Wiardgroup

I usually stay quiet on mailing lists, but what Paul said, has moved me a lot.
I couldn't agree with you more.

I have read in my emails many bad things, that I'm unproffessional, that someone will take any measures to wipe out my website etc. It's true that people sometimes wait for their ordered stuff outrageously long, and I really feel sorry for that. Every order for me is personal, I don't treat them as every-day shoppers in supermarket. But sometimes it's just delayed, and delayed again. I don't have this part, or this one last assembly process must be performed, or I have to spend some time with family to avoid a divorce in the future. And I also have a day job, simply because my electronics business isn't big enough to survive.
Most of the people are very pleased when they get their products, but the waiting is killing them.
It's hard for me to admit, but the worst customers are my native ones, from Poland. They always complain that the price is too high, and they want their products now, now, now!

I rambled a little, so I feel better now...

Roman
midi-hardware.com


Dnia 15 lipca 2008 4:45 Paul Schreiber <syntht@yahoo.com> napisał(a):

> I'm going to do a 'strange' thing, and sort of jump in this discussion (sort of a 'What is *he* doing here?' thing). Mainly because a previous statement Grant made that I'm sure everyone didn't pay any attention to certainly struck a nerve.
> 
> There are a LOT of people that decided to 'jump in' to our little sandbox (and believe me, it is LITTLE) the last 5 years or so. I'm not saying that's a generally bad thing, last time I checked none of us joined the Ferrari Club of America. But what they have discovered is the following:
> 
> a) the tolerance for waiting for stuff (and some of my customer waits are the stuff of legends) has DRASTICALLY reduced, especially the last 2 years or so. The current mindset is "if you have a web store, then it had better be like all the OTHER web stores. I want to order on Monday, get a confirmation email, a tracking email and a PACKAGE delivered by Friday. If www.dogtoys.com can do this WHY CAN'T YOU??!?"
> 
> b) being an old fart (52) I always saved my money and didn't buy *anything* unless cash was in the bank. I have customers that have placed 5 orders on 5 *different* credit cards. It seems that buying modules is not 'planned and saved' as 'look! a cool thing! GET IT NOW!' Because people can buy something NOW they want it NOW.
> 
> c) Grant & I have had LONG phone talks about how we both mapped our *personal feelings* into the hardware and then have it tossed back into our laps. In one case, by a person that *NEVER OWNED ANY MODULES* but felt compelled to expound (at great length and with quite....errrr...colorful analogies) about *perveived* defects in both our designs. If you think this was not harmful, guess again. Not only is it directly harmful (loss of business) but emotionally harmful (I went through some crap 8 years ago on AH that literally made by ill).
> 
> d) No matter how hard a vendor tries, in the actual product or the support afterwards, SOMEBODY will be REALLY PISSED OFF and tell the world just how much you SUCK. 
> 
> e) If you think that we don't notice you selling off your gear that you hounded us for MONTHS to ship, guess again. My personal 'favorite' was a guy that ordered ~$6K of assembled modules, which I produce in few numbers and they are generally last priority (well, when I had the kits). This individual gave me a tight deadline, but paid up front in full (which, BTW, does NOT allow you to hammer us ANY MORE that someone who DOESN'T). I busted my ass, I took 2 days of *vacation* from my day job, I has 17 of the 19 modules done by the agreed day and he called and wanted to CANCEL. Did he have a show, a recording deadline, anything REAL? No, just a dickhead. Well, I told him NO, I was NOT going to cancel, and I shipped his 2 modules the next day with all the others. And the deadline was 26 days, and in that time he sent me *9* emails about shipping status. 
> 
> 10 days later, he puts it UP FOR SALE on Craigslist. I called him up and he said that he used it for 4 days, he really liked it but decided to get a CS-80.
> 
> Now, it is totally within his 'rights' to do whatever the hell he wants to after he gets it. He can paint it pink, take a dump on it and bury it in the backyard for all I care. But, DO NOT ANNOY THE LIVING CRAP out of me BEFORE you get it if that is your end game. Just sit QUIETLY and WAIT.
> 
> The moral of the 'story' is:
> 
> Please wait and we PROMISE to deliver unique, high quality, hand built, years dreaming about, 10s of THOUSAND of dollars spent, THOUSANDS of PERSONAL hours spent all for YOUR BENEFIT, NOT OURS modules. We do it because we are insane to think we 'love it'. But in reality we do it because we like sincere, positve comments and little music demos made on our babies, even if it is bug music :)
> 
> Paul Schreiber
> Synthesis Technology
> and Wiard module owner (2 of them, actually!)
> 
> 
> 
>