Say it aint so--- Teres quality question

Lugnut,

You correctly read the situation in that you are being taken out of the loop. But the reasons are only partially correct. Please look at this from my situation. A customer orders a turntable and after many months of frustrating and confusing communucation (with you, not the buyer) we are unable to resolve what should have been a very simple problem. Finally in frustration I ask the buyer to send me the arm, armboard and cartridge so that I can sort out the problem. When I get the parts I find that there is no problem. I have the arm, armboard and cartridge setup on a 265 in my room and it all fits perfect, with plenty of room to adjust the VTA. The only real problem was because OL changed their VTA adapter the mounting hole was slightly undersized. This was identified very early in the process and I offered to redrill the armboard, but you opted to take care of it yourself. So with or without your post I would have wanted you out of the loop. Can you blame me?

Of course your negative post did not help matters at all. As it turns out some of the claimed problems didn't exist and others were exaggerated. At the time I thought that your comments and representations were quite unfair. Now with a little more information I feel more free to say what I thought then.

I am committed to customer statisfaction. That's why I will be flying to Boise to setup Steve's turntable for him. But from your post it seems that you are still unhappy with me. This even though I have clearly gone above and beyond with resolving this problem for your friend.

Chris

Chris,

I only wish that I could post the photographs that I have taken of the QC issues and the emails and photos forwarded to you. On THIS 265 with the VTA set at the minimum the cartridge body is, at best, level. If the VTA can be correctly adjusted on your trip to Boise then something else has been changed since January.

Look at it from my point of view. I recommended this combination to my friend based on a lot of research and communications with other Teres owners. I agreed to set this up as the owner didn't have any experience. Assembly of the parts is not difficult and the only nervousness I had was with handling the delicate arm and cartridge more times than was necessary. Initially, the arm wouldn't even mount because the bottom hole was too shallow. Yes, I chose to buy a $12 forstner bit and do this myself because the shipping/insurance to you exceeded the price of the bit. Then, I had to provide clearance for the VTA collar as the top hole was drilled for an arm without VTA adjustment. It's my understanding that you were informed at the time the order was placed which arm was to be mounted. After final mounting of the arm and listening while adjusting VTA my ears told me it needed to be lowered more even after minimum VTA adjustment was acheived. Those are the facts.

I also communicated with a few other members here who own either the cartrdige, arm, table or a combination of the above and forwarded them the same photos I sent you. Everyone that saw the cartridge body photos agreed that proper VTA had not been acheived.

Per your request I sent the armboard and VTA collar to Oregon which was where you said it was manufactured. I enclosed correspondence detailing my experiences to date and strongly suggested that the correct diameter holes and hole depths be drilled in the future as well as the QC issues I described above. Unkown to me, it was your father who manufactured the armboard and based on your last email to me he was offended and in turn, you were too.

Early on I offered to send to you the parts that are in your posession now. On this end the problems could have been the result of three different manufacturers, Teres, Origin Live or Shelter and I have no way of knowing. I talked to the supplier of the tonearm/cartridge and compared my minimum VTA settings with his proper setting. He provide me a measurement of tonearm to record clearance in the middle of a record. I wasn't even close to the setting he was using and again, there was no further adjustment.

Phone calls and emails to you went unanswered for which you apologized for in an email dated January 11, 2004, referring to a server problem. Interestingly enough, the unanswered emails prompted me to have another friend inquire about a new table before I finally heard from you and he received an immediate response. Perhaps there was a server problem on your end but unless it also controls your voice mail my phone calls were not responded to either.

I made one mistake in this thread and corrected it as soon as I read it online. I couldn't edit that post because someone else had already posted another comment.

I stand behind my remarks about the tolerances of the Cocobolo 265 that still sits in my music room, running out of VTA adjustment and your lack of communication during a much too long period of time. Negative post? Until today, in spite of the many Teres owners who have contributed to this thread, nobody accused me of making negative remarks. I posted today what I came to believe and you have confirmed it to the community.

I would have thought that this was settled a long time ago.

...I don't imagine Patrick will be satisfied to stay away from his friend's house when Chris comes to do his thing - and well he shouldn't be. That'll be an interesting day - here's hoping that afterward, they can turn to the 'table's owner and say "We're taking you out to dinner", as opposed to "We're taking this out in the alley"...

Having been in sales for many years with a very well run company, it seems that about once a year I get a "transaction from hell". It starts out with a problem and each time I fix it, it seems to get worse! The only solution is to "over-manage" the situation and wrestle it to the mat. Virtually everyone I know that's in business has the same experience and Chris is probably no exception.

Patrick, I think you'll realize that Teres reputation here is pretty solid and that your situation is likely an aberation- honey will probably work better than vinegar in these situations. And Chris, keep 'raslin'!

Good Luck!