Butterfly Marketing - Not a Good Experience

I'm torn. Should I make this post?

Sure. Why not?

I heard Mike Filsaime speak on Butterfly Marketing at two conferences last year and the process impressed me - even excited me.

It's simple. Visit one of his sites, pay attention and you'll get the idea.

It works.

I really didn't need to spend $1000 to learn what he's up to. The 'how to' portion wasn't what I was after and frankly, good thing, because the how-to of the program is a not-so-well written 'manuscript', your standard six recorded phone calls with various experts, and some photocopied versions of products he either gives away or sell cheap someplace else.

The reason I bought this package was for the software Mike had supposedly been using to build his sites.

Butterfly Marketing was really a mess from day one. That's my take. Delivery was delayed for weeks, a less than believable excuse offered up to buy time - if you ask me.

Once the package did arrive, the software didn't work as advertised.

Communication was abysmal.

Customers threatened in the open and private.

Without a doubt, the worst customer experience I think I've ever had. Ever. Unbelievable really.

So, I jumped into a little thread today that resulted in the following discussion board chit chat. Followed by a PM from Filsaime's VP of Operations, Tom Beal, whom I had PM'd directly to express my dissatisfaction with things being in the order they are and Tom making a rah-rah post about how Mike was "bigger than the Oscars" in LA. I said, "Why's Mike out touring the world when things aren't working here?" Unfortunately, I don't have the full exchange between Tom and I.

Here's the last message I received from Tom before I was cancelled and refunded.


From: tombeal
To:
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2006 2:56 pm
Subject: Re: Are you kidding? Quote message

You never answered my last question?

Are you on the team or do you desire a refund?

I just deleted another negative post by you and am
ready to delete you from the entire BM program.

To answer your question about Mike getting his ass
kicked in the Marine Corps...

NO..you would have gotten yours kicked.

Are we clear?

Tom


-------------------

Wow, huh?

Just to be clear, I didn't know Mike was a Marine or in the service, period. So there was no question regarding Mike, specifically, getting his ass kicked in the Marines.

Here's the discussion thread containing my 'negative post'. I think you'll get the general idea about the customer satisfaction level with this exchange. I'll remove names to protect the innocent.

I'm picking up, mid thread . . .

===================================================

Mike A., you spin it very well, but non-communication
in the midst of problems is never a good thing.

However, it's something I see over and over in
membership sites.

B.

===================================================

Version 1.5 has just been released. Please check at the
script site, download it and test it asap so that
everyone knows that it is a working version.

Someone should let us know that the script is out and
not for having us to check it every second about the
new script as what had happen to me. Since yesterday, I
was checking the script page every single hour until
now.

Good luck everyone with the new script and hopefully it
is a at least a working version for us to launch our
new website.

===================================================

B.,

I appreciate your comment, but there is no "spin". It's
just that I tell it the way I see it. No different than
the complainers tell it the way THEY see it.

Different sides of the same coin. My glass is half
full...

Mike

===================================================

People who see communication as a good and positive
thing are complainers? Because that's all the folks
above are asking for...

B.

===================================================


======================== [quote from prior post]
=You guys are getting a first-hand look at why
=Microsoft distributes "beta" copies of their new
=operating system software for 18 months before it's
=released, and why their product feature lists shrink
=so darned much between their initial product
=announcements and when the package finally DOES ship.
========================

I already knew this but I *thought* Mike did beta
testing. Remember all the ads saying "sites like this"
but they were made with multiple scripts.

I do wish people would actually compare this to
something on the same scale and stop using MS.

G.

===================================================

[Here's My Negative Post - Pretty Bad, Huh? LOL
This Was It - I Didn't Even Respond to Tom's PM -
He Just Cancelled Me]

It's quite peculiar that I don't recall the word "beta"
anywhere in any sales letter I read. Of course, I was
probably looking at the half-empty glass next to that
pile of affiliate checks on my desk.


===================================================

So now that I have voiced a concern Mike A. calls me a
"complainer". Good customer relation skills Mike A. I
am sure Mike F. will say "Don't worry we don't need
him" for a customer we have 1499 others.

Maybe you should be a little more diplomatic or maybe
Mike F. should have a real PR person to handle his
customers.

===================================================

So, clearly Mike has read The Prince by Machiavelli and he believes he IS the Prince. I'm not sure I've seen an ego overinflate this fast since James Cameron pronounced himself "King of the World" at the Oscars and was never heard from again.

I'm glad to have my money back and happy to be done with the mess.

I quickly found - and bought - John Delavera's JV Manager which does pretty much everything Mike's script does - for less money and superior documentation - and best of all.

It works!