I remain surprised the travails of Jolida, which Forbes illustrated back in 2005 http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2005/0905/088.html never became the sort of watershed article on this subject.
Michael Allen literally went to the ends of the earth to keep Jolida, a brand I've always been a fan of, afloat. Additional trouble of the business sort, which is at least as common as the mostly nonexistent quality over there, loomed down the road, came to a head a couple of years ago. I find it amazing he made it through in both cases, which serves as a testament to his intestinal fortitude. Obviously, such herculean efforts would represent the exception, not the rule.
Despite the reputation for quality (that one still makes me laugh) and lofty (for Chinese) pricing of the company I represented, they never budged from their throw over the wall mentality. Once a component left their factory, regardless of whether it worked or not, the countless problems their gear encountered was the problem of whoever's hands it landed in.
I'll never forget the turntable motors that ran the wrong way, and how that must have been the fault of the unlucky folks who purchased those units, through their own malicious/stupid actions. A half dozen unrelated people across North America all happened to disassemble their turntable motors, and intentionally or unknowingly wire them so that they would rotate their platters in the opposite direction. Really?!?
Michael Allen literally went to the ends of the earth to keep Jolida, a brand I've always been a fan of, afloat. Additional trouble of the business sort, which is at least as common as the mostly nonexistent quality over there, loomed down the road, came to a head a couple of years ago. I find it amazing he made it through in both cases, which serves as a testament to his intestinal fortitude. Obviously, such herculean efforts would represent the exception, not the rule.
Despite the reputation for quality (that one still makes me laugh) and lofty (for Chinese) pricing of the company I represented, they never budged from their throw over the wall mentality. Once a component left their factory, regardless of whether it worked or not, the countless problems their gear encountered was the problem of whoever's hands it landed in.
I'll never forget the turntable motors that ran the wrong way, and how that must have been the fault of the unlucky folks who purchased those units, through their own malicious/stupid actions. A half dozen unrelated people across North America all happened to disassemble their turntable motors, and intentionally or unknowingly wire them so that they would rotate their platters in the opposite direction. Really?!?