Matty breaks their silence

[Battle Ram Man]

Yeah, I think that's what SLC was really talking to. I think management was upset because people are saying that Mattel reneged on their agreement. But the fans are right on that one, you can't blame them for being vocally upset.

[PhantomZodak]

Complaining is one thing. Posting hate mail and cursing designers out are another thing. Apparently some ppl dont read too well, or read to far into what a group of letters put together mean.

nobody is sending them hate mail & none of the websites allow profanity. Their managers found the posts online of people complaining because the BBB contacted Mattel. They were losing money because of the poor decisions & silence by the new team.

[Jsting]

Complaining is one thing. Posting hate mail and cursing designers out are another thing. Apparently some ppl dont read too well, or read to far into what a group of letters put together mean.

[Y2Greg]

*its the company's fault for messing up, not the customers for pointing out the mistake.*

You hit the nail on the head!

[_RZ_]

This post by SLC was passive aggressive to an extreme. Was this why she is no longer at Mattel? Fans can be nasty and the constant "outrage" about one thing or another is exhausting, but if you're selling people products and they're expensive and frequently manufactured incorrectly and they complain- *its the company's fault for messing up, not the customers for pointing out the mistake.*

Maybe someone needs to be in China full time at this point, at the cost of management's bonuses and perks. I think At this point their jobs being tough... I don't have much sympathy. it's the same old stuff- people not paying attention and mistakes happen- and rather than say "I messed up" it's better for their egos to put the blame elsewhere.

[Captain Atkin]

I did once receive a figure (Extendar) with two left (lower) arms. I also received a Saurod last week with a crooked "jaw" glued on at a weird 60 degree angle. Occasionally, things do get messed up (mass example: wonky eyes in 2015). I would never send Mattel any hate mail, and I doubt many people would, but I did send the toys I just mentioned back for replacements. If a collector receives a toy that doesn't look right to them, they should always send it back to be replaced. When a company produce thousands of toys, there are going to be a few figures that get messed up, for sure, but large scale issues like the botched eyes on some figures in 2015 does need to be fixed.

Also, I need to point out that a $28 action figure is more than $40 with shipping and handling for many foreign collectors. A few time I have paid over $60 for a figure with added government customs charges tacked on. When you add it all up, these are expensive toys.

[Mechanizor]

Their post was a response. They didnt initiate the hatred did they? If a $40 TOY is considered expensive to you please dont buy it. Expensive to me is of much higher dollar value. If i considered motuc expensive theres no way id purchase the products. Do i expect good quality? Yes. Have i recieved good quality? Yes. Ive never had to return any figure. I also dont examine my figures with a microscope. Please explain how your products are so bad in quality. A paint smudge or a crooked eye in my view do not constitute bad quality. At least not to the point of sending them hate mail.

I think many would disagree with you here my friend, and if you are happy with Mattel's products and services, that's fine, but please don't jump on people's posts who think differently claiming otherwise and belittle them.

Apparently your quality standards in a product aren't similar to the others who've been collecting Toys for many years! Even Mattel themselves admitted a bunch of their mistakes and tried to come up with so many other excuses to water down the QC/CS issues, yet you're here defending them blindly!

I've worked in retail for so many years, and I didn't accept people to be rude to me if they're not happy especially when I was right and did nothing wrong, however, if I know that I was wrong or my services lacked professionalism, I cannot counter their attacks with more rude comments and start backlashing at them defending my mistakes! That's not only unacceptable, but also very bad for business and its outlook!

Just saying...

[Jsting]

Their post was a response. They didnt initiate the hatred did they? If a $40 TOY is considered expensive to you please dont buy it. Expensive to me is of much higher dollar value. If i considered motuc expensive theres no way id purchase the products. Do i expect good quality? Yes. Have i recieved good quality? Yes. Ive never had to return any figure. I also dont examine my figures with a microscope. Please explain how your products are so bad in quality. A paint smudge or a crooked eye in my view do not constitute bad quality. At least not to the point of sending them hate mail.

[Mechanizor]

Ill never understand how words on a screen can have a tone. By definition thats impossible. A typed word cant have a tone as it is not heard.

Tone in writing means "attitude", it doesn't have to have a sound! Look it up!

I find that those hurt by these comments are the same people that take motuc too personally. Its just a toy from a toy company whose main objective is the bottom dollar, not your personal happiness.

With all due respect, that's just a moot argument!... MOTUC isn't just a toy per-se, it's a product like any other product that you pay for, whether it's a gadget, a service or food! You expect to get the best quality possible especially from such an expensive product!

This new world we live in where everyone is so sensitive is ridiculous. Lol. On a side note. There is an article that states college professors are afraid of giving students bad grades from fear of the student hurting themselves. Wow. Dont take it personal. Act like an adult and take her comments with a grain of salt.

Okay, if your assessment here is to be taken seriously, how come the Mattel team is excused to be sensitive and offended by their paying customers and not the people who were patient enough for their dreadful silence?! A paradox, you tell me?!

If the PR personnel cannot respond to the some of the heated comments in a professional manner, she/he shouldn't expect people to respond back in a positive attitude either!... After all, it takes two to tango!

[rothsauce]

Bullet points aren't needed. Interpret whatever you want as snark? It's not the intention but text sucks like that.

They did decide to do all of those things (tell us there is a delay & why, when they decide) - they just did them in a not-so-great time frame for most of them. It's not like they're blaming people for pulling their orders, they must already know they f'd-up.

It doesn't matter if it's Twitter or not, it applies to all formats of online media. Silence may not be 'acceptable', but neither is expecting every company to conform to your standards of when a response is needed, or how quickly. Hence patience. Just because one jackass was more than happy to give lame excuses on a 'timely' basis without much proof half the time, doesn't mean the new team should just to 'break the silence'. They'll figure it out... hopefully soon, with a touch more class.

I would happily say something like that, IF there was something that was an issue that as a team needed to be discussed/addressed. Not to be a snarky little jerk for no reason. If everyone is communicating, as they should be, major issues shouldn't be cropping up without the chance of them being fixed. If they do, something is wrong and it needs to be addressed. The wording, however, would not be so passive-aggressive... but the basic statement would probably be similar.
No doubt the comment would be treading in dangerous waters - but if they have valid points? Eh. Love/hate situation.

Never said it should be an excuse, just an observation. Like if it were said managers job to take responsibility for those emails, then those managers are worthless. If it was the responsibility of the team as a whole and they didn't know who was (or was supposed to be) doing what - yeah, they need to be held accountable. They're a team, dependability is essential n'such.
Again, only saying this since this was, and is, currently happening in my own working life. Good god it sucks. It's not an excuse, but it happens. Obviously they dropped the ball on a lot of stuff. I'd just prefer to know where and by whom, instead of blindly shooting the messenger(s).

At the end of the day, they offered up more info than past people would have even bothered with. That's worth something. Now they just need to get better at timing and delivery. Etiquette wouldn't hurt either.

Edit: Fixed a few typos, and apologizing for the long-windedness. It's a specialty!

[Draego-Man]

So are they going to fix the loincloth at the same time? Everyone has been asking for the 200x loincloth on the figure because that is the figure the torso is made for. It makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever for that figure to have the vintage speedo. If they plan to get it right, then get all of it right.

[PhantomZodak]

ok you guys need bullet points:

1) i already told you how i would handle it, the way they did with the new hiss package. tell us there is a delay & why, when they decide, not months later when customers cancel their orders. but keep asking snarky questions

2) i use twitter as an example that silence is no longer an acceptable business practice. these things are reported as news these days. (btw i don't actually use twitter)

3) i am a manager in a corporation. there is no way a subordinate would say something like that without jeopardizing their own career. i would never say that to my vp, i would not get a bonus if i ever said something so stupid

4) i don't care about their 9 managers, that's a whiny excuse. do your work, maximize profits. they lost money because of their silence on the hiss torso. they could easily shoot an email to a toy website when they email their own "9 managers" when something is changed. it doesn't take hours. i read & send hundreds of emails. that's why you get paid.

[Jsting]

I don't know about y'all but this statement REALLY, REALLY bugs me. Especially the bold part. Completely uncalled for and unprofessional, it feels very reminiscent of the Gurusnark from past managers.

That could have been worded a bit better without the condescending tone.

(It's good that they'll delay figures to fix QC issues, but the way they dismissed Point Dreadful Teela as "a bonus" is way wrong.)

Truth hurts. Its about time these so called adults get spoken to in this manner. Some of the complaints on QC are outrageous. She has a great point in that post. There is nothing they can do as far as those factories are concerned. Theyre in china!!! Ill never understand how words on a screen can have a tone. By definition thats impossible. A typed word cant have a tone as it is not heard. I find that those hurt by these comments are the same people that take motuc too personally. Its just a toy from a toy company whose main objective is the bottom dollar, not your personal happiness. This new world we live in where everyone is so sensitive is ridiculous. Lol. On a side note. There is an article that states college professors are afraid of giving students bad grades from fear of the student hurting themselves. Wow. Dont take it personal. Act like an adult and take her comments with a grain of salt.

[Crespo]

None of us can control every aspect of things such as quality control, and since no one on the team is moving to Asia to supervise the painting and assembly of every single figure (and let’s be honest, neither are you lol)

I don't know about y'all but this statement REALLY, REALLY bugs me. Especially the bold part. Completely uncalled for and unprofessional, it feels very reminiscent of the Gurusnark from past managers.

That could have been worded a bit better without the condescending tone.

(It's good that they'll delay figures to fix QC issues, but the way they dismissed Point Dreadful Teela as "a bonus" is way wrong.)

[rothsauce]

I don't see how Twitter needs to be this omnipotent outlet that must be tended to at all costs. Customers can complain all they like, that doesn't mean they require an immediate answer if there is not a specific one to give - or if it is multiple issues spanning a wide range of products, perhaps it's more pertinent for them to FIX THOSE and have proof rather than a generic 'we're working on it' that everyone would take as an excuse. In the age of Twitter, people still need to know what it is to be patient. So they lost sales - big deal. Chances are those customers would have found another reason to not buy something, at some point.

Sabotaging a career for a response you don't like is taking things a bit far. But hey, different business solutions for different folks.

You're assuming they had everything they needed TO do those things at the outset. I'd want to WHY they had 9 managers, were they trying to fill the gap as quick as possible and rotating people who were coming on/off projects, or were they going through candidates until the right one finally 'clicked'. Having had that situation before, half of it recently - could see it happening.

[Black Zodac]

It is good to see that they are going to hold back on releasing King Hssss. I would rather wait a few months and get a good looking figure, then get something that looks botched. Also happy to hear that they re fixing the colours on Lord Masque. The talon Fighter price is reasonable. Yeah, Teela's head looks bad... but the pilot head looks great. I will probably end up using the pilot Teela head on the Fighting Foe female pilot, as I prefer that look for Teela anyway.

All in all, I'm fine with what she had to say. My feelings were not hurt by any of this.

[Jsting]

I guess you missed the part where i responded only to your post which i referenced.

[PhantomZodak]

i guess you missed the part where i pointed out they handled the new hiss torso packaging correctly.

[Jsting]

lots of excuses in these answers & i'm surprised that the anti-guru sentiment is blinding people to the new team's failures.
these guys are young & arrogant:

"being extremely busy trying to work on product"
again, in the age of twitter, not responding to unhappy customers results in loss of sales & it did.

"we can’t focus 100% on everything."
if one of my subordinates said that to me, i would tell them "that is unacceptable." i'd pull them off projects & their career would start to suffer & it would be mentioned in their annual review. i've fired people for having over a 10% error ratio.

"We believe this information was already shared but in case it wasn’t the price is $125"
[citation needed] they just assume we will continue giving them money.

see how they avoided more hiss torso outrage? "look at this pic, sucks right? we're gonna fix it so it will be delayed"
that's how you deal with customers who can cancel their credit cards & get refunds from the BBB. money talks & the customers let them know they need to clean up their act.

if they had done that with many of these things at the outset (transparency), they would not have lost money & they wouldn't have 9 managers.

So since you are a successful business owner that employs hundreds of people, how are you going to manage the product after all of the issues and how will you handle the lunatic fanatics that want their say in how you run your business. I really want to hear the solutions to the problems that motuc has now. Not the " well they shoulda, coulda" but the actual here on out approach and fix.

[PhantomZodak]

lots of excuses in these answers & i'm surprised that the anti-guru sentiment is blinding people to the new team's failures.
these guys are young & arrogant:

"being extremely busy trying to work on product "
again, in the age of twitter, not responding to unhappy customers results in loss of sales & it did.

"we can’t focus 100% on everything."
if one of my subordinates said that to me, i would tell them "that is unacceptable." i'd pull them off projects & their career would start to suffer & it would be mentioned in their annual review. i've fired people for having over a 10% error ratio.

"We believe this information was already shared but in case it wasn’t the price is $125"
[citation needed] they just assume we will continue giving them money.

see how they avoided more hiss torso outrage? "look at this pic, sucks right? we're gonna fix it so it will be delayed"
that's how you deal with customers who can cancel their credit cards & get refunds from the BBB. money talks & the customers let them know they need to clean up their act.

if they had done that with many of these things at the outset (transparency), they would not have lost money & they wouldn't have 9 managers.

[Dark Angel]

Well, she's being long-winded and eyeroll-inducing about it, but its back to the same "you're lucky to get anything/if you don't like it we'll cancel the line" shtick. And frankly, in light of my experiences working for a major, international business entity, if she's really had nine managers in less that a year, I have no confidence that the line has any substantial future whether we blindly support it or not.

[Captain Atkin]

I know that the LL figures do come with mini-comics.

[Andy]

Nice Q&A's for the most part.

First time i've heard $125 for the talon fighter set.

What about the LL set?
Still in sub, shipping overseas, & mini comics included?

[rothsauce]

Seems like they actually want to be able to give reasons/answers instead of just responding for the sake of acknowledgement. They could have also been worried about HOW to respond - TG left everyone with a pretty bitter taste in their mouth, maybe they didn't want to add to it and felt any response might be half-hearted or premature? Who knows. Not their best moment, but hopefully they'll figure it out and be more prompt with things in the future.

[darkhawk411]

I have no problem with any of the answers given and yes I'll commend them for taking time to even bother to give any. My issue with this situation is simply they stated it would be a new era of transparency, not us. They were even more then willing to be up front and active, when things were going great and we agreed with all they showed us. The moment things went bad, they went silent, leaving fans to come up with their own answers instead of doing damage control. Hell they still haven't addressed the gorilla in the room that is the laser light figs and international shipping.