Saginaw, MI
Quoted from Willy39:You are right. They don't have to. I am just saying they know the schedule and instead of speculations and getting mixed messages from distributors they can just tell us directly. If I was making a product that someone purchased and I knew that the item was not going to be completed until next month, but the salesman who sold the product told the customer it will be ready next week, I would be pissed. Not only does it make the distributor/salesman look bad but also the manufacturer. It looks like incompetence and lack of communication especially on an items that cost over $5,000.
I guess since I am investing and pay a premium price on such an item, I would expect to be a bit more in the loop. When you go out to dinner, cooking time is an estimate depending on who is cooking or how busy the kitchen is, but you still as a customer expect an estimated time of when food will be ready. If the waiter tells you in 10 minutes and then 30 minutes goes by, you would be pissed even though you did not pay for the food yet.
Its just good business if you ask me. People just don't like to be kept in the dark. A little info goes a long way. Next time you take a flight and your are delayed on the ground or in the air, try to see how long you can wait for an update by the pilot before getting upset. It changes nothing on the situation at hand, but makes you feel a bit better that you were kept informed or even felt important enough to the pilot that you deserved an update on the delay. I can go on and on with example.
I have no idea how Stern's production is scheduled but I would guess it is completely supplier dependent. When they have enough parts to build x amount of games, they probably go into production. If they are gong to switch a line over to build premiums, they probably want enough of everything to build all of the orders they currently have for premiums. I'm anxious to get my game, but NO ONE in pinball produces the games like Stern does when they have the parts. They don't want to tell you they are making premiums next week, then a vendor has a delay.
I like communication on status too, but until I see a pic of a premium on the line at Stern, I take anything with a grain of salt. Also, I wouldn't buy from a distributor that asks for full payment when the game is announced. Most of the distributors I've dealt with ask for a deposit and the balance when shipping.
Rockland, ON
