Controversial opinion within, was Euro harnesses

[Mike Arman <armanmik@n-jcenter.com>]

>
Brandon Hull talks about enthusiasts and business: 

>>Sorry to sound so harsh, but welcome to the business world. As was
>mentioned
>>by someone else, this was not a philanthropic endeavor,
>
>
>HOWEVER.  I've been a car buff for a long time, and bought stuff from lots
>of aftermarket venders for Jaguars, Chevy 3100 trucks, Porsche etc.  I once
>passed on an opportunity to be the US distributor for the major UK
>aftermarket Lotus vender.  I would maintain that _anyone_ who is doing
>business as a performance Audi manufacturer is partly doing it as a labor of
>love.  

snip

>
>While I'm not apologizing for Todd (No affiliation, spoken w/him by phone
>last winter), I will argue that despite his commercial interest, anyone
>serving the Audi community deserves more than the conventional slack.  No
>one is going to get rich selling us strut bars and brake kits:  Not TAP, not
>2B, not Ned, not Todd.  Not until such day as Audi sells performance cars in
>big numbers, for a long time.
>
snip
>
>So offer to cover Todd's costs to rework the harnesses, and treat him like
>what he is:  An enthusiast like us, whose enthusiasm for Audis is such that
>he's put his capital, time and career at stake in order to devote more time
>to it.  I don't know what he thought he'd make on these things, but it
>couldn't have been much to begin with, and I promise you he now wishes he'd
>never heard of them.
>
>One guy's opinion,
>


Another guy's, too.

Brandon hit the nail right, squarely on the head. Todd does NOT have the
resources of Microsoft, or its market, and even Microsoft doesn't get it
right all the time (sometimes I think Windows 95 is the world's biggest
virus, but that's another thread).

My compliments to Todd for coming out with the truth - as in "We gotta
problem, guys." and NOT taking the all too common position that it must be
the customer's fault.

I don't know Todd other than on this list, and I have never spoken with him
or even ordered anything from him (yet), but I'm sure he will fix it
(whatever "it" happens to be), and everyone who bought something will
eventually have it working, and yes, I am afraid Todd won't make any money
this time out.

Remember that the ONLY people who don't make ANY mistakes are those who
don't do anything - or are dead.


Best Regards,

Mike Arman (Heck, even *I* make a misteak or too, sometimze!)