Originally Posted by
049flyer
As a former hobby shop owner I can say that most people don't realize that it costs money to provide customer service. The constant quest for the absolute lowest price has reduced profits to the point of being destructive to the concept of customer service.
Although there are some people that will happily pay a bit more for products to insure adequate profits and customer support, the reality is their numbers are too few. Most people are cheapskates!
We have ourselves to blame for poor products AND poor service, don't blame the retailer. I guarantee if TBM made 40% on that servo they would be happy to replace it.
This is one of the reasons for MAP pricing, (minimum advertised pricing) in this and other consumer product markets. It provides a guaranteed profit margin to the retailer so that hopefully he will provide a level of customer support for those products.
When it comes to servos I buy Hitec exclusively. They support their product, but the servos do cost a few dollars more. You get what you pay for.
This is only partially true, being a business owner myself, CS can build a base supportive of profitability at very little to no cost to the business. Where the real problem comes in to play is when a business buys equipment from a supplier with no supplier support. If I as a business owner buy from a supplier with no support guess what you are going to get. But, I, being a good business owner buy from a supplier with a guarantee and that is what my customers receive, a guarantee. Only occasionally do I have to eat something for some reason. There are more than enough people in this hobby to support descent to high quality products thus there are quality companies to buy from such as Tru-Turn, Desert Aircraft, etc. etc. One just has to do a little homework before purchasing from an unknown to them outlet. In my 40+ years of being in this hobby TBM was and is the only company that I lost out to poor CS, but I kinda knew it before hand and took a shot on a less expensive item. Won't happen again!!