Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!apple!well!stevef
From: stevef@well.UUCP (Steven Robert Fordyce)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: CMI Accelerator Board
Message-ID: <12871@well.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jul 89 07:35:03 GMT
Reply-To: stevef@well.UUCP (Steven Robert Fordyce)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 94

In article 18478 of comp.sys.atari.st Michael B Vederman writes:
> Well, after having waited with bated breath for the CMI accelerator board, I
> would like to share my experiences with the rest of the net...

[Stuff deleted]

> CMI missed the first deadline, but promised that the board would go out in the
> second week.  This is not unusual (missing a release date) so I waited.  By
> the middle of the second week, I called CMI to confirm everything was on
> schedule for me to receive my board.  "No problem, we will ship by Friday."
>
> Friday July 14 rolls around, and I call CMI.  "Your board has been shipped
> second day (blue label) UPS.  You should get it Tuesday."  Finally, I thought.
> Tuesday rolled around, and no delivery.  The people at work were getting tired
> of my ranting "Come on U.P.S. lady. (We have a female carrier)"  So, I 
> thought, maybe it will get here Wednesday, you know how things are.
>
> By Wednesday, July 19, at 5 pm, when the UPS lady made her final pickup, I
> had *NO* accelerator board.  So, I called CMI.  I spoke with Mark
> something-er-other (Lilliane Carter's boss -she has been pleasent when I
> spoke to her), and he said, "All boards were shipped today."  Sure, I
> thought, sure.  "But I was told they shipped Friday."  "They didn't and I
> was the ***hole who told Lilliane to tell everyone they did."  "How do I
> know you shipped today?"  "You don't, and I don't care if you don't believe
> me."  Hmmph!

Mr Vederman was never intentionally misled -- we would have nothing to gain
by doing so.  For our part in the confusion we apologize.  There was a
delay in shipping the boards and for that I also apologize.  We all did
everything we could to get the product out on schedule, and I think it is safe
to say we were just as anxious to get it out as anyone was to receive it, if not
much more so.  But we are human, and I am very sorry about any inconvenience
the delay caused anyone.  The boards, are now shipping, and have been for a
couple of weeks. 

> Friday rolls around, and after a delay from UPS, I got the board.  Looks nice,
> although they used the Amiga box cover (no big deal).  Instructions, all
> parts, can't wait to get home and install it.
> 
> Begin the trouble.  The directions are clear enough if you want to do
> a piggy-back method, but my ST already had a socket for the 68000, so now what?
> According to the manual, you have to cut 3 pins for the piggy-back, and use
> "fly-wires" to connect the board to the ST.  Do I need this for the socket
> installation?  No answer in the manual.  Trial and error, showed that they
> were not needed.

Actually, there are instructions for installing our product in an ST with
the processor removed, and they are different from the piggy-back method
and there are some fly-wires necessary.  Mr Vederman went on to say that
that neither his disk drive nor his hard disk would work with our board. 
This is cause he didn't put in the fly-wires as instructed in the manual.

We did our best to make the manual clear and understandable, but we're human.
I don't believe it's possible to make the manual clear and concise, and
answer everyone's questions.  That's why we have a full time customer
service person.  I've found Lilliane to be quite conscientious in helping
customers with their problems.  Installing our board, or in fact any
product inside an ST, is not for the fainthearted.  Unless they are
comfortable with both circuit boards and soldering irons, we recommend our
customers have their dealers install our product.

Starting today, for people who buy an accelerator directly from us and send
their computer into us, we will install our board for free.  For those who
break their ST trying to install our board themselves, we'll fix it for a
flat $50, including return shipping.


Mr. Vederman did call us, and Lilliane explained his trouble over the
phone.  And he got his board working.  However, he wasn't able to get
FAST-ROM to work for reasons we weren't able to determine over the phone. 
(The problem may well have been a defective part on our board.  We do fully
test all of our boards before we ship them, but still a small percentage
fail in the field.)  We offered to fix his machine with our board in it
if he sent it to us (he didn't want to do this because he didn't want to 
lose the use of his computer -- quite understandable), or to send him a new
board, or to refund his money.  He chose the latter.  Of course we are
disappointed and are confident a new board would have solved his problem,
but it was his choice.  We've never had any allusions that we could please
everyone.

> Point of story:  I have a $300 paper weight.

No one is ever stuck with one our products.  Within 15 days of getting any
of our products, it may be returned for an reason for a full refund.  And all
of our products also carry a six month warranty.  We guarantee our products
to work and will do what ever it takes to see that they do, or refund the
customers money.

> - Michael B. Vederman

Steven R Fordyce			    tektronix!sequent!calvin!stevef

Creative Microsystems, Inc., 19552 SW 90th Court, Tualatin, Oregon  97062
For customer service call Lilliane at (503)691-2552.