Keith Strohm's page

Just as I expected this pre-order was a disaster. There is no excuse for stores to be getting the book before the majority of pre-order customers. Once you saw how fast you were getting pre-orders in last month you should have notified the printer that the first shipment of x copies goes to you first and no one else. This was my first pre-order purchase from you as well as my first purchase from your online store other than subscriptions. This will also be my last.

In regards to Paizo's shipping of Shackled City preorders, Brian (and others) have expressed legitimate frustration regarding the arrival of the book, and I wanted to take a few moments to respond officially.

Coordinating the shipping and delivery of product so that it is available through multiple channels at the same time is a fairly complex undertaking. Add in to that the vagaries of shipping delivery schedules (and the U.S. Post Office), and it becomes even trickier. That being said, many companies (both smaller and larger than Paizo) manage to do it with every release.

The fact of the matter is--we made a mistake. We underestimated the volume of pre-orders that would come in during the final weeks of pre-sale, and when those numbers came in higher than what we had quick-shipped to us, we relied on average shipping times from our vendor to arrive at the conclusion that we didn't need to quick ship any additional product. Based on our calculations, the remaining preorder products which were being regularly shipped should have arrived in time to get everyone's preorder out.

That didn't happen.

And believe me when I say that we were very frustrated in the office. We sent frantic emails and calls to our print vendor's shipping department, trying to track the progress of our shipment.

The bottom line is, however, that many preorders didn't reach customers on the release date. At Paizo, we strive to create high quality products and offer the best service that we can to our customers. We fell short of the service mark on the Shackled City Preorder and are deeply apologetic.

On a personal note, I understand that there may be some of you who won't preorder anything else from Paizo because of this situation. That kind of reponse makes complete sense given your experience with this pre-order. However, I would ask that you give Paizo another opportunity to deliver world class customer service. Looking back at the history of our company, one thing that we have committed to doing is learning from every success--and every failure. Now that we have analyzed the breakdown that occurred on the Shackled City Preorder, we will make sure that it doesn't happen again.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to call me (425) 289-1344 or email me at keith@paizo.com. Once again, we apologize for the delay in getting our preorders out to everyone in time for yesterday's release.

Keith Strohm
Chief Operating Officer
Paizo Publishing, LLC

All,

In order to provide a higher level of customer service, Paizo has just hired a new Customer Service Representative. Our newest employee has just started this very afternoon, but will be diving in to make sure all customer service issues are handled swiftly and professionally.

We apologize if you have experienced a delay in customer service response. With our new hire, I expect that we will be back on track very shortly.

Thanks again,

Keith Strohm
Chief Operating Officer
Paizo Publishing, LLC

All,

Given our orders from the distribution channel, it is quite possible that the demand for the Shackled City Adventure Path book will outstrip what is available at retail, which means that there is a good chance you will not be able to get a copy of the Shackled City book from your local retailer when it releases.

We know many folks like to support their local game stores, and so we have made a downloadable pre-order form available to you. Just download the preorder form, fill it out, and give it to your local retailer. This insures that you will receive a copy of the book when it releases, and it helps your full line game store.

Download the preorder form as a
76KB PDF or 52KB .zip.

And make sure you spread the word. The last thing we want is hordes of fans frustrated because they can't get their Shackled City book right away. We will have copies in stock, but it could take some time to get those extra copies from our warehouse, to the distributors, and then to your retailer.

Thanks,

Keith Strohm
Chief Operating Officer
Paizo Publishing, LLC

All,

We here at Paizo are very excited about the release of our Dungeon Classics: Shackled City Adventure Path Campaign book. Like with many new products, it's possible that your local retailer may not have heard about the release and therefore hasn't ordered it from their distributor.

Many folks want to support their local full line game store, and one of the best ways to do that is to let them know that you are interested in buying a particular release. Generally, if a store knows that you are interested, they will order the product and make a sale.

One of the best ways to help insure that Paizo releases future compilation products is to pick up a copy of the book.

So, in an attempt to create a winning situation for everyone (paizo, retailers, and, most importantly, you), we're providing a full color flyer with details of the upcoming Dungeon and Dragon compilation products specifically for game store owners.

Nowadays, it's not simply enough to send in solicitations through our distributors, we also need our readers and fans who are interested in our products to let their retailers know about them. You can print out the flyer or send it to them via email. Either way, express your interest and help your retailer know that it will e worth his while to order the product for you.

You can take a look at and download the flyer at:

• Low resolution: 608KB
  PDF or 472KB .zip file
• High resolution: 10.6MB PDF or 10.5MB .zip file

In the very near future, Paizo will also be posting a printer-friendly pdf Pre-order Form for download. Folks interested in preordering one of our products can print out the form and take it in to their retailer.

I am very excited about the way the Dungeon Classics: Shackled City book is shaping up--and I'm confident that you all will be pleased wit it as well.

Good gaming,

Keith Strohm
Chief Operating Officer
Paizo Publishing, LLC

To All European Subscribers;

First off, let me offer you, without reservation, our sincere apologies regarding the problems you have been experiencing with your subscriptions. As Jeremy Walker mentioned in an earlier post, we have been working for several weeks to analyze and fix the issues that have plagued our European subscribers. In examining the breakdown in our subscription service, we discovered a number of areas where we simply dropped the ball.

Although it has taken us longer than we wanted, we have created processes to insure that such breaks in service do not happen again, and we will be working very hard to regain your trust in the coming weeks and months. As our way of letting you know how much we value your continued business, we will be providing those of you who experienced an interruption in service with a subscription extension. A letter detailing this extension will accompany a package containing any issues you may have missed.

Issue 119 of Dungeon will be sent out in the post to all international subscribers Friday, January 14th. All missed issues will be mailed out from the U.K. by the end of the day on Monday, January 17th.

Again, we apologize deeply for the problems you have experienced. Paizo is committed to providing you with magazines and quality customer service that enhance your game experience. It is clear we have not lived up to that commitment in the recent past. Please accept this note as our pledge to do so moving forward.

We are looking forward to a smoother 2005!

Keith Strohm
COO & Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC

Just a shameless plug to let you all know that I've got some Planescape Items up for Auction on E-Bay. My good friends Monte Cook and Bruce Cordell will also be happy to sign and personalize any items that they are credited for.

Thanks,

Keith F. Strohm