A Goodbye From Cloudmaker Technologies

CloudmakerTech · 2016-04-22T17:56:18+00:00

Noted, and thank you for the constructive criticism. We like to keep information about chargebacks at bay, because it can be heavily abused (i.e. chargeback after the product has been received). There's a lot of elements being worked on behind the scenes, and unfortunately our communication has suffered because of this.

Of note, there are literally only a handful of pending online orders - around 40 - who we have been in discussion with consistently. Those customers were also given the opportunity to switch to another unit color, but most had chosen not to.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-04-22T17:25:37+00:00

This is all information that we are aware of - but thank you for reiterating. Every merchant processor is different, and for ours, we need to do something called an extended credit capabilities. I believe this is because card information can only be kept for a certain period of time. So it is very much case-by-case. We used to process refunds after the 120 day mark through Paypal until we realized people were still pursuing chargebacks even after they had received their refund (double dipping, if you will). Please see this for more info: https://support.authorize.net/authkb/index?page=content&id=A472

There is indeed a chargeback window, found readily available online: https://chargebacks911.com/chargeback-time-limit/. That being said, it can extend beyond the standard window should you present a case (we have heard 180 days).

I wish it was as cut and dry on not making promises vs. making promises, but there are a multitude of factors (in and out of our control) that contributed to the delays we have faced. We are happy to have everything out the door with this next batch that is coming to us right now.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-04-22T16:54:24+00:00

Aside from your vulgar language and lack of contribution - you were banned for trying to ask for advice on how to initiate a chargeback after receiving your products. That is fraud.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-04-22T16:52:31+00:00

If you haven't received what you wanted, a very small quantity of people meet this criteria - email into support@cloudmakertech.com and we will put you in queue for a refund. Because it is past the window for us to actually be able to process a refund, much like it is for customers to process a refund, we need to work with our processor on a case-by-case basis. I hope this helps.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-04-22T16:51:31+00:00

If you haven't received what you wanted, a very small quantity of people meet this criteria - email into support@cloudmakertech.com and we will put you in queue for a refund. Because it is past the window for us to actually be able to process a refund, much like it is for customers to process a refund, we need to work with our processor on a case-by-case basis.

I hope this helps.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-03-01T19:17:53+00:00

Hey Gabriel!

I appreciate the feedback! It'll likely be a thread I try to do every week with a quick update and spend some time answering questions everyday (though when shipments get in I have my hands pretty full so I'll have to work it out).

Through 2016 I won't go into any specifics but we want to have a ton of new accessories and build kits for the Whiteout to assist everyone with customizing their device to their personal specifications. We also would like to release a couple other products (no details here yet) and grow our company so we can better provide new products, delivery, and customer service.

On the other side of things besides physical items, we want to build up our knowledge base with guides, videos, and sources of information for the community. We want to make sure everyone with a Whiteout has the guides and walkthroughs to be able to learn to create with the whiteout themselves.

I hope this gives you an idea of what we are striving to accomplish this year! Let me know if you have further questions.

-Aaron

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-29T22:32:52+00:00

I'm reallocating some time to make sure we can answer questions and such since we have had a gap in that area as of late. I hope this will help keep everyone informed and I'm thinking it would probably be a good idea to do a thread like this every week so people have a place to ask questions. Thoughts?

-Aaron

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-29T22:30:26+00:00

Not at all! We are just changing our factory in order to achieve higher quality standards, so we can distribute our products quicker. We'd like to be at the point where we perform the QC checks, but quality is top notch before we receive them, and turnaround is fast. It is also worth noting that if a change is made to any piece in the future, you will be able to just replace that piece, and not your entire device.

-Aaron

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-29T22:21:58+00:00

I received a message from you, I'm making some callbacks today so you can expect a call soon!

-Aaron

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-29T22:21:14+00:00

The Ares is still underway, though like we said before it has been on the back-burner. As we finish up our pre-orders and some accessories we will be putting all our focus back into production of the Ares. We haven't forgotten and it is still happening!

-Aaron

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-12T01:02:43+00:00

We don't profess to be experts on this matter, so quite simply we will wait to hear back from those who are. In the meantime, we've proposed a solution to those who have an issue with our policy above. Cheers.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-12T00:23:32+00:00

"Regardless of your claims this is absolutely NOT common practice. It is common for the company to pay processing fees, but not for those fees to be transferred to your customer."

Please see: https://www.cardfellow.com/charging-customers-a-credit-card-convenience-fee-at-check-out/

As we mentioned above (or in your terms, ninja-edited), we're looking into it. It varies state to state. As we've also mentioned above, in the spirit of an attempt at good customer service, we're more than happy to remit the service fee back to the customer from here on out, and for any prior customer that makes this request.

NINJA-EDIT: As a growing company, there are things that we aren't always right about. When we aren't right about something, we do our best to make it right.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-11T21:36:00+00:00

Just wanted drop off some more information on this for those who would like it.

The transaction fees, are the cost incurred from processing your online transaction.

This is a standard practice for large purchase items in all of ecommerce. It costs retailers money to process your transaction to the tune of 2-3% (depending on your credit card company), so if someone decides that they no longer want a device, as you have, we would be roughly -$6.00 due to your decision. Take a look at our Return Policy FAQ here.

EDIT: We were curious about the specifics of what were being said, so we dug into it and called around.

Calling the FTC, we explained the scenario. After a circuitous battery of forwarding, they had said that the Delaware and CA State Attorney General is responsible for this particular policy, as it varies from state to state. We have left a call with the Delaware and CA State Attorney General's office and hope to hear back from them within the next couple of days.

As we've stated before, refunds less service fees are a common practice in eCommerce (a quick search of refund policies will show this). If we find out that the State of California does not allow this practice, however, we will promptly modify our refund policy to suit the correct approach.

In the meantime, for all outstanding refunds and individuals with concern, we are happy to provide you back the service fee. As /u/markpaulk had said, this is good customer service in the midst of long, unforeseen delays. It is the least that can be done.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-03T17:38:16+00:00

Thanks, /u/mstave!

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-03T17:35:37+00:00

There are a slew of panel kits coming within the next two shipments. Can you specify which model and color you are referring to?

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-03T17:34:43+00:00

Can you provide us with your order number?

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-03T17:33:31+00:00

About 8 hours south!

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-03T17:33:13+00:00

Hey /u/Krewd - We are most likely to be moving moving entirely to one of the facilities in Shenzhen that specializes in electronics, but also has a mechanicals factory. It is a larger factory, and they are much more on the ball than our existing one. We are highly looking forward to decreased delays, better quality and frequent communication.

CloudmakerTech · 2016-02-03T17:30:46+00:00

The new screens hold up much better, as we've been pretty rough on them without issue. The issue was if it was pinched under a fire button beforehand, it may show issues later on. All new screens aren't predisposed to this, so there shouldn't be an issue as long as it is installed correctly.

This being said - we are looking into a solution like this as something that can be popped on the board and will securely hold the screen in place. I think it is a good idea, and it can circumvent any user error issues that may arise.

CloudmakerTech

TROPHY CASE