AVAdirect and I have resolved our dispute

[Heather Taylor]

If AVA were smart they would hire you @ 4-6K over your current (new 3rd gig) over Maingear and implement your type of CS company wide. I'm sure Puget misses you as does VM.

Aw, thanks. Going to Maingear gives me a chance to work with Chris Morley again (we worked together at VM), and I'm really excited about it--they share my views on customer service, and I really, really love the systems they produce. I'm still on great terms with my friends at Puget and VM...there's definitely no hard feelings and I think we all learned and benefitted a lot by our mutual associations.

Misha and I are still good friends, and we did do some talking recently...I think that he's starting to realize that he needs to change some stuff, though of course, we didn't get into specifics. I have a feeling that Kodan was a beneficiary of this new outlook. I sincerely hope that they can turn this around for everyone's sake. When one company earns a bad rep, it can have a ripple effect and make us all look bad.

 

[FrgMstr]

What are your thoughts on all of this Kyle?

I really don't care. Your guys are big boys and there is enough consumer feedback in this one forum alone to help you make an intelligent decision about buying a fully built box.

FWIW, I buy all my fully built boxes from www.delloutlet.com. I mean, then again, those are not for me personally, as I still build those.

 

[kilgore777]

I have a feeling that Kodan was a beneficiary of this new outlook. I sincerely hope that they can turn this around for everyone's sake.

Heather, thanks for letting us know about this - that is good to hear. As someone who had an overall good experience with AVA (and Misha, for that matter), I found this whole thing a bit dis-heartening. But I understand why the folks who didn't get satisfaction were so upset.

But hey... everyone deserves a second chance, right? Hopefully AVA can learn from this and improve their company and gain better customer safisfaction.

 

[Heather Taylor]

You know, everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes you have to step back and adjust your way of thinking about things. I've worked for some of the most successful boutique manufacturers, have been in the board rooms, and sometimes it's hard to figure out where to draw that line between keeping your customers happy and keeping the company out of the red.

Maingear, Puget, and VM have it figured out...and others will get there or they'll go away. That is, unfortunately, the way of things. Second chances are hard to come by, and if anyone is lucky enough to get one, they should start listening to their customer base.

 

[Misfate]

Saw this article on Tom's Hardware today: Core i7 Laptop Maker Talks to Us About Merits

I though that this comment was funny, especially the bolded part:

Don't buy an AVADirect. Seriously, don't. I worked for a major defense contractor and we were forced to buy their boxed due to their minority ownership and status as a preferred vendor.

We never, ever, ever got a box that lasted more than 6 months before a major part failure. Usually they wouldn't last 6 days. We had scores die from bad power supplies. We had a good number come HORRIBLY configured (IE Linux boxes that wouldn't even boot into the OS). We had boxes come in missing software licenses (which we were required to have for auditing purposes) and were often told they don't provide licenses... even after we would pay for them and EXPLICITLY require them.

Our systems engineers would call their rep, who's name I believe was "Misha" or something, on a daily basis to get a part replaced or send a whole box back. Their QA and assembly was horrific... they sent us pics once and it looked to be teenagers in a garage.

Side by side, you'd see a dozen AVADirect boxes die with a dozen Dell's (actually Concurrent re-badges) run fine and dandy.

Seriously, we ordered HUNDREDS of systems over the years, and wasted millions of dollars in man-hours fixing their delivered products. It's not like we got a bad systems here or there... we NEVER got a good one.

Do yourself a favor and avoid.

Misha and I are still good friends, and we did do some talking recently...I think that he's starting to realize that he needs to change some stuff, though of course, we didn't get into specifics. I have a feeling that Kodan was a beneficiary of this new outlook.

Took long enough for Misha to realize that he needs to change things.

 

[michael.pa2]

Saw this article on Tom's Hardware today: Core i7 Laptop Maker Talks to Us About Merits

I though that this comment was funny, especially the bolded part:





Took long enough for Misha to realize that he needs to change things.

Took him too long for me,every time I thought they were changing things,I'd start seeing comments like the one you mentioned,or read some comment from some AVA rep that seemed behind the times as far as current tech knowledge goes. Saying you're going to change and staying committed to it are two different things. I went with MFPC in the end,
there was just too much uncertainty with AVA.