And we thought 40k vendors were bad

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**runmymouth**

http://penny-arcade.com/resources/just-wow1.html

**whigwam**

I like all of his comments in this vein: "I know the people who run the city inside and out watch the way you talk to people you never know who they know it’s a small industry and everyone knows everyone." .....Oh shi---video game mafia!!!!11

**Dysartes**

Two lessons to take from this

1, Good customer service and legible emails are worth the time they take.
2, Don't mess with Penny Arcade - by the way, there was an update from Gabe which went up yesterday...

**PhantomViper**

Don't these people understand the age we leave in?

You really don't wan't to mess with someone like Penny Arcade, it is not worth the bad press you're going to get...

**adameast**

The guy is selling in the 10's of thousands of controllers a month... Is there even 10's of thousands of PS3's in the world?

**MagickalMemories**

MAN, I've gotta read more than just the PA comics from now on. LOL

Eric

**Balance**

adameast wrote:The guy is selling in the 10's of thousands of controllers a month... Is there even 10's of thousands of PS3's in the world?

Estimated over 55 million since September, according to Wikipedia. And some people need more than one, especially if they're "angry" gamers.

Despite (or perhaps because of( Sony often being weird, the PS3 was the best Blu-Ray player for many for a while as it is kept updated unlike most budget players.

**Zefig**

That's a bit hilarious. I love the closing sentence of the update too.

**Commissar41.0**

I love the fact that as soon as Mike said he owns Penny Arcade he immediately starts to try to be his friend and Mike just tells him to basically screw himself.

**The Foot**

The thing that makes me love this all the more is that ass hat was beaten down at his own game. You have to love it when the "nerd" destroys someone that tries so hard to bully people.

**adameast**

Balance wrote:
adameast wrote:The guy is selling in the 10's of thousands of controllers a month... Is there even 10's of thousands of PS3's in the world?

Estimated over 55 million since September, according to Wikipedia. And some people need more than one, especially if they're "angry" gamers. Despite (or perhaps because of( Sony often being weird, the PS3 was the best Blu-Ray player for many for a while as it is kept updated unlike most budget players.

Was a bit of a joke to be fair, but I can't imagine a company making a 3rd party controllers is selling 10,000's of controllers.

I don't even think Turtle Beach sell in the 10's of thousands a month.

**MagickalMemories**

I wouldn't be surprised in the least.

Eric

**runmymouth**

I loved the update to it as well. My wife sent this link to me and it just seemed fitting.

**NiiloTimantti**

If someone missed this, you can find the sales guy's apology to the customer here:
http://gamerfront.net/2011/12/ocean-marketing-a-study-on-how-to-destroy-your-reputation-with-just-a-few-emails/15199

Mr. Roid Rage wrote:
Also I had a really bad day losing a friend to an overdose and the stress of my newborn baby and the Holiday ,missing my family and just stressing on getting product out to everyone and why it was held up in customs wore me out.

Wow! A close friend overdosed, there's a newborn baby, the holidays, he's missing his family and stressing about the product!

Also, I've no idea whether this is true or not, I just think this is hilarious:
http://kotaku.com/5871400/cut-paul-oceanmarketting-christoforo-a-breakhe-probably-just-has-roid-rage

**akira5665**

"When these donkey-caves threaten me or Penny Arcade I just laugh. I will personally burn everything I’ve made to the fething ground if I think I can catch them in the flames."

What a LEGEND!!

**Shotgun**

Some more discussion on this and a funny video.

http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/27/ocean-marketing-how-to-self-destruct-your-company-with-just-a-few-measly-emails/

**PhantomViper**

Like any deserving idiot in the Age of the Internet, Paul Christoforo became an instant Twitter sensation. In mere hours, many of the media outlets he had name-dropped in his emails had publicly disowned him.

This has turned into a textbook example of how you can destroy your own company with 5 emails... Wow!

I'm serious, this case should be taught in Marketing and PR classes has an example on how not to do things, priceless!

**Clumpski**

Good Sirs and Madams, i do believe this would be Classified as a FAIL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS x) thanks you've made my day!

**Fifty**

As my pupils like to say when they get a bad grade...

F*

**Sasori**

I'm glad the way things worked out. There is a reason why they say "The customer is always right"

**Slarg232**

akira5665 wrote:"When these donkey-caves threaten me or Penny Arcade I just laugh. I will personally burn everything I’ve made to the fething ground if I think I can catch them in the flames."

What a LEGEND!!

Yeah, you don't mess with Gabe. Dude beats people with his fists. He has only lost to the Devil, and he has taken out Mimethulu.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
They updated the comic about this

WARNING: NSFW!

Spoiler:

**Harriticus**

Sad how this guy ruined his own life.

As a MSNBC summed up this whole situation:

"Christoforo's downfall came because he broke the biggest rule in sales: He went after the customer. Even if the customer isn't always right, the customer deserves to be treated with respect. "

And yeah, this makes GW seem saintly. Their customer service has always been excellent despite other stupid policies they undertake.

**agnosto**

Harriticus wrote:Sad how this guy ruined his own life.

As a MSNBC summed up this whole situation:

"Christoforo's downfall came because he broke the biggest rule in sales: He went after the customer. Even if the customer isn't always right, the customer deserves to be treated with respect. "

And yeah, this makes GW seem saintly. Their customer service has always been excellent despite other stupid policies they undertake.

And yet Battlefoam is still around after the owner mouthed-off in a thread and basically called a concerned customer a lying troll that should attempt to contact him again for the third time instead of the other way around....after he had already taken the guy's money.

Yeah, the laws of marketing don't always work I guess...

**SagesStone**

That or it wasn't spread as easily as this case?

**Slarg232**

Yeah, I don't think Battlefoam Guy had Penny Arcade in his corner.

**dogma**

Harriticus wrote:...Even if the customer isn't always right, the customer deserves to be treated with respect. "

Or at least smug disdain, which really should be covered by the mandatory training of retail/CS employees.

Also, I love that the Ocean Marketing guy got in a pissing contest with a dude who runs what is not only the single most popular gaming web comic in existence, but one that is also known for its, shall we say, "trollish" sense of humor.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

agnosto wrote:
Yeah, the laws of marketing don't always work I guess...

The best marketing is a desirable product.

**Ouze**

Man, I don't think anyone came off looking good in this one. The guy probably lost his job, the customer was in fact kind of a jerk, PA threw it's weight around... we have all been cheapened by this experience.

**DIDM**

this is insane

first off you NEVER talk like that to a customer, NO MATTER WHAT

secondly, talk about making yourself look the fool. First off 38 is not at all old, and even if the other person was younger, then handled themselves like an adult, and not some punk ass kid

**dogma**

PA did throw its weight around, but it was done masterfully, with minimal expenditure of effort and many lulz.

So...many...lulz...

"He called me a bully, but he was being a bully ... especially when he emailed me out of the blue, saying 'That's f***ing s***ty, you're banned from PAX,' I was like 'Who the f*** are you? That's how you introduce yourself? ... I dont want to call him out, but he could have gone about that a totally different way, he could have said, 'Hey, I run the show, that email was a little unprofessional, if you don't do something to apologize I don't want you at my show.' But he just came at me and said, indirectly, 'Hey, f*** you, you're banned from PAX.' Is that what you'd call professional? I wouldn't."

Regarding the litany of names Christoforo's e-mail called up as potential supporters - a list that included everyone from Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski to the mayor of Boston - he said the tactic was meant to "impress, not to threaten" and didn't come through correctly because "you can't see tone of voice in email."

"I don't know the mayor of Boston," he admitted. "That was taken totally out of context, I was just joking around. I am from Boston, though, and I know a lot of people people who own clubs. I know some influential people, like the guy who runs the door at the convention center.

**DIDM**

he isn't perusing legal action because
there is none to take, any lawyer will take your money and try for you, but there is no winning for him, just them. He failed HARD THERE. Don't gak with the interwebz