WPCoder – Stay Away If You Are Using Them for Real Clients

[swenson_designs]

If you enjoy working with unprofessional kids who have no sense of professionalism nor the faintest idea of what deadlines are and mean then this is a "company" for you!

Oh, not to mention vulgar status updates directed toward a PAYING client on a popular social networking site. That just makes the icing on the cake.

These folks better step up their business if they care to be around for any length of time.

Just a fair warning. They are horrible!

*on a positive note, if you don’t care when you have your site up — I highly recommend wpcoder

[TheDoc]

I recognize the site, but not sure from where.

Hopefully nobody on the forum, but I guess if it is it’ll give them a solid opportunity to clear things up.

[swenson_designs]

"TheDoc" wrote:

I recognize the site, but not sure from where.

Hopefully nobody on the forum, but I guess if it is it’ll give them a solid opportunity to clear things up.

Hey Doc,

Chris did a review of the site not too long ago. Unfortunately, I tried them and was very unhappy.

http://www.wpcoder.com/ is the site URL. Looks pretty, but poor business ethics powers that site.

[Chris Coyier]

Just for the record, I stand behind my review as an accurate portrayal of my experience with them.

Of course you are entitled to your own opinion, but it reads as rather slanderous as it is, since it includes no real detail. Did they promise you a deadline? How far past said deadline was it? How was the final product? Do you have links or screenshots of the vulgar status updates?

[swenson_designs]

"chriscoyier" wrote:

Just for the record, I stand behind my review as an accurate portrayal of my experience with them.

Of course you are entitled to your own opinion, but it reads as rather slanderous as it is, since it includes no real detail. Did they promise you a deadline? How far past said deadline was it? How was the final product? Do you have links or screenshots of the vulgar status updates?

Hey Chris, thanks for the reply. I’m glad you stand by your review and you should. It was your experience that the review was based off of. Now, if I were to write a review on them it would be slightly different, to say the least.

After reading Chris’ solid review, I contacted WPCoder via their website and through their contact form. Shortly after, I was IM’d on AIM from a developer who graciously answered all my questions (a sure fire way to build a relationship and get my business, personal opinion there.) Anyhow, a few days later (July 23, July 24) we agreed upon a completion date of Aug. 3, 2009. I had a pretty big project for a wordpress based site. BUT I was promised by WPCoder Aug. 3 so I sent off the deposit. On Aug 3 I contacted them via their client section asking when I should be expecting the test site up for my inspection. I received a message back that stated: "I’m gonna try and get it all up tonight, but it looks like I’ll only have 3/4 pages done today since I’ve had a situation come up and haven’t had as much dev. time as I needed, so the complete day is looking closer to the 5th."

To which I replied: "I hate to sound like a prick about this but the deadline was set for today. I have a client who is expecting it up and complete today (8/3/09). I was not informed about your situation that came up–notification could have been sent to me earlier then on today which is the agreed upon deadline.

There is quite a bit of money involved here and I will not take this lightly. I also will not try to explain to my client that the deadline has to be moved. If I know a project is due by a certain day I have it finished for them on that day.

Let me know what you can do to get this complete today. I am beginning to feel uneasy about this company and I would hope as good business people you will do everything you can to reassure a new customer.

I’ll expect the final product no later then 8PM CST. Thank you"

To which they replied: "There’s no way for me to complete this project by then. When I agreed to the project I specified that I’d try to be done by the 3rd, but the 5th at the latest (incase something happens, like it did).

If you’re going to cancel the project please let me know so that I can halt working and get you the files as of now."

To which I replied: "There was NO communications to me (your customer) that indicated that you would "try to have it done by the Aug. 3rd but the 5th at the latest." I was NEVER presented that information.

I don’t understand how deadlines can be fluid when they were agreed upon two weeks ago. I’ve had several projects lined up for this company but will rethink that decision.

I cannot cancel the project now. Unfortuntally, it’s too late for that. I will expect to be compensated for this. I fulfilled my end of this transaction with proper communication and actions. I gave the deposit under the conditions that the project would be complete today (08/03/09). For that, I will be just paying $400.00 for this project (the deposit) in total. I do not see how this company can justify me paying the entire cost when the crucial deadline was not met and no communication was sent to inform me that the deadline needed to be set back.

I’ll be speaking with Mike about this as well.

There will be NO EXCUSES for the project not to be accessible to me on Aug. 5, 2009 by NOON Central Time."

Well, as you can begin to see there was a bit of a back and forth exchange of conversation going on. So, I had enough and contacted one of the managers directly as it was Aug. 3 and still no test site for me to review. Well, my contacting one of the manages lead me to the other manager and he was upset for me contacting him. I began to save ALL communications that occurred via AIM at this point. I would copy and paste it on this but there is ALOT of text so, if you are interested please contact me and I’ll send you the the .doc file. In those AIM conversation is where it got even more unbelievable…

As this post’s title reads: "WPCoder – Stay Away If You Are Using Them for Real Clients" it’s true, WPCoder may produce a product in the end that is more then satisfactory (you can check out the site I had done here: http://www.bigfootcanoerental.com/) but not completing a service on a promised deadline is not a service I would recommend for real clients who are paying with real money. If you have a project that a deadline doesn’t matter…then by all means I suggest WPCoder.

The real point I’m trying to make here is WPCoder says they guarantee satisfaction but when I was forceful and persistent they retaliated back in such an unprofessional manner and a way I would NEVER think to speak to a PAYING client.

The twitter page of one of the developers who worked on the site here’s the link: http://twitter.com/FireG
(I also have screen shots if it’s changed between now and when you read this post)

I’m not trying to slander or just plain B@#$% about something here. I just want to make sure all available information is out their to potential WPCoder clients. I think it’s only fair to know as much as you can before you hand over that hard earned cash.

If you have further questions, please feel free to ask. I have no problems clarifying. Thanks guys!

[swenson_designs]

I forgot to mention that the site was not complete until yesterday (Aug 9, 2009)

[Chris Coyier]

Thanks for the details. Most of this sounds like a miscommunication (they thought they were giving you a loose time estimate, you thought you were getting a hard deadline). Unprofessional communication is another matter though. How did you track down the developers twitter account? Or was that shared with you as a way to communicate on the project?

[swenson_designs]

"chriscoyier" wrote:

Thanks for the details. Most of this sounds like a miscommunication (they thought they were giving you a loose time estimate, you thought you were getting a hard deadline). Unprofessional communication is another matter though. How did you track down the developers twitter account? Or was that shared with you as a way to communicate on the project?

Chris, you are exactly right this was a communication error and the way they "cleared it up" was another matter, as you said.

The developer gave me his e-mail address with an @fire-studios.com. I got curious with all this shadiness going on so I put that into google and his website came up. He supplied all of his contact information on his site so I found his twitter page and saw his remarks on there.

Just an unfortunate event but an experience to learn from non-the-less.

[Matt]

Wow, I’d have to agree with Swenson. While I don’t really care if my contractor doesn’t like me, I don’t want
1) ME to know that he doesn’t like me.
2) ANYBODY ELSE to know that he doesn’t like me, regardless of ambiguity. Doing work for me also involves keeping your mouth shut to the world about MY wants and your view of me. This sorta ties back into one.

It’s bad PR on their part. Reminds me of when I was in Americorps. If you released negative PR about Americorps or the organization you were volunteering for, they had to right to release you and halt your stipend. This is the case I see above.

[swenson_designs]

"Matt" wrote:

Wow, I’d have to agree with Swenson. While I don’t really care if my contractor doesn’t like me, I don’t want
1) ME to know that he doesn’t like me.
2) ANYBODY ELSE to know that he doesn’t like me, regardless of ambiguity. Doing work for me also involves keeping your mouth shut to the world about MY wants and your view of me. This sorta ties back into one.

It’s bad PR on their part. Reminds me of when I was in Americorps. If you released negative PR about Americorps or the organization you were volunteering for, they had to right to release you and halt your stipend. This is the case I see above.

Thanks, Matt!!

[danphilibin]

Hello all,

First off, I would like to state that Nick’s project was certainly NOT a very good show of our service. I oversee every project that goes through our system and I can honestly say that most projects run exactly like Chris’s did in his review. We start the project, we finish it on time, the client is happy.

You have to realize that WordPress development is different from HTML/CSS development. I can give a PSD to any good PSD-to-HTML coder and have it back pixel-perfect. We hire people like that; they do a great job.

WP development is slightly different. There’s lots of things that go into creating a WordPress theme, as many of you theme developers know. It’s not very often that when we show a demo link to a client, the first response is "great, looks perfect, we’re finished here". Most of the time, there’s just a few small things – usually a missing link, a small alignment issue, or an extra addiiton – that need fixed up. Other times, there’s some functionality that wasn’t originally specified in the project’s notes or a last-minute addition. That takes time.

We work internationally. Our developers are in the US, UK, and Australia. We don’t work around the clock.

As we rewrite a lot of the copy for our site for WPCoder 2.0, we’re making a big point of the fact that as a client, you cannot set the deadline with us on the same day you have a deadline with your client. There’s almost always a day or two of revisions to be done. We have schedules, clients have schedules. Things come up that complicate the coding process, too. I did speak to the developer and something on the theme was giving him trouble. What can you do? He pushed through it but there’s nothing you can do if something is giving you a hard time and you can’t do anything but work through it.

It’s extremely difficult for someone to come to us with a three-day deadline, an average-sized site, and any amount of money. We like to work closely with our clients to create a solid finished product.

To be fair, Nick had two projects with us and we discounted $400 between the both of them. And in the end, the theme was finished just how he wanted it, and a few more of our team members stepped in to finish the project. I do agree that the tweets published by one of our developers were not appropriate, and we’ll handle that.

We’re a WordPress development studio, not a cheap, quick outsourcing service. Working with us is similar to working with a design or development agency where you may interact with a few of our team members, you’ll get to know us, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure the finished product is one we’re both happy about.

Hopefully this message cleared the air. As owner and project manager I’m really disappointed when things like this happen, and I do everything I can to straighten them out. I love running WPCoder, and I want our company to have a great reputation within the community.

Respectfully yours,

Dan Philibin

[swenson_designs]

"danphilibin" wrote:

Hello all,

First off, I would like to state that Nick’s project was certainly NOT a very good show of our service. I oversee every project that goes through our system and I can honestly say that most projects run exactly like Chris’s did in his review. We start the project, we finish it on time, the client is happy.

You have to realize that WordPress development is different from HTML/CSS development. I can give a PSD to any good PSD-to-HTML coder and have it back pixel-perfect. We hire people like that; they do a great job.

WP development is slightly different. There’s lots of things that go into creating a WordPress theme, as many of you theme developers know. It’s not very often that when we show a demo link to a client, the first response is "great, looks perfect, we’re finished here". Most of the time, there’s just a few small things – usually a missing link, a small alignment issue, or an extra addiiton – that need fixed up. Other times, there’s some functionality that wasn’t originally specified in the project’s notes or a last-minute addition. That takes time.

We work internationally. Our developers are in the US, UK, and Australia. We don’t work around the clock.

As we rewrite a lot of the copy for our site for WPCoder 2.0, we’re making a big point of the fact that as a client, you cannot set the deadline with us on the same day you have a deadline with your client. There’s almost always a day or two of revisions to be done. We have schedules, clients have schedules. Things come up that complicate the coding process, too. I did speak to the developer and something on the theme was giving him trouble. What can you do? He pushed through it but there’s nothing you can do if something is giving you a hard time and you can’t do anything but work through it.

It’s extremely difficult for someone to come to us with a three-day deadline, an average-sized site, and any amount of money. We like to work closely with our clients to create a solid finished product.

To be fair, Nick had two projects with us and we discounted $400 between the both of them. And in the end, the theme was finished just how he wanted it, and a few more of our team members stepped in to finish the project. I do agree that the tweets published by one of our developers were not appropriate, and we’ll handle that.

We’re a WordPress development studio, not a cheap, quick outsourcing service. Working with us is similar to working with a design or development agency where you may interact with a few of our team members, you’ll get to know us, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure the finished product is one we’re both happy about.

Hopefully this message cleared the air. As owner and project manager I’m really disappointed when things like this happen, and I do everything I can to straighten them out. I love running WPCoder, and I want our company to have a great reputation within the community.

Respectfully yours,

Dan Philibin

Well, Dan I must say if you would have personally wrote me this in an e-mail I wouldn’t have thought of giving your company a negative review. In fact, I would have given a positive review. Unfortunately, it took a negative review on this site to get some sort of response from the "higher-ups" in this company regarding this situation.

I did have two project in which I was quoted $800 EACH and a agreed upon deadline of Aug. 3, 2009. This was NOT my clients deadline this is what was discussed between Mike and I as a fair date in which both projects would be finished by. I paid a total of $1,400.00 for these projects and ONLY $100.00 was taken off EACH of the TWO total projects so I’m not sure where the figure of $400.00 came into the algorithm.

I may not know the entire involvement in making a wordpress site; all I know is what knowledge Chris, on here, has so very graciously shared with us. I am NOT a developer–I am a designer–I pay others whom are "outstanding" in their field to make my designs work on this medium of the Internet. SO, I don’t debate your skills, talents, etc. In fact, I applaud your skills and talent.

As Chris has mirrored my thoughts, this was a break down of communication. Undeniably, there was some very unorthodox business behaviors that accelerated this situations, thus evoking emotions that should not have been expressed. As a consumer, this issue needed to be addressed and not swept under the rug. This may have been the only issue that WPCoder has encountered to date but that does not excuse what actions that were taken.

I believe Dan articulated his point very well and I feel that I have as well. I wish the best for this company and hope this can be an learning experience for them as they grow.

Thank you,
Nick Swenson

[Author]

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