For the love of Heidi... let's go there shall we?
I dare anyone to go to one of the uber popular message boards on the net today and post a thread that expresses dissatisfaction with any Heidi Swapp product.
I do reccommend that when you do, you do so with full riot gear on and if you have a taser gun... you might want to make sure that baby is charged up, turned on, and doing the snap, crackle and pop!
I've had the pleasure of contesting the quality of her products (on numerous occassions actually because I don't mind the pile-on). It never fails that some scrapper comes flying out of nowhere and tells me (and anyone who agrees with me or whom I agree with) to get a life and to stop trashing "Heidi"! This little scrappy vixen comes to Heidi's aid with an arsenal of expletives, insults, suggestions (for how I can get said life) and other Heidi groupies just chomping at the bit to publicly declare their undying love for the little blond pixie. The "defenses" arguments run a pretty broad spectrum:
** "Get a life! All you need to do is dab a little more adhesive on the back and the chipboard works like a champ!"
** "At least you didn't pay $12 for the rubons like some of the other companies want you too! Give her a break! She saved you some money!"
** "Why do you have to bash Heidi? Must be jealous of her talent! She is super talented and her products rock... nobody's perfect! Cut her some slack!"
and my all time fav: **Well, my dealings with Advantus rocked and they were super generous and fast... you need to give them a chance, you mustn't be doing something right!
Honestly gals, it's almost enough to make my head spin! Okay... it has spun a few times but I got it under control fairly quickly.
Here is my argument (may it no longer fall on deaf ears):
I love many of Heidi's products. I want to be buried on a bed of Ghost Letters and if you could please manage to somehow seal my coffin with her ribbon tape, I'd be very grateful! There are also quite a few of her products that have failed miserably with me!
Alpha Rubons: Okay... there a tons of us who bought packages of overzealous rubons that either couldn't stay on their sheets long enough to be used or that had the attention span of a gnat on crack and refused to stay with the task of adhering to the layouts to which they were applied.
Adhesive Chipboard: If an item is advertised as an adhesive item, then I expect the things to adhere. I found the quality of the adhesive on the chipboard to be no better than the quality that was used on the first linerun of the Pressed Petal Chip Chatter Alphas.
Jewels: The only thing that I require is that my stickon jewels have adhesive that's a tad bit stronger than the adhesive that is put on my daughter's stick on earrings and that the buggers stay where they are put! I actually used some of my daughter's earrings on a layout and they worked a LOT better than the HS variety!
Some people have problems with other items, some people have problems with less than I do and still some have no problem at all. I can respect that. Why? Because their experiences are not my own and therefore I would sound perfectly stupid to assume that I had any say in how they reported their experience! I think that there are a lot of people who need to consider adopting my common sense mantra. Of course that would mean taking the stars out of their eyes and getting them to get off of their worshiping knees and perhaps consider mopping up that puddle of drool. I wont' hold my breath.
My stance on the whole situation is this. As a consumer, I reserve the right to spend my money where I choose. As a consumer, I reserve the right to hold reasonable expections for the quality of the product that I choose to purchase. As a consumer, I reserve the right to seek resolution with any company that provides me with a defective product and if they so choose to ignore my efforts, I reserve the right to lift my voice and alert the masses lest they too fall prey.
The Heidi Swapp Protection Brigade holds a completely different opinion. According to them, I shouldn't have a problem with having to run my "adhesive" chipboard through my Xyron... because they cost less than the competitors chipboard and because... Heidi is such a sweet heart. According to these women, I should continue to bombard Advantus with request for resolution and never participate in any negative discussions of Heidi's products because she is such a sweet person and so much of her product is great. According to these scrappers, I have no right to complain because her products cost so much less that the "other" companies.
I'm here to say right now that I have nothing against Heidi Swapp as a woman or a scrapper. Hell, I don't even have a problem with her on the human level. What I have a problem with is the poor quality of some of the more popular of her products and the complacent expectation that loyalists will "make it work". This type of thinking and the melodic praises being sung by the masses who not only don't mind applying addtional adhesive to "make it work" but sometimes live for it has allowed Advantus to become quite comfy in their swiss cheese mission statement. Why should they make ammends with the customer? The "loyal" customer is bending over backwards to preserve their good name! The "loyal" customer is "taking care" of anyone who dares to expect them to stand by their products. Heck, if I were them I'd disconnect the email box without a worry and take steps to see if I couldn't cut a few more corners in the quality control area... why not... the "loyalist" will take up the sword in my honor regardless of how bad my product is!
I know quite a few scrappers who have both had problems and have been problem free. I don't begrudge any of them their experiences. All I ask is that they respect mine as well. We are all different. Everybody has a right to choose how they will deal with a particular situation. The great fix-it for my friend Jenn works fine for me. BUT that doesn't negate my expectations from the companies that I give my patronage to. Yeah, I run my chipboard through my Xyron... but you know what... I'm still going to tell Advantus about it! Why? Because a company that is seeking to be a success in this industry needs to have a grasp of quality control and a thumb on the pulse of the community. How can they do that if the consumer doesn't alert them to what is wrong?
It's about agreeing to disagree. It's about respecting other peoples right to free speech. It's about respecting the individuality of each individual scrapper without trying to force you personal perceptions on them or otherwise devaluing their opinions. It would be one small step towards reestablishing the unity that is dying within this community.
I do reccommend that when you do, you do so with full riot gear on and if you have a taser gun... you might want to make sure that baby is charged up, turned on, and doing the snap, crackle and pop!
I've had the pleasure of contesting the quality of her products (on numerous occassions actually because I don't mind the pile-on). It never fails that some scrapper comes flying out of nowhere and tells me (and anyone who agrees with me or whom I agree with) to get a life and to stop trashing "Heidi"! This little scrappy vixen comes to Heidi's aid with an arsenal of expletives, insults, suggestions (for how I can get said life) and other Heidi groupies just chomping at the bit to publicly declare their undying love for the little blond pixie. The "defenses" arguments run a pretty broad spectrum:
** "Get a life! All you need to do is dab a little more adhesive on the back and the chipboard works like a champ!"
** "At least you didn't pay $12 for the rubons like some of the other companies want you too! Give her a break! She saved you some money!"
** "Why do you have to bash Heidi? Must be jealous of her talent! She is super talented and her products rock... nobody's perfect! Cut her some slack!"
and my all time fav: **Well, my dealings with Advantus rocked and they were super generous and fast... you need to give them a chance, you mustn't be doing something right!
Honestly gals, it's almost enough to make my head spin! Okay... it has spun a few times but I got it under control fairly quickly.
Here is my argument (may it no longer fall on deaf ears):
I love many of Heidi's products. I want to be buried on a bed of Ghost Letters and if you could please manage to somehow seal my coffin with her ribbon tape, I'd be very grateful! There are also quite a few of her products that have failed miserably with me!
Alpha Rubons: Okay... there a tons of us who bought packages of overzealous rubons that either couldn't stay on their sheets long enough to be used or that had the attention span of a gnat on crack and refused to stay with the task of adhering to the layouts to which they were applied.
Adhesive Chipboard: If an item is advertised as an adhesive item, then I expect the things to adhere. I found the quality of the adhesive on the chipboard to be no better than the quality that was used on the first linerun of the Pressed Petal Chip Chatter Alphas.
Jewels: The only thing that I require is that my stickon jewels have adhesive that's a tad bit stronger than the adhesive that is put on my daughter's stick on earrings and that the buggers stay where they are put! I actually used some of my daughter's earrings on a layout and they worked a LOT better than the HS variety!
Some people have problems with other items, some people have problems with less than I do and still some have no problem at all. I can respect that. Why? Because their experiences are not my own and therefore I would sound perfectly stupid to assume that I had any say in how they reported their experience! I think that there are a lot of people who need to consider adopting my common sense mantra. Of course that would mean taking the stars out of their eyes and getting them to get off of their worshiping knees and perhaps consider mopping up that puddle of drool. I wont' hold my breath.
My stance on the whole situation is this. As a consumer, I reserve the right to spend my money where I choose. As a consumer, I reserve the right to hold reasonable expections for the quality of the product that I choose to purchase. As a consumer, I reserve the right to seek resolution with any company that provides me with a defective product and if they so choose to ignore my efforts, I reserve the right to lift my voice and alert the masses lest they too fall prey.
The Heidi Swapp Protection Brigade holds a completely different opinion. According to them, I shouldn't have a problem with having to run my "adhesive" chipboard through my Xyron... because they cost less than the competitors chipboard and because... Heidi is such a sweet heart. According to these women, I should continue to bombard Advantus with request for resolution and never participate in any negative discussions of Heidi's products because she is such a sweet person and so much of her product is great. According to these scrappers, I have no right to complain because her products cost so much less that the "other" companies.
I'm here to say right now that I have nothing against Heidi Swapp as a woman or a scrapper. Hell, I don't even have a problem with her on the human level. What I have a problem with is the poor quality of some of the more popular of her products and the complacent expectation that loyalists will "make it work". This type of thinking and the melodic praises being sung by the masses who not only don't mind applying addtional adhesive to "make it work" but sometimes live for it has allowed Advantus to become quite comfy in their swiss cheese mission statement. Why should they make ammends with the customer? The "loyal" customer is bending over backwards to preserve their good name! The "loyal" customer is "taking care" of anyone who dares to expect them to stand by their products. Heck, if I were them I'd disconnect the email box without a worry and take steps to see if I couldn't cut a few more corners in the quality control area... why not... the "loyalist" will take up the sword in my honor regardless of how bad my product is!
I know quite a few scrappers who have both had problems and have been problem free. I don't begrudge any of them their experiences. All I ask is that they respect mine as well. We are all different. Everybody has a right to choose how they will deal with a particular situation. The great fix-it for my friend Jenn works fine for me. BUT that doesn't negate my expectations from the companies that I give my patronage to. Yeah, I run my chipboard through my Xyron... but you know what... I'm still going to tell Advantus about it! Why? Because a company that is seeking to be a success in this industry needs to have a grasp of quality control and a thumb on the pulse of the community. How can they do that if the consumer doesn't alert them to what is wrong?
It's about agreeing to disagree. It's about respecting other peoples right to free speech. It's about respecting the individuality of each individual scrapper without trying to force you personal perceptions on them or otherwise devaluing their opinions. It would be one small step towards reestablishing the unity that is dying within this community.
posted by Essentially Jae' at Sunday, October 29, 2006
3 Comments:
I am sorry but I totally agree. I adore Heidi Swapp stuff and I say "good luck" to her (even though by now she can bottle the vilest farts, sell them and still have the groupies stating that they don't stink other than of roses), but I found the Rub Ons the shittiest and poorest in the industry. It annoys me to no end when the groupies tell me "you need to watch the video, then you know how to apply them"...excuse me?? I KNOW how to use a rub on - I never had ANY problems with anyone else's Rub Ons and I got buy WITHOUT enlisting the help of a video. Besides, once I got them on they came off after 2 minutes. Even Heidi Swapp was convinced after seeing the pictures I took and sent me a big parcel with goodies to make up for my inconvenience. Now that WAS very generous but the problem is still there. Even if you paid me I would never ever use Heidi Swapp Rub ons again - they suck, FULL STOP.
As for the adhesive chipboard, I have to agree - just as non-adhesive as Pressed Petal's Chip Chatter but I now use my beloved KI GLoo before I put them down and I am happy with it. But the fact remains that Heidi Swapp does have some duff manufacturers for some of her product and there is enough evidence that there is a problem, i.e. lots of scrappers around the world complaining. I wish the Heidi Groupies grow up and accept that you can love what Heidi does, and critisism is not because we are jealous - it's because we have been given a bad product for hard earned money. I don't care if the rub ons are less money than from other manufacturers (really?? Making Memories is much cheaper then Heidi Swapp) - it still is money down the pan if I can't use the item.
Amen sista. I think that Advantus does nothing because even though some of the product SUCKS we, as scrappers, just continue to use it anyway. Why shoudl they fix it when we buy it regardless??
I couldn't agree more. If I wanted non-adhesive chipboard, I would have purchased it from someone else. If I wanted rub ons that didn't work, I would have left them on the shelf. If I wanted my feelings of outrage at being ripped off by a company's crappy product to be, time and again, ripped to shreds because of the celebrity name attached, I would have never posted about it in other forums.
I guess Life really is like a box of chocolates...
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