Any ETA on when Maestro ships

Wilhelm Hisinger

Perhaps to coincide with the Alpha 4040?  he he he

N3NER

Another week has gone by, still no further status.

7. Given the estimated software QA cycle, we now are now forecasting to begin general availability shipments in the February time frame.

KY6LA_Howard

It's getting closer to being QA'ed !!!

Tim - W4TME

We hope to begin customer production shipments in March. we are getting close and the tester and software development teams are working overtime to get them done ASAP.

W2NER

That's the end of the first quarter. So based on my previous experiences it will be April or May.

Walt - KZ1F

People could, dare I say should, look at it this way. FRS can't book revenue on it until they charge your credit card. I believe they have an equal, if not stronger, incentive to get e eryone their Maestro asap. Pushing them on it will not make the gears spin any faster.

Disclaimer: I am not, in any way, affiliated with FRS.

N3NER

Well, unfortunately for me (and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one) I used paypal so they have my full payment already on their books.

N3NER

My opinion is this, if the product is not ready to ship then only take deposits, not full payment no matter what the payment method is. 

k3Tim

When ordering on the FRS website it states Paypal is charged immediately (before shipping) whereas with a CC it is only charged upon shipment.

N3NER

Still, if it's not ready to ship, they should not accept orders for the full amount. 

Lewis Cheek

Now I understand why I can't sleep, Flex has been holding my Maestro money since 11 Sep. I'll just double up on sleeping pills.

Lew
N4CO

N3NER

I wonder how the roll out is going..  I have an empty spot on my desk. ;-)

N3NER

Well, I sent an email out to FR and I'm not happy with the answer.  I placed my order (charged full amount) on Jan 22 and and shipping was going to start the first qtr.  Then I was told March in the begining of Feb, now I'm being told April.  Same MO, making promises they can't keep and I'm really sick of this.   This is NOT the way to run a business. 

KY6LA_Howard

It's software. It always takes longer to get it right than anyone expects.

W2NER

It's simple, If it's not ready for prime time dont accept orders (and accept full payment) for something you can't deliver. I was a department project manager of a fortune 500 company so I know what it's like to manage projects. All it does is aggravating **** customers off

KY6LA_Howard

The issue was that using PayPal you paid for your Maestro in Full but using a credit card you only paid a $100 deposit...

Good rule of thumb when I would ask my programmers for estimates of how long a project would take

If they were under 30, I would multiply their estimates by 4
if they were under 40 I would multiply their estimates by 3
If they were over 40 I would double their best estimates

If they were over 50, they probably would be far too smart to offer an estimate as they knew you could never predict how long it would take to do something NOBODY HAD EVER DONE BEFORE

If they were under about 16 they did not have a clue as to how long it would take but somehow would beat everyone's best estimates.

W2NER

Again. They should not offered for sale under any circumstances if it wasn't ready to be delivered to the customer I don't care if it's PayPal or credit card. I'm not sure what you don't understand

KY6LA_Howard

Obviously you worked for a Fortune 500 with unlimited development budgets.. For those of us in the Fortune 5000 or smaller it is quite normal to accept customer deposits as a means to gauge interest in the product as well as to garner firm purchase commitments before stating on a project

W2NER

Again and I don't know how many times I need to say it. If the company doesn't have a product that they can deliver there's no point of excepting orders. If you don't have the budget then you need to go to resources that you can depend on to get the money you need to develop that product not depend on customers to finance your projects

KY6LA_Howard

Again.. and Again.. Clearly you are in the Fortune 500 world.. for the rest of us, customer deposits are essential BEFORE you start to develop a product in order to gauge interest in the product and to garner firm commitments to buy the product...

Again.. you are thinking Fortune 500 when you say "you need to go to resources that you can depend on to get the money you need to develop that product " for the rest of the commercial world those sources of finance just do not exist...

Hence the success of things like Kickstarter.. where customers put up 100% of the money up front to finance development...

W2NER

Clearly you're a diehard flex supporter with no vision on what it takes to run a company or run a project. I don't know how many times I need to say it you should not rely on a customer base I don't care how big or how small your company is to finance your projects. Nonetheless to make commitments that you forever miss

Bill -VA3WTB

Yet another one telling Flex they don't know how to run their company, too funny.....

W2NER

Another dense consumer who just doesn't get it that the customer should not finance companies project, more funny

KY6LA_Howard

I guess that having founded and run over a dozen companies in my life (including 2 that I took public) does not qualify me as having the vision to run a company.. nor does the hundreds of successful projects that my companies have build qualify me to run a project

But not having that "Vision" but having had that real world experience, invariably the funds you need to start those companies or build those project usually comes from customer deposits.. not from some mysterious magical sources of funds that only Fortune 500 companies have access to....

W2NER

There are many companues that does not use customers to finance their projects or taking deposits on something they don't have to deliver. Apache labs doesn't do it, ELAD doesn't do it, I've never seen the Yaesu or Kenwood do it. The list can go on an. And if you think customers should finance projects of companies then no you do not know how to run a business

Norm - W7CK

Nick.  Their are many ways to run a business.  I think it is great that Flex lets all of us know what is coming down the pike.  They often let us know when the product is still in the planning stages.  How often do other companies do that?  It takes a lot of effort to get a product off the ground, and finally into production.  I for one really appreciate that Flex shares their visions and projected targets with us.  I have spent most of my life providing software services to government agencies and can tell you, very seldom are projected product production timelines met.  Flex is a small company, they produce an amazing product and I for one don't mind waiting until they feel their hardware and or software offerings are ready for market.  I love the fact that we as a community have been told of the Maestro well before its release.  I've been able to ponder how I plan on using the product and now have dreams of its arrival. Any other manufacture would not have told us anything until it was ready to ship.  Shoot, just knowing the Maestro was on its way has helped me plan how my station will operate in the future and how I might better be prepared.  The pre-knowledge of its eventual release has helped me understand the vision of Flex Radio and where we might all be heading.  I love the fact that Flex shares this information and their vision with us.  I think its been and will continue to be an exciting ride, don't you?

I don't mind waiting. 

P.S.  I did get a chance to play with the Maestro while at the Yuma Hamfest and all I can say is it is a work of art.  Its quite solid, beautifully designed, controls operate smoothly, and actually surpassed my expectations.  It took all I had to keep from drooling all over the display table......

W2NER

I agree with everything you just said 100% I just don't think it's fair that I have to pay whether it be through PayPal credit card it doesn't matter 100% of the product cost and I'm waiting for months. It doesn't make any sense to me why should I have to pay $1200 for something im not going to see because it's not ready to be delivered. If they only were going to take a deposit of $100 then I fully understand. them charging me full price for something they can't deliver, no sorry I don't think that's right

Norm - W7CK

Nick.  Although its been a few months ago, I only paid $100 for my pre-order.  This was to guarantee I get the Maestro at a little bit of a reduced price when it is released.  I knew when I pre-ordered it would be a while before I take delivery and I was good with that. 

If you feel your financing Flex products, why don't you just wait until the product your interested in is actually shipping before you order it.  That should take care of the problem for you.  I'm just guessing, but you might be able to cancel your order and then wait until next month or so and then re-order once they are shipping them?

W2NER

I've been in contact with flex with the powers at be and they give me that option however the monies already spent. The thing that upsets me the most is when I ordered this in January the website at that time gave me the impression they were in stock and ready to be shipped I didn't notice anything in bold letters or some kind of a big notice stating that they weren't ready for shipment yet that's my biggest beef. I typically don't get newsletters and when I do it's very infrequent and when I do I don't really have a whole Lotta time to read them. That may be my fault for not reading the newsletter is however that doesn't negate the fact that the website at the time in January gave me the impression otherwise. I typically don't get newsletters very infrequent and when I do I don't really have a whole Lotta time to read them. That may be my fault for not reading the newsletters however that doesn't negate the fact that the website at the time in January gave me the impression otherwise

K1UO Larry

You DID cancel in order to show your indignation ... right??