{"id":5149,"date":"2009-11-05T06:40:49","date_gmt":"2009-11-05T15:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rosalindgardner.com\/blog\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2019-02-13T11:23:08","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T19:23:08","slug":"have-patience-young-grasshopper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosalindgardner.com\/blog\/have-patience-young-grasshopper\/","title":{"rendered":"Have Patience Young Grasshopper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This article was inspired by Paul Calabrese, an NPT reader new to the world of Internet marketing, who contacted me about a problem he was having with a product I'd recommended.<\/h3>\n

The following is Paul's first note to me about the problem.<\/p>\n

Very disappointed. <\/em><\/p>\n

I purchased this program after reading your review in the NPT newsletter. <\/em><\/p>\n

I downloaded the product and the first movie causes a playtime error in my windows media player. The second movie plays but without volume and freezes up. <\/em><\/p>\n

I have not purchased the super affiliate handbook yet. I purchased this first due to time sensitive nature. I am now concerned when i go to purchase your product I will have the same issues. Please Give me peace of mind. <\/em><\/p>\n

I have contacted [product developer] for a refund and am very disappointed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please restore my faith. Feeling taken advantage of with an inferior product.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was mortified.<\/p>\n

OK, maybe not so much mortified, but like Paul, very\u00c2\u00a0 disappointed.<\/p>\n

After thoroughly testing and writing a glowing endorsement for\u00c2\u00a0 the product (developed by someone I completely trust to deliver great quality) a complaint was the last thing I expected to receive.<\/p>\n

Argh!<\/p>\n

Not only that, but because of his problem, I had just lost a potential customer.<\/p>\n

Bigger ARGH!<\/p>\n

I was ready to tear a good strip off my developer friend.<\/h3>\n

“Hold the boat<\/em>“, I thought to myself. “The videos worked well for me, so they should also work for Paul — especially considering I'm THE expert when it comes to breaking software<\/em>” — if it can be broken, I will break it.<\/p>\n

I responded to Paul right after reading his note, and assured him that I personally had no difficulties accessing any of the videos or I wouldn't have recommended them; and that I would contact the product developer immediately to have him help sort out Paul's problem.<\/p>\n

That was on Friday.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, I received the following reply from Paul (most of the glowing self-serving complimentary material removed) \ud83d\ude42 :<\/p>\n

Hi Rosalind,<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks again for your prompt response.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I was unable to get through to <\/em>[product developer], but I did get his videos to work.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks again,<\/em><\/p>\n

Paul<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paul also left this comment on the blog further explaining what had happened (glowy self-serving compliment stuff removed again):<\/p>\n

I purchased Jeremy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s program based on Rosalind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recommendation. I had issues downloading the video\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and contacted Rosalind with my concern. Rosalind followed up with me in less than ten hours and assured me the program was one of quality.<\/p>\n

I went back and realized I made an error.<\/p>\n

You MUST download Quicktime to assure proper viewing of the video. I HIGHLY recommend [the product] as it is a wonderfully informative and insightful product from a highly accomplished professional.<\/p>\n

Paul Calabrese<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In an email exchange, Paul later said:<\/p>\n

I also sent a long apology email to [product developer]<\/em> as well.<\/p>\n

I also think this would make for a good post topic for beginners in your blog. This was a good learning experience for me to be patient as a beginner.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How generous! I admire and adore those who acknowledge their foibles and are willing to share to help others learn… so here we are.<\/p>\n

Paul's story isn't uncommon.<\/h3>\n

Although he jumped the gun and assumed the worst, at least he was very polite in his communications.<\/p>\n

Side Note<\/strong>: I've received support tickets from customers (and non-customers) who have called me all manner of vicious names and even threatened my mortal demise, simply because they<\/em> failed to read and\/or follow instructions.<\/p>\n

It's a good thing that my kind and compassionate assistant, Joel, gets to the nasty tickets before I do, as I have no time for abuse.<\/p>\n

On the few occasions I've answered those tickets, I've issued (completely unnecessary) refunds and included proof of their<\/em> screw-up\u00c2\u00a0 with some brass-tacks commentary about proper business etiquette.<\/p>\n

Those that see the error and ask to cancel the refund, are told that I'm not interested in doing business with those who attack without mercy and ask questions later — a characteristic that I think\u00c2\u00a0 is unsuited to attaining success in business, online and off. (It doesn't do much for world peace, either.)<\/p>\n

Why are newbie affiliate marketers so quick to jump to the worst conclusions?<\/h3>\n

I can think of 2 reasons:<\/p>\n

They are hyper-aware of all the scams about doing business online. So, when someone who has done a fair amount of research finally chooses to buy a tutorial and something goes wrong, their first inclination is to assume they've been scammed.<\/p>\n

Too, they are so excited and eager to start building their affiliate marketing business, that they probably skip past the “Read me first” and other critical instructions pertaining to the product.<\/p>\n

Does that sound like you? Then, here are your takeaways.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don't assume. (Ass-u-me. It makes an ass, out of u and me). For all the horror stories you've heard about online marketers who are out to steal your money; there as many (and more) coaches who are honest and really do want to help you succeed.<\/li>\n
  2. If you experience a problem with a download or getting some software to work, go back and re-read the instructions to see if you've overlooked some important point. Most of the time, this will correct the issue.<\/li>\n
  3. If you are unable to solve the problem on your own, contact the vendor and ask for assistance – politely.<\/li>\n
  4. Give the merchant 24 – 48 hours to respond, factoring in more time for weekends, holidays and time zone differences. Keep in mind that they are human too — not automatons who sit at their computers 24\/7 just waiting for the next support ticket to arrive. In many cases, the vendor is a sole proprietor who will be the one to respond to your ticket.<\/li>\n
  5. If your problem isn't resolved to your satisfaction within a reasonable timeframe and you would like to get your money back, consult your receipt for refund instructions. Follow that process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Yes, software does occasionally snag, but based on my experience, problems can most often be fixed and you won't need (or want) to request a refund.<\/p>\n

    In other words… CHILL!<\/h3>\n

    And just in case you're curious, here's the full comment that Paul left on the blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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I purchased this program after reading your review in the NPT […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":577,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[820,349,819,1356],"yoast_head":"\nHave Patience Young Grasshopper - RosalindGardner.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rosalindgardner.com\/blog\/have-patience-young-grasshopper\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Have Patience Young Grasshopper - RosalindGardner.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article was inspired by Paul Calabrese, an NPT reader new to the world of Internet marketing, who contacted me about a problem he was having with a product I'd recommended. 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