Correspondence

[kojibear]

Here is what I wrote back to Mr. Giovanni:

Dear Mr. Giovanni,

First, I want to thank you for restoring some of my faith by replying to this email. Secondly, let me express my sympathies to you, as I know that you must be in a very difficult position, trying to explain to customers the decisions that were made not by you, but by the higher echelons of management in the UK.

That being said, however, I feel I must point out some of the oddities of your explanations:

1.) You can ring from Monday to Friday at 03-3296-3512, and I will personally provide help and guidance to either place an order on the Japanese webstore or placing an order on your behalf using the Customer Service System.

While this is very kind of you, calling you from Nagoya will cost me money. Also, I must call between office hours Monday to Friday, at which time I am working. Finally, this makes the web service superfluous - this is order by phone. Would it not be easier to translate the website and have both Japanese and English, at least for the ordering pages? Translation services usually charge by the word, so I think the cost would be reasonable.

2.) we have to face a lot of costs during the shipping process. Until now Games Workshop UK/US where absorbing this extra cost but the actual economic situation does not allows Games Workshop UK/US to absorb these costs any longer and as a consequence the latter are reflected on the shipping charges to our customers.
In case you are not convinced I would suggest you check the shipping fees companies such as UPS or DHL charge their customers you will be surprised as I was when I asked.

Games Workshop Japan as well is facing costs that are not influenced by the exchange rate (wages, rents etc.) therefore if you add all together this factors you will undoubtedly have higher prices, but on the other hand through the Japanese web store we are able to offer much better shipping fees and services to our customers

Firstly, I am of course completely aware that there are additional costs when shipping internationally. However, the costs GW are quoting are only incurred when using the fastest methods such as Royal Mail's Global Express, which includes tracking, 3 day delivery and insurance. You have made the decision for the customer to use this form of delivery. Most global sellers offer a range of delivery options to suit their clients' needs. Why should GW be any different? Do you value your customers' needs less?

If I were to send, for example, a Landraider with a weight of approximately 1.4 pounds using International Signed For Surface Mail Small Packets of Royal Mail, the cost would be around 10.13 pounds, and I would still get up to 46 pounds of compensation for lost or damaged goods. Certainly the delivery time is much longer and it is not trackable, BUT this suits my needs and finances better. I would appreciate this choice. I am half British, after all, so I'll put my trust in the UK postal service to get my package to me safely without paying an arm and a leg for it.

Secondly, you have hinted at the rent and wages of your staff as being part of the cause of having unreasonably high prices for GW goods here in Japan. I am sorry but I find this unacceptable. Unless your stores' rent and staff salaries have just risen by a few hundred percent, I cannot see any real relationship to the current prices set for customers living in Japan. Perhaps, you would like to mention some more of these 'factors' that are leading to such high prices, not only in Japan, but in Australia and New Zealand also.

I am sorry and again I sympathise with your situation, however, you are in customer services and this is part and parcel of being in that position. There is a growing negativity for Games Workshop's policies and decisions, as I am sure you are aware. Perhaps, GW has a new growth plan, a promise to its investors, or is reacting to some internal/external financial pressures, but the most important thing for any company is to retain the trust and good-will of the customers above all else. If they do not, a company will be in a very dire position indeed. It is my sincerest hope that this will not happen to GW, as I and my friends have enjoyed its games and products for many many years and we do not wish this to end.

I hope that you can clarify the situation more clearly and that the customers here in Japan and Games Workshop can find some happy medium.

[Mike the Pike]

Kiwis do nerd rage good!

[Mike the Pike]

Just an idea, but why don't the rest of you send off a missive to GW? The more the merrier. Maybe then they will get the idea that folks are just a tad miffed at their current policies. Cut and paste from Kojibear's and my letter if you want.

The e-mail address is.... orders@games-workshop.co.uk


@Kojibear: I put coconut milk in mine. Gives a deeper, creamier flavour

[Mike the Pike]

In reply to GW's reply I sent the following...

Dear Giovanni,
Thank you for your recent e-mail in reply to my concerns about GW shipping policy. While I appreciate the English support you provide there are still a number of outstanding issues that your reply failed to address.

The first is that the shipping price rise was limited to only a few countries (I have heard from Japan, New Zealand and Australia so far). Korea and China, Japan's nearest neighbors still only have to pay 10 pounds. And, as I mentioned in my e-mail (see below), even shipping to Pitcairn Island, one of the most remote places in the world, costs only 10 pounds. Why is this? I really do not believe shipping costs to the above three countries are really that different from the rest of the world.

The second and most disappointing point is that it seems you were being rather dishonest regarding the reason behind the recent changes. Games Workshop UK does not use either DHL or UPS to send their packages to Japan. All of the packages I have received have been sent via Royal Mail. A quick look at the Royal Mail (Click this link) website shows prices for shipping are quite reasonable. A Chaos Defiler (weight plus box = 600g) would cost between 4.84pounds and 12.83pounds depending on the service. Even a very heavy package such as the new Dreadfleet box would cost no more than 30pounds, probably a lot less. In addition, don't GW UK prices reflect rents, wages etc too? Surely the Jimbo-cho location costs no more than the rent for GW's store on Oxford Street in London? As I said in my e-mail, I do not expect GWJ's prices to exactly match the UK's but something fairer must surely be possible.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding these remaining concerns.
Yours sincerely
Michael Pryor

[Mike the Pike]

And received the following reply which says absolutely nothing.

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your reply, I have tried to give a fair explaination to all the customers, I am sorry you still feel diappointed, but I think I did all I could.

Please rest assured that I will be here to help in case you want to place an order or you need any support regarding the the english products on the Japanese web site.

Feel free to contact me any time onthe above matters, I will do my best to help you.

Thank you

Games Workshop Japan

Customer Service Manager

Giovanni Allari

[Mike the Pike]

I have actually had dealings with Giovanni on a couple of occasions and found him to be a pretty good guy so it's pretty disappointing to get a reply like this.

I know he pretty much has to tow the party line etc and he's just piggy in the middle but the above doesn't say anything, merely re-iterates that he will 'be there' should we ever want to order from GWJ. Fat chance says I.

Edit: I mailed Giovanni back asking him to give the e-mail address of someone who does have a say in setting pricing/shipping policy. Let's see if he does.

[Primarch]

I have actually had dealings with Giovanni on a couple of occasions and found him to be a pretty good guy so it's pretty disappointing to get a reply like this.

Likewise.
That said, I am sure that the rates they pay their salary and the amount they pay for rent aren't tied in to the exchange rates, likewise, they have to ship the goods from their factory to Japan so that accounts for some more of the mark up, so I understand that the prices over here will always be higher than the UK and there is no way around it.
But at the same time, telling us that they suddenly HAVE to charge more shipping is an out and out bare faced lie. So yeah, it is disappointing to get told that.
Oh well, I'm just going to forget about it (until the next round of bitching) and get on with enjoying the finer things in life. Malifaux, Warmachine, CUTLASS, Uncharted Seas, Dust Tactics, Black Powder, Hail Caesar and using the models I already have for 40k and WFB to name but a few.

[Tenorikuma]

I suspect Giovanni is in a lousy position. He has little choice but to pass on the official explanation from the deciders over in Nottingham.

[ashmie]

I might actually give this Giovanni a call. What's his number again? You see I hear that old capitalist violin playing that he doesn't have a choice and he has to bow to management etc but that's why the worlds economy is up the shit because of lackeys bowing to their masters. If he really did give a damn and felt strongly about this he might just put his neck on the line, fall in his sword or whatever and put these brilliant letters through to seniority. Come on Giovanni, Monday morning tie over shoulder, storm in there, to the boardroom, grab Jervis or whoever by the scruff of the neck and say "Hey you get you damn hands off of those folks in Japan".


Seriously though, all piss taking aside, what's his number I'm going to call him on Skype.

Good on you for putting something solid into action Pikey.

[kojibear]

Oh well, I'm just going to forget about it (until the next round of bitching) and get on with enjoying the finer things in life. Malifaux, Warmachine, Uncharted Seas, Dust Tactics, Black Powder, Hail Caesar and using the models I already have for 40k and WFB to name but a few.

Arrgggg! There be no Cutlass in yer list ye scurvy flea bitten son of sea witch's flapping porpoise! Arrgggg!

But seriously, I tend to agree with Prim here. I have had enough but am interested to see if Giovanni does indeed give an address to Mike.

I just want to thank the Admiral for giving me a fantastic start on my 40k adventure. This club and its gamers are just an awesome bunch people. GW is just an awesome bunch of _________________. (Fill in the gap with you our imagination ladies and gents.)