> Duffy,
> I kind of think your tone of voice might have told TT that you would not
> have been happy with the non TCXO radio. After all, you were waiting kind
> of late to order any one for your vacation. What was the last radio you
> bought and when? Times have changed since just few years back in ham
> marketing. Perhaps you have not bought anything in some time to know
that.
>
> I guess you have not been following the reflector long or you would have
> known the radio has been in short supply since its introduction. Ham
radios
> are not Chevy's, The vendors cannot let them sit on the shelf in big
> stocks. They are not a commodity item made in mass production.
>
> In this time of, Just In Time component suppliers, who do not often have
> large quantities of special components to speed the building of radios;
any
> firm, TT included, has a problem keeping stock. They may have trouble
> getting parts just to build to orders placed in a timely fashion.
>
> We, in the development business have been having trouble getting many
kinds
> of electronic components in the down economy, because no firm wants to
risk
> stocking too much and tying up capital. Thus, I can appreciate that TT
has
> a waiting list for radios. Same for the Orion model, as has been evident
on
> this reflector since its introduction.
>
> Sorry you could not have instant gratification, but ham radio is a bit out
> of that with society these days. Had you considered a used radio? Fine
> bargains are out there on those in TCXO and conventional oscillator.
> GL,
> -Stuart
> K5KVH
>
I think you and most of the responders to this post have missed the point.
This is not an inventory or manufacturing issue. It is a customer service
issue. By paying extra for express shipping the customer is stating he wants
his order right away. If the radio is out of stock a proper customer service
response would be to contact him to advise him of the delay. It is not the
responsibility of the customer to scour this reflector or other sources to
discover that this radio is in short supply. Nor is it even reasonable to
require him to ask about the in stock situation when placing the order. Be
honest now. Unless you have reason to suspect an out of stock situation, how
often do you ask if the item you want is in stock when you place a phone or
internet order. Go ahead and tell me you do this 100% of the time and I will
tell you that you are an incredibly small minority. It is up to the supplier
to advise the customer of the problem, and I have had that happen regularly
on phone and internet orders. It is accepted good customer service policy.
Sorry, but TT customer service fell down on this one. They should have
advised him of the 5 week wait so he could consider other options, including
a used radio. The fact that he requested express shipping only adds to this.
It certainly would not make any sense to make him wait 5 weeks for his radio
and then ship it to him express!
Just my .02
73 Bob K4LW
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