Painful---Here comes the feedback...

pizzatyme · Post by **pizzatyme** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 1:23 am

Glenn, not much they can say right now. You know they are going to work like hell to make improvements.

They are under massive pressure to get this going and soon.

They know it had issues. They will make it right.

I am as frustrated as the next as I saw this coming. Too much too soon IMO. But, a mob chasing them on the MB will do no good for new signups.

I am in a draft this Sunday and hopefully there will be improvements that I can speak about next Monday.

I know those who are doing online drafts are antsy, but there is still plenty of time until the ME to get this right.

Now, in the interim, I'd like to suggest that these guinea pig leagues get a kick to the prize pool to compensate for their "efforts".

cdavault · Post by **cdavault** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 1:41 am

Originally posted by Just Russ:
Glenn, not much they can say right now. You know they are going to work like hell to make improvements.

They are under massive pressure to get this going and soon.

They know it had issues. They will make it right.

I am as frustrated as the next as I saw this coming. Too much too soon IMO. But, a mob chasing them on the MB will do no good for new signups.

I am in a draft this Sunday and hopefully there will be improvements that I can speak about next Monday.

I know those who are doing online drafts are antsy, but there is still plenty of time until the ME to get this right.

Now, in the interim, I'd like to suggest that these guinea pig leagues get a kick to the prize pool to compensate for their "efforts". it is really the obvious things that got me frustrated. the first thing that should have been corrected in the "testing" was the font size. one look and you can tell it is way too small. Also, when picks are rolling in how are you supposed to keep track of the draft when you have to leave the menu you are on just to see who is picked?

[ August 05, 2010, 07:42 AM: Message edited by: Popcorn Maker ]

Coltsfan · Post by **Coltsfan** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:10 am

Greg and Tom,

I think I made the initial post with suggestions for the draft room and I didn't want to get anything started so I complimented the look (the color scheme does look very nice) and made a few suggestions. I knew the font was small but I didn't think it was that bad. But after I started seeing the posts, I realized my laptop is hooded up to a 23" screen and it's pretty small on this screen. I took it off the monitor and tried it on my 13" laptop screen and wow was it small.

Here's the problem as I see it. Everybody here likes and respects you guys. But at what point in time do we have to stop handing the NFFC a "free pass?" We have plenty of time in the slow draft to make picks and find information. We are in the process of putting together an email list so that we can let each other know who is up and who has been taken. (Email notifications of picks on a slow draft should be a VERY basic option.) We can make it work. But this draft site is so far behind your competitors and it's not even close. I'm so thankful I wasn't in Jules DC last night. I went looking for players this morning so I turned to the kicker page and the first guy I looked for was Shayne Graham and he wasn't there. WOW I saw the list of kickers was short and realized that there are a number of them missing.

I have found myself playing in more leagues elsewhere this year and honestly regretting having signed up for the 3 pack of the onlinE championship. If the functionality of the draft room was the only problem then I wouldn't be making this post. It's almost as if somebody had written a playbook on how NOT to do a merger (nffc and fanball) then this would be example A.

I hope for you guys that this ship gets turned around soon. I see very few signups in Chicago this year and it worries me that we will be losing the synergy that we normally experience. I don't want to pile on here but I'm just expressing what I have been feeling for several months. Best of luck.

Wayne

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:22 am

Originally posted by GK:
...can we PLEASE hear SOMETHING from The Powers That Be?...thanks much...GK Glenn, I don't qualify for that esteemed level of importance but we are here and we are aware of what happened last night. As always, we listen to the comments, criticisms and suggestions our participants provide.

However, I do think it's important to take into account that we had a $125 satellite league last night that went extremely well after one problem early on. We also have a slow draft going right now that has not had any major issues that I am aware of. With all due respect to Billy, how those leagues function does matter. While I am in no way diminishing the respect afforded to the participants in the Gamers League, all of our leagues carry equal weight in our eyes.

The $125 league went well and when I asked for comments about the site from those who took part they were positive. We had two people sign up for future leagues immediately after the draft had ended. If the draft site was a disaster, why would people who have already used it sign up for more leagues with it? I think we can safely conclude that not everyone who used the draft site last night had a horrible experience.

I'm not in any way diminishing the issues the Gamers League had. From talking to Geoff, it sounds like the system was working. I know that when I was in the room early in the draft I was able to provide answers to some of the questions I was seeing. The primary issue that we had was we did not have the administrative tools in place that we needed which resulted in lengthy delays and so forth. Those tools hopefully will be in place starting on Sunday for the two Onlines and the $125 league. If so, that should help make the process work more smoothly going forward.

Greg and I are sorry that the Gamers did not have a positive experience and if people make decisions based on what they're reading in this thread there's nothing we can do. Hopefully people will try out Draft Practice.com to familiarize themselves with how the draft room is set up. Having used that site personally more than a dozen times in the last two weeks I believe that will help people who may be unsure about how it will all work and alleviate any concerns they may have.

As always, Greg and I are available if people wish to speak with us directly.

BLACKHAND · Post by **BLACKHAND** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:34 am

greg and tom has all the respect in the world. BUT..as an owner of a biz myself i could not just sit back. greg , its time to call the chief and have an hour of questions and answers.

[/IMG]

come in ryan , please come in.

cdavault · Post by **cdavault** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:35 am

Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:
quote:Originally posted by GK:
...can we PLEASE hear SOMETHING from The Powers That Be?...thanks much...GK Glenn, I don't qualify for that esteemed level of importance but we are here and we are aware of what happened last night. As always, we listen to the comments, criticisms and suggestions our participants provide.

However, I do think it's important to take into account that we had a $125 satellite league last night that went extremely well after one problem early on. We also have a slow draft going right now that has not had any major issues that I am aware of. With all due respect to Billy, how those leagues function does matter. While I am in no way diminishing the respect afforded to the participants in the Gamers League, all of our leagues carry equal weight in our eyes.

The $125 league went well and when I asked for comments about the site from those who took part they were positive. We had two people sign up for future leagues immediately after the draft had ended. If the draft site was a disaster, why would people who have already used it sign up for more leagues with it? I think we can safely conclude that not everyone who used the draft site last night had a horrible experience.

I'm not in any way diminishing the issues the Gamers League had. From talking to Geoff, it sounds like the system was working. I know that when I was in the room early in the draft I was able to provide answers to some of the questions I was seeing. The primary issue that we had was we did not have the administrative tools in place that we needed which resulted in lengthy delays and so forth. Those tools hopefully will be in place starting on Sunday for the two Onlines and the $125 league. If so, that should help make the process work more smoothly going forward.

Greg and I are sorry that the Gamers did not have a positive experience and if people make decisions based on what they're reading in this thread there's nothing we can do. Hopefully people will try out Draft Practice.com to familiarize themselves with how the draft room is set up. Having used that site personally more than a dozen times in the last two weeks I believe that will help people who may be unsure about how it will all work and alleviate any concerns they may have.

As always, Greg and I are available if people wish to speak with us directly. [/QUOTE]it is not about the familiarization of the draft room. it is about how user-friendly it is. It is probably safe to assume that we are familiar with the system after spending 4.5 hours on it last night. and there is way too much navigation needed to not only enjoy the experience but also draft well. I highly doubt that we are the only ones that have this issue with the level of disaster it was. Several reasons for this could be A. they did not speak up. B. they do not know any better (all the competitors are better than this by a large margin). C. their complaints were ignored.

boutrous11 · Post by **boutrous11** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:37 am

Tom, for the slow draft we're in the middle of now, what about players that aren't in the database?

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:40 am

Originally posted by Coltsfan:
Greg and Tom,

I think I made the initial post with suggestions for the draft room and I didn't want to get anything started so I complimented the look (the color scheme does look very nice) and made a few suggestions. I knew the font was small but I didn't think it was that bad. But after I started seeing the posts, I realized my laptop is hooded up to a 23" screen and it's pretty small on this screen. I took it off the monitor and tried it on my 13" laptop screen and wow was it small.

Here's the problem as I see it. Everybody here likes and respects you guys. But at what point in time do we have to stop handing the NFFC a "free pass?" We have plenty of time in the slow draft to make picks and find information. We are in the process of putting together an email list so that we can let each other know who is up and who has been taken. (Email notifications of picks on a slow draft should be a VERY basic option.) We can make it work. But this draft site is so far behind your competitors and it's not even close. I'm so thankful I wasn't in Jules DC last night. I went looking for players this morning so I turned to the kicker page and the first guy I looked for was Shayne Graham and he wasn't there. WOW I saw the list of kickers was short and realized that there are a number of them missing.

I have found myself playing in more leagues elsewhere this year and honestly regretting having signed up for the 3 pack of the onlinE championship. If the functionality of the draft room was the only problem then I wouldn't be making this post. It's almost as if somebody had written a playbook on how NOT to do a merger (nffc and fanball) then this would be example A.

I hope for you guys that this ship gets turned around soon. I see very few signups in Chicago this year and it worries me that we will be losing the synergy that we normally experience. I don't want to pile on here but I'm just expressing what I have been feeling for several months. Best of luck.

Wayne Wayne, I appreciate the post. The NFFC doesn't deserve a free pass from anyone. Either we live up to the standards you've expected from us in the past or you move to the competition. It's as easy as that. I don't want anyone spending their money with the NFFC because they had a good experience in the past. I want them to play with us because they expect a GREAT experience this year and KNOW they are going to get paid when they win. Plain and simple.

I don't want any part of the NFFC to fail this year. I want it all to work perfectly and be even better than the first six years. That's the standard Tom and I have set for ourselves. Folks know I'll do all I can to get things done right. Now it's time to prove it or we'll lose great customers like you and others from the Gamers League.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:41 am

Originally posted by Popcorn Maker:
I highly doubt that we are the only ones that have this issue with the level of disaster it was. Several reasons for this could be A. they did not speak up. B. they do not know any better (all the competitors are better than this by a large margin). C. their complaints were ignored. To address your points.

1. As I said, we are not diminishing the problems that you had in the Gamers League. We are very sorry the experience wasn't what you hoped. That said, I can only go by what I have personally observed and it is a fact that the $125 league went smoothly after one issue early on. That is a very important aspect of this discussion that in my opinion should not be ignored or overlooked.

2. That league was comprised of several NFFC veterans. With all due respect, it's rather insulting to say that anyone in that league is somehow inferior to those in another league.

3. Now that's insulting to me. Nothing was ignored. I asked for comments about the site and they were positive. There were some improvements suggested but none were expressed in a negative fashion. And once again, two of the people who were in that league signed up for future leagues immediately after the draft had ended. So it's safe to say they did not have a horrible experience last night.

The bottom line here is we had one draft that went badly and one draft that went well. What we have to do is look at the reasons why each occurred and then move forward.

[ August 05, 2010, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]