What's your favorite soap by PAA?

People do deserve second chances. Everyone makes mistakes.  
Unfortunately everything Chuck wrote did happen....going back two years.
It does only scratch the surface as Chuck mentioned.  We were around then.
Just awful behavior.

People do deserve second chances. Everyone makes mistakes.  
Unfortunately everything Chuck wrote did happen....going back two years.
It does only scratch the surface as Chuck mentioned.  We were around then.
Just awful behavior.

I hear you loud and clear on this but see, when I'm having a problem with an artisan, it typically doesn't have to do with their personality, but with their customer service. Let that be why you criticize them. Look at Tiki now. No one can get anything shipped out of her website with any sort of consistencty these days and that is an absolute proven fact. That is a legit criticism, go nuts on that, let people know, show your challenge there and then....let it be. Say your peace and let it go.

I typically like to keep my criticism of products and brands to: Did they perform? Did they smell good? Was the customer service solid? Are they worth the price? That kind of thing. I just think that if one has beef with PAA and they have actually tried the products and hate them, they can be critical and that is fair. But this stuff with Douglas/Hodges/????, has been going on for years now. Its helpful to customers to know if there is something wrong with customer service, or if there is something wrong with the products much more so than the same ole crap about the artisan IMO.

Reviews are huge. Review a product. Did it not live up to your expectation? Was it a dud? That sort of thing.

I've never had any problem with PAA customer service and I've made many orders from them in the last 2 years. For me his soaps perform very good. I'm against all this drama. Of course we must admit that some of his actions were not gentlemanly and appropriate. He hurt many people's feelings and beliefs. Two years back, many people trusted him and after all the facts that came in the surface, they felt horrible.
But, performance is what matters to me. All the others are marketing techniques, you like it or don't. Try one of his soaps, if you already haven't, before judging him. Some guys will disagree on this but that's the best you have to do.
Why do we like to talk about dramas instead of shaving? When will the wet shaving community stop talking about all these? Which is the necessity? Maybe some guys have extended free time to spend and want to talk about the same things all the time. And surprisingly, they are the same guys every time.

I believe that this thread was started knowing full well that the discussion would eventually go down this road...

Is he a member here? I think he is. Either way, I'm almost sure he reads this thread.
Douglas/Hodges/whatever your name is, I would like to read your side. I believe it's important for everyone in this community to read both sides.

I'm not saying he did anything illegal, but he lied to a lot of people on a lot of occasions in a community where people perhaps naively put a lot of implicit trust in others in the community.

Gentlemen, isn't digging up and dusting off the artisan's alleged wrongdoings rather unproductive?

Provide some honest criticism of the products and leave the artisan out of it.

People do deserve second chances. Everyone makes mistakes.  Unfortunately everything Chuck wrote did happen....going back two years. It does only scratch the surface as Chuck mentioned.  We were around then. Just awful behavior.

I have no idea what he did or didn't do nor do I care one wit. In the big scheme of life it matters not. So I will repeat what I said in the OneBlade thread about the owner of that company and in that case, the owner was convicted of a crime paying a civil fine. In this case I see no conviction of any crime.

Many major companies has been convicted of some kind civil offense and pay MASSIVE, absolutely MASSIVE fines. They broke some kind of law. Here are a few examples:

1. Almost EVERY car company has been fined for violating law, some involving dead people (e.g., Ford, GM, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Lotus, Toyota, BMW, etc.) The list is endless and these fines are HUGE. And some involve people dying.  Whatever this guy did is peanuts.

2. And then we got the really big fines: BP, GlaxoSmithKline, and the upcoming VW scandal

3. International fines in the Hundreds of Millions: Samsung, Bridgestone, Qantas air and the list goes on and on

4. P&G settled on Price Fixing This effects all of us. I'll guess few know about this.

5. Intel fined $1.4B by the EU for anticompetitive behavior.

If you think the traditional wet shaving industry is immune, how about:

1. Trumpers fined http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ushes.html

2. Gillette fined https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1...2082&hl=en

3. Wilkinson false advertising http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/18/busine...e-ads.html


So if you drive about ANY car, buy any product from any company who broke a law and was fined (which includes far more things that you can imagine), or are reading this with an Intel chip and then complain about this guy, that sure sounds hypocritical to me. I am not defending the behavior of anyone, just saying, if someone is going to be concerned about the behavour of company owners, then look closely at every object you buy because you might find your selection very limited.

Personally, I'm really sick every thread built with the intent to have a constructive conversation about PAA products to have the entire history of Douglas Smythe regurgitated.

This is old news, and currently there is no reason to raise alarm bells. He's rebooted his company, is making great products, provides great customer service, and is doing an admirable job right now. It's ok guys... deep breaths. He's not going to eat your first-born son. Geez.

People do deserve second chances. Everyone makes mistakes.  
Unfortunately everything Chuck wrote did happen....going back two years.
It does only scratch the surface as Chuck mentioned.  We were around then.
Just awful behavior.

That is my stance too. I will never support him, his products or even participate in his threads for that matter.

It was inexcusable in my eyes. And since I have never seen him post or publicly address (on a forum) the issues, I only got once side and the pile on. I won't listen to a podcast explanation or read a blog one either, if there ever was one.

Personally, I'm really sick every thread built with the intent to have a constructive conversation about PAA products to have the entire history of Douglas Smythe regurgitated.

This is old news, and currently there is no reason to raise alarm bells. He's rebooted his company, is making great products, provides great customer service, and is doing an admirable job right now. It's ok guys... deep breaths. He's not going to eat your first-born son. Geez.

Exactly. The best he can do is to make a post and put an end to all these. Otherwise, guys will keep posting about his past. Hiding is not a solution.
Also, he is a vendor now, not only an artisan.

Exactly. The best he can do is to make a post and put an end to all these. Otherwise, guys will keep posting about his past. Hiding is not a solution.
Also, he is a vendor now, not only an artisan.

Others may think he doesn't have to answer to the questions and accusations. But until they are publicly addressed, people will continue to bring it up...it is forum nature and sparks a lot of discussion and interest. Wet Shavers like drama and this is drama at it's best....the man interviewed himself for goodness sake and currently shows up and get together in a red jumpsuit and captains hat. How are people not supposed to wonder what he is all about and look up his past?

As far as vendor/artisan status, that may be why some don't want him to reply. I'm guessing it is in the forum Admins best interest to stay on as Vendor status.

That's how I see it anyway. I've said it before but will say it again....what he did or allegedly did to Veterans and Military personnel is something I don't mind making others aware of or brining up. The reason being, I would hate to find out after the fact, that my favorite artisan or vendor did something horrible and deceptive in the past and never answered or apologized for it.

It could be he will never apologize or feel he needs to, and he has that right. If that's the case, these types of discussions will continue in some way, shape or format in PAA, Synergy & Phoenix threads.