We're speaking of a niche retailer here, not a general department store type operation--where all the clerks on the floor had to do was to serve walk in customers.  I worked in what used to be Sears, Roebuck & Co., and one of the first things told us was that telephone sales were just as important as in store sales.  Telephone sales had to go through an operator and then an in store transfer.  If the customer had to wait on the phone for a minute they usually didn't mind--they knew that they were being waited on.

Smaller stores can't afford that luxury.  The person on duty in the store had to answer the phone--and that meant right away--even if there were people in the store.  The in store customers usually knew that and didn't complain.  Even people checking out had to wait until the phone was answered and the on-phone customer was spoken to.

In short, your premise that in store customers are more important is still wrong--no matter what justification you use to try to support it.  Both are equally as important.  One last thing--phone customers usually either order or come into the store.  If they were not served well on the phone, they would not come into the store.  If that happened, where would the in store customers come from in the first place?

After reflecting on this thread, I notice that one other thing wasn't mentioned.  The attitude that the complainer displayed when he first called the shipper.  One thing that would be apparent is simply this--If the person who called up a business displayed an openly hostile attitude from the start, the businessman may well be inclined to be just as hostile and dismissive in his answer.

If, on the other hand, a caller is polite and is simply asking a question, the businessman may well be inclined to be polite and civil in turn.

I have little doubt that the originator of this thread called up with a bad attitude already--simply because of the way he posted here.

They probably have dozens of orders and looking up an individual order can be hit and miss--especially with a small company.  A change of one letter in a person's name can result in an order not found with a computer lookup.

Instead of being so critical, cut the people some slack.  They try to give good service at low prices.  If it's that unacceptable to you, simply order from a big name supplier--and pay the added costs.

I would suspect that the error was because of the popularity of the six pin molex connector--and the employee simply grabbing the popular connector instead of the one you need.  A phone call to Powerwerx ought to straighten out the problem.  They may simply ship you the correct connector--and tell you to keep the other one.

You ought to listen to your own advice.

I would suggest that one of the first things to do is to get in touch with your local Nat. Weather Service bureau and find out if there is a Skywarn or a weather spotter group in existence in your area already.  If there is and they already have some sort of association with the NWS, your group may not be as welcome, and any attempt on your part to form such a group may be met with resistance from both the NWS and the other group.

It isn't so much that they do not want such volunteers, it may simply have to do with that other unpleasant fact that exists in all too many places these days--politics.

Let's just put it this way.  In heavily populated areas such as the Maine to Washington 'corridor', there is little need for emcomm--but the hams who push emcomm still want to insist they're needed.  Every ten or twenty years such an occasion may come along--maybe.  The reality is that they very seldom are, since there are multiple ways for messaging already in existence resulting from the lessons learned after the New York attacks.    

Out in the midwest, however, where population is sparse and public service agencies are more spread out, there is greater need for such activities, and the officials are more likely apt to welcome emcomm volunteers with open arms.

The only exceptions to that are the volunteer weather spotters.  They are needed for severe weather reporting no matter where they are simply because those volunteers are the only ones who normally do such activities.  You seldom see police or fire departments reporting to the National Weather Service unless the NWS can aid them in some way.

There ought to be some way to force the ARRL and the emcomm pushers to realize these facts, but there isn't--they're all too focused on their fantasies that they're indispensable.  73!

Added--The really laughable part of this emcomm fantacy is this--ARRL headquarters is located smack dab in the center of that Maine to Washington corridor.  They ought to know better--simply from that! 

Sorry, but most of the time that "paying for future support" line is nothing but baloney.  Most of the time, the plain and simple truth of the matter is this:  The bigger the manufacturer, the better the support structure the manufacturer has.  After that, it is true that the more expensive the rig, the more support options you can access--for a set amount of time. 

I love hearing people who paid big bucks for a rig years ago complain about the lack of support now--and get told that their rig is too old.  If they indeed paid for future support, it would be available--but it isn't!  It HAS happened and will happen again.

On the Amazon website, the indication is that HE closed his storefront temporarily.  Could be that Amazon did it--it just isn't clear.


Anyway, his usual practices seem to be catching up to him.  He'll be struggling to make his 'store' work now.

You apparently didn't read the entire post.  The last part:

I take that to mean that the area surrounding the tower is mostly Birch.  Birch trunks are silver-white.  That is why I answered as I did.

'JEG, Since Birch bark is silver, brown paint will just make the tower stand out.

I'll stand by my statement.  There are companies that simply won't pay extortion rate fees to upgrade the OS the company uses.  If the system they're using now works for them, they'll continue to use it.

The comment about the newer hardware is slightly off base, however.  True, newer hardware sometimes uses less energy, but just like any other power supply, a computer supply puts out only what it has to to power the computer it is connected to.  Just because a supply is rated at 400 watts does not mean that it runs at that 400 watts every minute.  Likewise it doesn't mean the newer equipment will definitely use less.

The older OS that may be loaded onto a newer hardware unit will run just fine on that newer hardware unit too.  One does NOT have to have a new OS to pair with their new hardware.  That is yet another fallacy.  Yes, there may well be some hardware and drivers that the older OS won't support, but there is almost always either a driver that will work.  Likewise there is almost always a work-around so the hardware will function--or you just do not use that hardware.  Simple and to the point, so to each their own.  There is no law that says you have to upgrade anything, so if older OSes and PC systems work for you, Microsoft and the computer hardware makers will have to survive without your contribution.  They will survive, nonetheless.

A very simple way exists to deal with people who refuse to show their face.  Ignore them.  All that most of these unidentified people want is to stir up the pot.  If denied that, they'll go away.

I doubt that it's a good idea.  Even if you could put the 'camouflage' on the tower in such a way to avoid contact between the bark and the metal, it would still trap moisture in the void, accelerating corrosion, similar to how it is in a sauna. 

As was asked, why do you want to cover it anyway?  Is there another party who demands such?  I would simply leave it.  The way the Birch tree bark is colored, people probably won't notice it anyway after it's been weathered.

Could be simply that the antennas are pointing each in different directions, IE, his is E-W and yours is N_S.