Is Cathe off the hook?

[just push play]

nowadays it seems that if you criticize something or someone, you are viewed as being negative or as participating in bashing. It's the feel good syndrome.
I personally like to give and take constructive criticism. If we all sat around with rose-colored glasses on and turned our heads to obvious problems, be it with small things in life like videos or even bigger issues, then the chance for improvements to be made might never happen otherwise.
I am off to continue my great day.
Rebecca

[LynnO]

Well, this thread has veered all over the place, but I'd just like to point out that the customer service problems and lack of response started BEFORE the Hardcores. Many Cathe fans who didn't have issues responded like many here. That is until they also had problems that weren't resolved and treated rudely.

Everyone has varying levels of willingness to take chances on buying workouts. I'm very far to one end, I prefer to buy workouts at the store, I dislike buying on line. I also find ebay, half.com and many other sites way too much work. Even trading is something I do seldom now. I got to the end of buying the Robert Sherman dvds on DDD yesterday and decided I didn't want them to have my credit card info in perpetuity, so didn't finalize.

I do miss a whole lot of great workouts, because I won't buy directly from beachbody, cathe, ddd, tlp, firm derivatives and on and on and on. But, I have at least 100 workouts on tape and dvd and a spinning bike, plus the gardens I need to walk by on my lunchtime walk.

On other notes, Cathe does have unique weight work, but she hasn't put out an innovative workout in years. Donna Read's CIA 9701 and Franny B had workouts similar to Step Fit and PowerMax long before Cathe used the choreo, and in the last 5 years, the only interesting step workout has been Rhythmic Step, everything else can easily be substituted with some of the other stuff outthere.

I'm amused that people visit here to be offended. . We finally have some warm weather, the sky is impossibly blue and I intend to enjoy my day in full. I'll work, garden and read with my daughter, plus a nice hour long, hot walk at lunch time.

[paidhi]

As one of those customers who was treated poorly by Cathe's customer service, my perspective of Cathe has definitely been affected. The HardCore DVDs are sitting on my shelf gathering dust because I cannot hear the music properly on some of them, despite having surround sound and stereo speakers and everything else SNM said to do. Until recently, I found that I could not bring myself do any Cathe workout (although I enjoy the Intensity and Body Blast series) because I would start to think about how I was treated and become angry. Now, whenever I do a Cathe workout, my enjoyment of the workout is tempered by these feelings. So Cathe is definitely not off the hook with me and I will definitely not be pre-ordering anything from her again.

Lisa

[Debbie S.]

Originally Posted by just push play

nowadays it seems that if you criticize something or someone, you are viewed as being negative or as participating in bashing. It's the feel good syndrome.
I personally like to give and take constructive criticism. If we all sat around with rose-colored glasses on and turned our heads to obvious problems, be it with small things in life like videos or even bigger issues, then the chance for improvements to be made might never happen otherwise.
I am off to continue my great day.
Rebecca

It really seems that a small number of hardcore Cathe fans are having a hard time dealing with the fact that Cathe no longer is put on a pedestal here at VF. She/her company lost that status before the HC problems. What makes a company really good is how they handle problems when they arise. Chris has done a crappy job handling problems!

God forbid if we voice any constructive criticism that are legitimate concerns. I never thought I would be critical of an instructor who I CHOOSE to hand money over to, and who I choose to keep in my collection, but the way they handled this situation, and the series that they told a lot of people to go out and buy a new DVD player, really has soured me on SNM.

[Mollie F.]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

It really seems that a small number of hardcore Cathe fans are having a hard time dealing with the fact that Cathe no longer is put on a pedestal here at VF. She/her company lost that status before the HC problems. What makes a company really good is how they handle problems when they arise. Chris has done a crappy job handling problems!

God forbid if we voice any constructive criticism that are legitimate concerns. I never thought I would be critical of an instructor who I CHOOSE to hand money over to, and who I choose to keep in my collection, but the way they handled this situation, and the series that they told a lot of people to go out and buy a new DVD player, really has soured me on SNM.

I tend to wonder what those hardcore fans have at stake that they cannot bear the idea that someone disagrees with them, even someone on a forum that they profess not to read because they can't stand the opinions expressed there. It just seems odd to me. As a wise VFer once wrote, "They're only exercise videos!" Obviously, they are much more than that for some people.

[Mindi]

Originally Posted by Mollie F.

I tend to wonder what those hardcore fans have at stake that they cannot bear the idea that someone disagrees with them, even someone on a forum that they profess not to read because they can't stand the opinions expressed there. It just seems odd to me. As a wise VFer once wrote, "They're only exercise videos!" Obviously, they are much more than that for some people.

Jewels? Cars? Furs? Exotic trips?

[fab40's]

that she evokes this much conversation! Whenever I come here and see a Cathe thread, there is usually 40 to 100 replies. She has a fan base, maybe a recently disappointed one, but she is definitely popular with the advanced crowd.

[SharonNYC]

Originally Posted by mmis29

I hate to admit it, but I kind of agree with Conni. There's a lot of negativity here lately.

Reeaaallly? In what way?

[Annie S.]

Originally Posted by Conni

Jump on me all you want, but why have threads for no other reason than to bash people? This is the only forum I know that loves to hate Cathe. I come over here every now and then just to see who posts a Cathe thread,

There's another thread going on right now about how people are looking forward to a new Cathe release and what kind of workouts they would like from her. This board isn't slanted one way or the other -- for everyone who doesn't care for Cathe and/or her customer service, you'll find one or more others who adore her. In fact, I could probably say the same about pretty much any instructor.

[Vintage VFer]

Originally Posted by SharonNYC

Reeaaallly? In what way?

Sharon, it's those "mean VFers" that make it negative here. They are like hemorrhoids. They are always there, just waiting for a Cathe thread in order to flare up and cause an uncomfortable burning and itching!