[g__day (Matthew)]

Hey merlin8r,

Looking at Software Bisque overseas site for local dealers you guys were the only one mentionedto me by Dan. Asking everyone in Sydney - even BinTel pointed me to you! Hate to tell you but I'm on Daniel Bisque's own forums for the last 6 months; my question was 60% my not knowing and 40% a test if you guys knew about the stuff you were selling. Read on to see how you scored.

Given you sell Vixen mounts for years and you sell the Sky6 makes me think of you as a value adding re-seller. Figuring I might not be the only folk wanting to know I pondered you might want to simply e-mail my specific questions on and enlighten them all. So what actually happened?

Well the timeline went like this e-mail to Warren

I asked 4 specific questions on dovetails, serial cables and weights for the Atlux and the drivers needed for Sky 6.

Two days later Warren answers one of my 4 specific questions - saying we have the serial cable I need, but only in a 2 metre length when I later call to check that as it wasn't specified in his e-mail. Now here's where it gets strange. Rather than answer the three other important questions he suggests the new Atlux's aren't out yet - why not buy a Sphinx SXD (which when I come to the store he then tells me aren't released for sale into Australia yet - weird diversion and strange advice.

So I e-mail my other three questions again - saying look I've got the Atlux - I need the other three items can you help?

His e-mail comes back - helpful on the vixen dovetails, no help or suggestion on a side saddle - like try a Losmandy or ADM or Robyn Casady - might have been nice to hear. Had he have said there expensive but want me to source it all for you and add say $100 for my efforts I'd said fine. Shame no additional customer service was added. His response to the weights was just weird "Atlux counter weights are also a special order item, they came in 3.5kg & 7kg sizes (they are not listed in Vixen's current price list) A 25% deposit with your order is requested for special order items." Why doesn't the retailer know the cost of his wares? Why can't he find out before he tells me to leave a 25% deposit? How do I leave a 25% deposit if he himself doesn't know the cost? See how the ball is getting dropped here? Why didn't you simply mail Vixen and ask the prices like I asked before e-mailing me back with non-information?

But the story goes on...

So I come into the shop to get the cable - staff are great. I ask about tube rings - get shown a manual and told definitively oh they never made a tube ring for the C9.25 only the 8" and 14". Well I accepted that at their word - until last night when cruising Vixen Japan sites I see a white 235mm OTA marked Celestron on an Atlux in a White tube ring.


Now I don't mind hearing we don't know, or its out of production, but it was never made is a definitive answer and its not the truth - I don't like that. Secondly I go to pay with a credit I have now for 5 years. I trusted Warren with my money. I have a receipt in his hand writing, on your letter head, with my customer numbers for your computer records. After a while the guys serving me comes out looking a bit surprised and says "Oh I guess your story checks out". When I was younger if someone had of checked their own book keeping and come up to me and said "Oh I guess you're not a liar after all" they might not have liked my immediate reaction - but let's let that one pass, not everyone understands good customer service.

The bottom line is you guys tried - but not very hard - like writing an e-mail to your distributor, or answering my questions on the first 3 times they were asked, or going the extra mile to say great question - we don't know how about we find out.

Instead I got fobbed off. We dunno - ask Software Bisque - why should we bother was the way I felt I was being treated.

If any of the staff had of said Matt - it'll all up cost your $1,500 for the mounting, the Sky 6, the weights are you happy for us to put it all together and check its the best way forward - you'd have got my business. Dumping it all back on me after 3 e-mails and 3 phone calls and a store visit and giving me wrong information and no value add is why you ended up getting $50 of my wallet.