Blaize
Hunter
I'm so confused and shocked by the correspondence I'm having with a Sentai Filmworks representative in my attempt to get some replacement chipboard cases for the Legend of the Galactic Heroes Blu Ray set after they were damaged by the loose number plate in transit.
Due to being in the UK I was looking at trying to get replacements without sending the current scratched up cases back. I understand why this might be a problem but given the price of the set, the complete lack of fault on my side as to why the set is damaged and the widespread damage that has occurred with this release in transit to practically every customer I was hopeful of being able to solve this issue. If I was an outlier in having this damage occur then maybe not but obviously this was a fault on Sentai's side and not a one off.
Just for the record I'm not expecting Sentai Filmworks to send me replacements directly to the UK. Only to send them to the same address they sent the set previously which is a US address.
After some back and forth the representative I was talking to seemed to be willing to help me. He just wanted some pictures of the damaged sets or so I thought -
"Hi Blaize, I understand where you are coming from. I'll tell you what. If you send me a picture of all of the sleeves destroyed, I'll send replacements."
I mean how would you understand this message? So I took some pictures, explained exactly what was damaged and how the damage was caused (the number plate). I figured this would likely suffice, I mean sure they aren't completely and utterly wrecked beyond all measure but they certainly aren't in the condition that they left the Sentai warehouse, they aren't in the condition that Sentai showcased in the unboxing video and finally they aren't in the condition they would have ever ended up in while in my possession.
Well no apparently I had misunderstood what the Sentai Filmworks representative had wanted me to do, sure he wanted pictures but he also wanted something else as he explained in his response to the email with the picures -
"Hi Blaize, Thank you for your response. I'm sorry, for clarity, please destroy the existing cases. (tear them up or show me substantial damage such as marking them all up with sharpies. We don't want any existing parts circulating in the wild and superficial scratches won't suffice as I am making a deviation from our standard practice for you. Please provide me with proof that your existing cases have been destroyed. I already have your replacements boxed up and ready to ship pending a shipping label."
So yeah with no real guarantee of a replacement a Sentai Filmworks representative has just advised me to essentially Burn the sets that are in my current possession. Only then will I qualify for a replacements to be sent to a US address just because I'm not really in a position to return them.
Look I understand this set was for US buyers only and such, but this is 2018 and the internet exists etc etc. But seriously can this be considered reasonable customer service? I'm utterly baffled by this. Just what sort of contract did Sentai have to sign in order to release this set? Were blood sacrifices involved. This is not the norm and we all know it isn't. All I wanted was some empty artboxes, made out of cheap chipboard and shiny paper with the words Legend of the Galactic Heroes on it and a couple of portraits of the characters to be sent in replacement for the ones I paid for that arrived in a less than satisfactory condition. What are Sentai and probably more accurately the Japanese side so afraid of that I may have two copies of those artboxes. They aren't worth anything to anyone, I have no intention of selling them and no one would want the anyway. I'm almost at a loss for words for this. You'd think I was talking about replacing some series stuff like important documents, you know something I could potentially do some damage with by having duplicates and not some silly artboxes for an Anime set.
I feel like I'm being trolled by someone, or being made fun of by the representative. It's pretty demeaning and honestly disgraceful in my view. I'm an honest customer with an honest problem I was looking to get resolved. I'll add that I did offer to pay a small fee for the replacement cases such did I understand my position. I've supported Sentai Filmworks throughout their lifespan as a company, I literally have 130 of their releases and have even bought more that I moved on over time. I've spent thousands of dollars on their products and have even made (albeit to a very small viewership) videos about their releases including covering that solicitations each month for a year or so. Sentai isn't a giant corporation, they are a relatively niche home video label so I thought I might be able to work this out and come to an arrangement but I doubt that's going to happen now.
I have responded to the destroy the evidence email I got with a basic - "I was already very disappointed with the condition on my $800 investment of this set the last thing I'm going to do is completely deface it without a cast iron guarantee of a replacement"
among a few other things like explaining I'm not trying to con them or questioning whether or not I'm literally being trolled by a customer representative of a company.
Due to being in the UK I was looking at trying to get replacements without sending the current scratched up cases back. I understand why this might be a problem but given the price of the set, the complete lack of fault on my side as to why the set is damaged and the widespread damage that has occurred with this release in transit to practically every customer I was hopeful of being able to solve this issue. If I was an outlier in having this damage occur then maybe not but obviously this was a fault on Sentai's side and not a one off.
Just for the record I'm not expecting Sentai Filmworks to send me replacements directly to the UK. Only to send them to the same address they sent the set previously which is a US address.
After some back and forth the representative I was talking to seemed to be willing to help me. He just wanted some pictures of the damaged sets or so I thought -
"Hi Blaize, I understand where you are coming from. I'll tell you what. If you send me a picture of all of the sleeves destroyed, I'll send replacements."
I mean how would you understand this message? So I took some pictures, explained exactly what was damaged and how the damage was caused (the number plate). I figured this would likely suffice, I mean sure they aren't completely and utterly wrecked beyond all measure but they certainly aren't in the condition that they left the Sentai warehouse, they aren't in the condition that Sentai showcased in the unboxing video and finally they aren't in the condition they would have ever ended up in while in my possession.
Well no apparently I had misunderstood what the Sentai Filmworks representative had wanted me to do, sure he wanted pictures but he also wanted something else as he explained in his response to the email with the picures -
"Hi Blaize, Thank you for your response. I'm sorry, for clarity, please destroy the existing cases. (tear them up or show me substantial damage such as marking them all up with sharpies. We don't want any existing parts circulating in the wild and superficial scratches won't suffice as I am making a deviation from our standard practice for you. Please provide me with proof that your existing cases have been destroyed. I already have your replacements boxed up and ready to ship pending a shipping label."
So yeah with no real guarantee of a replacement a Sentai Filmworks representative has just advised me to essentially Burn the sets that are in my current possession. Only then will I qualify for a replacements to be sent to a US address just because I'm not really in a position to return them.
Look I understand this set was for US buyers only and such, but this is 2018 and the internet exists etc etc. But seriously can this be considered reasonable customer service? I'm utterly baffled by this. Just what sort of contract did Sentai have to sign in order to release this set? Were blood sacrifices involved. This is not the norm and we all know it isn't. All I wanted was some empty artboxes, made out of cheap chipboard and shiny paper with the words Legend of the Galactic Heroes on it and a couple of portraits of the characters to be sent in replacement for the ones I paid for that arrived in a less than satisfactory condition. What are Sentai and probably more accurately the Japanese side so afraid of that I may have two copies of those artboxes. They aren't worth anything to anyone, I have no intention of selling them and no one would want the anyway. I'm almost at a loss for words for this. You'd think I was talking about replacing some series stuff like important documents, you know something I could potentially do some damage with by having duplicates and not some silly artboxes for an Anime set.
I feel like I'm being trolled by someone, or being made fun of by the representative. It's pretty demeaning and honestly disgraceful in my view. I'm an honest customer with an honest problem I was looking to get resolved. I'll add that I did offer to pay a small fee for the replacement cases such did I understand my position. I've supported Sentai Filmworks throughout their lifespan as a company, I literally have 130 of their releases and have even bought more that I moved on over time. I've spent thousands of dollars on their products and have even made (albeit to a very small viewership) videos about their releases including covering that solicitations each month for a year or so. Sentai isn't a giant corporation, they are a relatively niche home video label so I thought I might be able to work this out and come to an arrangement but I doubt that's going to happen now.
I have responded to the destroy the evidence email I got with a basic - "I was already very disappointed with the condition on my $800 investment of this set the last thing I'm going to do is completely deface it without a cast iron guarantee of a replacement"
among a few other things like explaining I'm not trying to con them or questioning whether or not I'm literally being trolled by a customer representative of a company.
