[TowerTalk] Amidon Inc.

[Bruce Makas]

Chuck, After your problems the first two times, why did you go back a third
time?

Bruce K1MY

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chuck Counselman" <ccc at space.mit.edu>
To: <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 7:42 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Amidon Inc.


> 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.
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>