A Service Economy??A Service Economy??
Well, I finally went and did it! My third-hand Ten-Tec Corsair has been acting up (even with a factory visit last summer...I guess old age is setting in!) and my Kenwood TS-430S has forgotten it's a radio, so I went ahead and did it--I ordered a new rig!
After much research, I decided on the ICOM IC-746; it's gotten great reviews, everyone who has one loves it, and it has all the features I'm looking for in a rig. Besides, I can't afford an Omni VI. For that matter, I can't really afford an IC-746, but that's why they make plastic.
So, I called my favorite ham dealer--let's call 'em "Alaska Antennas" (although they're in another large state much closer to my QTH)--and gave the nice man my credit card number. He told me that the IC-746 was out of stock, but they would have one in a week or so. "No prob," said I, "I've gone this long without one, so what's an extra week?"
Now, we keep hearing that ours is a "service economy." Some businesses recognize that to remain competitive in the commercial arena, they've got to offer superb service. Oh, jeez, this isn't a new concept--"the customer's always right" is an old, old saying. Of course, the customer isn't always right, but smart business folks know they have to act that way. After all, a business without customers is...well, a hobby! And in the ham radio business, where profit margins are incredibly slim, keeping customers happy, one would think, would be top priority.
Anyway, a few days after I placed my order to "Georgia Ginpoles" (or was it "Montana Monobanders"?), I called the dealer not so much to check on my order, but to request that the radio be shipped to my work, rather than my home. It made sense to me--the UPS guy delivers to the big time TV station a couple of times a day and there's always someone there to sign for packages. At home, getting deliveries is hit or miss--I mean, my cats are smart, but not that smart!
The nice man at "Lone Star Longwires" said he could do that, but that I would have to call the bank that issued my Visa card and have my work QTH put in the "delivery database". Well...I've ordered lots of stuff from lots of different sorts of vendors over the years, but I had never heard of such a procedure. As it turns out, neither had the bank: they told me they had no provision for such things.
Oh, well...I'll just wait for my rig and see what develops. Then I got the nasty phone call.
To listen to the formerly nice man from "Wyoming Windoms", you would think I had been showing pictures of his girlfriend to his wife. He said my radio was ready for shipping, but that "company policy" wouldn't allow him to ship my radio to an alternate address unless I called the credit card company and demanded they follow the policy set down by the geniuses who own "Pennsylvania Push-Up Poles".
Now, I won't bother you with a "he said, then I said" blow-by-blow account of my discussion with the guy at "Virginia Verticals," but you would've been proud of me: I didn't yell, I was calm, collected, and offered sound suggestions as to how we could come to an agreement on how to handle the situation.
The fellow wanted none of it. The calmer I was, the more irate and defensive he got. He yelled at me about company policy for several minutes until he asked if I wanted to speak with the owner. "Sure," said I, thinking that the owner, for-crying-out-loud, wouldn't blow a $1500 sale over a myopic, ill-thought-out policy. Surely the owner of a small business wouldn't risk losing a loyal customer over something so trivial.
Instead, when Mr. "Rhode Island Rhombics" got on the phone, he bellowed at me about credit card fraud, company policy, and how I had to call the bank and get it "straight with them". When I suggested that I had just ordered an item--something not carried by "Delaware Dipoles"--from Amateur Electronic Supply, and that they hadn't had problems with shipping to an alternate address (in fact, they asked me), Mr. Owner went into thermal overload.
He chugged and blustered and spewed that AES charges too much, and that he had been in business for 20 years, and then he told me that I was wasting his time! I was wasting his time! I WAS WASTING HIS TIME! Let me get this straight--I, who was ready to give him over One Thousand Five Hundred American dollars in exchange for a piece of amateur radio gear, WAS WASTING HIS TIME!!!
It goes without saying that I cancelled the order. Not only that, but I will never, ever buy anything else from "Mississippi Masts" again. And, while I can't encourage you to do the same, I will suggest that you don't do business with anyone who:
Oh, by the way, my new rig is on it's way--from a dealer who will happily ship wherever I want.
Epilogue
I received my new rig from Austin Amateur (that's a real name this time!) in just TWO days! The verdict: I love it! I'm having a blast being active on 6M again as well as chasing DX on HF. The IC-746 is a honey: it is, for the most part, intuitive to operate and even with more bells 'n' whistles than I know what to do with, it's a real kick to use. I've also been getting unsolicited reports of "great audio," so the IC-746 gets an "A+" from me. I'll keep you posted...
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