[Elecraft] To improve customer service (for the Classic gear)

Thu May 23 19:46:38 EDT 2019

Don,

I profusely apologize for the delay and lack of communication. As Don, 
W3FPR pointed out, Don was and I am a part time employee. For a whole host 
of reasons, that I won't go into at this time, the transition has been 
somewhat slow but I am making progress.

The amount of backlog has been overwhelming to an extent. But with Don's 
help we have managed to whittle much of it down.

I am not making excuses for the lack of communication and will improve my 
response as I work through this transition. Poor Don is supposed to be 
retired and still provides excellent support in my absence or heavy workload.

As he noted, my wife and I are on vacation well off of the grid. I do have 
some wifi here (sitting at the Tiki bar as I write this) but I am pretty 
much off the grid until next week.

I do totally love the Elecraft customer service paradigm and will continue 
to strive for that plateau. But it will take me a little time as I still 
work a fulltime profession as well as this part time venture plus family 
blah blah blah.

If I remember right, your rig was number 2 or 3 on my priority list and I 
will get right on it as soon as I return. I appreciate your patience in the 
interim and will be in touch soon.

73,
Dave, W8FGU
On May 23, 2019 13:03:13 Don Wilhelm <donwilh at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> Doug,
>
> Thanks for the nice words about my service.  When I was doing repairs
> for the classic gear, I did not have a staff (like they do in
> Watsonville) to send emails when the rig arrives, etc.  I would email
> customers when I started work on it, ask any questions about what the
> customer wanted when the RSA form was incomplete. and let the customer
> know if there were significant delays.
> Then when I finish with it, I would send the report to the office and
> the sales staff would contact the customer about payment.
> It is tough to keep up with emails, repairs and everything else when
> there is a backlog of repairs.  So working with a staff of one (me) it
> is difficult to keep up with customer communications in addition to
> providing prompt repair service.
>
> I was not a contract person, but a part time employee of Elecraft.
>
> I am certain Dave WFGU (who took over for me, and is also a part-time
> employee) is having similar problems.  In additions, he also works for
> his Fire Department which has him at the station full time for stretches
> between 2 and 4 days at a time, and he may not know that his XYL got a
> repair package in during those days.  I know he is currently on vacation
> and away from home - so any repair parcels are being held for him at the
> post office or UPS.
>
> Sorry that we cannot provide the same level of communications that are
> available out of Watsonville, but we do the best we can.  I had an
> advantage over Dave because I was not working a full time job when I was
> doing that legacy repair work.
>
> Some patience and understanding is required, and your tracking numbers
> can be relied on - I never found them to be wrong.
>
> Do not send an advance check with your RSA repair.  If a check is
> discovered, it must be sent to Watsonville, and will not be cashed until
> the repair is concluded.
>
> Also, do not send your classic gear to Watsonville, send it as indicated
> in the RSA instructions.  If you do send it to Watsonville, expect an
> extra week delay because it must then be shipped to Michigan.
> The newer (non-thru-hole gear) IS serviced at Watsonville, but NOT the
> classic gear.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 5/23/2019 1:56 PM, Doug Hensley wrote:
>> Don, I think that is because the early stuff is farmed out to contract 
>> people who may not have an email routine going yet.  The K1 & K2's were 
>> usually handled by Don Wilhelm who just retired.  You might contact 
>> Elecraft support and ask them who they sent the rig to, when, where, etc.
>>
>> Don had done all my K1 & K2 work and was just marvelous.  Hopefully 
>> Elecraft keep that kind of talent at hand.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Doug W5JV
>>
>>>>>>>
>>
>> Message: 20
>> Date: Thu, 23 May 2019 17:17:57 +0000
>> From: Don Schroder <donanddeena at hotmail.com>
>> To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
>> Subject: [Elecraft] To improve customer service
>> Message-ID:
>>          <BYAPR02MB58793D242E5910BEE56677F8AA010 at BYAPR02MB5879.namprd02.prod.outlook.com>
>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> A good morning to all!
>>
>> I am sitting in my recliner, drinking a cup of java, and doing what I seem 
>> to do best, thinking,
>>
>> I?m thinking; when I sent my computer into the Company for repairs (under 
>> warranty), the Company did something I had never experienced before. They 
>> ?GAVE ME A WEEKLY UPDATE? every Friday by email or phone call, to tell me 
>> the status of my computer! Every week, I knew what was happening to my 
>> computer, (1) had they received it? (2) Were they working on it? (3) What 
>> have they found? (4 ) What problems have they encountered?  (5) Is it 
>> fixed? (6) Have they sent it back to me?
>>
>> On April 8th, I sent my K2 transceiver kit to Elecraft, to look at an issue 
>> I was having.
>>
>> On April 10th, (2 days later) Elecraft received my K2. I know this NOT 
>> because I was notified, but because I researched the tracking number.
>>
>> On May 7th, (29 days later), Elecraft cashed my deposit check that was sent 
>> with the K2. I know this NOT because I was notified, but because I 
>> researched my banking statements.
>>
>> On May 23rd, (today, 45 days later) I am beginning to think I may never see 
>> my K2 again!
>>
>> I?m thinking; wouldn?t it be nice if all Companies kept their customers 
>> ?informed? of a products status when sent in for repairs, like the computer 
>> Company did?
>>
>> I?m thinking; this would be a GREAT improvement to customer service!
>>
>> Don, KE0PVQ
>> Let the lava flow begin
>>
>> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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