I called TT service dept today to check on the repair status of my Orion that I
had shipped to them just after Thanksgiving. I received an email from them on
December 3 acknowledging receipt of the radio. Since that time I had not heard
anything further, but considering the holidays and the move to the new
facility, I waited until today (6 weeks after they received the radio) to bug
them about my repair job. I was told that hopefully they would be able to get
to it in a couple of more weeks. If this holds true, it means that they will
have had the radio for almost two months before getting it out of the box and
onto the bench.
During the conversation I learned that the service bench work area
available in the new facility was only about 1/3 of what they enjoyed in the
old building. All the techs were still there and working hard, but all were
operating with reduced resources. He did say that the only thing that hadn't
been reduced was the repair workload!
It's been several years since I have had occasion to use TT service, but I seem
to remember that at that time I had been contacted in a few days (a week or
less) with an estimate of repairs. I have no doubt that they will get to this
repair as soon as they can, and I do appreciate the fact that I can still call
on the phone and talk to a live person about my repairs. But at the end of the
day the service/support situation will still be a factor in the decision
process for my next radio.
FWIW, I fully agree that an RMA system is a necessary evil in today's
world. That being said, the implementation of the system used by
TenTec/RF Concepts LLC is a bit clumsy and ambiguous if you have any
follow-up communications regarding an existing RMA. But I would much rather
know that my information and expectations have been documented
so that there are no misunderstandings when the repair bill is
received. Still, for complex problems or unusual circumstances there is
no substitute for a 5 minute phone conversation with the tech to follow
up the RMA, and I'm glad that I can still do that with TenTec..
73, Art N4UC
> Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 13:02:45 -0800
> To: tentec@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Ten-Tec service
> From: tentec@contesting.com
>
> Hi John:
>
> I appreciate your willingness to exercise free speech, and I feel honored we
> have such a privilege in this great country. However, I would like to
> provide some clarification around your unsubstantiated state of affairs
> report about Ten-Tec that you have decided to share with everyone. I
> obtained my information by simply contacting Ten-Tec and asking, and below is
> my interpretation of what was said to me. I share this out of respect to all
> Hams on this email reflector so they may understand the current state of
> business that I learned of, and in fairness to Ten-Tec who works hard to
> provide the radios we use. I do not intend to imply in anyway that what you
> say is, or is not correct, but instead only share the information that I have
> learned.
>
>
> RMA
> Ten-Tec implemented the RMA system to improve repair services. They did this
> because many times they would receive a radio with absolutely no information
> on it and what they need to fix. Customer calls later complaining... you get
> the picture. Nobody is happy because they spend hours trying to find out
> what needs done to the radio, and the customer spends unneeded time waiting
> on the radio. Now - you get an RMA number to return the radio and you can
> refer to that RMA number for any discussions with Ten-Tec about the radio.
>
> Repair Dept.
> Nobody has quit the repair department. Of course nobody can confirm or deny
> that someone wasn't having a bad day, but I am told repair operations are
> working quite well now - post transition to being a division R.F. Concepts ,
> and of course the physical move to another building.
>
> Leadership
> Ten-Tec has a President/COO and a Senior Manager overseeing all operations at
> Sevierville location. If you do not believe me, then you are welcome to
> contact the most senior manager at Ten-Tec at 865-453-7172, or his email is,
> jhenry@tentec.com if you prefer that method of communication. That's
> right... John Henry is the most senior manager overseeing Ten-Tec. There is
> no local CEO there except when the 'one' presiding CEO visits. Why? One
> corporation doesn't need two CEO's. Instead, each division of R.F. Concepts
> has senior executives in charge. It sounds rather normal to me since I work
> for a corporation that has multiple business divisions and each division is
> assigned a senior executive accountable for that division.
>
> So here is my challenge to anyone questioning the viability of Ten-Tec.
> Please ask a senior leader within the Ten-Tec organization. I have given you
> a phone number and an email to use so feel free to do so. John Henry kindly
> explained it to me and I am sharing it with you.
>
> In closing, hang in there gang... Ten-Tec is still in business and I know
> this because I just checked. We may not hear from them daily, but it does
> not indicate there is a giant crater in the ground in Sevierville. I believe
> it means they are busy designing, building and selling radios.
>
> Be well & 73,
>
> -Eric
> W9WLW
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------
> On Wed, 1/14/15, John Rippey <w3uls73@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Subject: [TenTec] Ten-Tec service
> To: tentec@contesting.com
> Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 7:58 PM
>
> I spoke with a Ten-Tec service guy
> some time back before the recent
> move.I remarked on the red tape now imposed on customers
> before
> sending a rig in for service. He expressed guarded
> unhappiness about
> all the changes being imposed. Not a happy camper. Doubt if
> he's still
> there.
>
> The "CEO" who took over for the long-time CEO left shortly
> thereafter.
> No "CEO" now, I guess. It appears everything now is being
> directed by
> the suits in Colorado. For my money, Ten-Tec risks
> deteriorating into
> just a brand, rather than maintaining its status as a
> separate
> stand-alone entity. This will be denied, I suspect, but my
> sense is
> that T-T's best days may be in the rear view mirror.
> Cryptic,
> unhelpful comments from the service department may well be
> an early
> indicator.
>
> 73,
>
> John, W3ULS
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>
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