I don't know about the rest of you, but this seems like much too long
to take to ship an order. What makes this even more irksome is the
fact that Briel charges almost $9 for shipping. This is almost twice
what it costs to ship a small package via Priority Mail. BTW, it was a
RAM card w/o the RAM, so it could easily go Priority Mail for $4.95,
or even less First Class.
I received no emails stating that the shippment would be delayed. Is
this type of lax customer service typical of Briel, or did I just get
unlucky?
It's important to keep in mind that those of us still trying to
support the Apple II do so in our spare time, and real-life demands
often cause delays in handling order processing. For example, right
now I'm over a month behind on order processing because my day job has
me on a rush of work, my daughter has summer camps going on (plus
birthday events), my wife has Girl Scouting obligations affecting my
schedule, and my parents were just in town visiting for a week.
I hope to get a lot of orders shipped the next few days, but you see
the point.
Please be patient with us! Speaking for myself, I do the best I can,
and I'm sure Vince does too!
Sheppy
I have ordered a 4meg GS board from Vince on two occasions. 12 days
would probably seem like a while to me too; how soon we've forgotten
the old "please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery" in the internet
age! ;-)
> [...] Briel charges almost $9 for shipping. This is almost twice
> what it costs to ship a small package via Priority Mail.
I think of it this way: if I'm sending something to a buddy, or doing
a favor for someone, then "as much as the post office charges" makes
sense. If this is a business outfit, where they have to pay for
bubble wrap, packing peanuts, static-sensitive envelopes, gas to the
post office, and the like - then $5 over and above what it costs to
stamp it makes sense to me. If it's not a favor or charity, then
somebody has to pay for those things. Businesses have costs to be
recovered.
> I received no emails stating that the shippment would be delayed. Is
> this type of lax customer service typical of Briel, or did I just get
> unlucky?
In my experience (sample size of 2, remember) you just got unlucky.
On the other hand - you got a nice piece of hardware that's awfully
hard to source for less money than you paid, and this one is brand
spankin' new.
It's actually typical of hobby based online sales. I've heard of it being
faster, and slower, so, uh, I'd chalk it up to, "Hey!, I'm getting it." 8^)
Bill
> I want to relate a recent experience with Briel and see if this is
> typical. An order was placed online with Briel on 29 May. Of course,
> the 31st was a holiday. I was notified that the order finally shipped
> yesterday. Not counting the holiday, this makes 12 days before the
> order was shipped.
I've ordered from Vince several times and I've never had a problem, and the
orders were always filled in a timely fashion.
I know he's trying to get his Altair project out the door (it's going to be
-very- popular) so he might be backlogged.
It's also summer -- when all our developers and programmers venture out into
the sunlight.
Sean Fahey
www.a2central.com
bbs.a2central.com
> I received no emails stating that the shippment would be delayed. Is
> this type of lax customer service typical of Briel, or did I just get
> unlucky?
Twelve days can be a long time to wait to receive an upgrade to your
favorite computer, but we need to appreciate that there are still
folks shipping anything for the Apple II. Last I heard from Vince, he
was quite busy with the day job. I'm sure he'd rather it didn't get
in the way of his hobby and passion and that he could fulfill all
orders quickly!
To be clear, your concern is valid -- but it does need to be
considered in context. In the last 15 years, I've had two occasions
in the Apple II community where it took more than two YEARS for an
order to ship. One of those orders is still outstanding. I'd be
delighted to instead have had the experience you did!
I hope the RAM card proves worth the wait.
-Ken
You protest too much. You got a good product for a good price and in
good time.
You think he's got lots of employees falling all over themselves to take
care of just you?
Where do you think you would get it cheaper or faster?
Very true.
Give Vince a break. He's got a life and a job outside of the
community just like the rest of us. In the age of instant
gratification, everyone seems to expect everything right away, but
it's just not the case in our hobby.
You'll be happy when you get it.
-Dutch
One thing that I think would help is if those operating Apple II
stores emphasized on their checkout pages that their stores are
hobbies, that they have day jobs, and while they'll make their best
effort to ship items quickly, sometimes things happen, and life gets
in the way, and to allow plenty of time for shipment. (Also,
communication isn't a bad thing - if there's been a delay, let your
customers know at certain periods.)
As has been said, almost everyone in the Apple II market nowadays is a
one-man operation, making stuff for fun, sometimes not even for
profit, and certainly not as a full-time job. Patience goes a long
way, but I've had good luck with who I've dealt with. (I haven't dealt
with Briel, though.)
-Dutch
This is all very true, but it is important to manage expectations. A
note on the web site or a two-line email would prevent any
misunderstanding.
-michael - NadaNet 3.1: http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon