Marc,
Not sure why I don?t have an email from you. I guess all I can say is that I dropped the ball.
I know you all count on me for service and support and while traditionally I have been able to do that...right now I am not always able to provide the level I should. While it hasn?t been great for the last few months. I do feel that in general I have personally given pretty good support over the last 20 years. I hope that you can understand where we are in this moment and know that I look forward to 20 more years of working with you all!
Again, my apologies for not personally handling more of these issues.
Andrew - this isn't a pile-on, just a comment from a guy who made his living in avionics customer service for a lot of years.
You knew from comments here and elsewhere that being absorbed by BK was seen by your customers as the kiss of death. Many of us told you so in terms that left no room for misinterpretation.
Failure to ensure the transition included a plan to ensure the phones were always answered and that a capable support engineer was always available is exactly the kind of business model that we dedicated customers feared would result from BK's involvement. If for no other reason than because many of us have experienced that lack of support as being the norm for BK.
Nobody should expect Andrew Barker to be the one man band who does everything. But we are well within our rights as customers to expect that Andrew Barker knows the level of customer support that has been the hallmark of TruTrak, that his customers have come to know and expect. In fact it is also not unrealistic for us to expect that Andrew Barker knows it's this terrific support that has kept his customers loyal when they could have moved over to Brand G or others. We are just as well within our rights to have expected that part of the negotiations in the BK deal would have been to ensure that level of service was baked into the contract to ensure customers don't give up on the brand.
The comments in the thread above clearly indicate the loyal customer base you have worked so hard to build is losing faith. This is a critical juncture. Customers are ready not to walk but to RUN away from TruTrak. You can't afford any slips in customer communications.
It's time to go back to BK and insist on a person dedicated to answering the phone and emails during this transition period. Even if it means slowing down the rate at which BK staff get trained.
Being swallowed up by BK is widely perceived as the last nail in the coffin for any avionics manufacturer. And for good reason. BK's reputation is about as bad as it gets in the GA world. I actively recommend people to avoid having anything to do with BK and have done so for a couple of decades. TruTrak came into the deal with a great track record of excellent products, and a wonderful reputation for customer service. Heck, that's why I kept the TruTrak autopilot that came with my instrument panel and paid you to upgrade it to a Vizion 385 rather than turfing it. My decision was based solely on reputation. I'm far from unique in this regard.
You can't risk pi$$ing off this customer base. The comments in this thread indicate that's what's happening. The downhill slide has started. You have to stop that slide immediately before it becomes a mudslide with a very messy finish at the bottom of the hill.