The issue is that customer service costs money. MFJ have priced
themselves into a corner ... they can improve quality so their
products are more reliable and require less service, they can increase
prices to build in margins to support an appropriately sized service
operation, or they can simply say up front that the devices are "not
economically repairable." In any case it means higher prices and MFJ
have always been defined by low price not high quality.
If one has well trained, competent and properly equipped technicians
the "loaded cost" for the labor alone is going to be somewhere between
$50 and $100 per hour. With a half-hour just to unpack, open, close,
and repack a product returned for non-warranty service, it doesn't
take a lot to run up a repair bill greater than the manufacturing cost
of a $299 list price antenna analyzer or a $239 list price antenna
switch controller.
What is the proper balance? That's up to MFJ and each customer to
determine for himself.
73,
... Joe, W4TV
On 2014-08-31 5:37 PM, Tom Nicholson wrote:
Craig,
I would wager that the vast majority of people here would agree
with you that MFJ employees, most probably, are all "good guys" and well
intended in the pursuit of making available a source of equipment for
the Ham Radio community. Where management has failed is the support
"after the sale"! Many fine products have failed as a result of poor or
no product support. The lack of support is no reflection on the
dedication and expertise of the support personnel, What it is a
reflection of is the mismanagement of the support system. This CAN be
remedied, BUT maybe at the cost of some management jobs. They need to
have the management team address these problems or replace the team. It
seems at MFJ it has reached "critical mass" and the statement has to be
made:
"You are either part of the solution or you are part of the
problem" and make the hard decisions from that point forward.
YMMV, but that has been my experience over the 30+ plus years that
I owned a business that was 20% sales and 80% customer service.
73
Tom W1ALZ
On 8/31/2014 3:34 PM, Craig Clark wrote:
When you bash MFJ, just remember, if it was not for them, we would
have no:
Hy-Gain
Cushcraft
Ameritron
Mirage
Vectronics
Ed Noll and many other books
And probably a few others that I can't remember.
I have known and worked with MFJ for over 35 years. Say what you will,
they
are the good guys.
Back to towers and antennas.
Craig
Craig Clark K1QX
PO Box 209
107 Fitzgerald Rd
Rindge NH 03461
(603) 899-6103 office
(603) 520 6577 cell
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