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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2008 17:14 � Edited by: iggyigette
First Impressions are Important.
I'm already committed to do an ASD Presentation this week...but I'm going to stop doing presentations afterward until things change
I think first impressions are very important...
For those of us in ASD for some time now, we understand and tolerate "Growing pains" of ASD that results in poor service...
But for Newcomers and New Prospects...all they know is that the Fax System doesn't work (Faxes fail to go through), the Ticketing System doesn't get answered in a appropriate amount of time, the telephone system either is BUSY or NO ONE PICKS UP...Money put in takes forever to get credited and money pulled out takes weeks...
That's not good for first impressions...so rather than give ASD a bad reputation by signing up folks to a poor customer service system, I'm going to hold off until things improve...
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vikingfan
Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 86
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2008 17:43
Iggy,
I agree. I am making a ridiculous amount of money with ASD (got a BIG check today) but I am tired of making excuses for the poor customer service. The sad part is that I have about 20 people I could add to my downline at the Miami rally but I am telling them to hold off until the support gets better. It's kind of embarrassing actually. This is really going to hurt our business because everyone feels the same way.
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dillon o'shea
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alasycia
Member
Joined: 4 May 2008
Posts: 292
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2008 19:10
Hi guys,
The answer is to suggest they join for free in the mean time. Because that still works very smoothly and then, depends on their sense of humour.
Some people are willing to put up with these painful growing pains and dont mind - although it is hard to believe - it is true. I tell people that I invite that, at present it is growing so fast that the customer service has bottlenecks, but that if they dont mind and can be patient with that side of the company - the programme works and they pay well. Then leave it up to them.
That way noone is misled
Jenny
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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2008 19:33
Yeah that is exactly what I am going to say in my presentation this coming thursday. Got probably 20+ folks coming and I'm just going to lay it out straight the Pros and Cons.
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vikingfan
Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 86
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2008 19:53
Jenny,
I agree that's a good way to handle it. Being patient will pay off because interest in this program has absolutely exploded. It's a perfect time to be joining. Look, I feel bad complaining because ASD has been so extremely good to me financially. My friends and family are making crazy money as well...BUT I wish they could be a little more proactive with the customer service issues. It's not rocket science. Problems can be easily solved. For example, they post on the website that everyone should fax the W-9 form to the headquarters. 30,000 + NEW members all trying to fax the form around the same time!! Of course no one can get the fax to go through. Instead of ticking off thousands of new members just have them mail it until the fax system can handle the volume.
With that said, how many companies could handle this kind of explosive growth with ease? Not many!
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dillon o'shea
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paxkine
Member
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 32
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# Posted: 7 Jul 2008 22:32
good points vikingfan but I know I have 2 fax lines and an e-fax...I just don't understand why they don't do the same. Although I guess if they had 5 fax lines those would all be as busy as well 
I am surfing the site and use it but it would be hard to recommend to someone new because the way they operate puts them in the "shady" category. Things like not being able to cash out, waiting for weeks, etc. I have a site that I wanted to promote and it's been a week while they "approve it"
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Morelans
Member
Joined: 8 Jul 2008
Posts: 31
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 08:48
Greetings..
I am on day 20 of my ASD membership and so far I only have 3 in my downline. I am having the same issues stated here in this forum.. I am not having an easy time selling something that does not work when I try to show it or has extremely slow replies to urgent tickets put in.
I start work early in the morning so I get my surfing completed normally by 7:30am.. the site seems to be pretty peppy at that time.
However when I get home and try to give a show or speech concerning ASD- and I make the mistake of saying, "Look how easy it is" it never fails the page is either too busy or just plain will not come up. This has to be a traffic issue, like stated above, growing pains.
I find it is hard enough to get past the "Its a scam" opinions then to finally make some headway only to be greeted with "Page can not be displayed" - of course that takes them back to "See.. they (ASD) already closed up shop and took your money". There I sit.. red faced and angry that the page will not come up and defending the program etc.
I know there will be growing pains but there are companies out there specifically designed to load balance their servers and even maintain the servers. I do not see why this is taking so long. Having been a network administrator for over 20 years I sort of feel like the team working at ASD is not on the top of their game. This is not something they should even be dealing with for that matter, pay an outside company and save the labor cost. Plus an outside company has additional servers that can be put on line in a few hours instead of waiting days like the Spanish site. Not to mention redundant servers for maximum uptime, off site backups, and the list goes on.
Same for the fax.. I have not been able to get through and I have tried for the past 8 days in a row. I finally mailed it in and told my downline to do the same. I hope that method works.
My initial deposit from the Tampa show was also a small nightmare. I started with a check for $5000.00 and they put it in as $500.00! I put in a ticket under URGENT and I just got a reply yesterday!~!!! 14 days after their mistake! Thank god my sponsor apparently had some pull and called a number to get it fixed two weeks ago. However they did not fix my account Rebates as I had to surf with the lower amount for a few days. I would be extremely embarrassed if this was someone in my downline.
Since I am complaining.. one of my biggest possible clients took one look at the website and called the entire ASD meeting off. This friend is a very talented web designer that works for one of the largest advertisers in Florida. She took one look at the site and the splash sounds and said I was a fool for going in as the site looked like it was created to be a temporary portal to scam people out of money and wrap up in the middle of the night. She said the graphics and color scheme were horrible and she literally would not even let me explain anything else because of her "First Impression".
Last is the speculation of ASD longevity. I understand the methods being explained.. Meaning you want to multiply your add packs as much as possible by taking advantage of the shows or online matches as well as commissions etc. I feel I understand the risk.. but others want a "guarantee" or something that I can not give them. This is not a bank CD- this is purchasing advertising that is offering rebates in return for viewing their sites. Will it be here in 10 years??? WHO KNOWS.. am I going to do my best to get the most out of it while I can .. ABSOLUTELY and I would encourage everyone to do the same.
I am glad to see I am not the only one with these concerns.. Yes I have my money in and I am happy to be a member. Unfortunately I am more of a risk taker apparently than many of my friends as they are not able to get past one or more of the problems mentioned above. I sure hope I can prove all the negative people wrong with a nice big fat check to cover my initial deposit and continue bringing in a steady stream from ASD. However even more I hope that ASD takes the time to fix these problems that would allow us to expand ASD with new members who are confident they made the right decision. In my opinion.. they need to first fix ASD and use it as a model for the other sites. That is a real concern since they seem to have passed over ASD now in favor of working on the new projects like the Spanish site and other new sites coming on soon.
Sorry so long.. I have been hunting for an ASD forum and when I found this site all my concerns just sort of appeared here on paper.
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freebird658
Member
Joined: 11 Dec 2007
Posts: 112
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 18:51
I agree, with all of the website issues that continues to be frustrating, the ridiculously slow and sometimes non-existent support ticket system, the lack of automated payment options as well as dwindling payment options too and the repetitive excuses for it all, as well as all the new issues popping up like the slow website approval process etc, has cast a huge negative shadow on ASD's credibility in the eyes of new prospects as well as members who has been on the fence so to speak, trying to decide whether they want to risk putting their money into this.
I started with a lot less money than many of you here, mainly to test the program out and see if it is for real and other than rolling over my rebates I don't plan on risking anymore until I can feel confident that they will actually get their s**t together. I found out as soon as I tried to buy my ad package with Alertpay when I joined that this program had a LOT of issues but since I already paid and figured I wouldn't get my money back I stuck it out (it took a month and several phone calls to get credited), but had I waited and seen all this before I purchased..I wouldn't have because of all the red flags, and in fact I probably would have deleted my membership altogether.
Yes I am earning rebates now and I'm thrilled about that, although I can't help but have a gut feeling that this all may soon come crashing down. I certainly hope I'm wrong for everyones sake, but how long do you think it will be before all the high rollers start pulling out their money in fear of losing it because of all of these issues? If that happens then there is no way ASD could keep going.
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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 19:06
I think as long as their are Rallies in Various States (and they are planning for Rallies through 2009), the rebate program will stay intact. You can't have Rallies and NOT have an intact Rebate program. My opinion is that ASD is hoping the incredible membership growth will attract large Corporate Sponsors to jump in and keep the ship afloat before the burden of the Promotions, Bonuses, Commissions get too heavy over time. Their financial liability grows exponentially over time, but their membership growth and increased revenues monthly is what the "Sales Pitch" will be to the corporate sponsors...so we'll have to see how this pans out...
I go back to my Original Game Plan...Get your Principle "Seed Money" back within the next few months as these rallies are being held...then you can just let your profit money ride...
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hiseikon
Member
Joined: 16 Jun 2008
Posts: 17
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 19:28 � Edited by: hiseikon
Why wouldn't ASD work on resolving their issues first, before having more rallies and trying to recruit more members ??
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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 20:09
hiseikon: Why wouldn't ASD work on resolving their issues first, before having more rallies and trying to recruit more members ??
ASD is:
Adding another 48 phone lines
Hiring a Call Center to take overflow phone calls
Updating Fax system to allow it to accept 30 faxes incoming simultaneously
Looking for a THIRD buiding to expand into.
Enacted ACH this week for Cash Out Transactions
Unfortunately this all doesn't occur overnight...while they are growing by 1,000 members per day...
Boy I am beginning to sound like some ASD representative or something...they should pay me in Ad Packages to be their spokesman...
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vikingfan
Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 86
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 20:17
More rallies/members equals more money coming which in turn equals more money for us. I guess that's a positive spin on the poor customer service. Works for me.
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dillon o'shea
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bluedog24
Member
Joined: 26 May 2008
Posts: 62
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 20:25
Iggy, seriously, you should be working with ASD, lol.
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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2008 20:57
ASD can't afford me
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vikingfan
Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 86
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# Posted: 9 Jul 2008 14:25
I had a problem with my 600 bonus ad packages from the convention showing up in my acct. No response from the ticket system so I sent a letter priority mail and the 600 ad packages showed up the very next day. The best way to get things done fast is the USPS.
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dillon o'shea
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Louminous
Member
Joined: 9 Jul 2008
Posts: 20
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# Posted: 9 Jul 2008 21:03
Hello I'm new to ASD and very optimistic about the opportunity... yet very concerned as well about the impression of this company. I've worked in off-line advertising and marketing for over 10 yrs and the most important thing is peoples impressions of your product.
Has anyone ever considered that a reputable network or design company may not want to do business with ASD, thus they are keeping everything in house with inexperienced employees. After both experiencing and reading about all of your issues with the site and customer service I was just curious.
Also why doesn't ASD have a forum on there own site so questions and concerns can be addressed by those in the know. Maybe we should demand one, its us that actually make the company money isn't it.
Other than that I hope they get there business together soon and I greatly appreciate all the feedback from you guys this forum is very informative and I plan to be a regular viewer.
Thanks
Lou
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dbmaxx
Member
Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 53
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2008 11:32
I agree with all of these frustrations
I almost didn't join. After some deliberation -- I sent a bank wire yesterday and was nervous. I was relieved when it was credited to my account within about 20 minutes of my fax going through (my fax went through on the first try as well). Now I hope they fix the website cause it sure is slow and looks cheesy.
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vikingfan
Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Posts: 86
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2008 12:47
Let's all chip in a few bucks so ASD can hire some real IT people. Really because the $90,000,000 they are taking in PER MONTH doesn't seem to be enough.
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dillon o'shea
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lacy_amy
Member
Joined: 25 Feb 2008
Posts: 26
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2008 13:53
vikingfan-too funny!
I am having trouble with the websites I added still being in the waiting status....it has been over 4 days. Is this normal????
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Morelans
Member
Joined: 8 Jul 2008
Posts: 31
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2008 14:31
Good question.. I also added a few more sites and mine still say Waiting as well.. thought maybe I did something wrong.
I tried to change to ENABLE but it was not an option.
Shawn
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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2008 14:58
ASD is manually review and approving web sites now for Quality Assurance
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iggyigette
Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 483
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2008 15:00
I can create a Domain Name called : THEBESTASDFORUM.COM and foward it to this forum here. You guys want that?
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Investigator
Member
Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 33
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2008 06:12
iggyigette:
As an IT Professional you of all people should have done some research concerning their owning their own servers. What a joke! Every one of their sites are on one server that is located in Houston Texas.
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alar1967
Member
Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 4
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2008 06:18
How do you cash out?
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