Spotted this on Twitter earlier. Just... wow.
Exchange of emails between gamer, prickish PR dickbag, and Penny Arcade's Gabe
To summarize: Gamer named Dave pre-ordered some PS3 controllers (apparently ones that are designed to be more accessible/usable by disabled gamers) from a company called Ocean Marketing. Due to circumstances beyond OM's control, their shipment got delayed. However, they did not inform their paying customers of this. Dave sent an email to OM asking what was up, and when could they expect their merchandise to be shipped.
What followed was a series of emails between Dave and OM's PR person, who is apparently named Paul. Paul responded to Dave's emails in a manner that was far from professional, and seemed at times childish, condescending, and rude. (Not to mention getting Dave's name wrong at one point.)
Dave ended up emailing the exchange to Mike "Gabe" Krahulik from Penny Arcade, who was appropriately appalled and informed Dave (while including PR Paul on the email) that they were going to be cancelling Ocean Marketing's booth at PAX East. PR Paul proceeded to try to blow this off-- even claiming, more or less, that money talks, and they would get a booth if they wanted one-- and demanded to know who Mike was.
And when Gabe informed him that PAX was his show, PR Paul tried again to pass this off like it was nothing-- name-dropping other sites and shows along the way-- and asked who Gabe was again. When Gabe told him he ran Penny Arcade, PR Paul professes to be a fan, and when Gabe informed him that Ocean Marketing would be "featured" on Penny Arcade tomorrow (i.e., today-- the emails were from yesterday), PR Paul claimed to love the PR this would bring.
PR Paul, when Gabe refused to back down, then threatened to get the "125 dedicated people" he has to do PR, Blogs, Articles, Videos, etc. to smear Penny Arcade.
Just... wow.
But wait! There's more. IT GETS BETTER.
Reddit busts Ocean Marketing's website
Apparently large portions of Ocean Marketing's site are plagiarized. More than that, PR Paul claims to be a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, but when Reddit contacted him to try to confirm this, PR Paul was confused and unsure what they meant. And when confronted about the site being plagiarized, he hung up.
Just... wow.
I've never bought anything from Ocean Marketing, but after seeing all of this, they're never getting a dime from me.
ETA: WOW. Apparently PR Paul is Paul Cristoforo, and is actually the man RUNNING Ocean Marketing. More to the point, IGN, Kotaku, and other sites that he name-dropped in the email exchange with Dave and Gabe have all been quick to disassociate themselves with him and his company.
ETA #2: And apparently David Kotkin, the man who invented the Avenger controller in the first place-- a teacher who developed the controller for a student of his with a physical disability in his hands-- has fired PR Paul. Paul's unprofessional behavior was apparently the last straw in an already strained relationship.
Exchange of emails between gamer, prickish PR dickbag, and Penny Arcade's Gabe
To summarize: Gamer named Dave pre-ordered some PS3 controllers (apparently ones that are designed to be more accessible/usable by disabled gamers) from a company called Ocean Marketing. Due to circumstances beyond OM's control, their shipment got delayed. However, they did not inform their paying customers of this. Dave sent an email to OM asking what was up, and when could they expect their merchandise to be shipped.
What followed was a series of emails between Dave and OM's PR person, who is apparently named Paul. Paul responded to Dave's emails in a manner that was far from professional, and seemed at times childish, condescending, and rude. (Not to mention getting Dave's name wrong at one point.)
Dave ended up emailing the exchange to Mike "Gabe" Krahulik from Penny Arcade, who was appropriately appalled and informed Dave (while including PR Paul on the email) that they were going to be cancelling Ocean Marketing's booth at PAX East. PR Paul proceeded to try to blow this off-- even claiming, more or less, that money talks, and they would get a booth if they wanted one-- and demanded to know who Mike was.
And when Gabe informed him that PAX was his show, PR Paul tried again to pass this off like it was nothing-- name-dropping other sites and shows along the way-- and asked who Gabe was again. When Gabe told him he ran Penny Arcade, PR Paul professes to be a fan, and when Gabe informed him that Ocean Marketing would be "featured" on Penny Arcade tomorrow (i.e., today-- the emails were from yesterday), PR Paul claimed to love the PR this would bring.
PR Paul, when Gabe refused to back down, then threatened to get the "125 dedicated people" he has to do PR, Blogs, Articles, Videos, etc. to smear Penny Arcade.
Just... wow.
But wait! There's more. IT GETS BETTER.
Reddit busts Ocean Marketing's website
Apparently large portions of Ocean Marketing's site are plagiarized. More than that, PR Paul claims to be a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, but when Reddit contacted him to try to confirm this, PR Paul was confused and unsure what they meant. And when confronted about the site being plagiarized, he hung up.
Just... wow.
I've never bought anything from Ocean Marketing, but after seeing all of this, they're never getting a dime from me.
ETA: WOW. Apparently PR Paul is Paul Cristoforo, and is actually the man RUNNING Ocean Marketing. More to the point, IGN, Kotaku, and other sites that he name-dropped in the email exchange with Dave and Gabe have all been quick to disassociate themselves with him and his company.
ETA #2: And apparently David Kotkin, the man who invented the Avenger controller in the first place-- a teacher who developed the controller for a student of his with a physical disability in his hands-- has fired PR Paul. Paul's unprofessional behavior was apparently the last straw in an already strained relationship.
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