On 2/19/2013 12:27 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
The problem with that approach is that many (most?) hams want to SEE and
TOUCH a radio before spending a big chunk of our hard earned savings on
it.
Like anybody else gives us a 30 day in-home,
hands on, road test ?
Most hams will spend $50 in gasoline, $30 in
meals to attend a small hamfest out of town,
but they won't spend any money at all to
road test a radio in their home for 30 days.
Many hams also want some personal relationship with the manufacturer.
Not really. What most hams want is a radio
that works - and if it works, they don't need any
contact or relationship with the manufacturer at all.
I don't want a personal relationship with my car
dealer, either. I want a car that works, and I want
no further contact with the dealer whatsoever.
Heck... who needs a relationship if the gear works
as it should ? One only needs a relationship if
he wants or needs something.
That CAN be accomplished online, and another US mfr who only sells
direct in North America, Elecraft, has done a spectacularly good job of
online contact with their customers -- they run rings around Ten Tec in
that regard. They also go to hamfests.
I am sick to death of hearing how wonderful
the other guys are.
I got horrible treatment from Elecraft in
emails and on the phone. I got nothing
but good vibes and top drawer shelf service
dealing with TenTec.
Maybe Elecraft NEEDS to stroke THEIR customers
more than TT does. Maybe Elecraft buyers
require more stroking than TT buyers.
All the talk about their service after the sale
is a double edged sword.
The fact they issued so many, and so frequent,
firmware updates to the K-3 early tells me the
radio was not ready for prime time when it was
first released. My Omni VII has had very few
updates and has always worked as expected -
it has not needed a mess of updates.
Frankly, I am tired of the Us vs Them flame
wars.
Bottom line is... they are two different companies,
with two different business models. If you like one,
then you should buy its stuff... if you like the other...
then buy its stuff. But I grow weary of all these
pointless "my-dad-can-beat-up-you-dad" kind of
comparisons.
We really should limit ourselves to discussing
the rigs, and to comparing features and performance
only - and stay away from discussions about the
various companies and what we guess or speculate
to be their business plans.
That is just MY take.
------------------------- K8JHR ----------------------
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
|