, which is just bad design.the table needs to be fixed so that it takes up the same amount of screen space on all computers.

there are a few other little things that should be fixed but the ones I have listed are the ones that need to be fixed the most. oh and on the welcome page what I mean when I say unattractive and uninformative is that all you have are the words welcome. There needs to be information about you, and some small pictures and such; just some things that will keep people interested in your site when they first enter. if it is boring they will leave.
I hope that you will be able to fix these flaws, if you do you website will be much more affective.

Jonathan"




Instead of just repling with a "thank you for your concern" they came back with this (cleaned version)




"well jonathan you are the first person to complain about our site everyone else in the business keeps asking were we got it done so they can contact the person to get work done there also and it seems to be makeing me lots off money just threw the site .. and to be honest with you i don't give a s**t about what you think because if you don't have nothing better to do than to sit on your ass and tell people about their web sites i feel sorry for you .. i'm sorry you don't have the money to get your own !! we are in the business to sale reptiles not to take complaints from kids and or people who don't have lives ..so do yourself and the reptile hobbyist and all other fellow herpers a favor .. *** find another hobby *** you are now blocked from our site and from our email site so don't waste your time trying to reply thank you sharon b."

If this is the way they choose to act with suggestions, then I would hate to see what would happen if a customer had a problem with an order.


jon-m
 
**Rolleyes**

I personally would have just ignored you.

I agree w/ them though, you really should find more productive things to do when your on the internet. There is nothing wrong w/ complimenting a person on their site or noting an issue (as a customer) that you are having w/ their site, you pretty much ripped them on the whole layout.

Were you even interested in any of their reptiles??..Or just being a critic w/ an imaginary unlimited budget??

I am sure they did the best they could w/ what was available, afterall, it is their business.

I really dont even think this kind of post belongs on the BOI.

Tom C
 
WELL BY SEEING THE WAY YOU WENT ABOUT IT IM SUPRISED YOU DIDNT GET A WORSE REPLY. YOUR REPLY DID SOUND TO ME AS A ATTACK. IM SURE IF YOU WOULD HAVE WENT ABOUT IT DIFFERNTLY YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A BETTER RESPONSE. I WENT TO THIER WEBSITE AND FOUND IT TO BE VERY PLEASEING AND PROFESSIONALY DONE.ECEPT FOR THE PICTURES BEING TOO BIG EVERYTHING ELSE WAS FINE. I DONT GET IT YOU GO TO THIER WEBSITE, GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO EMAIL THEM JUST TOO PUT DOWN THIER WEBSITE, AND THEN ARE SUPPRISED WITH THE RESPONSE YOU RECEIVE AND POST A BAD BUSINESS SKILLS THREAD HERE? THE WAY I SEE IT THEY WERE 100% RIGHT TO BE PISSED I WOULD HAVE. MAYBE I WOULDNT HAVE CURSED AT YOU BUT THEN AGAIN MAYBE I WOULD HAVE DEPENDING ON HOW BAD A DAY I HAD . BUT I DONT THINK THAT WAS SHOWING BAD BIZ SKILLS YOU WERENT A CUSTOMER YOU CONVIENTLY EXPRESSED THAT IN YOUR EMAIL WHEN YOU SAID YOU WOULDNT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM BECAUSE THIER WEB SITE WAS UNPROFESSIONAL .IF A WEBSITE IS WHAT DETERMINS WETHER YOU DO BUSINESS WITH A COMPANY THEN I FEEL BAD FOR YOU TO ME ITS WORD OF MOUTH AND ANIMAL QAULITY WHICH IS WHAT I FEEL IS IMPORTANT. THE WAY I SEE IT YOU STUCK YOUR NOSE IN A BIG HORNETS NEST AND NOW THAT YOU GOT STUNG YOU WANNA CRY ABOUT IT GET A LIFE. I FOR ONE FEEL THAT IT TAKES MORE THAN A FEW CURSE WORDS AT A INTERNET PEST TO GIVE A BUSINESS A BAD GUY OR IN THIS CASE A BAD BUSINESS SKILLS MARK I AGREE WITH SHARON B YOU PROBABLY ARE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOTHING BETTER TOO DO THAN TO EMAIL PEOPLE AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THIER WEBSITE AND THE WAY I SEE IT SHAME ON YOU FOR BRING SOMETHING PETTY LIKE THAT HERE TO THE BOI
JOHN PERAZA
 
Bad Business Practices...

Yes his letter was a little on the "picky" side... Though each of his points was a valid one. (Though I wouldn't necessarily base my purchase/no purchase decision on the quality of the website.... Many super duper lookin sites are run by crooks and nare-do-wells)

But still, he wasn't particularly offensive in his letter albeit a little annoying and if he really got cursed in their reply that was wrong, period.

I, in fact was interested in a recent ad that Island Reptiles posted on KS in the classifieds and sent them an email with a request for more info. (concerning a red-phased bullsnake pair). I have yet to receive a reply to it... So that irks me slightly... Even if they have sold the snake they should at least respond to my email and let me know. They should realize that the potential customer might be holding off of another purchase waiting for info from them. So Island Reptiles is pretty much off of my list of people to buy from. There are many, many other folks out there who answer their mail in a timely manner for me to worry about them.

Peace out!

Scott W. Goodwin
 
SEE? NOW THAT IS WHAT A VALID COMPLAINT LOOKS LIKE I AGREE WITH YOU SCOTT ALL EMAILS SHOULD BE ANSWERED REGARDLESS O N WEATHER A ANIMAL IS SOLD OR NOT BUT AS FAR AS THE CURSEING GOES WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT BROUGHT THAT ON THE PERSON COULD HAVE JUST BEEN HAVEING A BAD DAY OR THERE MAY HAVE BEEN OTHER FACTORS TO HAVE BROUGHT IT ON. ALL I DO KNOW IS THAT IT IS HARDLY THREAD WORTHY IMHO
JOHN PERAZA
 
Scott, your email was probably the next one in the Inbox but after getting kicked in the teeth about his website he probably turned off his computer and went out for the day. :D

Like Tom, I would have just deleted your email and moved on. I owned a design firm for 4 years and did many sites. You can sit down with 12 people, 12 samples and get 144 opinions about everything. Really find something productive to do with your time.
 
johnathan mckinney on island reptiles

first off sorry to scott for not getting back to him on the red bulls we were out of the office for 2 days and yes they have been sold but i would like to reply on the ad that this guy johnathan mckinney posted ... in my defense this guy just keeps emailing me with threats just because he doesn't like my site as you all know sometimes it is hard to get started in the herp business and it takes money so we are still fine tuneing our site and when someone comes along that doesn't even know you and starts picking you apart it can be annoying and he just won't let up after all you can check my review on the boi i give nothing but quality animals i have had no complaints yet i think all should let this guy have it cause who is to say he won't do this to one of you next .. i am just looking out for the herp business and all fellow herpers thank you all for reading larry at island reptiles
 
I made a very bad mistake....

Look,

I screwed up...

I just replied a few minutes ago to this thread and stated that I didn't receive a reply to an email. I could have sworn it was over a week ago but my memory was way off.... I sent the email 2 and a half days ago.... not really long enough time to bitch and moan.... Larry, I apologize. I should have looked in my "sent" box and checked the date before adding to this fiasco.

Side note: Larry, I was just trying to find out if they were from "The Crawl Space".... My pair is from there and was trying to get a couple unrelated pairs going.

Again, I apologize... I should not have written something like that without double checking myself. Its crap like that that causes people heartache and I just added to it.

Scott W. Goodwin
 
Jonathan, I wouldnt base my decision on whether to buy/not buy from the web site in itself. As far as getting an attitude back from your email I think you deserved it. You need to find a hobby other then nitpicking!
 
ACTUALLY I KINDA FIGURED IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THAT . BELIEVE ME I KNOW THE TYPE !!THIS GUY SHOULD JUST GET A LIFE!!! I BET HE DOSENT EVEN OWN A REPTILE
 
the johnathan mckinney story

well he said in his last email he was going to go to all the forums and do me in with everyone and all i could say was do what you gotta do and he did ...and scott the red bulls are from my own breeders and they are nice and you will be the first in line for a pair as quick as i get babies this year you have my word just keep an eye on the kingsnake ads around summer time thanks again everyone for hearing my side and standing behind me larry at island reptiles
 
HEY LARRY DID YOU KEEP ANY OF THE EMAILS IF SO POST THEM HERE ID LIKE TOO SEE EXACTLY HOW BIG AOF NUT THIS GUY IS?
 
the johnathan mckinney story

you know i deleted all of them because after the last one were he was going to drag me threw the mud. i erased them and walked away for a wile then someone alerted me he had started on the boi about me and all i can do in a situation like this is sit back and see how much damage this person can do over nothing i did except get mad and let my fingers do the talking and type the first thing that came to mind you know what i mean again i'm not like that i guess i like everything to run smooth all the time not waste time with garbage maybe if he see's what the response was on his post he will attack me threw another email and then i will post it for all to see so stay tuned guy's
 
okay guys,
all this stuff about threatening and such is streaching it. I did no such thing . Maybe I do have a bit too much time on my hands and the first e-mail I sent could have been taken as an attack, but like I said before it was not ment that way at all. Larry, you are making it sound like I bombarded you with e-mail when in fact I only sent you two: the first and a final response to the one you sent. I have been taking classes in web design and it has made me more aware of the things that might make a site difficult to use. I had no intention of ever bringing this on here in the beginning, like I said before I was only trying to help out a little. and as I stated in the very first lines of the first e-mail, you may run a very honest buisness, BUT if one has never heard of the company through word of mouth or has never seen the quality of the animals for sale I think that the presentation does have something to do with it, I do keep reptiles and I am always looking for something new(thats why I was on the site in the first place). I do not spend my days nit picking on peoples sites I just happened to come across this one and thought I would give MY PERSONAL OPINION. take it as you will but in the end thats all it is, my personal opinion. and larry there was no reason to call my response to your e-mail a threat and tell me that I'm just jealous and try and report me to kingsnake. I'm sorry this turned out this way, next time I guess I'll just keep my PERSONAL OPINION to my self.

jon
 
THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST WAY TO GO. THE WAY I WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOUR EMAIL IF IT WAS SENT TO ME WOULD HAVE BEEN AS A PERSONAL ATTACK, AND YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE SAME IF NOT A WORSE RESPONSE THAN YOU DID.
 
THE JOHNATHAN MCKINNEY STORY

WELL HERE IS THE DEAL THE MORAL TO THE STORY IS YOU TRIED AND DID MAKE ME AND MY COMPANY LOOK LIKE IDIOT'S . EVERYONE I HAVE EVER DID BUSINESS WITH HAS BEEN HAPPY AND HAS RETURNED TO ME WITH MORE BUSINESS . AND IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO GIVE THE REPTILE BUSINESS A BAD NAME BECAUSE YOU POST THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE ABOUT COMPANY'S THAT ARE MINDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS AND SELLING REPTILES AND SUPPLIES TO PEOPLE WHO ENJOY THE HOBBY .AND I THINK EVERYONE HAS JUST ABOUT SUMMED IT UP. MAYBE YOU SHOULD DEVOTE YOUR TIME TO YOUR OWN LIFE AND NOT EVERYONE ELSE'S AND MAYBE YOU SHOULD FIND ANOTHER HOBBY IF OTHER PEOPLES WEB SITES BOTHER YOU CAUSE THEIR NOT SET UP THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO BE . I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DIDN'T EMAIL ME ANYMORE .I THINK YOU HAVE SAID ALL YOU NEED TO SAY .YOU GO YOUR WAY AND I WILL GO MINE . THE ONLY OTHER THING I HAVE TO SAY IS WHY WOULD YOU POST SOMETHING ON A WELL KNOWN SITE THAT ISN'T TRUE AND WILL MAKE ME LOSE BUSINESS BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO SELF CONTROL ANYWAY I'M DONE THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT WITH THIS GUY !
 
VERY WELL SAID LARRY. I WOULDNT WORRY ABOUT LOSEING BUSINESS BECAUSE ,EVERY ONE WHO READS THESE POSTS WILL SEE THIS GUY FOR WHAT HE REALLY IS A NEUROTIC NUT JOB SO DONT LOSE ANY SLEEP OVER THIS GUY PERSONALLY IF I SAY ANYTHING THAT YOU HAVE THAT FITS INTO MY PROJECTS I WILL NOT HESITATE TO BUY FROM YOU
JOHN PERAZA
 
THE JOHNATHAN MCKINNEY STORY

THANKS JOHN .. I JUST HATE MY BUSINESS GETTING A BAD NAME AFTER ALL THE TIME IT TOOK TO BUILD IT BECAUSE OF THIS GUY NOT LIKEING MY SITE .THEN POSTING BAD BUSINESS SKILLS ON THE FRONT FORUM PAGE FOR ALL TO SEE THAT'S THE WRONG PART BUT THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT LARRY AT ISLAND REPTILES
 
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