[Elephas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tagosaku /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can we please go back to amps not being delivered by dates told by Mikhail and phone calls not returned, emails not replied etc. I know these are boring compared with the grand discussion you guys are having, but I think this thread is about these 'was supposed to happen' things.

During the past three weeks, I've been in contact with Mikhail several times, both phone and email. He answers email within 24 hours or less and answered the phone when I called. He also got messages I left on the answering service.

At least in my case, contacting Mikhail and getting timely replies is no longer a problem. I hope that this is also the case for other customers.

 

[tagosaku]

Glad to hear things have improved for you.
For me, there is no difference. He choses to answer one out of three or four emails. And most of his replies does not give information that was requested, or meaningless information such as shipping date that does not happen. I had a few 'shipping tomorrow' so far, which takes him at least 48 hours to confirm that did not happen
Actually, I am waiting for him to confirm if it was shipped yesterday or not. My estimate is that I will hear from him on Friday that it was a busy week in SP and the amp will ship the following week.

(By the way this is a humble MPX repair. One channel got noisy and Mikhail said that one of the tube socket is bad.)

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Gonna order a custom aircraft carrier will expect it to be done in a few months because your "custom" computers and your buddies guitar/cars are done no later then that. Apples to apples please. No apples to oranges comparisons plzkthx.

While it's true that one ought to expect an aircraft carrier to take some time to complete, I don't see where one ought to expect the same delays when assembling or repairing an amp.

By ANY standard, many folks here have been waiting far longer than they ought to have. That is to say, longer than was promised, again in many cases MUCH longer, with MANY broken promises. I would expect that even the purchaser of an aircraft carrier would eventually lose patience with repeated evasions, broken promises, and poor communication.

I've met Mikhail on several occasions, and I like him. His equipment also sounds good to these ears. But let's not minimize the VERY serious issues being discussed here by implying that the wait time is the least bit reasonable for a LOT of folks. There IS a problem, and it needs to be fixed...and I very much hope that it is.

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say yes, it's too much to ask. He doesn't stand to gain anything by posting. His response should be to change his practices and fulfill his commitments.

While I don't disagree entirely, I for one would feel a lot better about what's going on here if he DID make an appearance.

What possible harm could it do to admit that there were issues at this point? It seems an established fact by now.

What I'd really like to see is an acknowledgment that there are some issues, an outline of what is being done to address the issues, and an offer of sincere apology to those affected by all this. I agree that, ultimately, he needs to change his practices. That said, it would give a lot of folks who have been impacted by those same old practices some reassurance if they could see that there was a plan in place to address the issues.

The lack of response in this thread is not all that different than a lack of response to an e-mail or telephone call experienced by many posting here, and IMHO is less than reassuring. It would be nice to hear from him.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elrod-tom /img/forum/go_quote.gif What possible harm could it do to admit that there were issues at this point? It seems an established fact by now.

Established fact isn't confirmation of guilt and if Mikhail is at all concerned about potential legal action against him or the company it is in his best interest not to make any public statements, especially written, regarding what is going on. Also, his communication efforts are best focused on talking with actual customers rather than worrying about what is being posted on Head-Fi.

Note - I'm not defending Mikhail or arguing that a response wouldn't be nice for the community side of things but Mikhail has little to gain and a lot to lose by posting here before the situation is well under control.

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Established fact isn't confirmation of guilt and if Mikhail is at all concerned about potential legal action against him or the company it is in his best interest not to make any public statements, especially written, regarding what is going on. Also, his communication efforts are best focused on talking with actual customers rather than worrying about what is being posted on Head-Fi. Note - I'm not defending Mikhail or arguing that a response wouldn't be nice for the community side of things but Mikhail has little to gain and a lot to lose by posting here before the situation is well under control.

I understand where you're coming from, but I think that to some degree the genie is already out of the bottle.

I'm not an attorney, and maybe it's naive of me to think this way, but I'm not convinced that he wouldn't be a lot better off addressing this mess head-on. Right now, a lack of response appears to be an active avoidance of the problem. That same sort of behavior on a person-by-person basis is what's got a lot of these folks as upset as they are to begin with.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elrod-tom /img/forum/go_quote.gif I understand where you're coming from, but I think that to some degree the genie is already out of the bottle.

In the court of public opinion I'm very much with you but in the legal sense I think the SOP is that silence is golden.

 

[IceClass]

Even a response acknowledging the problems and posted to his website would go a long way.

Mikhail seems to be intent on being the textbook illustration of how not to run a business.

 

[Genetic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elrod-tom /img/forum/go_quote.gif What I'd really like to see is an acknowledgment that there are some issues, an outline of what is being done to address the issues, and an offer of sincere apology to those affected by all this. I agree that, ultimately, he needs to change his practices. That said, it would give a lot of folks who have been impacted by those same old practices some reassurance if they could see that there was a plan in place to address the issues. The lack of response in this thread is not all that different than a lack of response to an e-mail or telephone call experienced by many posting here, and IMHO is less than reassuring. It would be nice to hear from him.

Must make a mark on the calendar....

Posting here could be a legal admission that there is something wrong? By a large margin I dont think we still are in the world of fantasy and unfounded allegations.

In fact I'm on the side of those you believe that some sort of good will statement could be an elegant way of ending this thread.

Amicalement

 

[Voltron]

Although it might be nice for him to make a direct statement here, I thought the point was for him to deal with his customers straight and fair and get any backlog resolved. According to Elephas, who has a long-standing issue and past-due upgrades, and according to others in this thread and elsewhere, Mikhail has been communicating with his customers throughout this phase.

Also, Mikhail has talked to various Head-Fi members, including me, who posted up his plans and thoughts on how to resolve things and move forward. With more than one person having threatened legal action, Nate hit the nail right on the head. Mikhail would not be advised to post anything here on this subject. And I am a lawyer.

 

[Genetic]

Although it might be nice for him to make a direct statement here, I thought the point was for him to deal with his customers straight and fair and get any backlog resolved.
QUOTE]

Not quite. With due respect, the point is much larger than this. As useful an only customer limited interaction could be, the damage to his corporate image is well beyond those relations. Granted they represent the most pressing actions but I think the ''others'' have to be included in the public relation reconstruction.

Amicalement

PS
I'm not a lawyer: I only play one in my classroom....

 

[IceClass]

I'm not one of those that believes an open admission of guilt on head-fi is a good idea or strategy legally or PR speaking but an acknowledgement on the SP site that SP is going through a phase of corporate readjustment, that there may be some delays in deliverables etc...and that SP is doing it's utmost blah, blah.

Then for the love of God STOP giving people unrealistic deadlines that cannot be met!

Then give customers who request it their product or money back and stop taking new orders until the backlog is blown.

I'm not a lawyer; I just married one which ensures I'll be married for life or die broke.

 

[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceClass /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not one of those that believes an open admission of guilt on head-fi is a good idea or strategy legally or PR speaking but an acknowledgement on the SP site that SP is going through a phase of corporate readjustment, that there may be some delays in deliverables etc...and that SP is doing it's utmost blah, blah. Then for the love of God STOP giving people unrealistic deadlines that cannot be met! Then give customers who request it their product or money back and stop taking new orders until the backlog is blown. I'm not a lawyer; I just married one which ensures I'll be married for life or die broke.

Congraulations, that's the 300th time that same advice/directive has been given in this thread!

 

[IceClass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voltron /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congraulations, that's the 300th time that same advice/directive has been given in this thread!

What? And you counted every single one of them??!!

How else are we going to get our post counts up to Supremo status like you?

Oh yeah, don't tell me: I should repeatedly bitch about other posts repeating themselves?

Meanwhile, you wouldn't happen to be selling a SinglePower amp cheap would you?

 

[Voltron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceClass /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. What? And you counted every single one of them??!! 2. How else are we going to get our post counts up to Supremo status like you? 3. Oh yeah, don't tell me: I should repeatedly bitch about other posts repeating themselves? 4. Meanwhile, you wouldn't happen to be selling a SinglePower amp cheap would you?

1. Yes.

2. How about posting something of value?

3. See no. 2.

4. Mine is neither cheap nor for sale.