Note: I actually wrote the below as a reply to a post in another Sentry topic. There are a ton of Sentry topics out there and I decided I didn't want my little forum editorial, as it probably is, to get lost. Obviously, the topic where I was originally placing this had gotten heated. Anyway, I hope what I wrote helps someone, somewhere, even if it's a newbie trying to figure out whether or not Sentry is some evil monster or just a company with history that is trying to move forward. For what it's worth, to whomever it may interest, here's my latest two cents on the subject.

I'm sure I'll get yelled at, but I have to say this. Folks, you have to let go of the past and try to move forward. I'm aware that there were some issues in the past that were not favorable, but hard as it is to let go of a good fight, as some of you say, the world would be a calmer, more peaceful place, if everyone could let it go and move forward.

I've done shops for Feedback and Sentry. The first time I had an issue, I bit the bullet and called Dave. You know what? It was a good conversation. He explained a bit of what had gone on in the past and he stood up and admitted his mistakes in the process. Yes, I heard the defensiveness in his tone at first (until he realized I was not an attacker), but with all the stuff shoved at him on this forum, it's hard for me to blame him. The important factor to me was that he quickly handled my issue and life has gone on.

I actually think Dave does a pretty good job trying not to go over the top when he feels like he's been attacked, but he is human ... as are all of you. I do think there are some folks here who just love to blast him any chance they get, and that's another place where I wish folks would step back and try to move forward in peace.

Here's a reality check for everyone. Dave is one of the most accessible MSCs out there. You can email him and you can call him and he tends to respond in a timely manner and he handles whatever issues are out there. Having worked with many MSCs, there are but a handful that in my view are truly available to their shoppers. There are improvements to be made with the support ticket process at Sentry, but for now, when there is a problem, I know I can contact Dave and he'll take care of it. Obviously, he also follows this forum, prepared to help shoppers who have issues.

Again, I'm new to the game, and I missed the big mess from whenever it was when a lot of mistakes were made by a lot of people, including Dave, but let's move forward. Sentry made a purchase of Feedback Plus and has been working on integrating the two companies. They've been changing and organizing their operations, including pay. I like that I can now easily see my statements every month on the Shopmetrics site. Not everyone likes bill.com, but I found the entire process to take about a minute and be entirely painless. The point is that things are getting better as the merging of the companies dust settles.

I don't know Dave personally. I know nothing about him but what I've read here and, more importantly, how I've been treated since that first conversation with him. My advice, not that anyone wants it, is to chill out, back up, take a breath, and move forward with Sentry, if they have shops that are of interest to you. I hope everyone, including Dave, just takes a big breath and counts to ten before responding in any negative way to an upsetting post. I would advise shoppers with issues to email him. He freely gives out his email and as many have said in many posts, he does respond. Give the man a chance. As for Dave, maybe the biggest way to answer complaints is to wait for all to be handled and then reply by saying the situation has been resolved. I've noticed a lot of posters who complain about something are usually pretty decent about coming back and verifying that everything has been handled, and I applaud those folks for being honest in doing so. Unfortunately, sometimes all Dave has to do is write a couple of lines for the unhappy wolves from the past to pounce. As in cooking, sometimes less is more. :}

That's it for now. I usually don't like getting in the middle of these 'arguments,' but sometimes I can't help myself, and that is especially true when I've had positive experience with the subject matter, as I have here. I guess I'm a supporter of Sentry because Dave has been responsive, upfront, and available to my requests. I don't have to go through schedulers, who may or may not be responsive, to reach the head of the company, and I don't get answering machines that are full when I call. That's more than I can say about most MSCs that I deal with.

Good luck, everyone, and as Spock might say, Live long and shop prosperously. <s>