And it's my experience that customers that are more understanding are easier to take advantage of, even if it's unintentional. Patient customers are a blessing, but that doesn't mean we always deserve them. The situation is unacceptable, for certain. I have actually considered the possibility that the 2015 Pro is a scheme to fund continued development of a project. You could ask, "why else would an e-mail go out stating that the 2015 Pro has begun production, and offering free shipping for immediate orders, when we know there is a waiting list going back to Feb at least." The best answer that I can come up with, in all honesty, is that it was a stupid move, plain and simple. Not a bad idea to start the ball rolling on sales, but as it is I think it's just going to lead to more people waiting, and you'd think Ted should have known that. He would have done better to offer a discounted early buy on the product "1-2 months out". A lot of people would have undoubtedly been happy to wait a few months for 5-10% off, and then you end up with a totally different situation. Honestly I think some people are just optimistic to a fault, and he does have a product that he needs to sell--I can appreciate that. Doesn't mean he didn't screw the pooch doing it. If it weren't for the fact that there are 2014 Classic models out there, I would say it might really be in doubt, but I don't think there's justification in view of all known facts to accuse Ted Ciamillo of not intending to get his product out.
I know some people say that they'd rather wait and get a better product, and use this to sort of justify in their minds the continued silent delay after we were promised a relatively brief ship time. It's hard to disagree, since we all want a good fin, but in a nutshell here's the problem with that sentiment: product testing, improvement, and finishing is supposed to be part of the production process, not part of the shipping process.
Myself, I feel I've had a fairly clear picture of the situation, so I haven't bothered to e-mail/phone, not that people shouldn't do that--they should. He just needs to get things going, and it's only going to piss me off to be given more overly-optimistic estimates--I got that at the get-go, and one's enough for me.
On that note, and to address Ted directly: I know you will be further along than you were a few weeks ago, and then a few weeks before that, but I would say it's never too close to release in this kind of situation to sit down, carefully assess the situation--determine yourself how far you have to go, and what needs to be done--and set things right with your customers. It's going to take some time away from your production which is so far behind, but it could easily be the best way to spend that time, if you get it right.
I know some people say that they'd rather wait and get a better product, and use this to sort of justify in their minds the continued silent delay after we were promised a relatively brief ship time. It's hard to disagree, since we all want a good fin, but in a nutshell here's the problem with that sentiment: product testing, improvement, and finishing is supposed to be part of the production process, not part of the shipping process.
Myself, I feel I've had a fairly clear picture of the situation, so I haven't bothered to e-mail/phone, not that people shouldn't do that--they should. He just needs to get things going, and it's only going to piss me off to be given more overly-optimistic estimates--I got that at the get-go, and one's enough for me.
On that note, and to address Ted directly: I know you will be further along than you were a few weeks ago, and then a few weeks before that, but I would say it's never too close to release in this kind of situation to sit down, carefully assess the situation--determine yourself how far you have to go, and what needs to be done--and set things right with your customers. It's going to take some time away from your production which is so far behind, but it could easily be the best way to spend that time, if you get it right.
