PDGA gripes

[JC17393]

Well, that's their problem. This is a small community, and this is a forum that has a huge percentage of their constituency posting on it. That's about as good a focus group as you're going to get. Most successful businesses care what their customers think.

Also, it sounds like they guy voiced a complaint to the PDGA customer service person, in addition to posting it on here. Or am I wrong about that?

First, if you think this forum or any like it represents a "huge percentage" of the PDGA's constituency, you're mistaken.

Second, yes, he did call the PDGA office and got answers to his questions/complaints. He even admitted that their answers were satisfactory. But shouldn't it end there? Why the need to make a post on a forum entirely unaffiliated with the PDGA in an apparent attempt to get the same answers?

Truth is, he made the post here trying to find sympathy or empathy for his situation. He wanted a thread of pats on the back and supportive "yeah, boo to the PDGA" posts. Obviously, he didn't get much of that because he didn't really deserve it.

 

[dorseymatt]

I would hope they have more important things to do than monitor various message boards. Most of the complaints could be easily resolved by simply sending them an email or picking up the phone. Easier to whine about it on here though.

Maybe I am under the incorrect assumption that they would like to put forth a better product.

 

[dorseymatt]

First, if you think this forum or any like it represents a "huge percentage" of the PDGA's constituency, you're mistaken.

Second, yes, he did call the PDGA office and got answers to his questions/complaints. He even admitted that their answers were satisfactory. But shouldn't it end there? Why the need to make a post on a forum entirely unaffiliated with the PDGA in an apparent attempt to get the same answers?

Truth is, he made the post here trying to find sympathy or empathy for his situation. He wanted a thread of pats on the back and supportive "yeah, boo to the PDGA" posts. Obviously, he didn't get much of that because he didn't really deserve it.

Think what you want, but the original post is far, far from the most ridiculous (or defensive) thing posted in this thread. The guy voiced a complaint, just as many people do on sites like yelp, for example. I don't think his complaint was baseless, either, in this day and age.

 

[tbird888]

Think what you want, but the original post is far, far from the most ridiculous (or defensive) thing posted in this thread. The guy voiced a complaint, just as many people do on sites like yelp, for example. I don't think his complaint was baseless, either, in this day and age.

Maybe you should volunteer some dev time to fix this prehistoric problem for the PDGA.

 

[dorseymatt]

Maybe you should volunteer some dev time to fix this prehistoric problem for the PDGA.

Maybe it's not my responsibility to do that, as a paying customer.

 

[blackandwhite]

Well, that's their problem. This is a small community, and this is a forum that has a huge percentage of their constituency posting on it. That's about as good a focus group as you're going to get. Most successful businesses care what their customers think.

Also, it sounds like they guy voiced a complaint to the PDGA customer service person, in addition to posting it on here. Or am I wrong about that?

I had called that Friday morning and left a voicemail as well as send an email. Sometimes its easier to check mass emails and reply, then sit and listen to a voicemail and call back

First, if you think this forum or any like it represents a "huge percentage" of the PDGA's constituency, you're mistaken.

Second, yes, he did call the PDGA office and got answers to his questions/complaints. He even admitted that their answers were satisfactory. But shouldn't it end there? Why the need to make a post on a forum entirely unaffiliated with the PDGA in an apparent attempt to get the same answers?

Truth is, he made the post here trying to find sympathy or empathy for his situation. He wanted a thread of pats on the back and supportive "yeah, boo to the PDGA" posts. Obviously, he didn't get much of that because he didn't really deserve it.

TRUTH IS, I made the post right after hearing back from them. Not in the hopes of anything. I wasn't trying to rally the troops and start the torches burning.
There have been numerous gripes about disc stiffness, overweight discs, and then there was this issue I had. Pardon me for thinking I could post an issue I had with them on a public forum and seeing if anyone else had ever had a similar issue



As mentioned. They are a business and we are the customer. Sure I was impatient, but I didnt know when I would be receiving a product I had paid for. There was no information about a time frame, so it led me to believe it would be 'immediate'

 

[tbird888]

Yelp and the PDGA are two very different companies when development is involved. That's like busting on someone selling discs out of his garage for shipping once a day because Amazon ships immediately.

blackandwhite, your "complaint" is your own fault. You paid late and expected to be able to see it reflected immediately. That's not even in the same ballpark as discs being an illegal weight and firmness. There's no "double standard" here. It's not like they're making you pay the $10 non-member fee despite being registered. I think you need to stop defending yourself because you're just talking in circles at this point.

Your argument reeks of the woman sueing McDonald's because she put a coffee cup between her legs, had the lid pop off, and burn her legs.

 

[bradharris]

There have been numerous gripes about disc stiffness, overweight discs, and then there was this issue I had. Pardon me for thinking I could post an issue I had with them on a public forum and seeing if anyone else had ever had a similar issue

I'm willing to bet that anyone who renewed on a friday had a very similar issue. Difference is, no one else saw it as an issue at all.

As mentioned. They are a business and we are the customer. Sure I was impatient, but I didnt know when I would be receiving a product I had paid for. There was no information about a time frame, so it led me to believe it would be 'immediate'

The whole tone of your complaint is that you paid for one purpose: to see your stats online. The fact is, that's just a small by-product of what you're paying for. The "product" is membership in an organization that allows you to get a rating from sanctioned play. And that product was available right away. As you said, the confirmation email was enough to enter a tournament as a member.

Other pieces of this membership take some time to be processed. Did the magazine show appear in your mailbox the moment you hit submit? No. Will it show up within a week? Probably not. That's another product you paid for but will have to wait on. Should we start a new thread for that one too?

 

[blackandwhite]

aside from the pdga website, and contacting them directly (as I did), where else would I go to see if there was a similar experience by others (perhaps a large gathering of disc golfers that are PDGA registered maybe?)

 

[blackandwhite]

I'm willing to bet that anyone who renewed on a friday had a very similar issue. Difference is, no one else saw it as an issue at all.



The whole tone of your complaint is that you paid for one purpose: to see your stats online. The fact is, that's just a small by-product of what you're paying for. The "product" is membership in an organization that allows you to get a rating from sanctioned play. And that product was available right away. As you said, the confirmation email was enough to enter a tournament as a member.

Other pieces of this membership take some time to be processed. Did the magazine show appear in your mailbox the moment you hit submit? No. Will it show up within a week? Probably not. That's another product you paid for but will have to wait on. Should we start a new thread for that one too?

As I mentioned, obviously the mail takes time. The taking me from inactive to active, I was unaware was done once a week. There was nothing stating the time delay upon purchase and checkout. Something that would be taken care of SOLEY online, seemed like something that would be 'instant'. Clearly I was wrong as they are short staffed, etc

 

[prerube]

If you want more from your membership then the PDGA will need more staff. More staff means higher fees. More fees means less people will join.

They do what they can with a very limited staff.

 

[bradharris]

As I mentioned, obviously the mail takes time. The taking me from inactive to active, I was unaware was done once a week. There was nothing stating the time delay upon purchase and checkout. Something that would be taken care of SOLEY online, seemed like something that would be 'instant'. Clearly I was wrong as they are short staffed, etc

You went from inactive to active the moment your payment was processed. It's just the online listing that doesn't update. The confirmation email should make it very clear that your membership is considered active right away.

 

[oddjob]

If you want more from your membership then the PDGA will need more staff. More staff means higher fees. More fees means less people will join.

They do what they can with a very limited staff.

i'm totally going to apply for the position of internet police.

 

[JC17393]

aside from the pdga website, and contacting them directly (as I did), where else would I go to see if there was a similar experience by others (perhaps a large gathering of disc golfers that are PDGA registered maybe?)

Why is there a need to find out if there was a similar experience for others, though? This is what I meant when I said you were trying to gain sympathy or empathy for your "issue".

And if you were trying to find others who had had a similar experience, did you do a thread search? Seems to me if this is as big an issue as you want to make it to be, someone else would have created a similar thread already. If you did and found none, the fact that one didn't already exist should tell you that either no one else has had this issue or those that did weren't bothered by it enough to complain in public about it.

 

[scarpfish]

Well, that's their problem. This is a small community, and this is a forum that has a huge percentage of their constituency posting on it. That's about as good a focus group as you're going to get. Most successful businesses care what their customers think.

90+% of the folks on DGCR do not have PDGA numbers.

Most successful businesses also have competitors.

 

[prerube]

i'm totally going to apply for the position of internet police.

Do you want a link to the application? I hear the chief is a pro at using the search feature.

 

[dorseymatt]

You went from inactive to active the moment your payment was processed. It's just the online listing that doesn't update. The confirmation email should make it very clear that your membership is considered active right away.

Isn't it a little odd that they have a system that can auto-generate an email but not auto-change membership status?

I'm kind of bummed I decided to attach my cart to the horse of the original poster, since I do think some of the complaints are a little wonky, but there is actual stuff worth complaining about in the experience we get as customers to the PDGA.

I don't think it's appropriate that we are asked to bear with them because they are short-staffed.

If this were the Amateur Disc Golf Co-Op Association, I would feel differently, I guess.

 

[dorseymatt]

90+% of the folks on DGCR do not have PDGA numbers.

Most successful businesses also have competitors.

The PDGA's competition is the non-membership of avid disc golfers. If it's true that 90% of the people on this site do not have PDGA numbers, then I can't imagine the PDGA wouldn't want to change that percentage significantly.

 

[bradharris]

Isn't it a little odd that they have a system that can auto-generate an email but not auto-change membership status?

I'm kind of bummed I decided to attach my cart to the horse of the original poster, since I do think some of the complaints are a little wonky, but there is actual stuff worth complaining about in the experience we get as customers to the PDGA.

I don't think it's appropriate that we are asked to bear with them because they are short-staffed.

If this were the Amateur Disc Golf Co-Op Association, I would feel differently, I guess.

It's not odd at all. They're very likely two completely different systems. To link the two would require them to hire a programmer to build some custom software and that is not cheap.

You're not asked to bear with them. You have the option to not be a member. If you don't think the service they provide is worth the membership fee, don't pay it.

 

[dorseymatt]

Why is there a need to find out if there was a similar experience for others, though? This is what I meant when I said you were trying to gain sympathy or empathy for your "issue".

And if you were trying to find others who had had a similar experience, did you do a thread search? Seems to me if this is as big an issue as you want to make it to be, someone else would have created a similar thread already. If you did and found none, the fact that one didn't already exist should tell you that either no one else has had this issue or those that did weren't bothered by it enough to complain in public about it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
are you serious with that crap?