Re: [Leica] A Chatterton Story

["Joseph Codispoti" <joecodi@thegrid.net>]

It could have been the flu, but I am surprised they did not blame it on El
Niņo.
JC

- -----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Moore <jbm@instinet.com>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Cc: jbm@instinet.com <jbm@instinet.com>
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 1998 5:07 PM
Subject: [Leica] A Chatterton Story


>I've noted a continuing background thread concerning people's reactions to
Don
>Chatterton.  It seems they either love him or hate him.  Let me recount my
>first and only Chatterton experience:
>
>I saw an unusually low price on the DCI webpage for new 50/2.8 Elmar-Ms.
The
>price, in combination with my mood that week, popped such a lens into the
>impulse-purchase category.  I called the DCI phone number.
>
>I got a recording stating that everyone was busy, and inviting me to leave
a
>message.  I did so.
>
>The next day, a bit over 24 hours later, I hadn't been called back.  I
called
>again.  Same recording.  I didn't know if my message had even been
received,
>if they were on an extended holiday, if my message had been garbled;  I
wanted
>some kind of ACK that communication had actually occurred.  The Chatterton
>phone system offers no option for holding until someone gets to you;  you
>either get a live person on the first ring, or you're at the voice-mail.
So I
>kept calling, hanging up and trying again whenever I got the $#@% machine.
>After a few tries, somebody living *did* pick up.  He was really annoyed,
>said I was driving the phone system and people crazy, said they were backed
up
>because people were out with the flu, and if I'd left a message I should
just
>wait to be called back.
>
>Okay, fine.  Not very satisfying, but seems fair.  It didn't seem that
likely
>the transaction would really occur if I waited for a callback -- chances
were
>I'd be away from my desk when and if they called back, and would thus waste
>another day playing phone-tag -- so I decided to try another approach.  I
>wrote out exactly what I wanted, where I wanted it shipped, how fast I
wanted
>it shipped, full credit-card information, and full contact information on a
>piece of paper and faxed it.
>
>Round about the day the lens was due to arrive, I called the shipping
>destination to see if it'd gotten there.  Nope.  I called Chatterton to
make
>sure it'd been shipped.  This time, someone (Chatterton himself, maybe?  I
was
>never sure exactly who I was talking to) picked up.
>
>[paraphrasing]
>
>  "So, how 'bout that order I faxed in?  Been shipped?"
>
>  "Nope."
>
>  "Um, why?  Out of product?"
>
>  "Nope, the destination was a Mail Boxes Etcetera in New York.  We keep
>   losing money to fraud when we ship places like that."
>
>  "Did you think maybe you could have TOLD ME you were ignoring my order,
>   the order I carefully timed for arrival before the weekend?  Maybe
>   somebody could have CALLED the number on the fax and discussed this
>   with me instead of just silently turfing it?  And besides, the shipping
>   address isn't actually in New York, it's in New Jersey."
>
>  "Whatever, it's all the same place.  And two-thirds of my people are out
>   with the flu."
>
>[I have things shipped to a Mail Boxes Etcetera store because I'm not
reliably
>at home to receive shipments, and because the folk who run this MBE are as
>honest as the day is long.  They're such sticklers they still insist on
seeing
>ID when I pick things up, even though they know me by sight by now.  UPS or
>FedEx deliveries to my home often find me out.  I *can* receive U.S. Post
>Office deliveries, because they'll deliver a notification and hold a
package
>for pickup at the office.  So...]
>
>   "What if I arrange to have that shipping address registered with the
>    credit-card company as an officially-sanctioned destination?"
>
>   "Nope."
>
>   "How about the U. S. Mail?"
>
>   "Nope."
>
>Eventually, the guy volunteered that he could send it COD to a FedEx
branch,
>one of which is quite convenient to me.  But by now, it wouldn't arrive
'til
>after the weekend, forcing me to either delay processing the first M6HM
>test-roll I'd be shooting that weekend, or try out the lens on a different
>roll.  (Yeah, poor sad me.)
>
>How'd it all work out?  The lens arrived exactly when he said it would, the
>price was great, and the lens appears to be perfect.  All's well that ends
>well.  Chatterton didn't do anything dishonorable or dishonest, and yes, I
>guess you can't expect a company to handle all usual traffic when operating
at
>one-third staff.  But... somehow it still left a bad taste in my mouth.  I
>mean, I wasn't wasting anybody's time schmoozing about collector minutiae
and
>not buying anything;  I was trying over and over again to hand them my
money
>for product, in the most straightforward way, and it seemed like they
couldn't
>be bothered to take it.  Do they do such scary volume that they can do
that?
>
>It's the flu.  It must be the flu.
>
>
>