2014-03-22

the odyssey of buying lossless files....



i am still a fan of pressed things, music or books, i prefer the things i can hold in my hands.

but sometimes its also an option, to buy music electronically. off course, no crappy mp3s or other lossy sound is acceptable, but flac is existing and the best thing.

my complete collection is ripped into flac and jriver is playing all my stuff via squeezeboxes.

great.


so, why this posting.


i bought gigi and praxis via http://modtechnologies.11spot.com/index.php

unfortunately they were really strange tagged.

so i wrote online and asked for covers, at least the frontcover, or maybe the complete booklet.

no answer, so i decided to write on the facebook side of mod technologies.

no wonder, after some minutes, there was a reaction. nice and cool, i was happy.

he wanted to help me, super!

after a week no reaction.... i was not happy.

and here is the complete mailings, i only deleted the old parts of the mails.

and yes, i told them that i will place them online. sure.


lets start:




Hi Helmut,
Dave from MOD Technologies let me know that you had received downloads of "Profanation" and "Mesgana Ethiopia" which did not contain proper tagging or cover art. I am writing to fix that for you!

(2 links for the complete albums)

Follow the link and select "Download". The file is too large for Google to scan for viruses, but I can assure you that the file is 100% safe and virus-free. Select "Download Anyway" when prompted, and the download should begin immediately.

If you have any trouble with the link or download, just let me know. Thanks for your support!

Best,
Daniel xy

11Spot Customer Service



ok, i checked and here is my answer of march 1st:


hi daniel

i am not sure if i should be happy or not.
first of all, many thanks for the files
i didn't asked for tagged files, i am able
to tag them myself, so i already tagged them

i was unhappy about no cover and no response from your side
thats why i wrote something on facebook, that seems
to be the only way not to be ignored by customer services!

after that, dave wrote you and again, no response after nearly a week.
thats not cool, not really.

now the tagging,

look how your files are tagged right now:
(you have to open the pix in a new tab to see the whole picture)




and

(you have to open the pix in a new tab to see the whole picture)



thats simply not professional :-(

thanks for the frontcovers with under 40kb, i found better ones online.
for me, i will no more buy something from your store, you lost.

too bad for me, not interesting for you i think.
some bands/shops are able to deliver to the fans
better scans and even the booklet, backcover, etc.

yes, its possible and thats what i normally get.
rant over, going back to my cave

will send a copy of this message to dave

just for information.

enjoy weekend
helmut

ok, here we go on march 6th:

... and not a simple "sorry", just nothing....
cool, very, not

bye
helmut


the answer the same days sounded promising:


Hi Helmut,

My apologies for the delay! It's been an extremely busy week, so I can assure you that I have not intentionally ignored your correspondence. I'm very sorry for the continued mix-up with the albums' metadata and artwork, and I have had our Metadata Coordinator come in to resolve the issue in a more effective way. Below you will find new downloads for each album complete with proper tagging, tracklisting, and 1400 x 1400 hi-resolution cover art:

(again 2 links for the complete albums)

In addition, I have also refunded you 25% from that purchase to accommodate for the trouble you have encountered, and I also have a code for you which can be redeemed for a one-time, single-use 25% discount on a future purchase. That code is MOD-2524-XV75, and can be applied toward any type of purchase, be it digital or physical products. The code will not expire, but as I said will only be valid for one purchase.

On top of the discounts, Helmut, please accept my sincerest apologies for the negative experience you have endured. Our intention is never, ever to alienate or ignore customers, and the last thing we at 11Spot and our colleagues at MOD Technologies want is for our customers to be in any way unhappy with the products they've received, or with the manner in which they obtained those products. Please rest assured that your support is greatly appreciated and that your critiques have been taken very seriously. We value you as a customer, and we hope that you always come away satisfied with your experience with 11spot.com
and MOD Technologies.

If you have any questions or need assistance with anything else, Helmut, please don't hesitate to contact me at anytime. I will do my very best to make sure you receive a response as quickly as possible and that any potential issues you may encounter are resolved in like fashion.

Thanks again for your patience and support!


really sounded good, i was nearly happy, but..
here my answer of march 12th:



hi daniel (and cc: dave)

thanks for your answser.
i cannot understand why you don't read my postings....
I HAVE TAGGED THEM MYSELF AND ITS NOT NECESSARY TO DOWNLOAD THAT STUFF NOW FOR THE 3RD TIME!
I AM ABLE TO DO THAT.
IS THIS CLEAR NOW?

ok, let me start with the positive thing:
hey, its great to have a hi-res frontcover.

gigi: tagging is correct! (genre is a detail)
(you have to open the pix in a new tab to see the whole picture)





praxis: hmmm.... nice try :-(
(you have to open the pix in a new tab to see the whole picture)



pfff.... quality control? don't think that its used....

daniel, thanks for trying to sort this out, also your 25% are a nice way to say sorry.
i just wanted to tell you that your tagging is wrong, that was all i wanted to report.
unfortunately there was no answer from the mail via web from your side,

thats why i got activ via facebook.
nothing more.
some labels are only naming them without tagging, thats ok
but wrong tagging is bad, ok?

and now? still not ok, still unbelievable that you have not quality control.

thanks again and please don't send the files again: NOT!
and what tracklisting is included? i see frontcover (unfortunately no booklet or back, but hey, thats life)
but tracklisting?

not important.

thanks and enjoy your day/week/whatever

helmut


to say i was a bit disappointed is not wrong....
i must be a very bad boy, the never wrote back.



and on march 14th, i wrote my last mail to them:


..just bumping in and declaring that
i will release our mails in my blog soon.

congratz
h.


i cant' believe that this is so difficult. it seems that most customers are not interested in correct tagged files and/or covers/booklets.


that makes me sad.


rant over, still not happy and a little bit angry (ohmmmmmmm) against these guys.

(you have to open the pix in a new tab to see the whole picture)

edit some months later: i just bought lee scratch perry - rise again as flac there.
are you surprised that its still the same? no folder.jpg, no pix in the files, no tagging, only naming the files correct (hurrah!), if really neil youngs ponomusic.com will open, i hope that they realize the power of flac and happy customers.