[TowerTalk] X9 or C31XR

Jim amcastmis@earthlink.net
Thu, 08 Apr 1999 16:12:50 -0700


Hey guys,

Remember, we're talking about Cushcraft here.  The company that participated in
false advertising regarding the X9 and it's vapor-ware 2 element 40 meter
add-on.  When unable to deliver, they acted like it was the customers fault for
taking their written ads seriously.  Anyone who buys Cushcraft products takes
their chances as far as I'm concerned.  The learned doctor  needs to stick to
writing theories and leave running a large company to someone who knows how to
deal with the buying public.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Jim
WB6YAW



Jeffrey R Davis wrote:

> Dick Flanagan wrote:
>
> I'd like to confirm Dick's impressions:
>
> [IRRITATED FORMER CUSTOMER ALERT]
>
> I recently received a Cushcraft 17B2 which had some hidden damage, which
> probably occurred in shipping. Namely, the balun case was crunched. My plan
> was to order a replacement balun from Cushcraft and add it to the damage
> claim to the transport company.
>
> JEFF TRIES TO PLACE AN ORDER OVER THE PHONE
> So I called up Cushcraft and waded through about 7 layers of menus, only to
> be told that I didn't have the option of giving my order to a human being
> person, only to either leave a voice mail or place the order via the web
> site. By the way, the message went further to explain that their "goal" was
> to respond to voice mails within 3 days. Some goal.
>
> JEFF TRIES TO PLACE AN ORDER OVER THE WEB
> So I dutifully went to the web site to try to place the order. I don't know
> whether the problem was my system or theirs, but I kept getting error
> messages trying to order the balun using the web site. I gave up after
> three tries and decided to call again, but take a different path through
> the menu system.
>
> JEFF TRIES TO FIND A HUMAN BEING TO TALK TO
> What I did was follow the warranty path - after all, it was a brand new
> antenna and had a broken piece when I opened the box. I don't know for sure
> that it was damaged in shipping - maybe it came from the factory that way.
> But my real motive was to speak with a live human being who could help me
> place an order.
>
> JEFF THINKS CUSHCRAFT IS A GREAT COMPANY
> So I get through the 7 menu layers and behold, a human answers the phone -
> a human who wanted to be very helpful. After explaining the situation, he
> offered that they would do a warrantly replacement. I'm thinking "what a
> great company, they really stand for making sure I end up with a good
> product, even if it wasn't necessarily their fault".
>
> JEFF DISCOVERS HE IS NOT CONSIDERED TRUSTWORTHY
> Unfortunately for my perceptions, the helpful person at the other end soon
> realized that I was talking about the balun, which costs all of $60. Now to
> get warranty replacement, I would have to send the damaged balun in first;
> only then would they ship a replacement. I explained that I had a whole
> tower project schedule I was trying to manage, and didn't want to have to
> the whole project waiting for a two way exchange. I asked if I could give
> them a credit card number for the balun if they didn't trust me and credit
> the card when the damaged balun arrived. The helpful person at the other
> end explained that, unfortunately, this would require an "executive
> decision" and that he would get back to me.
>
> JEFF IS DISILLUSIONED
> The now sheepish helpful person who called me back had to explain that the
> "executive" he spoke to not only wouldn't accept my credit card, he
> wouldn't even treat it as a warranty. No big deal, I wasn't expecting
> warranty in the first place, but so much for my perception of a "great
> company".
>
> DISILLUSIONED, UNTRUSTED JEFF FINALLY PLACES AN ORDER WITH A HUMAN BEING
> Fortunately, the helpful person WAS empowered enough to take my credit card
> number for a replacement balun order!
>
> Regards,
>
> Jeff - N0DY
>
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