In this one, I would actually like to name,names.
The company I work for buys a lot of distros, mostly from Motion Labs. Arguably one of the best power distribution manufactures out there. However, we did have a problem with a part in one of their distros. Once we had an R/A # we sent it in, about a month later they called and told us it was ready, and would be several hundred dollars to for the repair. My boss was pissed! We only had this distro a few months when the problem occurred. He pointed this out to the repair guy, and asked who authorized the repair anyway??? Is there no warranty?? You have had it for a freakin month!!
My boss (a hot head anyway) sent his sales rep Mike Webb an e-mail voicing his complaints (quite colorfully I am sure).
Mike responded saying basically there was a mix up in the repair center, the item was repaired and air freighted to us at no cost. Acknowledging the fact they had it more than a month, and didn't quote us on the repair, but simply did it, he knew they dropped the ball. He simply wanted the opportunity to make it right.
Point? In THIS industry sometime costumer service is something some manufactures only claim on paper, or over lunch at a trade show. Motion Labs & Mike Webb did exactly what we all would expect, and rarely get.
Even though Motion Labs does NOT advertise in this magazine, (sorry, Terry) I think its important to pat someone on the back every now & then for doing their jobs well. We spend so much time bitching about how the manufactures screw us, it seems appropriate to say something when one gets it right.
The first part of this story, I said we buy mostly from Motion Lab. Now we buy ONLY from Motion Lab. Not by any stretch claiming they are better that the other distro manufactures (and I know not cheaper, sorry Mike) but our loyalty to Mike Webb over the way a few hundred dollar mistake was handled, will be told to anyone who will listen, because good costumer service is something we can all learn about, even if it’s from a competitor.