Quote:
Originally Posted by jpgr4blu
Hi Tima:
Do you know the reason why Kal is no longer there?
|
Hi
jpgr4blu - I don't have specifics to relay about Kalvin's departure. No fault is asking of course, however those sorts of personnel issues and decisions aren't, imo, really suited for public bulletin boards.
Passing through several acquisitions, it's not surprising the company is faced with adjusting to multiple changes that result from that. Standardization of processes and procedures across the various entities under WOM would not be surprising. I have no inside knowledge there, but attempts at economies of scale, etc. are not unusual.
Kalvin (and Leonard before him) had years of accumulated experience under their belts along with deep product knowledge. Its probably unusual for a small company to have a drop-in replacement and implementing a new process for customer service and parts sales takes time for everyone to adjust and refine. Operating through e-mail request and response means there's a record of customer-company interaction independent of whomever is answering the phone; it may not be perfect but in a way it's reassuring. If there is a procedural transition underway, I have no problem cutting them some slack and being a bit patient.
ARC's dealer network is v important to them, so its no surprising they'd look for local dealers to be the front line for sales and dealers may have been looking for more of that as well. The more resources the company can devote to designing, manufacturing and repairing hi-end products while keeping in-house sales efficient, the better the opportunities they may have for going forward into the future. I'm not meaning to be an apologist, just suggesting that a prosperous Audio Research is really in the interest of all of us who appreciate their products.