Customer Service Review for Theory 11
website: www.theory11.com
Customer Service & Order Phone Number: (800) 511-9484
Customer Service Rep: Bryant
Duration of Phone Call: 18min 44sec
Theory11 is known for being one of the industries go to for amazing effects, produced by a team of some of the most creative minds currently working in the business. On top of amazing products they also offer a great online community in which young and old magicians alike can interact with each other, share ideas, information, and thoughts through their forums. I wanted to see if their customer service is as good as their products or online community. Since Theory11 just released some new material, I figured now would be the perfect time to place an order. Since their website is no judge of customer service, I called them directly to place my order. The first attempt that I made lead me to an automated phone message which was fairly comical. The male voice was friendly, and engaging, but I didn't want to talk to a voice mail, so I called back. The second time through went to a male operator named Bryant.
Having never ordered before with Theory11 Bryant was helpful in getting me set up with an account to which I could order from. I gave my name as William Draven, he took down my information, and was efficient with it. He asked me why I chose to call in, instead of placing the order online, (reviewing his/theory11's customer service aside) I told him I preferred the benefit of talking to a person as opposed to typing on a computer. He asked me right away if I was going to order Smoke, to which I said yes. To my dismay they are (at the time of this review) out of stock on Smoke. I of course was disappointed, but hey props for Theory11 for having that hot of a product right now! I told Bryant that smoke wasn't the only product I was calling to order, it just was the main one. It was as if he wasn't even listening to me, because he began to end the phone call, offering to call me or email me when the product became available sometime the following week. I had to stop him, and remind him that I was still going to place an order, it just wouldn't be for smoke now.
I placed an order for half a brick of Sentential playing cards, to which I was going to order anyways. Bryant was friendly enough to inform me that the more I purchased, the cheaper the cards were. That's helpful information to take into consideration. It was nice of him to bring this to my attention. He verified my shipping address was the same as the billing address, and gave me a choice of shipping methods. I went with his suggestion of ground, so I'll be looking to do my review of Sententials by the weeks end.
Having placed my order, I really wanted to test Theory11s metal when it came to customer service, and sales. I asked Bryant if he had the time to answer a couple quick questions for me. I explained that I had a nephew who really liked Criss Angel and wanted to do magic. He's a beginner, and I wanted to get him something to get started with. I asked if there was any products Theory11 might have to suggest to me. Bryant expertly explained that Theory11 doesn't have (at least not yet) any tutorial DVD's for the absolute bare bone beginner in magic, however the new Invisible Deck would be a great classic to get him started with. Bryant also explained that there are a lot of great videos that can be purchased through the website, and then downloaded that has material that would be good for a beginner to start on. Products like Angle Zero for example. The website's search feature would allow me to set it to sort by “easy” and I can view all products that are categorized that way. Makes shopping online way easier if you ask me.
I asked Bryant about playing cards. I told him that I wanted the Sententials because they looked sick, but for my nephew, is there any cards in specific I should worry about getting him. Bryant was again honest and insightful. More expensive decks like the Sententials may be a bad idea for a new beginner, since you'll trash a lot of cards just learning the moves. He recommended Tally's (which are also available on the website), since they are inexpensive, and a great deck magicians swear by. Since I myself am a magician, I know he's not lying just to make a sale with that statement. I myself swear by Tally's, if I'm not using bikes, which brings me to my next point. Bryant explained that my nephew could use cheaper decks like Bikes, but those cards aren't built as well as the decks offered by Theory11. They will break down and wear out faster, obviously going with a deck Theory11 sells as opposed to the 99cent Wal-Mart brand has it's long term advantages.
(To Be Continued...)
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