Gemporia - struggling financially?

[SnowMoon]

Toby is currently on Lifestyle stating how successful and such a great community the channel has.

I know you have to put a spin on things but 10 minutes stating how well the channel is still doing doesn't make a great deal of sense.

Unsurprising. Maybe the real Jainey (who said on her FB page that she had dropped by here and seen the carnage over the weekend) has taken on board the rumblings here and spread the word. To be honest though, they must know that with closing a channel and mass leavings - a lot of people will be a bit rattled. We ain't unique, we are - however - a good barometer.

 

[Kit10]

I was just watching Gemporia and a message appeared on air confirming that they have new live hours: from 7am to 11pm. Everything else will be pre-recorded. This does suggest that something is very wrong with Gemporia. People quitting, channel closing down and now a serious cut on live hours. As I said before, I find it sad. I know that a great deal of lonely people felt comforted by Gemporia 24/7 live presence. They will miss it. What a shame.

I caught the tail end of Jeff’s show this morning when he mentioned that he wouldn’t be in for a couple of days due to some dental treatment. He did a lovely little thank you to everyone who watches and a thank you to his production team. In light of the reduction in hours I wonder if this was a goodbye. I wonder if we’ll see either Jeff or Derek again if there are no late or early shifts?

 

[SnowMoon]

So the question for me is - is this a temporary reduction in live hours while our Jeffers has his teeth fixed? Or is a permanent thing? I am more in the dark here than I was this morning.

 

[Kit10]

So the question for me is - is this a temporary reduction in live hours while our Jeffers has his teeth fixed? Or is a permanent thing? I am more in the dark here than I was this morning.

He definitely said he wouldn’t be in for a couple of days, and that there would be recordings only between 11 and 7. Seems a bit much to do an announcement about the new hours, if it’s only for two days……

 

[Brighthunter]

I saw that Jim is going to do Gem Collector for a few days, perhaps they are going to do a relaunch and move everyone around

 

[Snowstorm]

I see that Nick has hot footed it over from lifestyle to Gems this evening. The closing down sale wasn’t actually true. Very misleading headline. I’m happy that I can still get my supplements. In relation to the quality of jewellery and refunds. I’ll be observing carefully. I looked at the date I returned some items and how long my refunds took. It was definitely over 30 days.

 

[Qwerty123]

The way in which Emily phrased things about Jim covering a few shows on GC suggested that either things are still up in the air and that it hasn’t been decided who (or indeed if) will replace Alex permanently, which would suggest they’ve had to get rid of people in a hurry because they couldn’t afford to pay them any longer without completely understanding the impact going forward.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I caught the tail end of Jeff’s show this morning when he mentioned that he wouldn’t be in for a couple of days due to some dental treatment. He did a lovely little thank you to everyone who watches and a thank you to his production team. In light of the reduction in hours I wonder if this was a goodbye. I wonder if we’ll see either Jeff or Derek again if there are no late or early shifts?

They could keep Jeff due to his flexibility. He said he's done every role in the company right up to presenter level. He was previously a producer / director - so he could go back to that, and then Gemporia have the flexibility of being able to call on him should they desperately need cover.

They'd be able to let Derek go without paying redundancy because he's been there for less than 2 years - so I wouldn't be too surprised if he has gone, along with all of the overnight production crew.

They still have a big team of people I would be very surprised if the main channel was in any immediate danger.

It takes a long time to build up the name Gemporia has (or had depending on your view) they won't give up on that easily imo.

The problem is, they're really not taking on board all of the negatives that people are raising. They're very dismissive. If you mention anything like "refunds are taking too long", "There's too much Jade", "Do Dave / Jake really have to ratle for 40 minutes before anything is sold", etc is given the standard response of "We'll pass it on to the team........." - and that's the last you hear of it. LOADS of people have complained about too much talking at the start of shows via their Facebook pages - but all Gemporia respond with is "We like to educate our customers". They just don't seem to grasp that PEOPLE DON'T WANT EDUCATING. They're bored of it. They want to see nice jewellery, decide if they like it / can afford it - and then either buy it, or wait 2 minutes to see the next item. When Dave and Jake are waffling on, people have made it clear that they change channels.

Not sure how true it is, but apparently Steve Bennett has announced that "there's something exciting on the way at Gemporia". Although I've looked online and can't find anything, if he has said that? If that is true, then, it again shows that rather than fixing their current problems, they're going to do something else instead?

 

[TheManWithNoName]

The way in which Emily phrased things about Jim covering a few shows on GC suggested that either things are still up in the air and that it hasn’t been decided who (or indeed if) will replace Alex permanently, which would suggest they’ve had to get rid of people in a hurry because they couldn’t afford to pay them any longer without completely understanding the impact going forward.

That wouldn't be the first time. They made presenters redundant before, and then when they needed cover, they were bringing in freelancers or paying overtime to other presenters. They made Milly Griffiths redundant a few years ago - and then took her back on when they realised they needed her.

I don't understand the logic in cutting the amount of presenters down to the bone - and then drafting in freelancers, who are generally more expensive than salaried presenters, to cover when they're short. It doesn't make sense to supposedly try saving money by letting a presenter go - but then paying a higher amount for a freelancer to cover. Bizarre.

 

[Qwerty123]

That wouldn't be the first time. They made presenters redundant before, and then when they needed cover, they were bringing in freelancers or paying overtime to other presenters. They made Milly Griffiths redundant a few years ago - and then took her back on when they realised they needed her.

I don't understand the logic in cutting the amount of presenters down to the bone - and then drafting in freelancers, who are generally more expensive than salaried presenters, to cover when they're short. It doesn't make sense to supposedly try saving money by letting a presenter go - but then paying a higher amount for a freelancer to cover. Bizarre.

I wouldn’t be so sure that the freelancers are any more expensive than many of the presenters who are leaving. Most of the newer batch appear to be failed models who think doing a couple of instagram lives makes them a presenter and are probably thick enough to accept work ‘paid for’ in exposure.

 

[rubia]

Saw the last few minutes of lifestyle. It was sad to watch enjoyed it more than the main channel. It felt that Rosie will not be back which is a shame as I did think she would be back on the main channel I already miss Ruth!. All in all quite depressing. Hope S.B has looked at some of the comments on here and will take heed. Gemporia or Gems was and can be again a great shopping channel IMO.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

It's been a bit of a disaster for them tonight.

Re-runs of Lindsey Carr's 7am til 11am shift were put on at 11pm - and the graphics don't match up to what is being sold. They are WAY out of sync.

A gold diamond ring was being shown - but the graphics referenced a £14.99 chain. A serenite ring was being shown - but the graphics were for a Sleeping Beauty Turquoise item.

They had an item showing in the little preview VT in the bottom right hand corner of the screen that they show pre-order items, upcoming star buy items, etc on - and the code above the pre item box was for a chain (and the chain was shown in the preview VT) - but then that exact same item code was duplicated on the main graphics, at exactly the same time, for a completely different item.

There's nothing on screen telling viewers in a re-showing of this mornings show - so there have been loads of viewers messages popping up on screen saying things like "Am I crazy? The graphics are out of sync with what Lindsay is selling". Another said "Lindsey, the graphics are out of sync" (obviously thinking Lindsey was live), another said "Are we watching a pre-recorded show?" and another viewer sent message that seemed quite abrupt saying along the lines of "If you're going to pre-record shows, stop mentioning breakfast and what is coming up at 8am. It doesn't make sense".

Awkward!

I can imagine a few complaints if people think they're ordering 'X' - but item 'Y' drops through their letter box. Possibly ASA issues as well if a gold ring or something expensive is being shown, but a customer(s) think they're getting a bargain if the graphics are showing something for £29.99p for example?

 

[GTVI]

The fix on the 3 am to 7 am replay was to cut all the price and description graphics. One box with the telephone number and nothing else.

 

[Deasmum]

Do you think that Kate McCarthy has left too? She said she would be back this Thursday, but Rachel Hatton said she will be doing the 3pm to 7pm shift on Thursday.

I think the disappearance of the overnight shows is permanent which is a shame.

 

[SnowMoon]

To be honest. I usually only watched the early morning shows 5am to 7am. Occasionally I would did in elsewhere but it was usually a bit hard-sell and shouty at other times. It will be a real shame if they axe all the overnight shows. I probably will end up buying precious little as my buying, if I buy, is usually in the morning. Once 7am rolls round I switch over. The prices go up and the volume of the presenters goes up a few notches too. Same reason I never watch launch shows. Too loud and they inflate the prices so they can later say: "This has previous sold for XXX so you are getting a real bargain and we might get into trouble for this."
I just prefer straightforward presenting and fair pricing.

 

[Sazza]

Do you think that Kate McCarthy has left too? She said she would be back this Thursday, but Rachel Hatton said she will be doing the 3pm to 7pm shift on Thursday.

I think the disappearance of the overnight shows is permanent which is a shame.

Kate should have been on yesterday and today. If Rachel is doing Thursday then that is Lynn's shift she is covering.

 

[user 17461]

Wow. I miss all the fun. And for once it's not me having an online barney with a Gems Stan. It makes a refreshing change

Considering all of the extremely valid complaints people have been making for years about Gemporia, this has been a long time coming. And it's not surprising that they make lots of changes, but nothing that tackles any of the problems that put people off buying.

But I just love switching over to Gemporia, just in time to watch a presenter gabble on about the "rare" jade item they're holding. Which has already been on screen for 2793 times that week. It's becoming almost reassuring.

 

[Kit10]

To be honest. I usually only watched the early morning shows 5am to 7am. Occasionally I would did in elsewhere but it was usually a bit hard-sell and shouty at other times. It will be a real shame if they axe all the overnight shows. I probably will end up buying precious little as my buying, if I buy, is usually in the morning. Once 7am rolls round I switch over. The prices go up and the volume of the presenters goes up a few notches too. Same reason I never watch launch shows. Too loud and they inflate the prices so they can later say: "This has previous sold for XXX so you are getting a real bargain and we might get into trouble for this."
I just prefer straightforward presenting and fair pricing.

I’m pre much the same Snowmoon, just wat the early stuff and occasionally a little bit of an evening show while I’m doing something or waiting for another program. I’ve had some lovely pieces in the Gold Under £100. And I never buy anything on launch these days as it is always cheaper later.

 

[Imogene9500]

I am totally confused by what seems to be happening at Gemporia - presenters and other staff leaving in a short space. Concerning for customer confidence and no comms from Gemporia. I've had some lovely jewellery from this company in the past but hardly recognise it now.

 

[Imogene9500]

Ps sorry but presenters Hattie, Jess and Cheraline are shockingly bad and an immediate turn off. Too much shouting and hard sell.