Bonsai Focus "Reminder"

[Anonymous User]

If there's one thing I don't tolerate it is a haughty "master"...I don't care how good you are at what you do.

I have read Walter's posts, threads, and advice ever since the first day I logged on to a bonsai forum and I have never found him to be "haughty" or "arrogant." In fact I think it is safe to say that Walter is the only artist of his world-class caliber that takes the time to participate in multiple bonsai forums on a regular basis, this fact alone takes the air out of the "haughty" accusation.

I remember the "Ask The Master" section at BT, in fact I posted my informal upright ficus there and received not only excellent advice, but a very nice virt by a friend of Walters, I believe his name was Ume. I also remember that the only real rule there was that Walter had first right of response, a rule every "internet master" there broke on a regular basis.

Walter has given a lot to the bonsai community and his vast experience speaks through his trees, many of which have won the best exhibits in the world. Even if he was an arrogant, haughty, person, which he is not, so what? Ignore him, avoid him, throw darts at pictures of him, but don't attack someone who has accomplished more with bonsai this year than you will in a lifetime.

Lastly, here's a news flash, the rest of the world is not America and this is an international forum, live with it. Cultures, attitudes, and mind sets are different, no one has to meet your expectations or live up to your opinion of how to communicate, you are just one member here, no better, no worse than any other member. If you don't like Walter, so what, ignore him. If your delicate sensibilities were offended by the letter from Bonsai Focus, so what, don't subscribe.

Mybe you should revisit a wise statement you made not long ago in another thread....

I don't agree with the way many people conduct themselves on the board, some of them are well known artists...but I would never see the point in calling them out unprovoked.

Will

 

[Emil Brannstrom]

@Will Heath: WORD!

Best Regards
Emil

 

[rockm]

Bretts--I believe--sums up the feelings of many subscribers or ex-subscribers, or possibly soon to be ex subscribers.

Whingers unite (that means whining in the UK Will, in case you missed it in your world travels...)

 

[rockm]

"Rockm, you are setting up straw-men here and creating a mountain out of a mole hill. No one here made any arguments against improving a product, and maybe you would be so kind as to point out the dimwitted arguments you spoke of, because all I have seen is people getting way too upset over a simple invoice that looked like a past due notice.

I'm hardly setting up a straw man, nor am I creating a mountain out of a molehill. Can't you understand that upset subscribers and subscribers that aren't subscribing IS a problem, even if you or the magazine don't see it as one? What would you say about your cable company if they said "all we see is people getting way too upset over a simple invoice that looked like a past due notice?"

In a nutshell, the problems the publication has are customer service and a billing problem. Arguments that customer service is not all that important, that bad customer service is just a cultural misunderstanding, and that there is no billing issue are all demonstrably false...as the repeated posting from non-affiliated customers shows. The above arguments are arguments made by those standing too close to something and not being able to see it for what it is...

This was never about the invoice--It was about how the publication handled a real problem--a customer asking "WTF" about a "past due" notice and being told by company surrogates to basically "deal with it," while also insinuating that the subscriber was being overly sensitive and a cultural illiterate.

This is about simple customer attention--or as Walter so cutely put it "about telling people what they want to hear." Like it or not, dealing with subscribers is part of being a publisher. Wanting to simply deal with the issue dead on-- the publisher said he didn't have time --is the issue...

All of this could have been avoided by just having the publisher explain the issue here (or in a personal email) in person, without the "I've got better things to do" attitude. Would've taken all of five minutes...

 

[Yamadori]

Would've taken all of five minutes...

If time = money then BF lost some on this gamble.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Folks, I'm gonna close this thread. I think we've beaten this subject to death.