STEALING BEAUTY: a warning for potential purchasers (1 Viewer)

[Mark-W]

Just to be clear:

I don't exspect Peter to personally respond,

I just expect to hear from Fox from some source,

like the e-tailers who should be pulling stock

or whatever.

Fox reps are NOT at our beckon call.

But their customer service should be.

Mark

 

[David Lambert]

Let me be clear with my meaning.

When I stated that Peter hadn't posted at HTF in the past couple of weeks, I was in NO WAY suggesting that he "HAS" to respond here at HTF.

In the past, Peter has BEEN NICE ENOUGH to VOLUNTEER to respond here at HTF.

My post was to point out that he hasn't been around, so probably hasn't read the posts, and therefore won't be able to be nice enough to respond at HTF on this matter, IF HE SO CHOSE TO.

Peter, Martin Blythe, and all other people "in the biz", are free to post or not post, respond or not respond, just like ANY OTHER HTF MEMBER.

Noone should ever, EVER think otherwise! Thanks,

 

[Carlo_M]

The main problem is that no one up in this thread has stated they contacted CSR over at Fox. Fox CSR shouldn't be expected to patrol this board any more than anyone else.
Jeff Ulmer said he's not sure his contact is still around, and that sounds more personalized than just the CS number.
What we need is for someone to concretely say "I spoke with So-N-So at Fox and they said This..." which no one has. Then it gets pointed out that Peter hadn't posted here since 1/2/02 and asks "where is he hiding" implying 1) he has something to be ashamed of, and 2) that he has some sort of obligation. I understand that wasn't your point, David, but that's how it comes across in the context of this thread.
What is needed is for someone to take point and actually call in to Fox's CS number and then tell us what is said to them.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I'm sure my contact at Fox is still around, but whether he is at liberty to respond or has anything to respond with is another matter-and even if he did, I wouldn't be blabbing about it here without his consent. He, like Peter, is not obligated to respond, I simply contacted him when I noticed the problem, but he may be on vacation for all I know (I doubt it, but...).

I don't have Fox's CS number handy, or I could call, assuming it's a toll free line.

 

[Mark-W]

Finding a Fox DVD customer service
phone # appears to be tough.
The only thing I could find was a link
at Fox's on-line store, which probably will
not get to the right people, but here it is.
https://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pageg...other_form.spl
Fill out the form, and good luck.
(For "order number", even though it is marked
a "required field," I just typed in "not applic.")
Mark

 

[Horatio Jones]

Listen I'm confident since Ron and the Fox guys are such buds that we'll have an answer in the near future.

 

[David Lambert]

Then it gets pointed out that Peter hadn't posted here since 1/2/02 and asks "where is he hiding" implying 1) he has something to be ashamed of, and 2) that he has some sort of obligation. I understand that wasn't your point, David, but that's how it comes across in the context of this thread.

I realize that in retrospect. Hindsight is always 20/20, of course. By "hiding" - a poor choice of words - I meant that he was on vacation or something. In another thread where I brought up the same point, I also question as to whether or not it has anything to do with Ron's decision not to review Fox product anymore, as he noted in his review of The Sandlot (which stands as my response to the previous poster about Ron & Fox "being such buds").

Again, I goofed. Forgive me. I wasn't trying to imply anything whatsoever. I think very highly of Peter!

 

[Carlo_M]

I know you didn't intend it that way, David, it's just how it came out looking for the uninitiated who may wander into this thread. That's what I was mostly concerned about. People who've been here a while know the value of our studio reps who participate, but someone who just ran across HTF may start thinking that this is a sounding board right into a studio exec's ear.

Well, I've tried finding the CS number and the only thing I could find was the digitalbits' "surf the links" information. Unfortunately, I tried one other number there a while ago (Artisan I think it was) and it was incorrect. Alas it's also not an 800 number. Anyone game?

 

[Ted Todorov]

That's the danger of a studio rep joining this forum, and why more do NOT do so:

We are now "expecting" them to post, and that simply should not be the case. They have no obligations whatsoever. Hey, who posts here when MGM has a defect? How about Warner and their WAMO/DVD rot problem? Or Artisan and those glitches? How about Disney? Or New Line with the fact that Infinifilm doesn't always work with every player?

Anyone?

Nope.

Peter is here and it is our PRIVILEGE to hear from him. I have met him FIRSTHAND several times and can assure you he cares deeply for the HTF and DVD fans. If he's not posting, he's probably busy. He is a VP over there, not some Customer Service Rep.

Time for a reality check.

Don't abuse the resources we have, lest we risk losing them.

Let me first say that I (and I'm sure most HTF members) are very happy with the high quality of recent Fox DVD releases, and of their concern for our wishes and Peter's participation in this Forum. We certainly wish that some of the other studios catch up to Fox both in terms of their HTF participation and the quality of their DVD releases.

That said: The people due for a "reality check" are the studios, not us, their best customers. HTF members as a whole spend serious amounts of money on DVDs that go those studios and pay the salaries of the studio reps, VPs, what have you. We also, through the HTF, provide the kind of publicity money can't buy for their products.

Saying something like: "We are still investigating the Moulin Rouge DTS problem and will probably have an answer/plan of action in the next one to two months" is neither time consuming nor commits them to something that they would later regret. It is however an absolute minimum they should do for their best customers. Plenty of other industries treat their best customers with a great deal more respect and attention. Just because Fox is among the best studios, doesn't mean there isn't a great deal of room for improvement. It is a lot more than just a "PRIVILAGE" to hear from their reps.

Ted

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I will respectfully disagree with you Ted. Fox (and I mean Peter of course) has no obligation to post here, especially about internal matters. I get the feeling from tone of the sentiments I've seen lately that the reps are being abused by the forum membership here, who seem to feel they are owed an answer to their every inquiry or customer relations problem. They aren't, that's what Customer Service is for.

I also feel that the studios who are doing the most to get us the product we want, like Fox, are in a no win situation. I was at the head of the pack asking for this title, and they did an awesome job with the transfer, but with the short time to market a problem arose, and now we have a defective disc. In trying to please the fans they wind up with a problem, one which in hindsight could have been avoided, but for whatever reason it wasn't, and now we have members demanding a response as to what will be done about it. As long as they are made aware of the issue, give them some time to figure out what to do about it. I'm sure this will get fixed, but it isn't as easy as simply burning another copy. The workloads and product scheduling are done months in advance, so correcting this kind of problem isn't easy to do quickly.

Has anyone contacted CS yet?

 

[Ted Todorov]

Jeff,
My main complaint has been with Fox's response to the Moulin Rouge problems, not the Stealing Beauty ones -- I feel everyone should learn Italian -- come on people, get with the program
Moulin Rouge though is major title and it was not released as favour to anyone other than Mr. Bottom Line.
About whether or not the studios are obliged to post here I guess we will agree to disagree -- I've made my point of view clear, there is no need to repeat it.
Let me just add one more thing that HTF does for the studios -- QA work
BTW, Jeff thank you for working hard to get Stealing Beauty released and now to get it fixed, as a fan of the film I am grateful for your efforts.
Ted

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I thank you for the sentiment, but all I did was ask for it...repeatedly....over and over...and bug them about the supplements...and runtimes....
I don't think I'm doing much to get it fixed other than noting the problem and hopefully calling it to Fox's attention.
I did offer to receive an early check disc for review, so I can't say I didn't try to help...

 

[Mark-W]

Well folks-
Here is the message I got from the Fox store.
Maybe it will assist you:
Hello:
Thank you for your inquiry.
You have reached the Fox Store Customer Assistance Center.
Unfortunately, we are unable to assist in your Fox request, as
inquiries
to this store are from purchases made or to be made at this store.
Please see the contact information below to assist in resolving your
inquiry.
http://www.fox.com/community/askfox/..._addresses.htm
For DVD and VHS release questions, please direct your inquiry to
[email protected]
Or,
Email address: [email protected]
If we can be of further assistance, please contact us via email or call
us toll free at 800-843-9251.
Your Fox Store Case ID for this request is:
Fx-568056-12102
Sincerely,
Fox Store Customer Service
My first attempt to contact them will be tomorrow,
since I was sick today, and since I got this reply
we were on a 3 day weekend.
Mark

 

[David Lambert]

Um, has anyone tried using the contact info for Fox at The Digital Bits?
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/studiolink.html
It shows this for Fox, right at the top:

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
2121 Avenue of the Stars, 25th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(310) 369-3900
(310) 369-3319 Fax
Web site: Link Removed
E-mail: [email protected]

I'd call, but I'm not actually an owner of one of these problem discs, so it might be a tad awkward!

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I notice in our local paper that one of the chains here has Stealing Beauty in the "price reductions" section, which normally would be for catalog titles and not a recent release. Looks like they are trying to blow the defective ones out at a discount before announcing a fix...
Doesn't look like it's being recalled.

 

[Matthew Brown]

DVD's are never recalled. The bad batch just gets left on the shelves until some unsuspecting consumer buys them. Most companies believe that if you don't notice anything wrong, than you don't have a problem.

Matt

 

[Justin Gates]

Have there been any updates regarding this defect?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Have there been any updates regarding this defect?

Not that I'm aware of. The retail version I saw doesn't have French listed on the case, but this is still the same disc AFAIK.

 

[Richard Michael Clark]

any updates at all?

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Damn, I've got this disc but haven't watched it yet. Any news on a fixed copy?