Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!gtss!andre
From: andre@gtss.UUCP (Andre Frech)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga dealers in Austin,Tx
Summary: This is misleading.
Keywords: Flame-o-rama
Message-ID: <281@gtss.UUCP>
Date: 12 Nov 88 00:51:37 GMT
References: <7392@ut-emx.UUCP>
Organization: Georgia Tech Surface Studies, Atlanta, GA
Lines: 91

In article <7392@ut-emx.UUCP>, hodad@ut-emx.UUCP (William Fiveash) writes:
     
> [The big flambe']

Sigh.  must you flame?  It's so unbecoming of you.  :-> 	

> 	It may be the future is so bright for Commodore that the shades
> (blinders) their dealer support dept.  wear have obscured their ability
> to see the sad shape some of the Amiga dealerships are in.
 
I heard that.  :-*  It may also be that the users who wish not to research
their facts first have obscured their ability to see the hard work some
of the Amiga District Managers have put in.

Give our team a chance.  Some background info is that your area has just
gotten stabilized and a district sales manager (Kyle McCoy in Houston)
is trying her best.  Give her a chance, she's only been with us for a month.
You guys (and gals) must have scared off the other two.  :-)  

[paraphrasing here about Byte by Byte, Computer Magic and others miscarrying
the Amiga line... (sorry, went wild with the d key by accident)]

I was not aware that there were any authorized Amiga dealers in Austin
except for AB Computers.  I will have to check my records about that one,
which is why I'm not being absolutist.  However, you failed to mention
them completely in your article.

Another alternative as to why we haven't heard about them is that they may
be grey market.  In that case, email me and we'll take it from there.
In these cases support suffers and we get a bad name and headaches.

> 	My belabored point is this; why is it that in a town with one of
> the highest rated university computer science departments (UT) and some
> of the most successful (Amigawise) commercial developers (ByteByByte, New
> Horizons) the Amiga dealerships are in such bad shape????  I have been
> using Amigas since '85 and not once have I seen the bridgeboard or a
> setup with an 68020 accelerator board demo'ed anywhere in Austin and I am
> an enthusiast. You can well imagine from the above descriptions that no
> potential Amiga buyers have seen 1/100th of the computer's capability
> much less the eye popping performance a fully loaded 2000 can have.
> Hell, why not let Target or K-Mart sell the machines; they couldn't do
> the Amiga's reputation any harm here.

Several points here:  You are correct in stating that the shape of dealers
in your area could be better.  I didn't say it was hopeless, but many of the
efforts we make don't get reported to you.  For quite a while your area
had no one managing it, and entropy took its toll.  We need feedback, but
none of the "I heard" or "This has been untolerable for twenty centuries
but I'm just now getting around to talking about it" and the ambiguous
stuff.  Please air your problems in a constructive manner, since flames
are more heat than light.  Lastly, if you know of a good dealer candidate
in your area, let me know (see .signature).  Commodore Sales is only as
good as its dealers; but we don't do direct sales so we can't create dealers.
Best results are via email, with a return path.

Next, why should it be completely the dealer's fault if nothing is done to
demo the systems?  Don't you have a users' group?  I would think that Byte by
Byte could maybe spare a 68020 demo.  Try doing something for yourself
once in a while, you'll be surprised what it will get you.  Some dealers
consider it their job to be boxmovers, like in the MS-DOS world.  Demoing 
software and hardware that costs thousands in tied up inventory is often
not appealing when your net worth is often less.  Those not committed
consider demos to those who won't buy as beyond the call of duty. 
Not everyone is like you and me.  (You and I?  Me and them?  Oh, darn.)

> 	BTW, there used to be a couple of 1000s in the UT micro lab that
> were donated by ByteByByte.  One broke, never to be replaced, and the other
> sits in a dark corner with the power off pretending it's broken.

I don't understand what it is that you want here.  I once remember a college
I went to had a roomful of donated Apollo minis that went unused; and I had
the run of a several gigabyte network since I realized its potential.  You
can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them think.

Please understand.  The CATS and hardware team get a lot of visibility on
here so you know they are fiercely proud of their product.  It is no
different here, except most salespeople don't know how to use a network,
let alone write.  :-)  So let us know what's on your mind, but exercise
knowledge, patience, and consideration.  Not rumors, flames, and verbal
attacks.  Mail me directly or call so that you get specific attention. 

On a lighter note, are any of you going to Comdex/Lost Wages?  If so,
drop by and say hello.  I'm be manning (boothing) the PC area.  Can you
say Commodore Hell?  :-)

 
-- 
WHO:  Andre Frech, Commodore Southeast (guest of house of gtss) 
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