Beware Idiom Press!!

[VK4WPX]

Idiom Press.... well, what can I say..   Quite a bit actually.   Firstly, I would like to suggest that the company name be

changed.   IDIOT PRESS is a far more fitting name!

Why Idiot Press I hear you ask... unfortunately, it is a long story..  but I have the time, so here it is.

On January 28, 2008 I completed the on-line ordering process for a control board for my 2800DXC rotator (yep, they call em

rotators in VK & not rotors.. thats 'cause 'rotors' are actually parts of a Mazda rotary engine.)

Moving along,..........  after waiting for 6 days to hear from them to say that they had received my order etc, I emailed them

(February 4) asking for an update.   I received a reply from W7GH stating "I was under the impression that I had contacted you

earlier concerning  your order, but I see now that is not the case."   Yep, you were right on there Rob..   Not only that, Rob

continued by writing "Your order should be ready in a few days."  and  "When your order does ship by air mail, I will send

another email."  Yeah, right... In who's dreams Rob....  Please read on folks, it gets better.

10 days later, when I had still not heard from Idiot Press I emailed them again (February 15) asking for an update....   Guess

what... no reply.. So, 4 days later, (February 19) or 14 days after being told it would be ready "in a few days" I send off

another e-mail asking if anyone at Idiom Press was alive....   I get a reply, again from Rob, W7GH saying " I had a look

through the orders, and you are the 10th in line.  Unfortunately I am running out of parts fast.  If there are enough parts to

build your order, then it should ship in two days.  If I run out of parts before, then your order should ship in a week."

So now, 23 days after placing the order, being told shorthy after that it would "be a few days" we now might have it in  "two

days" or maybe "in a week".

Being relatively patient I thought I would wait until the "in a week" time frame had passed before seeing where things

stood......    

On March 2nd, 5 weeks after placing the order I send off another message saying "It would be real nice to be kept informed but

no one has bothered and it is now 5 weeks since I placed my order.  What is going on ??"   Did I get a reply to that..  NO I

did not...  Idiot Press ignores me again..    I let 4 days pass and send off another message (March 7) asking them "what the

hell is going on at Idiom Press ?"

Guess what...... 5 days later (March 7) mister Rob, W7GH replies  "The parts came in at last, and your RotorCard DXA will be on

its way to you by air mail today."    This was 100% crap.. Rob, you tell outright lies.  (when it did finally arrive it was

postmarked March 11)    but wait, there is more to this story............


On March 7, the day mister Rob lied to me, my credit card was debited for the purchase.

On March 20, when the package that I had paid for had not arrived I sent off an e-mail to Rob, W7GH, asking him for the UPS

tracking number so that I could trace my parcel.....   I am still waiting for his reply.

The story now ends... today, March 25, some 8 weeks after placing my order, the control board arrived.  And as I stated above,

it was postmarked March 11...   I sure hope it works, because if it does not, god help me if I want any customer service... as

you can clearly see, IDIOT PRESS has none.

John
VK7CEJ
(formerly VK4WPX)

PS.  All of the above story can be confirmed, I have kept all of the e-mails refered to.

[WC3O]

I have many Idiom Press products and have had dealings with Bob at Idiom. The products are truly great and I would recommend them to anyone. First rate product and first rate service.

DE WC3O
Bob

[NS1Z]

I have to give up on Idiom Press. I have made every effort to get the one missing chip I need to make my Rotor EZ work and still nothing. I have had to dispute the charge and hope my card company can retrieved the funds.

The only time I was able to talk to anyone at Idiom was when I placed another order and requested a call before shipping. I spoke with someone who said their name was Bob. He said he had taken over the business from his father and was busy trying to catch up on oders. He assured me at the time that he would ship my missing parts. He didn't...

Unless there is a major change in company policy (take the money and run...) I will no longer conduct any business with them.

[F1BZF]

Have bought 4 keyers and rotors cards at Idiom Press for me and friends. All run fine and great  communication with Bob.
My 0.02
Alain

[HC2AD]

Some weeks ago i receive in Ecuador a SCAF-1 kit from Bob after a little missunderstanding about the order. I´m electronic ingeneer and what i can say is components are not the cheaper. I follow all instructions and scaf worked at first time as it should be. I´m impressend on the quality of pcb and hardware too...
To get a cheaper deal in components is not the same to get a cheaper component... and always in any situation on electronic devices, there are a little probability on defective ones.
But in this case is when support make the difference and i recieve a good one from Bob.

Tks for nice kit!!!

Allan/hc2ad

[MAZZ1232002]

  Bill
   This is Pete again, WB4CGA, I would like to have the sales revenue in the bank that we have lost over the past three years as a result of postings here on eham back in early 2005 when we got way behind on our orders. Still today if you google Gulf Alpha Antennas the third search result is a company review which states we basically just take peoples money and never send the product. This past February a customer paid for some antennas on Feb. 4, 2008, I sent an order acknowledgment, he received delivery on Feb. 29, 2008 and we state on our catalog that we have a lead time and call for that lead time before ordering. He did not call (OK no big thing) then around Feb. 21, 2008 under eham product reviews, he is accusing me of operating a scam because he did not get the antennas. The review manager removed the posts this time. Then I get an email from some clown asking me if just sell antennas and never ship them.
   Just dinking around on ebay and in the stock market is beginning to have a lot of appeal lately. Hey, I am debt free so why not.

        73's
        Pete
        WB4CGA

[N4XY]

I too have nothing but absolutely positive things to say about Idiom Press. It seems to me like I had some small problem like a missing part or something several years ago, and Bob went out of his way to get it to me ASAP-when I had told him there was no rush. Super company.

[KA1GL]

On May 8th I placed an order for 2 CMOS4-Keyer kits and 2 HK-3 cable sets.  On May 10th my credit card was charged for the amount of the goods plus shipping.  On May 12th I received an e-mail saying that they had shipped all the keyer kits to Dayton and my order would be filled after May 20th.  That was the last I heard from them.  I just finished sending my 3rd e-mail asking about the order.      I can understand if there are delay because they are awaiting parts.  What I can't stand is not hearing anything from them especially since they have already charged my credit card.

Frank, KA1GL  

[AB7E]

I generally consider the "reviews" here on eHam (whether pro or con) to be mostly unfounded tripe, and in my opinion anyone who relies on them for purchasing decisions is likely to be mislead.  By way of illustration, a normal bell curve of objective numerical ratings from 0 to 5 (on almost any topic) would typically show the highest incidence for the number 3 (or maybe 4), with few 0's and few 5's.  Instead the typical eHam review is either a 0, 1, or 5, and most of the  comments are either extravagant praise or blistering condemnation.  Those given here for Idiom Press pretty much fit that pattern.

But for those who have had honest issues with Idiom Press and wonder what has happened the last few months, this was just posted to the TowerTalk reflector:

****************

"Greetings all,

This is Rob, W7GH from Idiom Press.  I took over the day-to-day running of  
the business from my father Bob W9KNI several months ago.

I've made several rookie mistakes in running Idiom Press.  I made the  
mistake of not having enough inventory at Dayton this year, and I've been  
dealing with a backlog ever since.  I've been working like crazy to catch  
up, and I should be caught up by the end of next week.

I realize that I've been difficult to reach lately, and I apologize to all  
the people whom I've inconvenienced.  Once I'm caught up, then customer  
service will be much more prompt.  In the meantime I'm doing the best that  
I can.

73,
- Rob W7GH
Partner
Idiom Press
http://www.idiompress.com/

**************************

[K0OD]

"Greetings all,

This is Rob, W7GH from Idiom Press. I took over the day-to-day running of the business from my father Bob W9KNI several months ago.

I've made several rookie mistakes in running Idiom Press. I made the mistake of not having enough inventory at Dayton this year, and I've been
dealing with a backlog ever since. I've been working like crazy to catch up, and I should be caught up by the end of next week."


--
My problems were last fall! He was running the business then according to his dad.

"Rookie mistakes"?  Are we to believe Idiom was victim of a sudden surge of demand unprecedented in their 20 year history?  This isn't 1956!

"by the end of next week" That's what he told me and others too...several times... last fall.

So ***IS*** Rob caught up now? Can anyone report on the current state of Idiom deliveries?  I wish the company well. Their products are good. But buyers deserve a fair shake.

[W1CDX]

I guess Rob isn't caught up yet...

I ordered a Yaesu Rotor card and a K5 Keyer 6 weeks ago. The only thing I received was the standard automatic reply ...received your order.

2 weeks later ... I had read all these reviews ... I emailed Rob and ask if he received my order and if he could kindly name an estimated delivery time.

NO REPLY.

I cancled my order last week. Guess they don't need my 500 bucks.

I wish someone else would sell those Rotor Cards. Now I will order the original Yaesu board from HRO.

73 all
Steve, W1CDX

[N4MWR]

I've been using a K1 keyer for over 20 years with no problems.A couple of the buttons sre now sticking and it will be as good as new once replaced.Best keyer I've ever used and will be ordering the new K5 soon.I operate CW 99% of the time and the K1 must have thousands of hours of use.A quality product!!Louis Hernandez N4MWR

[KA1GL]

See my posting from last June.  I still have not received the kits and cables I ordered last May.  My credit card was charged so they've got my money.  Their products may be good but I can't tell since they never shipped me my order.  Any communications I've tried to have with them have gone unanswered.  I wouldn't recommend doing any business with them.

Frank,
AB2ZO,
ex KA1GL

[KA1GL]

6 days after my last posting I received and e-mail from Idiom Press.  It apologized for not answering my previous e-mails and stated that they thought they had sent my order last May.  It said they would be sending my order via priority mail.  Today the items arrived in the mail.  So I have received what I ordered and they do not own me anything more.

Frank
AB2ZO
ex KA1GL

[N4UE]

BS! Pure and simple!
I bought a SCAF-1 Audio Filter from IP a year or so ago. The kit I got didn't quite match the instructions. (the kit would STILL have gone together and worked).
Bob was MOST receptive to my suggestions to 'fix' the Manual. I feel that my EE Degree and 27 1/2 years with IBM (including writing Service Manuals!) gave me the knowledge to assist Idiom Press.

Bob was a super (!!) guy yto work with and accepted most of my observations.

The result is a FANTASTIC little filter. In fact, just a couple of days ago, I did a 'update' to my initial review, here.

As was prerviously mentioned, do your homework, check the reviews and decide for yourself. I would NOT hesitate to buy again from Bob!

ron
N4UE
(hamming since 1962)