Beware: Gideon

[dbm-rules.livejournal.com]

WHO: Gideon/Gideon Hoss.

WHERE: Elliott's Spring Gathering 2012 / http://www.furaffinity.net/user/gideon

WHAT: Two-character adult pencil sketch, $50.

WHEN: May 5th 2012

PROOF: Initial note on FA inquiring about the status of the commission:

His responses:


My e-mails inquiring about it yet again, over a year later:

His responses:

My latest batch of emails, currently unanswered:


EXPLAIN: Commissioned Gideon in the Dealer's Room at ESG 2012, left my contact information and everything. Paid up-front via Square, bought an art CD, and left. Didn't get any follow-up, so I contacted him a few weeks later. Got his response, saying that he'd finish it after he gets done with the current con. Waited, then asked about it again, and he says he forgot it again. And again. And again.

I commissioned Gideon once before with no problems, it was done in a night. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and time to take care of his other customers, but in return I've gotten the runaround for a year and a half. There's a point where it just gets too tedious to chase somebody for a silly sketch. I'd just rather get a refund at this point.

UPDATE: RESOLVED
I was given a full refund and an apology. It's over.

Comments

[duster.livejournal.com]

That's Gideon for ya. Commissions he takes home from cons sometimes end up here, then he shows up and promises to make good/stop taking commissions, rinse, repeat.

He's a nice guy but he just cannot manage commissions.

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

People have a very weird definition of "nice".

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

I hear that a lot. "He's such a nice guy!" ...Sorry, but theft is not "nice". Being "nice" in person doesn't scrub his bad reputation, it just makes the situation more frustrating for his customers. Arhg.

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

There is nice... And then there's the kind of nice we witness here on AB which is people being nice... For a result. Happy shiny customer service niceness wrapped up in the promise of cold hard cash.

And once the AB'd kinda nice folks get what they want, then you get the niceness of being ignored or excuses!

So yeah! :D

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

Very true. I do the majority of my work on time and with good results. Then that one or two at a con you miss/forget/let slip adds up and snowballs and you inside feel you cannot catch up and is how I feel. I have to finally stop that attitude where I let it go so long I forget or cannot make up the work. It really sucks and I do want to get better at it.

[purpule.livejournal.com]

Amen - repeating how nice they are just makes people (well, me) feel even more of a dick for standing up and saying "hey, you stole my money, that shit's not cool"

[duster.livejournal.com]

He's a lot more cordial in communication than the people who normally end up here. Granted being polite in conversation isn't an excuse for taking people's money, not delivering a product, and stringing them along for years.

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

Yer right. I always SAY I will do better and never follow through, OR take years or months to actually finish the work. I do it lots on some sketches. I wanna try to get my name off here and try to get work friggin done. I DO finish the majority of sketches on time/at con no problem. But then I might miss one and then they add up. I forget and move on. I gotta stop it and I keep saying I will and do not. I feel overwhelmed and that no way I CAN catch up. So...I gotta finally stop just sayin it and do it.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

He IS a nice guy, he doesn't not do commissions out of malice. He's just not organized enough :/

Nice people can be flawed and still be nice people.

[dbm-rules.livejournal.com]

It's not so much being disorganized, but actively avoiding his commissioners. Even just adding up the A_B entries for him on here, he's taken hundreds of dollars from people to go to more conventions and repeat the same process with new people. The guy's organized enough to take on-site credit card payments via Square, sell art CD's, and run his own paysite. There's really no excuse for this kind of behavior, especially when it only takes him a few hours to finish a piece. Unacceptable.

[thecreativepen.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with the above statement. His tag is extensive and this is a business for him. He should conduct himself as one.

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

I don't know him personally, and I certainly am not going to take your word on what is and is not a "nice" guy when he's willingly stealing peoples money. I'm not sure saying he's "flawed" is exactly the right word for outright theft? Malice or not, he's committing theft.

Not exactly a NICE thing to do, hence why I don't think he's a NICE guy. A NICE guy would contact his customers. A NICE guy would finish his work. Again, saying he's "nice" is really frustrating for the crapload of customers he's shafted. They don't seem to agree he's a "nice" person, because in most circumstances "nice" people don't steal.

He's organized enough to work for clubstripes, gideons corral, and go to conventions (flights, tables, hotels, money management). He's organized enough for everything BUT finishing the commissions he accepts money for.

Sorry. I disagree. That's not NICE at all.

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of the old saying that if you want to see what kind of person someone truly is, watch how they treat waiters.

I'm sure Gideon is great to his friends and family. But being does being nice just to those you deep emotional connection to make you a "nice guy" or is that just minimum acceptable behavior? Can you still be a "nice guy" when you apparently have no problem ripping off people as long as you don't know them well?

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

Yep agreed. I keep saying I will change and do better and I never do. I want to finally kick this. I also contacted you privately and make good...even though years and you prolly dun care. I still do and have a knot in my stomach seeing this and just keep NOT fixing the problem. Well I want to FINALLY fix it and at least try to get stuff done. I do finish the majority of the work I get, most of it actually. But that 1 or 2 I forget here and there adds up and adds up until I have a workload that I seeminingly cannot manage and let it continue. I really want to finally get this stuff in order.

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

And your private message said the same thing as all your other private messages. And I expect as before, your "desire" to make things right will last a week or two before something distracts you and you go back to your old habits again. Heck, on last year's version of this e-mail, when I responded, you couldn't even be bothered to write me back.

If you want to do something, refund my money, but other than that, you've wasted enough of my time, and I'm not wasting more negotiating a picture I never expect to actually see.

[evan-balot.livejournal.com]

A thief with a good attitude is still a thief.

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

This is his 7th Beware, and very few (if any at all) of prior ones have been resolved. =/ Sadly this is a repeated pattern of behavior with him. Honestly, I wish he'd stop taking commissions altogether as it's clear he can't keep track of them all, or finish them.

His notes give me a sense of carelessness, and I don't get the sense that he's a very responsible adult with how he responds to a paying customer.

[ellonwye.livejournal.com]

Yeah his responses seem very.. I dunno, overly friendly? A little too casual for what is a business transaction, one hugely overdue as well.

It's all very well being nice and polite but if you can't deliver what you promise, then what is the point?

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

Agreed on all counts. I have let this get to be a rep for me. I do finish the majority of work I take on at cons. On time and I feel, very good work. I then might let 1 or 2 slip, and then let them snowball to what we see here. I keep saying I will turn over a new leaf and do not, over and over. I feel overwhelmed with the backload that I let it just keep slipping. Not responsible at all. I gotta stop it and do two things. 1> take payment on completion of sketches. 2> Finally FINISH the work I owe and stop this excuses that I never follow up on and listen to people like you Neo and others.

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

I appreciate you coming in and acknowledging this issue thats going on with customers and piling work on. The best you can do is try and finish that queue, and admit you gotta work towards the professionalism that I -know- you can attain (or have already).

But I am glad you came in here regardless, hearing these things can be harsh and you're taking it well. Big kudos on that. I hope you sincerely do use this to drive forward and blow the rep that's grown out the water. After all, all AB people wanna see is people succeed in the end. And I too, want to see it.

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, you're now at the back of an EXTREMELY long line. I commissioned a desktop background from him via Furbid in 2007 that I am still "waiting" for.

[ljmydayaway.livejournal.com]

D:

[ellonwye.livejournal.com]

Six YEARS? Jeeze!

[stormydragon.livejournal.com]

Well, after about three years I pretty much gave up on it, and basically just consider him to have successfully swindled me out of the money. My main goal now is to discourage others from making similar mistake. DON'T EVER PAY GIDEON FOR ANYTHING UP FRONT.

[bayru.livejournal.com]

O_O...dang

[startide.livejournal.com]

Similar situation here. Paid for a sketch at FC and he ended up having to make it a take-home thing and still waiting. You think I'd learn to stop commissioning people at cons, considering over 50% of commissions I've paid for I'll never see

[duster.livejournal.com]

Uh, if you're not getting over half of the commissions you pay for at cons, then there's some serious problem going on. Have you thought of making some AB posts?

[startide.livejournal.com]

Most have been badge commissions, but there's several pricey ones as well. One by an artist who's no stranger to this site as well, but I didn't know of this place before I paid for that one. I don't have much in the way of pm conversation to screencap for here though.

[mottenfest.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why, why not blow the whistle on the people ripping you off? Even without screencaps, you might at least give your side of the story?
It seems rather outrageous that you've had so many unfinished commissions! D:

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

I've sent you contact on how to keep in touch and looking forward to it.

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

And I sent a PM to you. I want to resolve this. As stated above...I wanna FINALLY make good on my shitty ethics and get this stuff done. Thanks man.

[mottenfest.livejournal.com]

I'm sill waiting on his half of a trade from 2008. :/

He usually pops in when a new article has been posted saying he's sorry the poster fell through the cracks, and that he'll fix it... but I haven't seen him actually follow up.
Echoing other people, he should really be avoided on a business level.

[gideon-hoss.livejournal.com]

Contacted you and have issued a refund. I have let MANY take home sketches fall under the cracks. I will now take payment on sketches WHEN completed and stop take homes COMPLETELEY. I get home and let stuff fall behind and let it snowball and that is a shitty way to do shit.