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Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

vintank.com

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Re: Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

#11

Post by dolinsky »

I'm going to go out on a short limb and guess that most users here don't understand who Vintank is or much about the wine industry in general. The group at Vintank are hardly 'middlemen wanting some biz dev money'. I've had the pleasure recently to meet Paul Mabray as I'm currently diving into the wine world myself with an idea I've already pivoted on once with, and I can say with a lot of confidence that these aren't just another group of marketing guys trying to make a buck. Paul has a phenomenal reputation in the wine world and is one of the preeminent voices when it comes to discussing how to bring the old way of thinking by most wineries to the new ways of social media. If things went down as Paul described, then Scvngr snubbed a whole industry, not just one company.

Edit: Vintank also share the same passion for unifying and making wine 'facts' free for all in the same way that SimpleGeo does with location data. Anyone who spends more than 5 minutes in the wine world knows the horrible state of fragmented / incomplete wine facts (not reviews,tasting notes,ratings) and how that holds the industry back as a whole.

Just trying to paint a picture of who Vintank is for those here who don't know.

Re: Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

#12

Post by mdonahoe »

jsavimbi wrote: post #8
seto28 wrote: post #5

Given that Napa is so close to the bay area, it might have made more sense to partner with a local company from YC etc. than one on the east coast.

To be fair to the Scavngr folks, inexperienced self-flattering wankers that they are, I don't think it would've made any difference whom these people chose as a technology provider as it is evident that Vintank lacks the basic clarity required to a) identify and understand current or future trends in the market and b) they can't even keep a fucking blog afloat, a pretty basic task that should've been learned after a…

Scvngr, not Scavngr.

Re: Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

#15

Post by pmabray »

temphn wrote: post #7
pseudonym wrote: post #3

Getting a server error when I hit the page, so pasting the text of the article below: One of our jobs is to find technologies that will help the wine industry succeed. We often look outside the wine industry to find incredible solutions that help wineries in any way possible. Through extensive research, analysis, and lots of white board sessions we try to surface the technologies that seem most helpful. Fortunately w…

Not really a big deal at all. These are some middlemen who wanted some biz dev money for bringing in clients. Read closely and they "bring technology" to wineries, they don't operate their own wineries. Scvngr probably realized these guys were going to ask for lots of custom work without the $ to justify it.

Actually if you read, we waived all any fees to help our winery partners. We asked for no custom work and spent large resources to help promote Scvngr with no aspirations of revenue, just to help catalyze the wine industry through digital means.

We don't operate our wineries but if you look at our bio's, we have operated at wineries and for some of the largest wine tech companies in our industry (three of which we founded).

Re: Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

#17

Post by pmabray »

dolinsky wrote: post #11

I'm going to go out on a short limb and guess that most users here don't understand who Vintank is or much about the wine industry in general. The group at Vintank are hardly 'middlemen wanting some biz dev money'. I've had the pleasure recently to meet Paul Mabray as I'm currently diving into the wine world myself with an idea I've already pivoted on once with, and I can say with a lot of confidence that these aren'…

Thank you David.

Re: Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

#19

Post by pmabray »

jsavimbi wrote: post #8
seto28 wrote: post #5

Given that Napa is so close to the bay area, it might have made more sense to partner with a local company from YC etc. than one on the east coast.

To be fair to the Scavngr folks, inexperienced self-flattering wankers that they are, I don't think it would've made any difference whom these people chose as a technology provider as it is evident that Vintank lacks the basic clarity required to a) identify and understand current or future trends in the market and b) they can't even keep a fucking blog afloat, a pretty basic task that should've been learned after a…

Wow, you don't know us at all. Thanks for your responses although they lacked in any understanding or research. If you had dug deeper you might have noticed that we have all been successful and we are both a work tank and a think tank. We have one of the most prestigious clients lists of any digital agency and a PROVEN track record for success.

To answer your statement:

A - We have led the industry for years as an innovator and we are recognized for seeing the future (and present) time and time again. At the time Scvngr seemed like the right bet. B - We had a server error. Do you need to really troll like this?

Napa Valley has the most tourism in CA next to Disneyland and generate a tremendous amount of income. This valley (and other wine destinations) represents an incredible opportunity for the right LBS company. I think it is less about the opportunity than it is about the focus of Scvngr changing from their app to thelevelup.com.

PS - you spelled Scvngr wrong.

Re: Scathing review of Scvngr by burned customer

#20

Post by jsavimbi »

mdonahoe wrote: post #12
jsavimbi wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair to the Scavngr folks, inexperienced self-flattering wankers that they are, I don't think it would've made any difference whom these people chose as a technology provider as it is evident that Vintank lacks the basic clarity required to a) identify and understand current or future trends in the market and b) they can't even keep a fucking blog afloat, a pretty basic task that should've been learned after a…

Scvngr, not Scavngr.

I couldn't even be arsed to spell it the way they want. That's my level of enthusiasm for them. It's branding failure on their part as I live down the street from their office and see their ridiculous vinyl-wrapped Cayenne all the time.

On another note, it occurs to me that the complaint levied against Scvngr, albeit illegitimate, is quite common. Normals couldn't be expected to understand what exactly it is they're getting into when partnering with a social service, especially one who has to pivot every six months to stay in business. But to label them a flash-in-the-pan is a little too much coming from a think tank for wine producers.

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