Re: Calcpro are a bunch of toe-nails Message #6 Posted by Wayne Brown on 24 Oct 2003, 4:10 p.m., in response to message #1 by Paul Fox
It can be difficult communicating with CalcPro; I've found that calling them on the phone and actually talking to a real person is the most reliable method. However, on the plus side, they're good at finding hard-to-obtain items and getting them to customers, even though it sometimes means waiting long periods with no updates from them on what's happening. For instance, a year or two ago I ordered some out-of-production stuff -- HP-41 magnetic cards, magnetic tapes, card holders, module wallets, etc. from them. It took quite a while for the shipment to arrive, which didn't surprise me because I knew it would be difficult to locate some of these items. By the time it arrived I'd almost forgotten what I ordered. Several weeks later another package arrived, containing, if I remember correctly, a couple of mag tapes. At first I though it was a mistake, but after checking my original order I found that I had indeed ordered them. At some point CalcPro had decided to ship what they had managed to find so far, and when they later located the tapes they shipped those also. The point is that there was no communication from them to say that the shipments would be delayed, or that there would be partial shipments made as items became available. I think the assumption they make is that if you order something you want it, no matter how long it takes, and that since you'll get it as soon as they can find it, there's no need to talk to you about it any further after the order has been placed. That can be frustrating when you're wondering if they even received your order or not, but after dealing with them several times I have to admit they always have (eventually!) filled my orders correctly. So I guess that means I'm a satisfied, if occasionally irritated, customer.
(I also have to admit some sympathy with their way of doing things. Sometimes, after attending the umpteenth status meeting at work, I answer questions about when some project will be finished like this: "Not as quickly as it would be done if I weren't wasting time in meetings talking about work instead of actually working!")
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