Antone received South Park commentary cd's yet? (2 Viewers)

[Mark_Wilson]

Giving WB/CC the benefit of the doubt, I hope season 1 looks bad just because they used the existing transfers. Since none or most of the other seasons haven't been released this is there chance to do a better job.

btw, how do the R4/R2 seasons look and sound on DVD?

 

[JustinCleveland]

Nothing personal, Bill, but citing a BBS is about as credible as trusting your uncle Sal who says that Fords are nothing but trouble... there are 2 people who (maybe) had a problem... to state things (without any real proof) like the folks are shutting down... that's just dumb.

Did you personally call them? No. Then to say that they are not taking calls is irresponsible.

 

[GuruAskew]

Nothing personal, Bill, but citing a BBS is about as credible as trusting your uncle Sal who says that Fords are nothing but trouble... there are 2 people who (maybe) had a problem... to state things (without any real proof) like the folks are shutting down... that's just dumb.

A HTF member confirmed that he had recieved his envelope back as well in this very thread. I've yet to see anyone claim that they got their CD's yet from the mailaway offer. Of course, this information is all from the internet, but I believe it, because I find it hard to believe that people would lie about this, and nothing I've read contradicts *my* personal experience, as I haven't got my CD's yet, even though I sent away the week of the DVD's release. You can go on about the reliability of the internet all you want but the fact of the matter is this: the only person you can trust is yourself. Since everyone else is possibly lying to you, you can either become a paranoid introvert or you can be reasonable and practical. By reporting updates that I've come across that are appropriae to this thread, I think I've done that. There's a chance they're not true, but as I said before there's nothing to gain by lying and nothing to debunk their claims.

 

[Jeff Krispow]

*Sigh*
It's been really interesting reading all the "conspiracy theories" and the other occasional nonsense posted here over the past few days.
BUT... I have something to tell all of you — and one of you in particular — that will (hopefully) settle this debate once and for all.
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I received my Episode Commentary CD Set today in the mail. Yes, you read correctly...I received it in the mail this afternoon. I saw the package, and knew exactly where it was from. My set was complete, in perfect shape, and exactly what I sent in my $3.50 for. I'm glad to finally have this puppy in my hands — but only because of Warner removing the commentaries from the DVDs (and not because anything that Comedy Central did).
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I'm inclined to believe that the seemingly acceptable customer service that Jeff Krispow got was either a fluke or some sort of deception made to appease the consumers.

Well, Bill, I'm glad to say that you were absolutely wrong about this in every regard... not to mention just about everything else you've written and re-posted as well. This is why I never, ever believe any unconfirmed reports posted any BBS or newsgroup (or continually reported elsewhere as "true" without any verification). It's just paranoia feeding paranoia, and before long we've got a small panic on our hands. Hell, we all know that there are those folks out there who will post messages like these purposely to get a rise out of people and to create controversy. ("I was lied to." "The phones are totally shut down." "They told me that they wouldn't ship the discs to me, just because!" "Capt. Kirk is better than that Picard guy." And so forth.) One friend of mine used to purposely start up the most ridiculous arguments on some "Star Wars" newsgroups just to get the geeks angry and see where it would lead — he partially did it as a mini behavioral experiment, but also because it was often hysterical.
But let's get back to the point at hand. Sure, it's really easy to keep posting these rumours and create controversy. But how hard is it to actually pick up the phone, call up Comedy Central, and ask them yourself what the status is? Well, not hard at all... I did it, and they even answered on the second ring. I even went the distance and was able to get some other answers as well. Well, I guess that kills the "phone lines are permanently shut down" rumour. Oh wait, I forgot... it must have been some sort of conspiracy where they turned on the phone lines again just for my call.
Now let's talk about the acceptible customer service I received. That was certainly not any sort of fluke either. I'm sure the reason I received such "good" customer service was because I was actually polite to the person on the other end of the phone. I certainly didn't call them up and start yelling at them and accusing them of fraud, or "covering up the truth," or any other B.S. (Yes, this HAS happened!) These support personnel are people, just like the rest of us, and are just doing their job. I don't care what your problem with the CD set is, but it certainly wasn't caused by these customer service people — they don't deserve to be yelled at, insulted or theatened, and it won't get you anywhere. I know if I ever received a call from someone screaming at me about a CD, I'd sure as hell want to hang up on them — they last thing they'd receive from me would be anything resembling "good" customer service. So, if you wanna know what the status of your order or have some other questions, give them a call, and be polite... don't be an a-hole, give them some common courtesy. But if you come back screaming "crappy customer service," well, tough darts baby... you very likely deserved it (however much you'll deny it).
Here's another point I want to address: Isn't it obviously by now that this wasn't some sort of "deception made to appease the consumers." Good lord... are you actually hearing what you are writing? Do you really think that Comedy Central would willingly defraud thousands and thousands of consumers? Why would they do that? What would make that worth the risk of seriously damaging their business? They wouldn't. I'm really amazed at how paranoid some of you have gotten over nothing at all. Since I did receive my CD set, I think it's reasonable to assume that Comedy Central HAS made good on their offer and will continue to do so for everyone else. Again, no lies, no deception, no fraud. Just the exact product I paid for. And by the way, since I'm sure at least one of you will argue that they only sent me the CD Set because I called them up... nope — I looked at the postmark, and it was dated 1/20/2003... the EXACT day the told me they mailed it (which was a couple days before I called to find out the status).
Sorry if I sound a bit harsh here, but the paranoia level and some of the comments made in this thread are both ludicrous and sad. So just in case you missed it before, I'll say it one last time: I got my Commentary CD Set. It just took Comedy Central a little while longer than expected to get in all the CD sets they needed to fulfill the orders. So just relax... take a Diazepam (Valium) if you still feel "angry" for some reason... and wait for your set to arrive in the mail. Come on now... r-e-l-a-x. They ARE shipping, and if they cashed your check, I think it's safe to assume that you will receive one as well.
I, for one, am grateful that Comedy Central took the initiative to go forward and release these commentaries on their own, not to mention personally covering much of the expense of producing these CDs. The $3.50 shipping & handling charge doesn't cover the entire cost of creating, pressing, printing, packaging, shipping (from the pressing plant to Comedy Central and/or International Data LLC*) or publicizing the set. And you know what... if Matt & Trey were somehow convinced to do a full commentary for Season Two (hopefully)... and if Warner screwed them over again (which they'd better not)... and Comedy Central was motivated to release a Season Two Episode Commentary CD Set... I'd sure as hell do this all over again. (* Note: International Data LLC is the company in Texas handling the fulfillment process for Comedy Central. This is the company we sent our checks to, and they are handling the tracking and shipping of CD Set orders. Just my two cents.)
And that's all I have to say — or want to say — about this nonsense. I could stay and chat some more, but I think I've made my point. And I'd much rather go off and listen to the commentaries now than waste any more of my time on this thread. Disbelievers should feel free to continue arguing amongst yourselves and beating this topic dead into the ground (as I'm sure you will).
So there.

 

[DeathStar1]

Do you think a write in campaign will help WB relize their mistake? Apparently the customer Service Rep had a tremendous response about the discs. If we can get those people to write in and complain about the bad picture quality, and audio commentary mixup, maby WB will do it right the second time...

BTW, to any WB Execs, I have also avoided buying these discs because of the bad picture quality reviews and the hassle of seperate audio CD commentaries. But at least CC was doing a good thing by releasing them.

I wonder if CC would do a better job if they re-released it themselves....

 

[Adam_WM]

The picture wasn't that bad, but the commentary thing is really messed up. No excuse.

 

[GuruAskew]

I'm glad that you got your CD's and I hope to get mine soon, but I fail to see the point in getting angry at me over getting angry at what is poor customer service across the board. You admit that it took longer than it should. I also feel that it's taken too long. I see no reason for any ill will between any of the people who participated in this offer, yet some people in this thread have actually taken it personally. I see absolutely no reason to defend anything Comedy Central has done throughout this whole ordeal. I understand that people doubt the reliability of the posts from the southparkstudios.com BBS. In every post in which I reported what I'd read there, I was sure to mention it. I made no claims over the validity of those posts, I just presented them. However, there is still no evidence to suggest that the BBS poster who mentioned not getting through the phone line was lying. At the time of his call, the operaters very well could have been instructed not to answer the phones. I think past experiences with products like the anotheruniverse.com "My So Called Life" offer are proof that there's nothing "conspiracy theory"-esque about being screwed by a business. So yes, I do believe Comedy Central would willingly defraud their own customers, if it saved them money. You're right about the price of the CD likely being cost-prohibitive for them. If they underestimated the demand, it's entirely possible that they would choose to turn customers away rather than honor the offer. You've clearly got some naive faith in big business. You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to understand that the vast majority of corporations don't really give a shit about individuals. Hell, the DVD format is rife with examples of corporations simply not caring about the consumer. As for the customer service, your phone call is by no means definitive proof that everyone had similar success. So let's look at the facts: you have people *claiming* to not be able to get through the on the phone lines, you have people *claiming* to recieve their envelopes back after the P.O. box has supposedly closed two months before the offer is set to expire, which, if true, is the most unacceptable part of all of this. (I have recieved no such envelope but the fact that others have still angers me), and you have exactly one person *claiming* that they've actually recieved the product a full month later than they should have. Now, everyone could be lying, everyone could be telling the truth, or it could be any number of combinations of valid posts, but from my point of view, it looks like Comedy Central has handled this whole thing very badly from the beginning, and I can't fathom why anyone would get angry at me when one can reasonably assume that everyone involved has experienced at least some problems involved with this offer. Finally, I think it's incredibly insulting that you would liken the concern over the mishandling of this offer to paranoia, and that you would suggest that those who are concerned (although I'm sure you were addressing me primarily) take valium. I know I didn't resort to personal attack in my post.

 

[Tom Foley]

Nobody should have to defend themselves over being upset at Comedy Central here. It's pretty obvious to say that they have done a crap job so far. I mean, nobody's making this out to be a true disaster. But I think we all have principles, and we're just observing a set of corporate entities that have their principles TOTALLY out of wack.
I'm glad to see SOMEBODY got their CDs, but Jeff is one of the very few. As for the rest, like me, we still have not received them after almost 11 weeks. I know, for $3.50 (Tree-Fiddy), what do you expect? But I guess, after the whole rigamorol that got us here, we're all a bit frustrated, and it's nice to talk sense. Let's hope we don't have to go through this silliness for Season 2, that is, if Warner/CC still have interested customers.

 

[Thomas H G]

STill waiting, getting angrier by the day

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

I sent my check in right after Xmas -- I got the set as a gift -- and it hasn't cleared as of last week.

 

[JustinCleveland]

Bill, there is a HUGE difference between getting something for FREE (or the shipping costs, totaling about what, 4 dollars?) and the fiasco surrounding My So Called Life, which bilked people out of HUNDREDS of dollars.

Have you, personally called? I have not. That is why I wouldn't trust what some, anonymous person says on a BBS on the Internet. If you have, did you call during regular business hours? Remember, these people have lives and familys and don't live to serve you. How do you know the person you quoted didn't just dial the wrong number, then got so freaked out they didn't bother to check the number??

I haven't called because it said 6 weeks, and it's only been about 5 for me. If they come next week, then they will have been right on time, and there will be nothing have been done wrong. If they don't come, I'll just give them a ring and ask what's up.

 

[CraigF]

Has anybody in Canada called CC and verified that the commentary is not available to Canadian purchasers?

Is there an MP3 version with correct "timing" for co-use with the DVD's available anywhere?

Couldn't CC put the commentaries on the web or something for download for burning? Wouldn't this be cheaper and easier for them, and they're not a whole lot of use if you haven't bought the DVD's.

Thanks.

 

[JustinCleveland]

I would bet, dollars-to-donuts, that if they put the commentaries up free in MP3 format, there would have been lawsuits up the ying-yang, about copyright issues, about bootlegging (like is happening already) etc. Just my guess.

 

[RaulR]

Has anybody in Canada called CC and verified that the commentary is not available to Canadian purchasers?

I didn't call, but I did send email back when news of the offer first surfaced on various forums. CC customer service replied that they don't ship ANYTHING outside the continental U.S. I posted about this in the other long South Park thread here (I'd repost the text of the messages, but search doesn't seem to be functioning right now).
Perhaps they've changed their policy since then, but I've completely lost interest now. Even glancing at that PDF form irritates me -- the form initially provides a shipping cost for Canadian orders, then goes on to say the offer is only valid in the U.S., and THEN further down it says it's valid in the U.S. and Canada! Maybe some of you Canucks with a more patient nature than mine would be willing to bear with CC until they figure out their own policies. Good luck!

 

[MishaLauenstein]

They just called me this morning. I left a message last Wednesday or Thursday (Jan 22 or 23) asking whether I need to send all 4 proof of purchase thingies or just one. I called back the next morning and got through to a person right away, just as I had in November.

They always ask me where I'm calling from and I said Canada both times and was not told that Canadians can't order it. I suspect that Only Available To: line was cut-and-pasted from some kind of standard form and no one bothered to proof read it.

Needless to say, the person who phoned me this morning did not tell me that the PO Box was no longer in service nor that my request would not be processed.

 

[Thomas H G]

asking whether I need to send all 4 proof of purchase thingies or just one

What was the answer to that by the way?

 

[Dave F]

Tree-Fiddy

Lol!
-Dave

 

[Adam_WM]

I spoke with Antone, and he hasn't received the CD yet!

I swear, everytime I open up this page to look at the newest post I laugh at this one. HA!

 

[Trevor H]

I just mailed my request and money order today, it will be interesting to see how long it will take for the CD's to come.

 

[TedT]

Kind of funny Jeff, how you seem to be the ONLY one who's received the commentary disks so far!

Well... I'm still (not so patiently (obviously)) waiting. Hopefully they'll come soon.