Open letter to Thrustmaster...from your friends outside Western Europe....

[JG27_Arklight]

Had at any point someone from Thrustmaster come on and said "We're sorry, we screwed up, new units will be in America on the 23rd of November, we suck" or even "You don't get it till every man, woman and child in Europe gets two! ha ha ha" I think you'd have a much different tone of posts here. Instead we've been told nothing. That's why we're angry. :smilewink:

 

Well, they didn't. So, you as the consumer have the choice to decide if you want to keep the pre-order or cancel it and purchase elsewhere....or just cancel all together.

 

Unfortuately, there is no real way to sugarcoat it.

[thereminqblank]

"You don't get it till every man, woman and child in Europe gets two! ha ha ha"

 

I think that's the real motivation behind this thread.

 

You shoulda had it first, right?

 

Since when did ANY manufacturer explain a relatively small delay in the arrival of a BRAND NEW product?

[kylania]

No, as I said, we should have been told there was going to be a month or more delay for whatever reason instead of every few days having some nebulous ETA get pushed back another week without explanation.

 

If we'd been told Europe gets it a month early, that's fine. Not being told anything for a month, not so fine.

[Slammin]

I need a cup of tea.

[thereminqblank]

Ah, companies that could see into the future. Now THAT would be scary.

 

Massive Dynamics anyone?

[WarriorX]

I think that's the real motivation behind this thread.

 

You shoulda had it first, right?

 

Your gonna have to back up your statement...Please point out anywhere in this thread where I, or anyone else (except yourself) said the U.S. market should have had it first or anything close to that.

 

Seeking information from the most reliable source there is (Thrustmaster) is what this thread is, and has always been about. And guess what..the post has been forwarded to Thrustmaster Marketing and I eagerly await any information from them.

 

Since when did ANY manufacturer explain a relatively small delay in the arrival of a BRAND NEW product?

 

 

I did a quick Google search for the terms "delay in shipping" and came up with this link in the first page...this is Apple for example doing what you seem to think is uncommon.

 

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/27/new-apple-ipad-shipping-delay-two-week-wait/

[thereminqblank]

The whole underlying tone of your original post, proves my first point! Some how you have taken offence to the fact that Europe received theirs first - like it was done on purpose!

 

Believe it or not, Europe is geographically closer to France than the US is, and in the European Union, customs is pretty much a non-issue, due to the arrangements the countries have. Reading between the lines, it seems that one US retailer has received his first shipment of Warthogs, which would lead me to believe that US bound Warthogs have been in transit for some time now, but have been held up in the process, or just taken longer than expected.

 

Apple and Thrustmaster = (ironically) apples and oranges. Apple (and I exaggerate for effect) is a million times bigger than Thrustmaster and would have significantly more customers awaiting their new products. Your point about Apple is moot.

 

So far, the only loss you have suffered is maybe a few weekends without the product. I would imagine that no money has been taken from you otherwise that would be poor form on the part of the retailer.

 

ETA's are exactly that: ETAs.

 

What is my point in all of this? You're complaining when there are others out there who will be either waiting a lot longer to own this item, or will never own it all due to the cost. An overdramatic 'open letter' seems rather petty and insensitive.

[kylania]

What is my point in all of this? You're complaining when there are others out there who will be either waiting a lot longer to own this item, or will never own it all due to the cost.

 

People who will never own this product hardly matter and their fragile sensibilities are of no concern. :smilewink: :P

 

I'll never own a Bentley, but I don't think petty and insensitive to me if future Bentley owners should complain loudly and publicly when their new car is being delivered late.

[thereminqblank]

People who will never own this product hardly matter and their fragile sensibilities are of no concern. :smilewink: :P

 

Obviously not.

 

I'll never own a Bentley, but I don't think petty and insensitive to me if future Bentley owners should complain loudly and publicly when their new car is being delivered late.

 

Haha, I don't believe that for a second. I don't think I would feel sensitive to it, but I would think that person is a tool and a bit of a showoff.

 

Having not paid for the product as yet, you have no right to anything.

 

I certainly do not have any sympathy for you guys.

 

No arguments from me anymore. I just simply see your problem as a non-issue and not worth getting angry about.

[WarriorX]

The whole underlying tone of your original post, proves my first point!

 

"Underlying tone" is code for I cant back up my statement.

 

Some how you have taken offence to the fact that Europe received theirs first - like it was done on purpose!

 

Wrong again, you believe you know what offends me, what a supposition! You mistake a valid question as to why Warthog Shipping boxes marked with Destination:France ended up in the UK, and Destination:USA ended up in Belgium, as offence, you are wrong. All I am looking for is an explanation, hence I asked Thrustmaster.

 

Believe it or not, Europe is geographically closer to France than the US is, and in the European Union, customs is pretty much a non-issue, due to the arrangements the countries have. Reading between the lines, it seems that one US retailer has received his first shipment of Warthogs, which would lead me to believe that US bound Warthogs have been in transit for some time now, but have been held up in the process, or just taken longer than expected.

 

This kind of assumptions are just what I am trying to avoid, re-read the title of this thread, it is not an "Open letter to the Forums to expound on their conjecture as to why all the U.S. Pre Order ETA's are being missed time after time". It is to Thrustmaster, and they hopefully now have it.

 

Apple and Thrustmaster = (ironically) apples and oranges. Apple (and I exaggerate for effect) is a million times bigger than Thrustmaster and would have significantly more customers awaiting their new products. Your point about Apple is moot.

 

Any good company will communicate with their customers if they want to keep doing business with them. Communicating delays to a customer base is common in business, to say otherwise is misguided.

 

So far, the only loss you have suffered is maybe a few weekends without the product. I would imagine that no money has been taken from you otherwise that would be poor form on the part of the retailer.

 

This one is great...I have never claimed a "loss" I am just seeking credible information in order to make the best decision regarding my hard earned money.

 

ETA's are exactly that: ETAs.

 

What is my point in all of this? You're complaining when there are others out there who will be either waiting a lot longer to own this item, or will never own it all due to the cost. An overdramatic 'open letter' seems rather petty and insensitive.

 

This paragraph is the definition of over dramatic...nuff said!

 

I will close this fun exchange with this...it is worth repeating. We few of the Simulation Community should be sticking together, helping each other out. We should see our neighbor's problem as our own, and help wherever we can.

 

There is nothing gained when you infer unfounded accusations against me.

[Callsign.Vega]

I had to laugh at the comment about France being in Europe was the reason Europe received warthog's first. They are manufactured in China by workers barely able to afford to feed themselves. The HOTAS is only designed in France. Shipping to Europe from China is no faster than to the US.

[thereminqblank]

But likely distributed from France? I wouldn't be surprised if it was packaged in France either

 

Laugh all you want, but there's a logical reason for the Europeans receiving it first, not an 'us versus them' thing.

Edited November 2, 2010 by thereminqblank

[froogle]

I think it's worth remembering that this is probably not Thrustmasters fault, but Guillemots. I remember when Thrustmaster got bought by them years ago and the general wailing and gnashing of teeth that the new owners, who had a reputation for cheap and nasty game controllers, would either kill the TM line altogether, or severely cripple it. We're incredibly lucky to see TM come out with a high end product like this at all, but any open letters and fault finding need to be directly firmly at the French.

[jerda]

i dont see any point complaining here. If you feel so strong about it, contact TM or the company that owns them.

 

I pre-ordered mine 2 months ago and I never received an ETA. The new beta will keep me entertained in the meantime.

[BaD CrC]

It's not often that Europe is prime for a new tech product.

Look at the bright side, you'll probably get a 1.01 or 1.02 h/w version once we debugged this one. (Can't complain about my Warthog though for the moment :-P).

[Steel Jaw]

any open letters and fault finding need to be directly firmly at the French.

 

Sounds good to mois...LMAO.

[BaD CrC]

Sounds good to MOI (no S) Mower.

[Steel Jaw]

Sounds good to MOI (no S) Mower.

 

CRAP!

 

Once again, my ignorance has been exposed...

 

:helpsmilie:

[BaD CrC]

:smartass:

[sweinhart3]

Anyone get their oder from BLT shipped today? Simware said they were available on their website but after I ordered I got email that I will have to wait till next shipment arrives. Since I canceled my BLT order I guess I screwed myself. :(

[Nightcargo]

Does Simware have distribution in the US or are they Belgium only?

[blaster454]

Does Simware have distribution in the US or are they Belgium only?

 

I checked Simware this morning and their price to ship to the US was about $80US. That's expensive and probably not a fast shipment method.

 

SCSimulations had 10 come in and sold all 10. Dell says they expect release today (whatever that means) but their price is a very high $631.

 

I'm not aware of any other stock in the US yet. Amazon US doesn't even know what it is :lol:.

 

FWIW, I think the BLT final price of about $515 with free shipping may be the standard for a while.

Edited November 2, 2010 by blaster454

[topdog]

Any good company will communicate with their customers if they want to keep doing business with them. Communicating delays to a customer base is common in business, to say otherwise is misguided.

 

Hiya, I'm only a bit surprised that you've all let the retailers off the hook so lightly for this. You're probably just sympathising with them on the fact they haven't received the shipments, and if they had, they would have sold/sent them to you, but still remember:

 

- You are their customer, yes you're TM's too, but directly you are ShopBLT's or whoever's customer.

 

- They stand to risk losing your custom if they don't pull their weight and try to hurry TM along (or more usually for smaller outfits, the middleman distributors who typically have ownership/domination on specific regions or retail chains).

 

- They should be showing they care about you as a customer, insofar as wanting you to return again and/or act as a referral, and keeping you better informed as to the causes of delays and remediations (definitions of ETA aside, a moving target should either be hit or move with a purpose, not float aimlessly).

 

It maybe you've not let them off lightly at all and this is just a wrong perception, and I'm not saying you should have done that instead of taking it upon yourself to go straight to TM, but it is what it looks like.

 

So you may not have had an answer from TM yet, but have you had an actual decent answer from the retailers regarding their efforts? Are any of them even considering alternative distributors who could get them there faster (from Europe even)? After all, it may pinch the profit a little, but if you then become the first stockist you'd probably gain some pre-order cancellations from competitors anyway.

 

Perhaps I'm being naive, I remember in the shop we ran that if a customer was 'more trouble than he's worth' we'd say fine, show them the door, and move on. But that's not a tact we'd have used for any reasonable customer who was looking to buy from us or our competition.

[JG27_Arklight]

I had to laugh at the comment about France being in Europe was the reason Europe received warthog's first. They are manufactured in China by workers barely able to afford to feed themselves. The HOTAS is only designed in France. Shipping to Europe from China is no faster than to the US.

 

I seriously doubt TM distributes products from the factory in China. lol

 

I would imagine they distribute from France to everywhere else.

Edited November 2, 2010 by JG27_Arklight

[kylania]

I've contacted BLT three times, each time they replied with unhelpful "ETA isn't guaranteed, we have no information" boilerplate responses. Even when I specifically asked if the website ETA or my emailed order ETA was the one I should be using. They are the absolute height of unhelpful.

 

There's really nothing we can do to them but keep badgering them with questions that never get answered or cancel our order. Problem is canceling only hurts ourselves since we'll have to then pay $100-$200 more to get it form somewhere else, that's equally as unlikely to have the product and BLT just gets to resell our stick for $110 more then they could have to me. Win Win for them, Lose for me.