[Icom] happy ending to the texas tower customer non-service

Tue, 26 Mar 2002 11:26:42 -0500

"the beef?"  90 minutes on the technician's bench with specialized tools ...
shipping it away or driving it across town...  and speaking of
technicians...     73  paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "John B. Kobberstad, kc8frw" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 4:06 PM
Subject: RE: [Icom] happy ending to the texas tower customer non-service


> WHERE'S The BEEF??
> If I had bought the radio from Texas Towers you can bet that I would be
sending it back directly to Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu or whoever manufactured it.
Texas Towers didn't make it they are just the middleman! I would want the
manufacturer to deal with it directly and the letter I would send to them
would let them know exactly how I felt about it. Has the manufacturer been
informed of this problem?
>   If it was just a loose nut, what's the problem? Hams don't know how to
tighten nuts now! Texas towers isn't in the business of tightening loose
nuts now are they? Maybe I should think about going there next time I need
an oil change so I can have them loosen the nut on the oil drain plug.
>
> On Tue, 26 Mar 2002 10:10:17
>  Duane Budd wrote:
> >Interesting response, George.
> >
> >K5ZZ, a friend in Greenville, TX, has told me that he does
> >not shop there because of the poor way he has been treated
> >IN PERSON within their store.
> >
> >Ah well - different strokes...
> >
> >
> >Duane Budd
> >[email protected]
> >Johnson City, TN
> >
> >**All outgoing Email is screened by Norton Antivirus**
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: [email protected]
> >[mailto:[email protected]]On
> >Behalf Of George, W5YR
> >Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 12:36 AM
> >To: [email protected]; [email protected]
> >Subject: Re: [Icom] happy ending to the texas tower customer
> >non-service
> >
> >
> >Hi, Paul
> >
> >I am sorry to hear of your problem with the new 746PRO. I
> >wonder, though,
> >if you are not tarring Gerald and Matthew with an undeserved
> >brush here in
> >this particular case.
> >
> >I must make you aware that I have lost count of the number
> >of radios that I
> >have bought from them since 1982, together with untold
> >antennas, keys,
> >coax, and you name it. In all those transactions, some of
> >which included
> >trade-ins, etc. I have never ever gotten a defective
> >product. I have never
> >been treated with other than respect and regard for myself
> >as a long-time
> >ham in this area and a loyal customer. I have never haggled
> >with Gerald
> >over the price of a radio - he doesn't operate that way. I
> >have never left
> >his shop feeling dissatisfied or neglected.
> >
> >Someone else posted that you get what you pay for and with
> >the current
> >cut-throat situation in ham radio merchandising in this
> >country, I believe
> >that is a correct assessment. Most of the dealers who
> >operate primarily
> >over the phone have profit margins that are very small and
> >thus the amount
> >of time and added service after the sale they can offer is
> >necessarily
> >limited. Since I have never had a problem, I can't speak
> >from experience,
> >but knowing Gerald and Matthew as I do, I suspect that they
> >put more
> >thought and concern into dealing with your situation that
> >your posting
> >suggests and that you give them credit for.
> >
> >Let me ask this: where do you live? I live about 6 miles
> >from TT. If I had
> >a problem I would be knocking on the door before they opened
> >the next
> >morning. But, if you are in Cincinnati, as your email
> >address suggests,
> >they may well have figured that for the amount of shipping
> >cost and lost
> >time involved, you could return the set to be repaired to
> >Icom easier and
> >more effectively *for you* than sending it to them where
> >they would have to
> >just send it to Icom - they have minimal repair facilities
> >there and do
> >essentially no service work.
> >
> >So, it appears to me that their response was based upon what
> >would make the
> >most sense for you, for Icom and for them. Send the broken
> >radio to Icom
> >where it has to go anyway, if you don't avail yourself of
> >some local shop -
> >which you did - but which they had no way of knowing about -
> >and get it
> >fixed right and promptly under warranty and returned to you
> >at no cost.
> >
> >I know that I am biased by 20 years of favorable experience
> >with TT and its
> >owners, but I really cannot imagine them literally telling
> >you to mind the
> >door on your way out. I can see them recommending that you
> >send the radio
> >to Icom since (a) Icom warrantees the radio, not the dealer
> >and (b) even if
> >they wanted to, they have no repair facilities . Nothing I
> >have ever seen
> >in their ads or web site suggests that defective products
> >are to be
> >returned to them. The one exception would be for a radio
> >that was DOA when
> >you unpacked it. I would bet money that they would replace
> >it without a
> >moment's hesitation. When I bought my PRO there last year, I
> >did not even
> >open the box and make sure the radio was OK, since I knew
> >that if it were
> >not, it would be replaced with no questions asked. But, that
> >would be based
> >upon a DOA situation, not a case of my using the radio for a
> >couple of
> >weeks and then finding something wrong with it.
> >
> >So, I sense your anger and frustration, but honestly I think
> >that you had a
> >degree of unrealistic expectation over the transaction and
> >you had the
> >misfortune to get a radio that failed shortly after you took
> >delivery. But
> >ask this: what would you expect TT to do if the same thing
> >had happened 6
> >weeks or 6 months after you got it? Should they be expected
> >to take it back
> >and give you a new one? What is the reasonableness test here
> >for dealer
> >support? I believe that it ends with the understanding and
> >commitment to
> >replace a DOA radio upon delivery. Once the customer has had
> >the radio and
> >used it for even a short period of time, that establishes
> >that the dealer
> >provided the customer with a working product and has no
> >further obligation.
> >Again, the radio is warranteed by Icom, not Texas Towers.
> >
> >Forgive the preaching, Paul, but as I said I am baffled by
> >your report of
> >this incident, and I cannot help but feel that your anger
> >and frustration
> >have displaced some sense of fairness and normal business
> >practice here.
> >
> >I am very glad to you found a local shop to deal with the
> >problem. We are
> >fortunate in having one of the best in the country - AVVID -
> >here in the
> >metroplex area. But fortunately I have never had need for
> >their services
> >since I maintain all my equipment. However, the PRO will be
> >the exception
> >since I am no longer up to dealing with an SMT radio!   <:}
> >
> >Note that this is a private posting as I feel that this sort
> >of
> >conversation is really not appropriate for the reflector.
> >You have made
> >serious public negatively accusations against TT and really
> >smeared them,
> >as was your intention, but I did want you to know that not
> >everyone, as you
> >imply, is treated as you feel that you were. Gerald and
> >Matthew Williamson
> >are two of the most decent and honorable guys I know. They
> >have been in
> >this business for a long time now, and will likely be in it
> >when many
> >others have passed by the wayside.
> >
> >I honestly hope that you reconsider any public displays at
> >Dayton which
> >would seem to reflect negatively more on you than on them.
> >Recall that for
> >every isolated case like yours, they have hundreds of other
> >satisfied and
> >repeat customers all over the nation and a lot of the world.
> >
> >73/72/oo, George W5YR - the Yellow Rose of Texas
> >Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13qe
> >Amateur Radio W5YR, in the 56th year and it just keeps
> >getting better!
> >QRP-L 1373 NETXQRP 6 SOC 262 COG 8 FPQRP 404 TEN-X 11771
> >I-LINK 11735
> >Icom IC-756PRO #02121  Kachina 505 DSP  #91900556  Icom
> >IC-765 #02437
> >
> >All outgoing email virus-checked by Norton Anti-Virus 2002
> >
> >
> >paul wrote:
> >>
> >> hi steve   746pro..  you are not going to believe this
> >one...  someone at
> >> the factory forgot to tighten the nut that locked the main
> >vfo dial in
> >> place..  it was flopping around like a fish out of water..
> >2 weeks old from
> >> texas tower..  they told me  "ship it to icom..  its yours
> >now..  not our
> >> problem"
> >>  their customer service reps  practice bending over while
> >they tell their
> >> "FORMER CUSTOMERS"  "to pucker up"  73  paul
> >
> >----
> >Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD,
> >[email protected]
> >Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> >
> >
> >----
> >Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD, [email protected]
> >Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> >
>
>
> 2,000,000,000 Web Pages--you only need 1. Save time with My Lycos.
> http://my.lycos.com
> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan W6OLD, [email protected]
> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
>