Craiglester:
Your whole argument about the release date seems like a silly exercise in splitting hairs. Though you have succeeded in dissecting the lexicon within several posts to prove your point, your argument still feels bogus to me. It doesn't account for the larger context of the situation months ago. It requires too many mental acrobatics to sustain itself - the truth is actually quite simple (Though it will require a lengthy explanation
).
I'm not sure there is such a thing as a firm,
in red, release date in the world of consumer electronics. What if Westone actually used the word 'firm,' with everything else remaining the same? Would that change things for you? The bottom-line is they gave everyone here the impression that the 21st was the date. Powdie took a lot of care in not giving a release date until they were sure. I don't remember if you were around, but we were bugging Powdie since January for a release date, and he wouldn't tell us anything until he was certain - or at least as certain,
in red, as one can be in the world of consumer electronics. So when that was posted, they were sure, and so were we. For god's sake, they actually shipped all the units out to distributors, that's how firm they felt about releasing the product.
I really don't blame Westone for doing a recall. They obviously identified a significant issue that would cause a bigger headache in the longrun with product returns. Heck, maybe the flaw was insignificant and they really just wanted to make the perfect product. Either way, they did the right thing. It was unfortunate it had to happen. But let's not kid ourselves here - we all thought the product was within reach, and suddenly, the day before release, the situation turned upside down. Now, that's going to upset some customers, regardless of whether or not it fulfills your microscopic parsing of one or two posts.
I just don't think you can deny that unpleasant reality to people. I don't think you can tell people they're being unreasonable for feeling hung out to dry. Their expectations were different from yours, or at least, their emotional investment was. The fact that you are not upset is equally valid, certainly desirable, and probably the result of hanging around these forums long enough. I don't think Westone did itself any favors by going silent for months and misleading us about the severity of their "packaging" problem. I'm sure there's a minority of people wondering if this product will ever come out. I've got to believe we're in the homestretch here. Missing the holiday season would have Westone missing out on a significant chunk of their expected annual revenue (I would imagine).
I want to make clear my feelings on Westone. Like you pointed out, it's not like they did this out of vindictiveness... this kind of thing is not unusual in their line of work. They're doing their best, and I respect their decision to take as long as needed to produce a worthy product. Equally worthy of respect are the feelings of the customer, who has the right to get angry and buy something else, or stick around and wait for the W3, and the freedom to tell all the rest of us here on Head-Fi all about it.
Godspeed Westone, Godspeed.
