hey everyone,
i know i might seem a bit down on this channel, but from what i have gathered the following is true
steve bennett was the man that sold jungle.com in the .com bubble, started gems tv however many years ago, has been on the internet with rocks.tv for 18 months before coming to sky (stop me if any of this is wrong)
so why
a) has the website changeover been so slow and chaotic
b) does his book need more reprints for major spelling mistakes
c) do his on screen graphics look very amateur
d) is his jewellery bits that only generate small margins as they would have on gems - there are no money pieces
e) can us web buyers not get involved when only one available - another 'web bug' supposedly
f) do steve's nails still look unpresentable
g) is steve undermining his presenters by never letting them present, but produce, sweep the floor, make the coffee and everything but present the programmes
h) has he no more than a small handful of promos made
I could go on, but do you see what I mean. It isn't like he didn't know he was going on TV - it must've been the plan for a long time and it was him that set Gems TV up in the first place.
strange!!
:mysmilie_348: Thought I would pop on my thoughts....
a) ALL changeovers of IT systems are slow and chaotic, no matter how long and hard you have planned for them and no matter how rigorously you have tested your software. We did a full system change at my office llast April that had been in production for 2 years following a roll out in Europe the year before that, and we are STILL finding quirky little problems with it occasionally. At first it was a blooming nightmare, but it calmed down after a couple of months, so nature of the beast I would suggest.
b) He self finances (as far as I know) the printing of his books, so it doesn't go via editors or publishers. Steve is dyslexic so spelling mistakes are going to happen, and unless you are a professional proof reader, other people reading it through are going to miss things. Besides, I have numerous fiction best sellers that have at least one spelling error in them!!
c) I don't think they look any worse than The Dark Side.
d) They have a huge amount of ranges, and more designs in the £100 - £300 price range are coming through, Steve was saying yesterday. Also, the Lorique range is pretty high end. Steve has said over and over since they went to Sky that he is purposely showing a lot of lower end pieces at fantastic prices just now because he wants people to try them out. I guess people are more likely to 'take a risk' on a new company where less money is involved. If they are impressed with the service and quality, then they are more likely to make larger purchases. He has been absolutely open and honest about that, so fair play!
e) The reason single item auctions are phone only is because in the first day or two of Sky, someone made up a load of different user names (they identified them as all the same person from the IP addy) and clicked 'buy' on all the single item, high end pieces, including a Lorique, a substantial diamond bracelet, and a few other things. It came to pass that the individual had no intention of purchasing the items, so Rocks made the decision to make single item purchases phone only. The ability to buy single items on the web will come back, but they are, quite rightly if you ask me, trying to come up with a way that will cover their back. I have heard something about on a single item high end auction, web buyers will be asked to check the piece out right away, and only once this has been done will the purchase be confirmed. Don't quote me on that bit though!!!
f) Steve trapped his nail in a locker - he keeps apologising for the state of one of his nails in particular!!
g) It's Steve's business and at the end of the day he can do what he likes! If he wants to present, then why not!! I like him presenting - his prices are fab!!! I don't see it as undermining his presenters, more that he is so passionate etc about his business, he would love to do it all, the whole time! He was exactly the same when Rocks first started on the Web! He comes accross as VERY MUCH a guy who may own and run the company, but will roll up his sleeves and get in there with everyone else at the rock face (pardon the pun!!) to make things work. He seems absolutely committed to making sure every aspect of the business is 100% the best it can be, and to make sure this is the case, gets personally involved in every little bit of it. I think there are a number of CEO's who could learn a hell of a lot from that kind of approach.
h) I haven't seen more than a few on the other channels, and those that he has are actually really good...the one with the woman and the lamp post is so totally something I would do!!! Love the presenter ones as well. I am guessing that these will grow and we will see more as the hours expand, and the customer base gets larger, possibly with more geared towards special hours that may be coming up etc. I think he has ample for the time being.
Of course, the above is all just my opinion, but I think that all the points you raise are perfectly explainable. I think Rocks have done a fantastic job with the change over, and I have gotten myself some fab bargains too!! Long may it continue I say!!!
