[TowerTalk] Amidon Inc.

[Chuck Counselman]

I have bought about $2,000 worth of ferrite beads, toroids, cores, 
etc. from Amidon (now d/b/a/ Amidon Inc.) within the last few years; 
and I have recommended Amidon as a source of ferrite products to many 
hams, individually and via four email lists, including this one.

Now I warn _against_ buying from Amidon, because I have had problems 
with _three_ of my last seven orders.  These problems began two years 
ago, about when Dr. Bob Yuan and his family began running the company.

The first problem occurred in 2002 with an order for ten FT-240-61 
toroids, which arrived loose in a hollow cardboard box, with no 
packing material.  Since ferrite is brittle, like glass, naturally 
half of the toroids had been shattered.  After I complained and 
returned the fragments (at my own expense), Amidon replaced the 
broken toroids; but Ms. Julie Yuan never stopped _insisting_ to me 
that the breakage was entirely the fault of UPS and that Amidon had 
properly packed the toroids.  To "prove" her assertion she told me 
"We are audited and we are an ISO 9000 company."  (Did she mean 9001?)

I guess she meant that, since I am not audited and I am not an ISO 
9000 company, I had to be lying when I said that the toroids had been 
shipped loose in a box with no packing material.

The second problem occurred three months ago with an order for 25 
"snapit cable beads."  Only 24 pieces arrived, packed egg-crate-style 
in four rows of six snapit beads.  There was no 25th piece -- not 
anywhere in the package.  When I complained about the shortage, Ms. 
Yuan would not send me the missing piece (for which I had paid) 
because, she said, their inventory check showed no overage; and "We 
are audited and we are an ISO 9000 company."

I guess she meant that, since I am not audited and I am not an ISO 
9000 company, I had to be lying when I said that there were only 24 
pieces in the box.

The third problem occurred two weeks ago with an order for 25 
toroids, Amidon p/n FT-240-43.  Today when I had received nothing, I 
telephoned Amidon.  After taking my name, etc., etc., the so-called 
customer service rep. said barely intelligibly that Amidon had no 
record of any order from me, no way, not _ever_.  I persisted, naming 
the person (Ms. Julie Yuan) who had taken my order, repeating the 
date, the exact time, and other particulars; and finally she allowed 
me to speak with Ms. Yuan.

Ms. Yuan said that she had a "note" showing that she had canceled my 
order (and apparently also deleted all records of my existence) 
because my credit card was "no good."  That there was any problem 
with my credit card was news to me, so I checked with my card-issuing 
bank.  My bank claimed (FWIW) that no charge to my credit card had 
been denied, and in particular that no attempt by Amidon had been 
denied.

After I related this to Ms. Yuan, she changed her story.  Now she 
said that I had given her a different credit-card number.  But I had 
_emailed_ all my order information, including my credit-card number, 
to her; and I had retained a copy of that email message, which now I 
read to her.  There was no error in this message; and the credit-card 
number was correct.  She did not dispute this, but changed her story 
yet again.

Now she said that there had been a problem with my order, so she'd 
asked someone to call me; that this person had called me and left a 
message; but that I'd never called back.  I told her that I have been 
at the tel. no. I'd given her, that day, and every day; that I have 
both an answering machine and a Caller-ID box; that both machines 
would have logged the call if it had in fact come; that I'd neither 
heard nor seen any such call; and that therefore I doubted that it 
had occurred.  I asked to speak to the supposed caller; she refused. 
I asked when the call had been made; she refused to tell me because, 
she said, that was "confidential information" which she could not 
disclose.  I asked why, if the telephone call had been made to me as 
she claimed, it should be kept secret from me; but she did not 
answer.  I asked to speak to Dr. Yuan.  She said that he was not 
available.  I asked when he would be available.  She said he would be 
"away for four months."  I asked who was in charge while he was away, 
and she said that she was.

She added that "Amidon is a big company"; that she "didn't have time 
for small orders"; that she is accustomed to dealing with customers 
who order "thousands of pieces per month, every month," not 
"amateurs" like me (I have ordered $450 worth of ferrite from Amidon 
since 1/7/2003.); and she suggested that in the future I should order 
ferrite from a distributor closer to me.  End of conversation.

Sorry to rant so long, but I had to share this with my fellow 
amateurs to whom it is no longer worth selling.

Tnx es 73 de Chuck W1HIS.