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

Fri May 24 15:17:49 EDT 2019

You are right Terry! And I need to get back to some that when I return, for 
a little life balance.

73,
Dave, W8FGU
On May 24, 2019 09:46:28 "Terry Schieler" <w0fm at swbell.net> wrote:

> In addition to Dave's many talents, he is also a fine drummer.  "Steady
> feet" are a requirement and a result of years of hard work.
>
> Terry, WØFM
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Johnson [mailto:k9yeq at live.com]
> Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2019 7:02 PM
> To: Dave Van Wallaghen; donwilh at embarqmail.com; Doug Hensley; Don Schroder
> Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] To improve customer service (for the Classic gear)
>
> Dave, thank you for stepping up.  Not an easy task. Thank God, you are in
> transition for Don.  Tough shoes, but you have steady feet.
>
> 72 & 73,
> Bill
> K9YEQ
> FT'er for K2, KX1, KX3, KXPA100,  KAT500, W2, etc.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On
> Behalf Of Dave Van Wallaghen
> Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2019 6:47 PM
> To: donwilh at embarqmail.com; Doug Hensley <w5jv at hotmail.com>; Don Schroder
> <donanddeena at hotmail.com>
> Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] To improve customer service (for the Classic gear)
>
> 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.o
>>> utlook.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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