RedTacoDriver

Earlier this year I decided to upgrade my system and since I was pleased with system that I had originally purchased through US Cutter I decided to purchase one from them. This started my education. Since I had a business in mind rather than my hobby I was willing to invest the money in a good machine. I did my research and made my selection only to find out that they were out of stock. So I waited. When my waiting did not satisfy I contacted US Cutter. When their run around and misinformation about availability of what I wanted got the best of me I took to the forums. What I found from the customer dis-satisfaction folks is that when a small company grows and has growing pains the customer gets thrown out the window. When I suggested ways such as I have seen asked for on the forums currently for customer loyalty incentives, I was told that the low prices and set shipping costs were the incentives that US Cutter provided. And for a very short period of time I believed the hype. A very short period of time then I went shopping. I chose to invest in a high end vinyl cutter. I could have gotten the same base price for the machine but US Cutter was not willing to waive the shipping costs on a cutter that was not branded to them. It didn't take long to find that there are other houses out there with the same price that US Cutter lists but don't charge any shipping. I found other outlets that have different materials that when you factor in the shipping costs are actually cheaper for the same materials. I found educational programs that have taken my vinyl cutting to new levels and set me on a firmer path to making my business work. I have found customer service that regularly checks in with me to help me with my problems and to suggest new products that I may not be aware of. I have found an outlet that is right across town that holds day long hands on training for free and that I can will call my immediate needs. They will even consult with me to find options that they can provide if they don't have what I need in stock to make sure my down time is minimal. I found out that my dependence on US Cutter had been holding me back and not taking me forward. So when US Cutter sent me a plea to come back and an offer of a 10% discount I just had to shake my head. If there is something that I can only find at US Cutters, then I may return to make a purchase. I say may as I found out that there are plenty of folks out there that will meet or beat their prices and are hungry to acquire, serve, and respect new customers. I am sorry to say that this is not something I found here.

Thanks. I found it in an obscure youtube video. And when I came home there it was. Now I have done my first contour cut.

Using popped kernels would just be silly.

I just upgraded my art program to CorelDraw x6 which I purchased from US Cutter to test drive it before making the upgrade to CDx8. I have tried installing the Cutting Master 3 software from Graphtec but I can't find the way to send it to my cutter from the Corel Draw program. Help me Obiwan Kenobi, you are my only hope......

Sorry for the whine. It is just when I entered a thread titled "Supply Ideas for US Cutter ....... List your needs!" I was unaware that it was a chance for Advanced Members, Moderators, and US Cutter to play Whack-A-Mole with my open input. If you want ideas then you have to take those you disagree with along with those you do. If you want a tell us how you agree with us forum you really need to retitle it. I supplied my ideas and needs. And my posts were met with a definite "We like things as they are" attitude. I find this disappointing.

That isn't an incentive. That is a volume discount. So if you are high volume you get perks. But the loyal customers who buy year after year but don't reach the volume necessary are just chumps? I can imagine that those that consume less than $20k per year make up the bulk of the business and those are the customers I speak of that need to be told in a good way that they are appreciated. Heck would it be so hard to send out an email saying you have been a customer for X years and we value your business here is a limited time discount for you to make your next purchase. Other sites give you a credit, small but as an incentive, when you reach a target level as low as $250. Are you saying your biggest customer base is not worth acknowledgement?

Popcorn is large enough that it does not spill out if the tape pulls up, it will roll with the pvc pipe and carries enough weight to be of use in holding down the rolls. I originally tried sand but it made a heck of a mess if the tape got a hole in it.

I would like to see them start offering customer loyalty incentives. We give them a good deal of our money and occasionally it would be nice if they took a small portion of that back as a thank you for using US Cutter rather than all of the other options we have.

There is only so much you can voice to folks that do not want to hear it. I did decide to upgrade and go with the Graphtec machine. It just means that I will not have money to buy more vinyl for a while so I will live with what I have. Also my purchase went to another dealer who offered me a better deal than I could have gotten through US Cutter. After reading reviews of the Graphtec machine I realized the problem with it when purchased through US Cutter is that they give just as good of customer service after the sale as they do during the sales process. While I may still make purchases there, I will temper it and purchase things that may not require interaction outside of the website as I have come away with a cold and dismal view of their customer service.

Go to the page on US Cutter with the Easy Weed and click on the Downloads tab. It has the recommended heat, duration, and pressure settings for all Siser products.

I just took a half inch piece of PVC and duct taped one end filled it with popcorn and duct taped the other end. It works great and slips in the cores of HTV without a problem.

I have just about given up on the Titan3 cutter as never coming in as it vaporware. So I am turning to look at the Graphtec instead. Could you give me the pros and cons of such a decision? What is the best software for the Graphtec machine?

Again I point out that you are currently doing pre-orders on the Titan 3 54", so I don't quite buy that. Secondly, while losing your purchasing manager to another business can be the sign of internal disagreement, it doesn't mean that you lost the rest of the purchasing department. Again I am not quite buying the whole bolt here that this was cut from. I think a better answer should be forthcoming. As to your first point, I am sorry that you are a growing company. It must just suck to have that much business. But if you don't try to take care of your customers in a manner that keeps them happy maybe by Christmas you will be a small company again and your current ecommerce software will be just right sized for you. Since you have an email server, there is no software problem in setting up a list of customers who are interested in currently unavailable products and providing them with updates, alternatives, or incentives to keep your business growing. It is just plain good customer service and costs you little. As someone who is just starting my own business I draw upon my years in customer service working for others. I know that return customers make up the bulk of sales. They are the best advertising of your brand and your business. Drive them away and there are dozens of others who will jump at a chance to serve them. I also remember the rule of ten in sales. Each customer is impacts for good or bad ten people who only know you from the customer's transaction. Good contacts travel at the speed of sound while bad contacts travel at the speed of light.

I would buy a Graphtec if I had the extra $500 laying around. I may still if I have to wait much longer but the question is if I am going to buy a non-US cutter machine do I stick with them or take my business elsewhere? And yes I had looked at them but it makes my liquidity awful lean until mid summer. Also I am going from the hobby stage to a more business stage in my vinyl work.

I have been trying to upgrade my cutter. I want to remain a direct US Cutter direct customer but it is getting harder and harder to justify that want. First the cutter I have been looking at has been out of stock for about a month. When I tried to use the online chat app on the US Cutter website I was given vague and conflicting information. So after a couple of weeks of the run around I contacted the sales department directly. After a short wait I got online with a person who gave me a date and quantity that would arrived of my coveted cutter and asked me to wait with patience. I asked why they were able to show these units available on eBay from US Cutter but I was not able to order them direct and was given a vague and confusing answer. So I waited with patience and when the date arrive that the cutters should have arrived was yet again disappointed. So again I called the sales line and waited and waited and waited and waited and gave up. I had lost all confidence in the chat app. I began to have a suspicion that the units that were supposed to have arrived got use for fulfillment of the eBay orders but I decided to give it just one more try. So I called and almost immediately got a sales person. Again after checking I was told that there would be about a 10 day delay as they were going to arrive in Nashville over the weekend or the early part of next week followed by how he really wanted to keep my business etcetera and so on. Here is my big disconnect from this. There is a larger version of the same cutter that I am looking at taking pre-orders when I was told that US Cutter did not do such a thing. The cutter I want is being presold on eBay with a delivery date showing. While they all said they wanted my business they didn't ask why I didn't just buy it on eBay (I have an order that I was wish-listing until I could make a single shipment order) or was there an offer to give me incentive to "wait with patience" until their shipment came in. As a matter of fact for all of their words they really didn't make it feel like they valued me as a customer. Now here is a wonderful idea. If they can put a wish list for products they have in stock, why cant they put a button for a wait list for those products the don't have currently. Customer care could give an email blast occasionally with updates and everyone would be better served. Also if there was a long delay and someone was willing to hold on until they got what they wanted rather than settling for what was available, they should be given some sort of incentive as a reward for their customer loyalty. It should be noted that this is a competitive market with a lot of different choices. Loyalty in this market is often to the cheapest price rather than to a certain distributor. And there is always the siren allure of the trade show hucksters who tell you that if you can't find what you want "I have an even better machine at a lower price...."