Hey Kids, Have You Heard The News? MOSAIC's IN TROUBLE!!!

[Ed S]

Holy fuck. I don't know what to say about this discussion.

 

Anyone who has followed Mosaic Records for the last 10-20 years has to  know that their business has slowed to a trickle and that they are currently staffed to handle that trickle.  Then, there is a communication that this could be the last hurrah and everyone - including me, crawls out of the woodwork and orders sets to the point that it is a deluge.  Though it is clear that others aren't - I'm cutting them some slack - as many have.

Though I had been preparing for this liquidation event by purchasing sets more frequently, once the "trouble" was announced, I had several sets I still wanted - a couple of which were on back order.  i think that it is a tribute to Mosaic, that based on orders for in print sets as well as orders for back ordered sets that they have decided to order additional copies of the back-ordered sets so that they can satisfy demand for these sets.  For me, it was the Savoy, Mingus and JPJ sets.  Just got the Savoy, btiw.

I think everyone needs to keep it real.  Mosaic is not Amazon.  I am guessing they never expected the tsunami of orders they have recently received.  I just say relax and it will work out. Mosaic will do their best to make everything right 

Bottom line for me - they are not Amazon.  They are Mosaic.

 

[Scott Dolan]

That would be all well and good if we hadn't seen several reports of shipping issues that happened prior to the "oh no's" plea. 

[Hot Ptah]

I am with Ed Swinnich. Mosaic is like a microbrewer who makes batches of beer himself with no other staff, and then drives around in his personal truck to deliver the barrels to local bars. To expect such a person to have Anheuser Busch's distribution and customer service departments is not realistic. 

As long as you get your Mosaics by the end of the summer, what is the big deal? It will take you weeks or months to listen to them all once anyway. You will have them for a lifetime. Why be so obsessive over whether your box arrives on June 26 or July 18? Unless you just like to be obsessive.

[Scott Dolan]

Because when you purchase something and are told it's going to ship in 5-7 days, and it doesn't, and you receive no communication as to why? Nor a tracking number? 

That's not obssessive. That's simple consumer vigilance. 

Stop this bullshit of painting it otherwise. It's intellectually dishonest. 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[paul secor]

 

1 hour ago, Hot Ptah said:

I am with Ed Swinnich. Mosaic is like a microbrewer who makes batches of beer himself with no other staff, and then drives around in his personal truck to deliver the barrels to local bars. To expect such a person to have Anheuser Busch's distribution and customer service departments is not realistic. 

As long as you get your Mosaics by the end of the summer, what is the big deal? It will take you weeks or months to listen to them all once anyway. You will have them for a lifetime. Why be so obsessive over whether your box arrives on June 26 or July 18? Unless you just like to be obsessive.

 I agree entirely with what you wrote. I guess that makes you a voice of reason.

[J.A.W.]

2 hours ago, Ed Swinnich said:

Holy fuck. I don't know what to say about this discussion.

 

Anyone who has followed Mosaic Records for the last 10-20 years has to  know that their business has slowed to a trickle and that they are currently staffed to handle that trickle.  Then, there is a communication that this could be the last hurrah and everyone - including me, crawls out of the woodwork and orders sets to the point that it is a deluge.  Though it is clear that others aren't - I'm cutting them some slack - as many have.

Though I had been preparing for this liquidation event by purchasing sets more frequently, once the "trouble" was announced, I had several sets I still wanted - a couple of which were on back order.  i think that it is a tribute to Mosaic, that based on orders for in print sets as well as orders for back ordered sets that they have decided to order additional copies of the back-ordered sets so that they can satisfy demand for these sets.  For me, it was the Savoy, Mingus and JPJ sets.  Just got the Savoy, btiw.

I think everyone needs to keep it real.  Mosaic is not Amazon.  I am guessing they never expected the tsunami of orders they have recently received.  I just say relax and it will work out. Mosaic will do their best to make everything right 

Bottom line for me - they are not Amazon.  They are Mosaic.

 

 

1 hour ago, Hot Ptah said:

I am with Ed Swinnich. Mosaic is like a microbrewer who makes batches of beer himself with no other staff, and then drives around in his personal truck to deliver the barrels to local bars. To expect such a person to have Anheuser Busch's distribution and customer service departments is not realistic. 

As long as you get your Mosaics by the end of the summer, what is the big deal? It will take you weeks or months to listen to them all once anyway. You will have them for a lifetime. Why be so obsessive over whether your box arrives on June 26 or July 18? Unless you just like to be obsessive.

Well put and I couldn't agree more. Had a major issue with them last year that couldn't be resolved and I was pretty angry with them, but they apologized and that meant case closed for me. 

[Hot Ptah]

1 hour ago, Scott Dolan said:

Because when you purchase something and are told it's going to ship in 5-7 days, and it doesn't, and you receive no communication as to why? Nor a tracking number? 

That's not obssessive. That's simple consumer vigilance. 

Stop this bullshit of painting it otherwise. It's intellectually dishonest. 

You should buy from Wal Mart or Amazon then. They have huge staffs of people to cover every order. Small indie businesses can never do what you expect.

[greggery peccary]

1 hour ago, Scott Dolan said:

Because when you purchase something and are told it's going to ship in 5-7 days, and it doesn't, and you receive no communication as to why? Nor a tracking number? 

That's not obssessive. That's simple consumer vigilance. 

Stop this bullshit of painting it otherwise. It's intellectually dishonest. 

I don't that there is anything "intellectually dishonest" about having a different perspective, viewpoint or response to the trials and tribulations that may or may not have been a part of dealing with Mosaic and their recent shipping situation. From what I am reading, some people (myself included) just don't see it as a deal-breaker or reason to get their knickers in a twist.

Their subcontracting of shipping has proven to been less than ideal. I don't think that anyone has really disagreed with that. We all have the opportunity to "vote" with our wallets.  To lambaste them as such and continue to do business with them seems like a recipe for frustration, disappointment, and anger on your part. 

[Brad]

Well, if this bothers you so much, there's a simple solution: don't buy from them again. 

[Big Beat Steve]

Again ... following up on what Scott D. said - the way I understand all this debate it still isn't about not getting items as fast as from Amazon. I guess anybody in his right senses can and will live with the fact that they might take longer to ship - provided that he knows what he is up against!

To me it rather seems to be that shipping promises are made ("will ship within X days") and then these promises are not kept and you don't even know what's happening because you do not hear from the "shipping service" either and cannot contact them. So it looks like it's become a bit of a hit and miss affair of whether you get your stuff the way you have been told you would (and of whether you will be made aware of any problems/delays etc. or not).

Now what baffles me in all these testimonials is this: If this entire reissue project is such a labor of love (and I will concede any time it STILL is to them today) then can you really afford to let things slip in that one place where you can get the MONEY that will keep you afloat and (hopefully) not only allow you to make ends meet but to actually make some money, i.e. in the selling and SHIPPING department? Is there any sense in creating a bottleneck (or allowing one to happen) right there in this not so unimportant area to your entire business venture? Is it really wise to create the impression (correct or not) that in this entire project order handling and shipping is being treated as a sort of tedious afterthought?
Because even if you are swamped with orders at one point, getting the word out ANYWAY to those concerned what's happening and how and why there is a delay is a KEY factor in making people understand (and I guess if they did they could could count on everybody understanding). But leaving things in a limbo by not communicating the status of the orders maybe is not the best idea.

[Scott Dolan]

5 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Again ... following up on what Scott D. said - the way I understand all this debate it still isn't about not getting items as fast as from Amazon. I guess anybody in his right senses can and will live with the fact that they might take longer to ship - provided that he knows what he is up against!

To me it rather seems to be that shipping promises are made ("will ship within X days") and then these promises are not kept and you don't even know what's happening because you do not hear from the "shipping service" either and cannot contact them. So it looks like it's become a bit of a hit and miss affair of whether you get your stuff the way you have been told you would (and of whether you will be made aware of any problems/delays etc. or not).

Now what baffles me in all these testimonials is this: If this entire reissue project is such a labor of love (and I will concede any time it STILL is to them today) then can you really afford to let things slip in that one place where you can get the MONEY that will keep you afloat and (hopefully) not only allow you to make ends meet but to actually make some money, i.e. in the selling and SHIPPING department? Is there any sense in creating a bottleneck (or allowing one to happen) right there in this not so unimportant area to your entire business venture? Is it really wise to create the impression (correct or not) that in this entire project order handling and shipping is being treated as a sort of tedious afterthought?
Because even if you are swamped with orders at one point, getting the word out ANYWAY to those concerned what's happening and how and why there is a delay is a KEY factor in making people understand (and I guess if they did they could could count on everybody understanding). But leaving things in a limbo by not communicating the status of the orders maybe is not the best idea.

I hope everyone reads this over and over again until it truly sinks in (especially the part I bolded and underlined). This is all any of us not blinded by undying devotion to Mosaic have been saying. 

NOT that Mosaic is a shit company.

NOT that we will no longer purchase anything from them.

Or any of the other hysterical bullshit some of you have projected upon us. 

9 hours ago, Hot Ptah said:

You should buy from Wal Mart or Amazon then. They have huge staffs of people to cover every order. Small indie businesses can never do what you expect.

Read the post I quoted above, that should help you see what a laughable  comment this is. 

And yes, small businesses can indeed meet any and all expectations. I experience it all the time. Especially those that tell me my order will be at my door within 10-15 days. And why is that? Because they care about what they do, and set proper expectations. They also send tracking numbers without me having to request one two weeks after the fact. 

And BTW, you do understand how Amazon works, right? 

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[Hot Ptah]

I have come to expect poor or inarticulate or unhelpful customer service as a matter of course in today's world.

I expect nothing from anyone and am then pleasantly surprised when anyone does anything.

I am delighted when someone does something perfectly, and in the case of online commerce, I leave feedback with high praise, because it is so rare.

It strikes me that to absolutely insist on near perfection from any aspect of online commerce is a recipe for unhappiness, constant agitation, and unhealthy anger.

That is probably why we don't agree on this thread, because we come from such different beginning perspectives.

 

[alonwa]

Has anyone ordered a set and did not receive it eventually? Has anyone ordered a set and received it more than one month delayed? If not, then is a bit of shaky communication that much of a big deal?

 

By the way, we criticize their choice of shipper and their choice of shipper was probably not the best in terms of customer service. But perhaps it saved them some costs which helped them keep afloat a bit longer? Perhaps not - I don't know and neither does anyone here. It seems to me that their problems are unrelated to their choice of shipper or to the quality of their customer responsiveness (which has always been praised in years past - I've always received excellent service until recently and all my recent orders arrived even though I did not receive tracking numbers for them). My guess if that their problems are more related to the shrinking demand for their product. We forum members want the product, but apparently the public at large has moved on elsewhere. If only they followed all my box set suggestions, everything would be fine 

[Scott Dolan]

3 hours ago, Hot Ptah said:

I have come to expect poor or inarticulate or unhelpful customer service as a matter of course in today's world.

I expect nothing from anyone and am then pleasantly surprised when anyone does anything.

I am delighted when someone does something perfectly, and in the case of online commerce, I leave feedback with high praise, because it is so rare.

It strikes me that to absolutely insist on near perfection from any aspect of online commerce is a recipe for unhappiness, constant agitation, and unhealthy anger.

That is probably why we don't agree on this thread, because we come from such different beginning perspectives.

 

So let me see if I've got this right. Sending you a tracking number within 5-7 days is...near perfection? 

You are really stretching credibility with your point here. 

Nearly everything I buy is ordered online. And most of the things I buy on Amazon are actually shipped from small to medium sized companies. You seem to think Amazon is some huge producer with enormous warehouses and thousands of staff standing around waiting to pull and ship your order. That's not how it works. 

I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to contact a company about a shipment due to lack of communication or tracking number, and still have some fingers left over. 

What you, and others, are here is essentially an abused wife that stays with their husband while apologizing, "but he's really a nice guy!" 

Well, nobody is disputing that. We're just acknowledging that there are underlying problems. Which you folks are choosing to dutifully ignore. 

[psu_13]

I've been buying records from Mosaic since the original Blue Note Monk set in the early 90s (late 80s?).

I will probably buy records from Mosaic until they shut down.

Would I like their shipping and logistics to be better? Sure. Do I understand why it's not? Sure. Would they probably be in better shape if somehow they could instantly fix it at no cost in either money or time? Probably. Will this change the fact that I will probably buy records from Mosaic until they shut down? No.

Your opinions and milage may vary.

I don't really understand why we are still talking about this, except to the extent that a lot of people on Internet Forums need to keep talking until they think that everyone else thinks that they are Right (tm).

 

[rostasi]

"Has anyone ordered a set and did not receive it eventually?
Has anyone ordered a set and received it more than one month delayed?
If not, then is a bit of shaky communication that much of a big deal?"

I have received all the sets I ordered, but I may possibly not have this last time if
I had not opened two refund cases against them thru Paypal.
Somehow, they did receive that email. As I said above, this was almost two months
after my order and a few emails asking about my order(s).
The product eventually showed up almost 11 weeks after I placed the order.

Again, this was an isolated incident - maybe due to inattention on various people's parts and/or
the sudden influx of orders. I will still order from them. I'll just be more aware of the possibilities of screw-ups.
It's not a black and white issue. There's a place in California that I order from that takes its time getting product out -
probably because it's run out of this woman's house and she may be her own sole employee.
That means I anticipate at least a two to three week wait whenever I order from her and act accordingly.

Edited July 15, 2017 by rostasi

[Scott Dolan]

1 hour ago, psu_13 said:

I've been buying records from Mosaic since the original Blue Note Monk set in the early 90s (late 80s?).

I will probably buy records from Mosaic until they shut down.

Would I like their shipping and logistics to be better? Sure. Do I understand why it's not? Sure. Would they probably be in better shape if somehow they could instantly fix it at no cost in either money or time? Probably. Will this change the fact that I will probably buy records from Mosaic until they shut down? No.

Your opinions and milage may vary.

I don't really understand why we are still talking about this, except to the extent that a lot of people on Internet Forums need to keep talking until they think that everyone else thinks that they are Right (tm).

 

Or until what they are saying is actually understood and not twisted into something it isn't. 

1 hour ago, rostasi said:

I have received all the sets I ordered, but I may possibly not have this last time if I had not opened two refund cases against them thru Paypal.
Somehow, they did receive that email. As I said above, this was almost two months after my order and a few emails asking about my order(s).
The product eventually showed up almost 11 weeks after I placed it.

Again, this was an isolated incident - maybe due to inattention on various people's parts and/or the sudden influx of orders.
I will still order from them. I'll just be more aware of the possibilities of screw-ups. It's not a black and white issue. There's a
place in California that I order from that takes its time getting product out - probably because it's run out of this woman's house
and she may be her own sole employee. That means I anticipate at least a two to three week wait whenever I order from her and act accordingly.

We used to order spices from a husband and wife team that worked out of their house. They'd always tell us to give the package 7-10 days to arrive. It usually arrived in 3-5. And not only would they send us a tracking number within 24 hours, they'd also include hand written thank you notes. 

They retired and shut down the business last year. We were bummed. 

[JSngry]

4 hours ago, alonwa said:

 I've always received excellent service until recently...

Yeah, it's that "until recently" part that has me thinking that either A) they're in a really extreme bubble and only deal with the outside world when it comes into theirs, or B)they really are looking to liquidate inventory and pull back to a much more limited business once they do. Shipping can take time, I get htat, and if you don't want to expand staffing for a special project, even on a per-day basis, I get that. But to be erratic with your notifications (which is the essential tool for setting and managing customer expectations, and therefore satisfaction), you either don't get it or else you don't care, you're just riding it out.

Point just being, whether or not that's their intent, my message received from all of this is that they're just looking to get out once they sell as much as they can. Whether or not that's the message they mean to send, I don't know.

Either way, I think it's goofy as hell put it out there that people need to buy as much as possible NOW, and then get "overwhelmed" when they do just that.

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Either way, I think it's goofy as hell put it out there that people need to buy as much as possible NOW, and then get "overwhelmed" when they do just that.

Puts my thoughts of this lengthy discussion in a nutshell  ......

[JSngry]

Really, I get their emails. I've yet to get one that says, hey, your support has been overwhelming, we thank you for that, our staff is a little overloaded right now, please bear with us, and if we inadvertently have let something slip through the cracks, let us know ASAP, here's our phone #. And then answer it. I twice tired to call during their stated "normal business hours" and twice got routed to voice mail that said to call back during normal business hours. That's a fucking joke!

I mean, I get it, sleepy little cottage industry/specialty business and all that, but goddamn it, you all asked for this to be Show Time. You asked to be woke up and rolled out of bed. If you weren't ready to go to work (or to be on the lake before sunrise), don't ask for the gig. Jesus. Stay in bed, we're all used to that and it's ok.

I'll never not buy from them, but I got a right to grumble.

Any updates on the Goodman?

[gmonahan]

10 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

I think we can all agree with BBS: if Mosaic doesn't take care of the commerce there will be no more art. You and I might be willing to cut them some slack, but if their other customers become dissatisfied, pretty soon they won't have the money to continue in any form, inefficient or otherwise.

I think maybe we ARE their "other" customers!

Me, I'm just happy the Clifford Jordan came back so I could get one...whenever it gets here.

 

 

gregmo

[Scott Dolan]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

 I twice tired to call during their stated "normal business hours" and twice got routed to voice mail that said to call back during normal business hours. That's a fucking joke!

I'll never not buy from them, but I got a right to grumble.

 

No sir, you sure don't! If you don't believe me, then just scroll up and read.

And how sad that you're going to stop buying Mosaics. I guess Walmart is more your speed! 

Though in seriousness, I can't wait for the excuses explaining away the phone situation, and your irrational and unreasonable response to it. 

[rostasi]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

I'll never not buy from them, but I got a right to grumble.

 

[Scott Dolan]

Sorry, Rod. The apologists do not accept your edited clarification. They all know what he meant. 

[JSngry]

Any update on the Goodman?