Refutation of Exogal CEO Point by Point--readers look this over carefully and please feel free to tell me if I am wrong.
1. CEO is annoyed that I criticized him in this public forum. Had he answered my email made the Thursday before last none of this would have happened and all would have been settled amicably.
1a. I requested and was told I would get the new functioning remote shortly. Over three weeks have passed and no remote. Above Doug Schroeder says he has an operating remote he is in the process of assessing. Is that the "SR 71 Smart Remote" that Exogal describes in detail on its website? Or is this like the Vortex series, something that is currently advertised but never produced? CEO refuses to address the remote issue and when asked to produce one doesn't respond. But he did admit in print that "It didn't work out" which is about as self-incriminating a statement as one can make.
2. CEO feels entitled to sympathy over a number of business misjudgments. His chronic business mismanagement does not absolve him from contractual obligations to his customers. Do we hear elite companies like Primaluna, Wyred 4 Sound, Benchmark, Rogue, etc. whine that they want our sympathy for problematic products? No, they make great products (and continue to do so even in these challenging times) and stand by them.
3. CEO "gets it" that I am annoyed about the application loss. But I and others bought the units because we were assured there would be apps to run them and that's why we weren't concerned about the cheap remote and unlit, obscure window. All of the reviewers drew attention to this as did the CEO himself. This is an extremely serious issue that comes close to invalidating the products.
3a. CEO tries to wrangle out of the application loss issue by saying that the majority of buyers didn't download them. I don't believe that but even if true he has a contractual responsibility to furnish the applications. He still advertises the downloads on his website with links that don't work. That's just plain false or misleading advertising. Suppose you ordered and paid for a pizza with anchovies, they made it properly but then picked out all the anchovies prior to serving it--shouldn't you be annoyed?
4. CEO states my issue is with the dealer, not him. Really? A company makes a problematic product, engages dealers to distribute it, and then passes the blame off to them when the product has glitches? That is an outlandish assertion but it explains why many of the dealers on the current Exogal site no longer distribute the product. The CEO has a habit of passing the blame for his company's many failures along to others--me, the dealer, the competitiveness of the market, etc.
5. The CEO considers me "uncivil." I have taken pains to maintain civility and discuss this in a rational, fact based manner. I have even said how much I liked Exogal before the app loss. "Steakster" kindly went and found all the positive statements I have made about Exogal in the past. So what does that prove? It proves that they have turned a good customer very much against them through bad business conduct. "Steakster" if you look on the Exogal site you will find a statement by me recommending their Comet/Ion combo so you can add that to your list.
6. The CEO makes a product that becomes problematic for a very fundamental reason. What does he do? He tells the customer to sell it and he will assist the new buyer. He is simply annoyed that I went after him and this is his petty manifestation of pique. On the website they tour their high level of customer service!
I could go on but all the CEO did in his response was make himself look ridiculous and back himself into a corner. If you try to defend what is beyond defense you collapse. Despite these criticisms I don't that the CEO is an intrinsically bad guy, quite the opposite. He is typical of the very talented hobbyist who tries to make it in a competitive and difficult business environment and can't hack it. As I said above, those of you who defend all this obfuscation need to suffer it. Fortunately I have other and more conventional remedies for this situation.
1. CEO is annoyed that I criticized him in this public forum. Had he answered my email made the Thursday before last none of this would have happened and all would have been settled amicably.
1a. I requested and was told I would get the new functioning remote shortly. Over three weeks have passed and no remote. Above Doug Schroeder says he has an operating remote he is in the process of assessing. Is that the "SR 71 Smart Remote" that Exogal describes in detail on its website? Or is this like the Vortex series, something that is currently advertised but never produced? CEO refuses to address the remote issue and when asked to produce one doesn't respond. But he did admit in print that "It didn't work out" which is about as self-incriminating a statement as one can make.
2. CEO feels entitled to sympathy over a number of business misjudgments. His chronic business mismanagement does not absolve him from contractual obligations to his customers. Do we hear elite companies like Primaluna, Wyred 4 Sound, Benchmark, Rogue, etc. whine that they want our sympathy for problematic products? No, they make great products (and continue to do so even in these challenging times) and stand by them.
3. CEO "gets it" that I am annoyed about the application loss. But I and others bought the units because we were assured there would be apps to run them and that's why we weren't concerned about the cheap remote and unlit, obscure window. All of the reviewers drew attention to this as did the CEO himself. This is an extremely serious issue that comes close to invalidating the products.
3a. CEO tries to wrangle out of the application loss issue by saying that the majority of buyers didn't download them. I don't believe that but even if true he has a contractual responsibility to furnish the applications. He still advertises the downloads on his website with links that don't work. That's just plain false or misleading advertising. Suppose you ordered and paid for a pizza with anchovies, they made it properly but then picked out all the anchovies prior to serving it--shouldn't you be annoyed?
4. CEO states my issue is with the dealer, not him. Really? A company makes a problematic product, engages dealers to distribute it, and then passes the blame off to them when the product has glitches? That is an outlandish assertion but it explains why many of the dealers on the current Exogal site no longer distribute the product. The CEO has a habit of passing the blame for his company's many failures along to others--me, the dealer, the competitiveness of the market, etc.
5. The CEO considers me "uncivil." I have taken pains to maintain civility and discuss this in a rational, fact based manner. I have even said how much I liked Exogal before the app loss. "Steakster" kindly went and found all the positive statements I have made about Exogal in the past. So what does that prove? It proves that they have turned a good customer very much against them through bad business conduct. "Steakster" if you look on the Exogal site you will find a statement by me recommending their Comet/Ion combo so you can add that to your list.
6. The CEO makes a product that becomes problematic for a very fundamental reason. What does he do? He tells the customer to sell it and he will assist the new buyer. He is simply annoyed that I went after him and this is his petty manifestation of pique. On the website they tour their high level of customer service!
I could go on but all the CEO did in his response was make himself look ridiculous and back himself into a corner. If you try to defend what is beyond defense you collapse. Despite these criticisms I don't that the CEO is an intrinsically bad guy, quite the opposite. He is typical of the very talented hobbyist who tries to make it in a competitive and difficult business environment and can't hack it. As I said above, those of you who defend all this obfuscation need to suffer it. Fortunately I have other and more conventional remedies for this situation.