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Author Topic: BridgeCom Systems --- use caution.  (Read 677 times)

KA4WJA

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BridgeCom Systems --- use caution.
« on: July 31, 2021, 11:28:32 AM »

Those of you considering buying products from BridgeCom Systems, please use caution and be aware of the lack of forthrightness I experienced from them.  (see details below, of my recent attempt to purchase a power supply, July 2021)

First....a brief preface....

Although I give honest advice / recommendations when asked (and to the surprise of most, I also give honest signal and audio-quality reports), I usually don't give unsolicited advice, etc.....and, although I bought my TR-7, etc. from AES, that was > 40 years ago, and have bought a couple antennas, rotors, etc, over the years from AES, HRO, and DX Engineering, and ALL have been excellent to do business with....this was mostly decades ago, or at least 10+ years ago....so, as you see over my decades in ham radio, I've not been much of a "new product consumer" (preferring hamfests, used equipment, homebrewing, etc...)

Aside from "ebay feedback", I'm usually not one to write reviews nor comment much publicly on companies / services....but, with the whole Covid-19 pandemic / lack of hamfests, I found a strange thing happened this past year.

I found myself actually buying some new ham products by phone, and/or sometimes using their websites for online purchases....I found DX Engineering and HRO to still be excellent folks to do business with, and my only "preference" between the two, is who has the item in stock...I'm not one to pit one against the other in a "price war", 'cuz everyone in business needs to make-a-buck to stay in business!
  :)


So, onto my caution regarding BridgeCom Systems....

Please understand that nobody "ripped-me-off"
, nor did they "keep my money", nor did they "sell me something bad", etc....these things seem to make up the majority of bad reviews, but in my case they simply lied to me (twice) about having the product in stock, took my money and avoided my calls / inquiries as to "where" my power supply was.

I needed a big high-current switcher to replace my flaky repeater PA power supply, and being out-of-town I went looking on-line for someone that had it in stock....(I should've just used my regulars Tessco or Antenna Farm, etc....but neither had it in stock...so, I was using Google and trying to find one "in stock" that I could get shipped right away)

On a Wednesday in middle of July, BridgeCom Systems said on the phone (and showed on their website) they had it in stock, so I placed order on the phone....this was an expensive item (~ $800), so I made sure to confirm with them they'd email me the tracking number upon shipping....hearing nothing from them later that day, nor the next day (Thr), I became concerned and called...

A few attempts, all I got was their voicemail, and I got no response to my voice messages....but did get through to someone on the phone late on Friday, they told me that someone else (who actually took my order) needed to handle this....[yes, weird I thought, but gave 'em the benefit of the doubt, and waited 'til Monday to hear back, but assumed it was on its way]

On Monday, I was able to get in touch with the proper person on the phone, and was informed that my power supply that I ordered (and paid for) 5 days earlier had not shipped, because they did not have it in stock and wouldn't have it "for couple weeks"!   What the heck....I reminded them that I specifically asked if they had it in stock when I called to order it the week before, and so I asked to cancel the order and for them to refund my money.   They agreed....and end-of-business the following day (Tuesday) they processed a credit to my credit card account.

So, as I wrote above, nobody ripped me off, but their sales policies and lack of forthrightness deserve mentioning, and perhaps warrant that others use caution.


Ironically, I've also had to "unsubscribe" to all their emails....as they've sent me NINE marketing / advertising emails in just the past 2 weeks!!!!  (and, these 9 are advertisements....not my "order confirmation", nor my refund confirmation!  but, are rather weird advertising emails...)

What kind of company sends out NINE advertising emails in two weeks to their customers?  Well, in my opinion, it shows their desperation and their failed attempt to hide their "advertising" inside supposedly "helpful" messages.

This "high-pressure" sales / marketing / advertising is always a turn-off to me (and most), but when you look at their (failed) weird attempt to disguise this advertising as "helpful messages", it really is bad form....and, when I layer this onto my recent experience with them....well, I again just want to pass on my words of caution. 


Oh, and contrast this above with what happened two days later...two days after getting a refund from BridgeCom on the out-of-stock (and not available for couple weeks?) power supply, Thursday midday, I called Antenna Farm to find out delivery time, for the exact same power supply...they (Antenna Farm) said they could "drop-ship" it to me so I'd have it the next week....I ordered it, they drop shipped it, and it arrived the following Tuesday!  Easy-Peasy, direct and honest, no hassles...(makes me wonder how long BridgeCom was planning on hanging onto my money, before actually finding me a power supply, huh?)
See my recent post on the contrasting honest approach from The Antenna Farm, regarding purchasing the same power supply...
https://www.eham.net/community/smf/index.php/topic,134043.0.html


All above, true...no BS....and, again, nobody ripped anyone off....and, who knows, this may just be a one-off glitch in their procedure (doubtful).....but, I just wanted to recommend caution here.


73,
John,  KA4WJA
« Last Edit: July 31, 2021, 11:37:15 AM by KA4WJA »
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W9FIB

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Re: BridgeCom Systems --- use caution.
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2021, 03:04:26 AM »

Actually 9 emails in 2 weeks isn't that bad. I have had some companies send 2-3 a day. It isn't desperation, its just like watching TV and seeing several commercials for the same company in a single hour. The ad department is just hard at work doing their job to advertise the company. And mass emails are cheap and easy to do.

Yes unsubscribing is the way to stop the emails. Or change their status to junk email.
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73, Stan
Travelling the world one signal at a time.

KA4WJA

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Re: BridgeCom Systems --- use caution.
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2021, 02:05:45 PM »

Stan,
I looked at my trash file, and for clarification when I wrote "in the past 2 weeks", that was a gracious figure-of-speech.
In actual reality, it was NINE advertising emails in just 8 days.

And, yes, I'm aware this is just part of modern marketing / advertising....{heck, I get almost one advert email each day from Victoria's Secret, and I only buy my girlfriend something from them a couple times a year. :) }

But, what gets me about BridgeCom (in addition to them being dishonest to me) is their weasel-like advert emails, poorly disguised as "helpful messages"....in my opinion, targeting new hams and/or those unfamiliar with new / modern comm modes/equipment...
In my opinion, it's just bad form at best...
(combined with the way they treated me, makes them a big no-go for me and my $$$)


73,
John,  KA4WJA
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WB2WIK

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Re: BridgeCom Systems --- use caution.
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2021, 06:28:42 AM »


But, what gets me about BridgeCom (in addition to them being dishonest to me) is their weasel-like advert emails, poorly disguised as "helpful messages"....

73,
John,  KA4WJA

I might point out that disguising marketing/sales bulk mailings as "helpful messages" is a strategy strongly recommended by the bulk mailer facilities who actually do the mass e-mailing; they use AI (software) to screen mailings for keywords and phrases that will usually make mailings go into people's "junk" or "SPAM" folders rather than their "inbox" and recommend changes to help raise "successful deliveries and opens" numbers.

Microsoft's Outlook application, extremely popular, also uses AI to look for content that may be considered SPAM and route that to "junk" rather than "inbox," and users connected via a mail server (at a company) using Outlook Exchange often have permissions set so tightly that a lot of stuff gets routed to "junk."

I get marketing e-mails from companies I've never bought anything from, but may have "once" visited their web page; that's enough for them to collect the IP address and just add you to their mailing list, without ever "opting in" for anything.   The good mailing companies always provide an "opt out" link somewhere in the mail (could be at the very bottom, in a small font) that allows recipients an opt-out opportunity, and they will delete you from their mailing list if you use that.
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