The CBCS Difference490
 CBCS
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Michael private msg quote post Address this user | |
| When CBCS first opened, we noticed a problem with our inner wells. When we dropped encased books from 6 feet high or threw them against a wall, sometimes the plastic would tear; this was unacceptable to us. We shut down all encapsulating operations to investigate. It took us 2 weeks to figure out that we had received a shipment of product made with recycled PETG instead of virgin PETG. Recycled PETG, which was no cheaper for us than virgin PETG, has a tendency to create weak points in some products that are made with it. For many companies, this tendency is irrelevant; for us, this is unacceptable. Having identified the problem, we learned to specify "virgin PETG" for every subsequent order. It took 6 weeks for the plastic company to receive the new virgin PETG. From that point, it took another 2 weeks for the plastic company to produce and ship our new inner wells. Once we received the new inner wells, we tested those for another week or so. In total, we were shut down for 11 weeks before we were ready to resume production. During this time we offered a 30% discount to people who were willing to send in comics with the understanding that there would be a long delay getting their books graded and back to them. Those 11 weeks (77 days) caused our TAT's to be terrible. We were over 90 business days behind. It took over a year to catch up, and people were understandably upset. This delay hurt our business and hurt our growth. Many people who had given us a chance stopped using us. We tried our hardest to get caught up while maintaining consistency and our commitment to protecting our customers' books. By the time we finally caught up, many people vowed never to use us again. Although this was a difficult time for us, we never attempted to blame our customers. We never blamed people on the chat boards. We never blamed our competition. We refused to put out a bad product and claim that everything was OK. We were totally honest with everyone, and we took a huge hit that affects our company even today. We admitted our oversight, shut production down, fixed it, and moved on. That is the CBCS difference. |
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 Collector
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Stelbert_Stylton private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Michael You need a new catchphrase.  |
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CBCS
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Michael private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I think CGC is saying that the reason there is a difference in price is the fact that the book is graded. I am saying that there is a huge difference in corporate culture between the two companies. However, I am up for suggestions. | ||
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 If I could, I would. I swear.
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DrWatson private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Stelbert_Stylton You need new material. |
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 Moderator
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Jesse_O private msg quote post Address this user | |
| And even today, the topic is discussed openly and honestly!!! Nothing got hushed up and nobody tries to pretend it didn't happen. No revisionist history!! It happened, it sucked, you dealt with it and moved on. If it's possible for a company to have good karma, CBCS should have an office full of it!!! | ||
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Collector
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Stelbert_Stylton private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by DrWatson Exactly what I was thinking about CBCS. But ok, here's some new material.  |
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Collector
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Stelbert_Stylton private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Jesse_O Good to know Borock learned from his mistakes, because this is the exact opposite way CGC was run when he was president. |
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 Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Stelbert_Stylton Excellent is a grade? CGC is balls right now. |
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 Collector
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PovRow private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Stelbert_Stylton I know you can be obtuse but are you SO obtuse you don't get that Michael is working off of CGC's "difference" campaign? |
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Collector
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PovRow private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Stelbert_Stylton So exactly who had the top say at CGC back when Borock was president? You mean there was no one above him on the org chart? |
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Collector
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PovRow private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Michael I like your "difference engine"!  |
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 Collector
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Rafel private msg quote post Address this user | |
| As a collector of many years, I've done my homework on both companies and found that CBCS is a more honest company. I've asked questions to both companies and like CBCS's answers. As a conservative I like conservative values. CGC seems to be pretty liberal with their grading (which is bad for the buyer, great for the seller) while CBCS are more conservative with their grading. This works for sellers, buyers and collectors. About the only problem I see with CBCS is they need to communicate with their customers better. If they know they have a huge backlog let us (me) know. Which after a couple of phone calls and email they have. | ||
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 Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| So now I understand why no one thinks the current delays are a big deal except newer customers like myself. But it's still a delay. Not as extensive of a delay, but a delay nonetheless. If you are open to suggestions, I would say focus on CBCS. Focus on taking care of your customers right now and let word of mouth and social media do the work of going after CGC customers for you. Will I bash CBCS for my experience so far? No. Will I give my honest opinion if asked, absolutely. I get timely responses to my emails, but I am unhappy with my delay. I am unhappy about CGC customers being offered a discount from CBCS for a substandard CGC holder while my books are delayed and CBCS does nothing for me or their other existing customers. If asked if I have had issues with CGC, the answer is no. I've never experienced a delay and never had a reason to contact their customer service. I will share that I hear bad things about their current holders but haven't had one recent enough to know exactly what the issue is. That is most honest and unbiased opinion I can give you right now. I dislike the CGC personally only because they are a dominant force and I tend to oppose dominant forces. But CBCS isn't really giving me a whole lot of reason to be a fan, get warm fuzzies, or even like their process. |
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 Collector
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D84 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| You never had a delay from CGC? I've placed two orders this year and neither of them was completed in the quoted turn around time. One of which was fast track, and that really annoyed me that I paid extra to still be delayed. | ||
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Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| ^ He's right. Always had delays in Sarasota. | ||
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Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| As I posted. I have never had a delay. I haven't sent anything this year, but the few times I submitted last year I had no delay at all, my books arrived early. The fact that I have had no issues with CGC and still tried CBCS should speak volumes. I gave them a chance, what they do with it is up to them. It is obvious CBCS has all the business they can handle and I am insignificant in the grand scheme. I accept that. I'd be highly upset if I paid extra for expedited services and still experienced a delay. And some here have from what I've read. |
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 Collector
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MR_SigS private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by nadabig I'm sure many would love to have your secret lol (not seriously suggesting you have a secret). |
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Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I submitted books just like anyone else. No secret. | ||
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Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
There has to be a secret. I think it's great that you've never had a delay when utilizing CGC. Is this the code to on time grading from CGC? |
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Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| You have to hit start after the "A" | ||
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Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| That's why CGC always delays me! | ||
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If I could, I would. I swear.
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DrWatson private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Stelbert_Stylton This is not new material. It's the same thing wrapped in a different box... like NEW & IMPROVED laundry detergent. |
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Collector
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MR_SigS private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by nadabig I know. And it's great that you had the perfect first experience with submitting for grades, but as you must gather from... well, just about everyone else's comments, your experience was and is hardly the norm. CGC has TAT delays. CBCS has TAT delays. That suggests it's an unfortunate set back within the process when done right. I say "done right" because I think I read that people who don't know better submit to PGX because they have faster TATs. No big surprise- Much less workload, and a "done wrong" process history. I honestly would not want to pay for my books to be graded faster. I would not want them encapsulated faster. It takes as long as it takes. I completely agree that accurate updates are a must, and it looks like that's been addressed. Of course they could increase their workforce and the equipment they need, but that would probably translate into higher fees, and I'd imagine that's not a popular business decision in tightly competitive situations. That's just a guess, I'm no business expert. |
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Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Sometimes its not the need to increase personnel, but improve and streamline processes. | ||
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 Collector
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Sqeggs private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by nadabig The only thing I can think of is that you were doing walk-through grading or you were extremely lucky.  |
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Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I believe I was very clear on how I submitted my books and there is no mystery here. The only mystery to me is why some people here can't accept my experience was what it was. It seems to be a running theme on these boards though. CGC does everything wrong and CBCS does everything right. Well, I'm sorry. I live in the real world outside of these message boards and my experience says otherwise. I can only imagine that it's the same scenario on the CGC forums. I personally don't give a rat's behind about what other posters here think or feel. I want to see CBCS take advantage of what is obviously a great deal of room for improvement. I am providing them open and honest feedback to help them grow as a company. Because as it sits today, as my 2nd promised completion date has come to pass and my books are still in the vault, I will not be a returning customer. It is not out of spite or emotion. It is simply the truth that in the course of my first transaction with them two dates of a stated completion time have come to pass. |
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 Collector
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Jeremy_K private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Did customer service say they were in the vault? My order went from quality control to in my hands in what seemed like no time at all; I was very on edge while my favorite books were not stored by me, however once i got them back I was very happy with how they were shipped and encased. Which makes me at ease with my current order. Try to relax Nadabig and once you see your comics you may feel differently. | ||
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 Collector
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The_Curmudgeon private msg quote post Address this user | |
| As a custom fabricator and machinist, I know that estimated completion times are just that, estimates. Therefore, I don't mind that my books are delayed, so long as I know the work is done right. Sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances which delay the completion of a project. Better that my books are delayed due to the concern of putting out a quality product, than damaged due to a lack of said concern. I did much research before submitting my books and was well aware of the problems CBCS was having with there process. I was also aware of the great time, effort, and resources they were putting into solving the issues. The fact that CBCS was so concerned about making sure their customers were getting the best protection possible for their cherished treasures, even though it meant weeks of delays, is reason enough to give them my business. It's more about quality than "how fast can I get it back." Quality is what makes the difference!! But then I'm not a dealer, I'm just a lowly collector, to be looked on with disdain if I don't agree with what a purveyor of substandard work thinks is great. @nadabig I don't think anyone is trying to discount your experience, it's just not the same as their own. CGC did many things right in the past, but now they're screwing up and don't even seem to be concerned about it. Instead of saying "sorry for screwing up guys, we'll stop and get this fixed ASAP," they're actively seeking to distract from the real issues and blaming their own message board members and their competition for all the bad press about it. |
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Collector
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MR_SigS private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by nadabig So you think the graders and machine operators are working slower than they are able to? |
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Collector
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nadabig private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I simply do not know. I'd have to see their operation. My statement was that it does not always necessarily mean adding personnel. That is always the most difficult and most expensive way to tackle a problem. Mistakes are made when big sweeping changes are implemented to increase efficiency. There may be processes that fall under "that's the way we've always done it" that are sometimes the culprit. Flow of the workplace, structural obstacles, work area geography, redundancy and unnecessary actions...this is where I have had my best luck in increasing production/efficiency in my experience. Are graders taking part in the customer service process? That is where I would look first. If anyone with a hand in grading is spending time on this forum, answering emails or taking phone calls regarding customer service..this would be a point of focus. I wouldn't look to increase the people corresponding in regards to customer service, I would look to how I can reduce the number of calls. |
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