john.brewer@us.schneider-electric.com wrote:
> It's a mystery to me, why companies will try and skimp on a manual, with the
> resultant endless
> stream of complaints and questions (and customer DIS-satisfaction) to save a
> couple thou,
> rather than pay a one time charge to have a contract technical writer produce
> a competent
> professional document.
A couple potential reasons spring to mind:
- because a couple thousand bucks is a big capital investment for a
small manufacturing company. Say you've figured out a new design for
antenna, and it takes about $50-100 of aluminum to make. You can buy a
half dozen antenna's worth of aluminum for stock, do the manufacturing
and kitting, etc. as orders come in, so not much capital is involved,
and you can not spend the money until you have orders in hand. The
manual would be an all upfront cost.
- small companies, generically, tend to resist seeking outside
assistance for a variety of reasons: a) entreprenurial spirit sometimes
turns into a mindset of "I can do it myself faster than I could explain
it to someone else";
or b) they don't know where to find the resources or vendors. It's one
thing to tell someone go get a tech writer.. how do you find one, know
whether they are competent, what the going rates are... Someone who's
got a small manufacturing shop background won't necessarily know these
things like they would things like where to get a machinist, order
aluminum, etc.
Jim, W6RMK
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