The Facebook debacle & other issues

I was the one who returned my wig. Full disclosure: I was taking Danny literally when I said that he had asked me to post. I had already been as polite as possible throughout the exchange, and I felt that his last reply (guess he just had to have the last word?) was uncalled for. The email exchange actually took place nearly a fortnight ago, but I totally forgot about it until Sunday night, when someone in the SDL group posted asking if the ash gray wig was thinner than the other wigs, and wig essay #1 was produced immediately after that.

I am aware of previous incidents where customers have been shamed and flamed by his loyal fanbase. I think when Danny suggested that I "warn others", he was expecting me to go the same way of those customers as he knew he could always count on his fans to defend the quality of his products. That was the reason why I accepted all the blame for my purchase in my post; it was the only way my post could fall within the "did not insult Danny" category and be allowed to remain up. It helped that Danny himself DID ask me to "warn others".

For those who did not see my post on FB: My wig had hard knots in the fabric cap which prevented the wig fibres from lying down flat near the front, and the underside of the wig had 2 lumps of excess fabric, as can be seen in the photos. Because of this excess fabric, and the elastic nature of the wig, when on a doll's head the wig would pull inwards, trapping strands of the wig fibres between the head and the wig cap because it was unable to lie flat. I had stressed to Danny that I was aware lighter colored wigs tend to show the wig caps more easily, and that the issue was not the wig cap showing (which could easily be solved with some styling) but the knotting. The excess fabric at the back causing the wig to not lie flat meant I could not hook my elf ears under it properly, and they would fall out every time I adjusted the doll and the wig shifted. Danny's suggestion was to fluff the hair to cover the wig cap, which failed to solve the issues of the lumps of fabric and hard knots.

I do not have pictures of the wig on a doll as those were directly taken and uploaded via the CJ contact center, and my phone did not save those. I only have these ones as they were the ones I later emailed to Danny in an attempt to explain more clearly the issues that I had.

I accepted the refund and thanked him, since it's his company and his rules, and I didn't see the point in arguing further. (I did consider selling the wig without disclosing the issues, since technically there are no flaws because Danny said so, but my conscience wouldn't let me.)

I am aware of the negative comments directed at me on his IG. I didn't really read through his #2 and #3 wig posts, although I am aware of the gist from comments. There have been many really nice people who messaged me privately to express their sympathy and to tell me "omg lol there's another wig post" (which never failed to make me laugh) and I appreciate all the messages. I know there are people who feel bad for me because of all the negative comments but it really doesn't bother me because those are just faceless entities online, and I find it hard to get upset at people I don't even know. I knew that Danny going on a posting spree in response was a possibility before I made my post, so his reaction didn't really surprise me. Also judging from the way he deliberately mistranslated Volks' message that time, I'm not surprised that he is hinting that I tried to do all sorts of weird stuff with my wig, like ponytails and such.

All I can say is, he didn't have to go to all that trouble to make different posts with so many wigs and caps. He only had to make one post with the wig I returned, and show why the knotting and the excess fabric lumps were not considered defects. Instead he's stuck making page after page of disclaimers... I think he's way more bothered than I am by this whole issue.

I'm not very active on social media usually (my IG is more for my dogs, and my FB for games and doll purchases), so I really appreciate all the people who spoke up for me, whether on IG, FB or on here (and places that I don't know of). Thank you guys ^_^

Edited March 17, 2020 by bbotss

I'm sorry you had to go through this. He needs to realize this behavior is completely unprofessional and sometimes the customer is right. My Mirai wig doesn't have this problem and i'd be pretty pissed if it did and this was the response I was met with. 

That wig is CLEARLY defective and oversewn in several places, I've had this exact issue with other wigs and it does show when the wig is on the doll, by way of making the top and sides bunch up in an unattractive way. It looks like the sewing machine was left on too long in those spots and created bulk. That is definitely not normal for any doll wig, which is why I'm so confused as to why he simply couldn't tell you the wig was defective and offer to exchange it. Danny's manufacturer isn't infallible- even with high end dolls, defects happen and it's not even his fault, so I can't understand why he couldn't admit that and replace the wig. 

It's like he would rather say nothing is wrong and that every wig is like that-thus labeling every wig as lesser quality rather than a single outlier with a defect-than admit that a customer got a bad wig and replace it. Idk about you, but I wouldn't choose to say all of my products are bad over admitting a single one was messed up.

A friend of mine had a similar issue; he got a new wig from CJ for his Destiny, and it caused a shiny, greasy mark on her forehead under the parting- shortly after emailing Danny to see if this was normal, he made an entire post about my friend, saying that he puts liquid silicone on the parting area of his caps to make them lay flat. All he had to do was tell my friend it was normal and recommend a wig cap (which perhaps he should consider making for his dolls, afaik he doesn't), but instead he turned my friend off from buying his products by calling him out in public like that.

I don't understand why he reacts to people this way. It's so easy to provide a quick explanation and offer a replacement/refund, or simply provide an alternative solution privately. The only reason Danny should publicly post like this, is if he's spoken to overwhelming number of people with this same issue. 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Serena-Hime

56 minutes ago, Serena-Hime said:

That wig is CLEARLY defective and oversewn in several places, I've had this exact issue with other wigs and it does show when the wig is on the doll, by way of making the top and sides bunch up in an unattractive way. It looks like the sewing machine was left on too long in those spots and created bulk. That is definitely not normal for any doll wig, which is why I'm so confused as to why he simply couldn't tell you the wig was defective and offer to exchange it. Danny's manufacturer isn't infallible- even with high end dolls, defects happen and it's not even his fault, so I can't understand why he couldn't admit that and replace the wig. 

It's like he would rather say nothing is wrong and that every wig is like that-thus labeling every wig as lesser quality rather than a single outlier with a defect-than admit that a customer got a bad wig and replace it. Idk about you, but I wouldn't choose to say all of my products are bad over admitting a single one was messed up.

A friend of mine had a similar issue; he got a new wig from CJ for his Destiny, and it caused a shiny, greasy mark on her forehead under the parting- shortly after emailing Danny to see if this was normal, he made an entire post about my friend, saying that he puts liquid silicone on the parting area of his caps to make them lay flat. All he had to do was tell my friend it was normal and recommend a wig cap (which perhaps he should consider making for his dolls, afaik he doesn't), but instead he turned my friend off from buying his products by calling him out in public like that.

I don't understand why he reacts to people this way. It's so easy to provide a quick explanation and offer a replacement/refund, or simply provide an alternative solution privately. The only reason Danny should publicly post like this, is if he's spoken to overwhelming number of people with this same issue. 

I fully agree. I also have to say, after reading and seeing how DC treats his customers regarding defective products, that it has completely put me off buying anything CJ/SmD-related. Which is a shame, seeing as I had been eyeing the boys from afar for a long time and was hoping for visual improvements on the body. However, I refuse to support any company whose owners treat their customers like this.

@bbotss - I'm so sorry you had to go through this.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Selenae

I have been keeping up with this thread and liking every new post. I apparently cannot like anymore. I do completely agree that Danny is training people to not speak out against the products and the brand or else they will see public ridicule. No manufacturer is 100% free of defects. Defects happen and defects aren't apart of wabi-sabi. he is completely using it as an excuse now. I got into an argument of sorts in the other smart doll Facebook group because someone stated that it's just the idiots expecting everything to be identical and perfect.
No..... we expect the product to work as designed. Almost all of us agree that the products, when right, are beautiful and well done. Danny said over a year ago he was goin go no longer handle his PR or social media and it never happened. Danny is slowly causing a cancer for smart doll and some of his fans are feeding the tumor. Privately, all of these issues could have been handled way easier, within the companies policies, and no dirty laundry had to be aired. most of the people weren't even berating or being ugly in their posts when asking for clarifications about products.

It's sad...
A lot of what he and his team does is very cool. I like getting to read about behind the scenes stuff.
But when it is made out as lengthy disclaimers, in what feels like a retaliation, rather than response, to questions... It leave a bad taste.

I think it would be much better for customers to get a proper, to-the-point disclaimer, with the OPTION to read more - if one wishes to.
He should not treat a disclaimer post/page as his own venting space.
Being so eager to wash his hands of any faults that he almost has to write up contracts, so that no one has any chance or reason to make a mistake or get a product they are not 100% happy with, seems... hard to achieve, and thus, no wonder he gets frustrated..?
Sure, it's good to value customer satisfaction - but not when it comes at the expense of the customer at the same time. Passive-aggressively "shaming" or (indirectly) calling out customers like this, is childish!

It is enough to point out how his products behaves! Surely he must have knowledge of how other companies wigs in the market are! 
For example, it could be nice if he could show, in this case, how wigs might look/behave and how his could differ, instead! It suits both newbies and long-time doll-owners alike.

I don't want to have to feel like I'm nit-picking everything he does, but when personal jargon and feelings cannot be separated from official disclaimers/statements, it's hard not to feel put off, and almost insulted - "it didn't happen to me, but it could have been me!"

Edited March 17, 2020 by Yumeiro

19 hours ago, bbotss said:

I was the one who returned my wig. Full disclosure: I was taking Danny literally when I said that he had asked me to post.

One thing I will note here. When he says "I am sorry the quality of our wigs does not meet your standard" that's basically a fauxpology, and it sets off alarm bells in my head.

What he's doing here is using "I'm sorry" to make a problem go away. He then negates the "I'm at fault" part of a genuine apology by turning it around and making it into your problem when he says "does not meet your standards." Pretty much boils down to 'your problem not mine, so I'm not sorry' - in my opinion at least.

He did give you a refund, so this isn't about keeping your money. I think it's got more to do with mentally avoiding taking personal ownership of flaws in the product. That's just my own take on it though.

As much as I agree with the concept of wabi sabi, the way he uses it to get out of just replacing a defective item makes it seem like more of a quality control cop out. Pretty sure Volks always has a disclaimer saying "hand made goods will have slight variations" on everything dollfie thing they sell.

I also frankly find it problematic that everything is wabi sabi. Sometimes a doll photo looks great in weathered stuff, like Mirai in that post apocalyptic outfit set. Sometimes you want stuff that is mint because it fits your image concept. I don't exactly see women going out in torn weathered evening dresses, or to work in stuff that looks like it needs to be consigned to the dustbin. Ripped jeans generally work better for kids than adults.

Edited March 18, 2020 by BeyondTime

I'm surprised that in all of this no one has mentioned that he used the word "shim". It's one thing to treat your customer base like garbage but to use a derogatory term is a new low for even for him.

I just noticed that the text has since been edited but the fact that it was there at all is very disconcerting.

Big yikes from me...  Danny really needs to grow up.  The only thing I've purchased from SmD is their elf ears and I'm satisfied with them but won't be supporting the company with any other purchases. 

Shim.... really????? NB (nonbinary) (or them) already exists and is used in japan, so the idea that it's a cultural/linguistic thing wouldn't apply here.

I saw the Gemini thing earlier and it made me LIVID. 'They' is a perfectly fine pronoun to use, and is not new. I don't know where he got the idea that would be a cute thing to say. 

Edit: I did just check the comments of the (now edited) post, and he apologized several times to the people that voiced concern. Upsetting that he can't show the same civility when it comes to his dolls, but I still appreciate the apology (and editing the post) nonetheless. 
 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Serena-Hime

On 3/17/2020 at 9:09 AM, Deyja said:

I'm an older customer, and I'm officially put off. The person who made the post about the wig never said anything negative about Danny, but Danny grilled them on instagram and used their 'ignorance of wabi sabi' on the Chitose Multiverse sales page. I've NEVER had a CJ wig look like that. And why does Danny feel the need to constantly berate Volks? While I know that his company has high standards for quality (usually), I think wabi sabi is starting to get used as an excuse. I don't like the road that this feels it is going down. I didn't post in the thread, but I was disgusted by people attacking the person who never said anything negative about Danny and paid for shipping both ways. I'm done. I'm honestly at the point where I am going to have to do some long thinking on whether or not I even want my Smart Dolls anymore. I'm sure that my viewpoint is extreme, but I will not support a company that treats customers with contempt as "You are so lucky that I all you purchase from me!" With the staggering economy due to COVID 19, Danny better get an attitude check. People are going to be less likely to spend that kind of money on luxury items especially given how he treats customers.

I am also an older customer and have had a lot of his dolls over the last several years, not to mention clothing, busts, hand packs etc. How he handled this really put me off.

I left the group because the comments were getting to me. I lost respect for several people. I understand keeping things drama free but it seems that people can subtly put people down when they aren't happy and THAT isn't drama, but people speaking up is drama?! Just because a person never had an issue doesn't negate the person that DOES have an issue, same can be said that just because everyone else is fine with an item with legit flaws doesn't mean that EVERYONE has to accept it. 

 

Edited June 15, 2020 by jenlovesdolls
my thought changed

Ok so I know I blocked this thread but, this has been bothering me for a while. His ventures in "diversity" really seem to stop at race. When Gemini was first announced, someone on twitter responded with the " It's a tr*p" gif. Danny then responded with lol. And I was like !?!?!?!. Why? Why? If he seems so concerned with representing ethnicity correctly, why can't that extend to people of the LGBTQ community????? (Hopefully this not to off topic and it doesn't sound to preachy. I just think maybe we should all be treated fairly, right?)   

14 minutes ago, Mame said:

Ok so I know I blocked this thread but, this has been bothering me for a while. His ventures in "diversity" really seem to stop at race. When Gemini was first announced, someone on twitter responded with the " It's a tr*p" gif. Danny then responded with lol. And I was like !?!?!?!. Why? Why? If he seems so concerned with representing ethnicity correctly, why can't that extend to people of the LGBTQ community????? (Hopefully this not to off topic and it doesn't sound to preachy. I just think maybe we should all be treated fairly, right?)   

no diversity includes everyone, he seems to care about the disablity, race and religion, LGBTQ needs to be included.

14 hours ago, CuteOne said:

I'm surprised that in all of this no one has mentioned that he used the word "shim". It's one thing to treat your customer base like garbage but to use a derogatory term is a new low for even for him.

I'd never even knew there was a meaning other than: wedge used to fill a gap.

18 hours ago, jenlovesdolls said:

I have one doll currently and I will just enjoy her and buy things for her from Etsy etc.

I recommend checking Nine9Style, and TTYA too. Of all the clothing makers I bought from, other than SmD or Volks, I think those are my two favorites.

http://nine9style.com/

http://ttyadoll.com/main.html

TTYA's stuff seems to be designed for SmD, and it also fits DD. It looks awesome on DDS. You'll find that a lot of TTYA's stuff looks just like Danny's clothing.

The dress, hats, and pantyhose in in the below thread are Nine9Style. I haven't tried them on SmD, but I am happy to if you want to know how the fit is. The dress would be SmD S bust and is going to look shorter on SmD.

The top Ami is wearing is DollHeart, and the jeans skirt is TTYA.

Ami's boots are from Leekeworld, but they barely fit DDS lengthwise, so they won't work on SmD.

Rei's shoes are Volks, and probably do fit SmD. Some Volks SD sized shoes should have no issue on your SmD. I think the ones that are mostly open except the toes should be fine, or shoes that have a zipper in back.

 

Edited March 18, 2020 by BeyondTime

Ty for these links @BeyondTime. Although I prefer the refined and elegant outfits with long skirts, sleeves and ribbons for my girls, I'd like some clothes with more "fashion style" (hoping this term Is accurate to define It) for a change sometimes. 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Pit

2 minutes ago, Pit said:

Ty for these links @BeyondTime. Although I prefer the refined and elegant outfits with long skirts, sleeves and ribbons for my girls, I still want some clothes with more "fashion style" (hoping this term Is accurate to define It) for a change sometimes. 

Check Dollheart, their stuff is well made. The do a lot of steampunk and gothloli too.

Just in case I sounded rude, I want to clarify that I think i expressed myself wrong. It was my mistake. What I was trying to say is that I prefer the elegance style than a modern fashion style (i.e. SmD) BUT your links are quite useful for a change and I'd like yo try more modern style clothes as well.

Now, about dollheart, well... My wallet Is going to suffer a little bit. Those clothes are beautiful. Thank you!!

Edited March 18, 2020 by Pit

I can see why a lot of people thought TTYA made the clothing for Culture Japan. Thanks for linking them, i liked the variety they have in bottoms!

He did apologize about the "shim" thing, and he does seem sincere about it. (Maybe he doesn't take it weirdly personally when it's not a comment on the quality of his products?)

2 hours ago, Pit said:

Just in case I sounded rude

You didn't sound rude, and everyone here has their own tastes so it's fine to express them.

You might like Purple Dream too.

https://purpledream.net/index.html

2 hours ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

He did apologize about the "shim" thing, and he does seem sincere about it. (Maybe he doesn't take it weirdly personally when it's not a comment on the quality of his products?)

Was gonna stay out of this but this annoyed me too much to not comment. That doesn’t seem like a sincere apology to me. He sounds more sorry he got called out. Otherwise he would have just apologised and left it at that - instead he has to go off about getting a ‘social beating’ like he’s ‘used to’ - to me he’s just implying he was attacked by people who were offended when that wasn’t the case at all. I don’t see why he couldn’t have just said a simple apology instead of this deflection thing. Maybe he was just trying to be lighthearted but he turned it into a bigger deal than it was and all this really did was invite comments to the tune of ‘bOy peOple are OFFenDed by EVERYTHING these dAys’ so everyone once again gets to pretend that it’s the people who took offence who were in the wrong. Seeing as he replied all ‘lol’ to people commenting about how absurd it is to take offence it’s hard to really see any sincerity. 

I’ve long found a lot of his ‘diversity’ to be very performative myself - aside from the cocoa skin which I think is a really great thing for a company to do. But he will make a tragic backstory for a port wine birthmark character and preach that bullying for atypical body features is wrong...and then we get an April fools joke that boiled down to ‘women with body hair?! That’s not sexy! Gross, lol!’ I’m not sure he saw the irony there but I wish he could be more consistent with which bodily differences are ok to laugh at and turn into ‘gross jokes’ and which should be championed and turned into sexy dolls. Seems hypocritical, and sends mixed messages to the kids he always talks about marketing to.

edit: as for this current wig debacle, am I misunderstanding or did he actually get upset because the user in question told people about the wig -like he asked them to?- I’ve noticed he keeps saying ‘please warn others about our bad products!’ as a snarky retort a lot lately but maybe he shouldn’t say that if he doesn’t actually expect people to do that? And in such a polite way no less. It’s a shame cos that wig colour is really nice but it very clearly has issues outside the wabisabi excuse. I have been wondering this for some time but does anyone have examples of defects he actually accepts as genuine defects? Does he still replace broke frame parts under warranty or are those people told they were ‘using the doll in a way not intended’ now? It would be interesting to see what is considered a genuine flaw by the company.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Monty

23 minutes ago, Monty said:

That doesn’t seem like a sincere apology to me.

He accepted fault, which is better than the "this is your problem not mine" in the other apology. You're right that the segue into Japanese business cards is changing the subject, and it would be better had he just apologized and left it at that.

I still get the impression that what he has a difficult time with is self-examination as opposed to being an inherently bad person. Not saying that doesn't make him do things he shouldn't.

Edited March 19, 2020 by BeyondTime

honestly it seemed weird to do the business card on the same post as the apology but i mean, he probably wanted some positive educational spin on it. What could have been more interesting and relevant would to have been to include non-binary education from the Japanese perspective. I don't see how business cards tie into it. That was my only criticism--i'm sorry but let's not focus on it.