It's the backwards shoulder thing AGAIN, but with Swiftwind's front legs!

[urbanmyth]

for anyone else that's called Matty, did they want to schedule a pickup to get the defective first before getting a replacement?

Yes, that's what I got too

[JonWes]

I assumed the problem is so prolific they weren't just going to send out replacements without getting the others back.

I'm kind of torn about getting a replacement or not. On one hand, I don't want to go through the hassle and I barely notice the issue... on the other... well, the 4H's works is so nicely done I'd like to have the best possible version of it. Hmmm...

[Marvelous0ne]

for anyone else that's called Matty, did they want to schedule a pickup to get the defective first before getting a replacement?

No they didn't. They just told me that it could take about 72 hours to get notice about when they will be sending a replacement. With the many items I have had that I have requested a replacement. Not once have they asked me to send back or schedule a pick up for the faulty product.

[Ben Solstice-Moon]

I want an official statement by Scott... we deserve some form of information with all the money we put in their pockets. It might be a small line for them, but this is a big chunk of *my* money to me for continually flawed merchandise.

...Scott?

[SCB]

Are you guys confident they'll send you a correct Swift Wind in return?

[mossyman]

I never thought the shoulder thing was a huge deal I didn't even know about it until someone pointed it out but two right legs on Swifty I think would be a lot more noticeable.

[markatisu]

Opened my 3 subscription Swiftwinds, all had the right parts so I guess I was lucky

[DJ Force]

So are suggesting we should all keep our mouth shout and not voice our disappointment?

Not at all. But actions are better than complaints. As I suggested: If you have a defective product, ask customer service for a replacement. If the poll is any indication, almost 40% of the whole production run seems defective. That´s a lot! If everybody complains about this online, Mattel will see "200 loud voices". If everybody claims a replacement, Mattel will see their customer service stock flying out the warehouse.

[Prahvus]

Are you guys confident they'll send you a correct Swift Wind in return ?

Exactly, SCB ! THIS is another concern : if many Swiftwind figures are flawed (which seems to be the case), what guarantee do fans have that the "replacement Swiftwind" customer service sends them will be correct ?

I'm pretty sure those employees are unable to notice that a Swiftwind has 2 right (or left) legs... Plus, I think it must be pretty hard to see if a Swiftwind's wing is broken inside the box.

[DJ Force]

Then ask them over and over again, until you get a correct Swifty.

[Emiliano]

Not at all. But actions are better than complaints. As I suggested: If you have a defective product, ask customer service for a replacement. If the poll is any indication, almost 40% of the whole production run seems defective. That´s a lot! If everybody complains about this online, Mattel will see "200 loud voices". If everybody claims a replacement, Mattel will see their customer service stock flying out the warehouse.

Well, I never said fans shouldn't ask for a replacement
I totally agree, they should all do that.

I just don't get some folks attitude in this threads, where they seem annoyed by other customers complaints. I don't get why we can't rant here AND ask for a replacement. If some users don't like to read the complaints, they can just ignore the thread, is that simple

[DJ Force]

Well, I never said fans shouldn't ask for a replacement
I totally agree, they should all do that.

I just don't get some folks attitude in this threads, where they seem annoyed by other customers complaints. I don't get why we can't rant here AND ask for a replacement. If some users don't like to read the complaints, they can just ignore the thread, is that simple

Again, I couldn´t agree more.
The thing is, once the rant is typed online, and other fans back their rants with rants of their own, people tend to lose themselfes in this ranting and it wouldn´t cross their mind to actually do something that Mattel will notice.
So, ranting is good and all, but action is better.

[MegaGearMax]

I just don't get some folks attitude in this threads, where they seem annoyed by other customers complaints. I don't get why we can't rant here AND ask for a replacement. If some users don't like to read the complaints, they can just ignore the thread, is that simple

How dare we question the Mattel Gods!

[JVS3]

Correct'o'mondo, folks!
Everyone is welcome to voice their complaints here. But please please please kept it constructive!

No insults, no racist jokes, no attacking each other, etc.

And as it was said before, whether you voice your complaint here or not, please make sure to do something about it!
Be sure to contact Matty Collector and/or Digital River asap! Check out the official help thread here on the forums for info on how to get a hold of customer service. Call them up, write them, form a posse and circle their building. Do what it takes to make sure they directly hear your dissatisfaction.

[kup]

Well, I never said fans shouldn't ask for a replacement
I totally agree, they should all do that.

I just don't get some folks attitude in this threads, where they seem annoyed by other customers complaints. I don't get why we can't rant here AND ask for a replacement. If some users don't like to read the complaints, they can just ignore the thread, is that simple

I totally agree! As paying customers we have every right to return a faulty product to the manufacturer! We would be suckers if we didn't!

EVERYONE who has received a mis-assembled Swiftwind should contact Matty and request a replacement - It's your right as a paying customer to receive the best not what would otherwise go into the reject bin.

Edit:

I have made a thread here for people who have requested a replacement from Matty for their faulty Swiftwinds:

http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=217615

[He-Boy]

...Confronting Scott about these problems and saying he should lose his job are two different things, and I can guarantee you he will IMMEDIATELY ignore someone who says he should be fired, even if its implied and not directly stated, I mean heck, I know I would, I am pretty sure if someone said YOU should be fired, you would instantly get defensive as well, especially since I am sure he beleives (and he truthfully probably is) doing as much as possible for us and the line...

If that comment was directed at me, I didn't say he should lose his job. I said that I would lose my job if there were this many errors and complaints connected to my work. Most people would.

With regard to him 'doing as much as possible for us', I'm starting to believe this less and less. IMO he is doing as much as he can to suit his own needs but isn't so keen when it comes to anything outside of that. We got Spector with zero prior support (and very little afterwards) yet he's not sold that Illumina is worthy of a release??? I'm getting the impression that many of his personal decisions and choices are being made with the finger pointed at "upper management".

My question to Scott is - who's responsibility is it to ensure that the factory get it right?

[Gragar]

MOTUC: Design and sculpting = stuff of dreams.
Marketing and production = Stuff of nightmares.

I wonder how many Parallax-creature toys from the GL-Movie line had reversed claws?

[SnakeTeela]

I think mine are fine? They look different. Either way, I'm overjoyed with Swiftwind! One of the nicest pieces in the line so far.

[scott metzger]

And as it was said before, whether you voice your complaint here or not, please make sure to do something about it!
Be sure to contact Matty Collector and/or Digital River asap! Check out the official help thread here on the forums for info on how to get a hold of customer service. Call them up, write them, form a posse and circle their building. Do what it takes to make sure they directly hear your dissatisfaction.

It is the thing everyone should do, but here's the other side: folks who contact customer service often don't get any. It takes a ridiculous amount of contacts to accomplish even the smallest task. I've already called five times, e-mailed the CS address, e-mailed a particular person at DR who's addy I found floating around on the Matty forums to fix my inability to log in (fied and now unfixed again), my sub suddenly not renewing, my account being mixed in with, and I'm still waiting over a week later to hear back from their accounting folks on the $700 in bogus charges they placed on my card.

If they blithely ignore what might be considered credit card fraud, how far am I going to get with a horses mixed up legs?

I understand what folks are saying, but I also understand why a lot of collectors don't bother, when Mattel and DR do everything they can to make it fruitless...

[tmc1984]

well this is bad news ... again ...

i have sold my subscription swift-wind to a fellow board member, so i really hope that the figure is o.k. as then i would feel i have let him down personally ...

but it won't show up in the u.k. till early/mid december so i won't be able to tell until then! ...

[Dynamo of Eternia]

It is the thing everyone should do, but here's the other side: folks who contact customer service often don't get any. It takes a ridiculous amount of contacts to accomplish even the smallest task. I've already called five times, e-mailed the CS address, e-mailed a particular person at DR who's addy I found floating around on the Matty forums to fix my inability to log in (fied and now unfixed again), my sub suddenly not renewing, my account being mixed in with, and I'm still waiting over a week later to hear back from their accounting folks on the $700 in bogus charges they placed on my card.

If they blithely ignore what might be considered credit card fraud, how far am I going to get with a horses mixed up legs?

I understand what folks are saying, but I also understand why a lot of collectors don't bother, when Mattel and DR do everything they can to make it fruitless...

While it can still sometimes be a bit of a chore to get things straightened out, I find it a lot easier and more efficient to not call the toll free customer service number from Matty, and instead call the direct digital river customer service number (942) 253-1234 (which is also listed in the link that VAL/JVS3 posted). When the automated message comes on, I press 0, get an operator, and then ask for the "Escelation Department". These are customer service reps who are in the USA, and they are much, MUCH more able to help than the people who you typically talk to when calling the toll free number. The only catch is that they are only open Monday - Friday, during regular business hours (I forget exactly when they close), but I've found going through them to me much more fruitful than calling the toll free number.

The people who answer the toll free line seem to be able to do little more than tell us information that we can mostly look up ourselves online (i.e. the shipping status of our orders, etc). As I understand the case to be, when someone calls up about a defective product or other bigger problem, when they say that someone who return the call within "24 to 48 hours", these things are essentially being sent to the same Escelation Department anyway, and it is them who are supposed to call you back and get things straightened out. But there seem to often and frequently be some kind of communication break-down of getting the message from the toll free line people and the escelation department. A couple of years back (around the time of the first Teela figure coming out) before I was aware of the number to call DR in the US directly, it took 2 weeks to resolve an issue by calling the toll free number repeatedly that probably could have been resolved very quickly had I been able to get straight to the escelation department. They kept telling me that someone would call me back, but no one ever did. Finally someone did call me (and that was after sending an email to another DR rep, the address to whom another orger provided me with).

I won't know the condition of my Swiftwind until tomorrow as my wife and I ship all of our packages to her grandmother's house since receiving them at our condo tends to be a pain. My Swiftwind and Snout Spout are waiting for me there, so I will be getting them tomorrow and checking out Swiftwind's condition. If I have the leg problem and/or the wing problem that some people seem to be having, I will be calling up Matty promptly (well, most likely on Friday, as I assume that the US office might be closed tomorrow for the holiday). I fully intend to do everything that I can to get a Swiftwind that is in proper condition.

And as much as these problems suck, the thing that makes this different from some past issues like Roboto and Kind Hsss's shoulders, is that only some of the Swiftwinds were effected by this, and not all of them. So, there are good ones out there, and it's not "logistically unfeasable" for them to send us the correct figure in it's proper condition. And I fully intend to get one in proper condition come hell or high water.

[urbanmyth]

Are you guys confident they'll send you a correct Swift Wind in return?

I have this fear as well. I specifically asked if I would be guaranteed a replacement and got the following response:
"Rest assured that you will be shipped with a new set of figures to replace the damaged ones."

[convoy]

I wish I could look at my Swift Wind and see if the legs are similar...but alas! I live just 20 minutes North of the US border...which means I wait an extra 20 days for my order to arrive.

[Multibot]

freakin' pathetic................... I can't believe in this day & age that a toy company that's been around for decades can't even assemble their products correctly.....

it keeps happening over & over again, so it's no coincidence imo. I haven't even gotten mine yet, and my excitement for it has dwindled to less than nothing after seeing all the qc problems. now, I honestly don't even care if it arrives or not.

personally, I'd rather have no motu at all than have garbage figures that aren't even assembled right, or broken before they're even opened.

inexcusible..... especially for the price we pay, & the fact they are made 'in smaller quantity'. absolutely no excuse for this garbage on a figure many of us waited a lifetime for.

I don't care what anyone says, imo, Mattel screws up everything it touches in one way or another. that's my honest opinion as a longtime toy collector, & I'm sticking to it.... until they pull off a miracle & do something to change my opinion, which is highly unlikely given the amount of messed up shoddily done figures in this line alone. And this isn't even a mass retail line, imagine how much worse it'd be if it was??? IMo, less units of a product should be better quality, not the other way around....

it just shows me that they don't care..... and I'm makin my comments as kindly & mildly as I can, because I'm really peeved about Swifty having so many qc issues.... I mean, this far into the line and we still have major qc problems??

inexcusible.... and downright pathetic, imho.

i love motu, which is why it infuriates me when they screw up like this, otherwise i wouldn't give a rat's rear end about it.

[scott metzger]

While it can still sometimes be a bit of a chore to get things straightened out, I find it a lot easier and more efficient to not call the toll free customer service number from Matty, and instead call the direct digital river customer service number (942) 253-1234 (which is also listed in the link that VAL/JVS3 posted). When the automated message comes on, I press 0, get an operator, and then ask for the "Escelation Department".

Now that is most helpful; I apparently made the mistake of pressing "1" to be connected to a CS rep, which is why I got nowhere fast. I'll have to try this on my next attempt. THanks!!