Hi,
okay... apologies to Stu might be in order (I tend to post 'warts and all') so here's my 4p worth... should be 2p but I go on a bit/lot:-
I agree with others (and earlier posts I made) that replies aren't obviously from a person, they look like FAQ extracts - I accept however that if STU sees no reason to add to what was going back anyway then he doesn't add to it or amend it - from a 'PR' point of view a small extra comment from Stu that makes it obvious he reads submissions would I think pay dividends.
Can he keep it up when customer base increases? No - I doubt it, despite the queuing system he says is in place to prioritise things. However, the obvious step at that point is to deal with SOME posters, who have unique problems/ideas, on a one to one basis whilst many will actually find their 'answer' can be dealt with along with 20 others - Stu needs to have the ability to pick important points out, the things that affect most users, and deal with a whole bunch of users in one go - you lose the 'Hi Bert' email intro (possibly - somehow I doubt that so many emails addressed to 'Dear Dave' are really a sign that countless sales types know me personally). There is no reason why Stu should not manage to handle a few hundred/thousand a week this way - most fall into the 'answer 14a' bracket, some he does 1 on 1.
I do this myself already - this isn't an advert, but some customers get a 'standard reply' others get long and detailed responses... one recent correspondent got 4 LONG emails back when he wanted me to add something to my program, He got about 10 A4 pages back before he saw sense, that guy is on my free trial and he isn't the first to get that sort of detailed response... I see no reason why Stu can't do that too - he seems keen on the topic, and when you are into trading then 4 am is bedtime, you need plenty of sleep before the LSE opens after all <g>
I'd judge the guy on what you can see so far - so here's the confession:-
I PAY for access to Stu's site - I'm a developer, and before you decide my stuff must be rubbish I use some of my company cash to look at stuff every year.. I'll buy Omnitrader, Delta, all sorts as a business expense because (let's face it) ANY trader, given a chance, would buy one of everything to see if it works.
Pros:- He does video tutorials, they are watchable and sensible. Con - not very good quality first time around, but I've done screen capture videos myself and it isn't that easy!
Lots of info onsite, especially USEFUL info.. lots of it, go look.
Sensible trading System - Stu's method isn't, ultimately, the one I use or like - but it's not bad. It is a proper system - he goes into entry, exit, and money management, there is more to a system than entry but newbies (especially) think the entry is all that counts.
Cons - I have two. One, the bit I mentioned earlier in the thread, and in this post - replies to modules do not appear to have been generated by a person. I am now fairly convinced Stu does look at them, I think the problem here is that he doesn't add to them/edit them to make it obvious. I still think replies shoudl reflect customer submissions to a much greater extent - he will put new users off long before they decide to continue with Insight otherwise... it is the raw newbie who most needs a 'human' reply.
Second - I've actually discovered this is the first site on the internet where you HAVE to read the small print... a month after signing up I decided I was good enough already not to need any extra help... the contract I agreed to means I now stay as a subscriber for 6 months, and pay £50 for the 'method', so I feel trapped by an agreement I hardly read - who reads 'terms and conditions' for crying out loud - Microsoft's go on for bloody pages!
I think the 'deal' should be spelled out concisely, and when you sign up you should see 'you will pay X then, Y then, Z then...' not only on the site, but also on the email you get on joining... I am amazed to discover that I have to query things like 'what do I have to pay' with Stu by email.... I should Stu is in fact very reasonable, I think his agreeement should reflect this, as it is all above board etc but NOBODY reads the small print (especially when it changes) and Stu is actually a 'treat me fairly, I'll be fair with you' chap to deal with - he is actually let down by what I'd consider a lack of transparency on the billing side.
I would stress that I have paid a fairly small amount to use Stu's facilities, the real 'complaint' is that I worry, on occasion, what else I missed in the agreement! (I got a 'please pay, most people pay £300...' email this week, for example - an email later Stu said 'ignore it' but to a newbie a £300 bill might be a heart attack!) Stu the person is a nice guy, Stu the company occasinally scares the **** out of you, Stu is a nicer guy than his automail system and therefore I heartily suggest newvbies etc try him out, but if you are EVER worried you should just email him and chat - he is FAR nicer that his automated email service, and will happily mak exceptions for those who stumble blindly into his domain!
As a software producer/website geek I can say that Stu has some decent stuff on his site, I have got 'this far' for £50 (one off) and something like £16 a month (can't be bothered checking - I pay enough a month for all sorts) and I think it's damned good value -
Dave