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I should have known..... |
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AviJake 
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Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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 Topic: I should have known.....Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 9:26am |
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I go away for one weekend and AvidyneLive erupts? The hottest threads are:
1. Not Ready for Prime Time - people asserting that plug and play does not work 2. Data Updates Bricking Boxes - people asserting that boxes are bricked from USB updates 3. Aeroplan is the root of all evil - people pointing to a BeechTalk thread about an optional program 4. GPS Fail Epidemic - people claiming some systemic GPS design flaw We'll work through each thread one by one but c'mon, there are some exasperating leaps being made. 1 - with about 1000 installations, I don't need both hands to count the total number of known problem-some installations at this point. We'll work directly with the installers/customers to try and sort out what is going on in their individual cases. 2 - this is the first we've ever heard of a "bricked box" due to USB data loads. I personally update my IFDs all the time with lots of other files on the fobs so that is not an issue. There are definitely some people who are having unsuccessful loads due to the popping up of some weird or corrupted files - that appears real (though we can't reproduce it here in our labs/airplanes yet) and we're investigating. The thread does appear to have suggestions from folks on their techniques to prevent or recover from issues. 3 - this is an optional plan that provides benefits to both Avidyne and the end user. There remains a lot of confusion/disinformation/nasty feelings about this program. Avidyne is about to publish some refinements and clarifications to this but it remains an optional program. I see optional programs offered to me that I don't like all the time and I exercise my option to blow them off and don't give it a second thought as opposed to detonating about it and declaring the offering company to be clueless, sneaky or evil so I haven't gotten my head around the folks who are screaming about this to anyone who will listen. 4 - we've had some issues with our GPS in a number of units since certification. We've made a lot of improvements to the GPS behavior in 4 software releases over the last 8 months. As a result, we're down to a total known number of units periodically experiencing some GPS issue to also not require all my fingers and toes to count them. So, we'll keep calm and work the problems. The people who are AOG are getting the most attention right now. |
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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Gring
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Joined: 30 Dec 2011 Location: Kingston, NY Status: Offline Points: 720 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 9:37am |
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Steve, thanks for your hard work and clarity of communications, it is appreciated by the user community. I'm also glad to see you were able to get away for the weekend.
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MikeK
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Joined: 16 Sep 2013 Status: Offline Points: 87 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 2:52pm |
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Steve, I'm going to be blunt.
Regarding AeroPlan: perhaps rather than being defensive and dismissive, you should recognize that you have a longstanding serious PR problem and address it. As I noted in the thread I posted, Aviation Consumer's comment on the letter they published was strongly negative and very damaging (IMO) to Avidyne. They also noted that this wasn't the first time they had written about it. I don't know what if any efforts Avidyne made to reach out to them and clarify AeroPlan after their prior coverage, but whatever effort there may have been was apparently not very successful. My concern here is simple: I have invested a lot of money in Avidyne products. I chose them because I like what you're doing. I like the superior user interface and the open architecture. I want the company to be successful, to thrive, and to continue to innovate and offer products that compete against the giant gorilla that is Gamin, with their lousy "our way or the highway" approach with closed systems. But, you guys keep shooting yourselves in the foot. AeroPlan is a debacle. Repeated, lengthy delays in product delivery engender bad blood. And the way you handled pre-order deliveries once the 540 was shipping (by mixing them with new orders) was astonishingly tone deaf from a customer relations standpoint. You do a fine job here on the forums, but as a company, Avidyne's customer communication is the worst I've ever seen.
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AviJake
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Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:01pm |
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Reference the AeroPlan option, we have been working this for more than 3 years now. We are well aware of the significant negative reaction to the option. We are well aware of folks declaring they will not buy an Avidyne product because of it (and believe them). And yet, we still believe it is the right thing to do and plan to retain it's existence. It may undergo further refinements and it might not. Our plan is to prosper in spite of it.
Reference your observation of poor customer communication, I think you are correct and that is one of the top priorities for the new VP, Sales and Marketing when that person comes on- board (we've been operating without a VP, Sales and Marketing for 18+ months) in the very near future. |
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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MikeK
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:12pm |
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I, for one, would be delighted to talk with your new VP whenever s/he comes on board. I'm happy to share my impressions of what it has been like to be an Avidyne customer for the last couple of years, and where I think that improvements can be made with the biggest "bang for the buck". As I said, I want nothing more than for Avidyne to be wildly successful.
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AviJake
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Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Location: Lincoln MA Status: Offline Points: 2815 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:18pm |
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Mike,
I think that would be great. We just need to make sure we don't forget to make that happen when the person comes on-board. |
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Steve Jacobson
sjacobson@avidyne.com |
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ddgates
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Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Location: Deer Valley Status: Offline Points: 1100 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 3:57pm |
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A lot of us, myself included, want to see you succeed. Some of us live with the potential for liability claims all the time (I'm a doc), so that doesn't bother me. If a hospital expected me to indemnify them for their actions, that would bother me a lot. Based on what Tom Harper posted on BT this morning, I am going to ask my attorney to advise me, and may opt out of the extended warranty. Would be nice, though, to be able to purchase the extended warranty in a similar fashion. Just my own thoughts. |
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David Gates
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Paul
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Joined: 17 Aug 2012 Location: Massachusetts Status: Offline Points: 285 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 4:14pm |
18 Months??? http://dilbert.com/strip/1994-01-03 |
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brou0040
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Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Location: KIYK Status: Offline Points: 720 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 4:49pm |
This is what I don't like about that warranty. If I hadn't read about it here, I wouldn't have realized what you were trying to do. It's pushed on you when registering your equipment. It's like you are trying trick people who haven't read the fine print or understand every word of those extremely fast warnings on the radio. You can say it's optional all you want and blame the end user for not referring to a lawyer (not saying you are - I'm imaging how a conversation is going to play out once there is an incident), but I suggest not proposing warranties where you need a lawyer and your insurance agent to realize how dangerous it can be.
Since you are going to keep this warranty, I suggest a warning up front about potential issues, recommend a discussion with a lawyer and insurance, and refer them back to the other warranties.
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MikeK
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 7:50pm |
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I'd love a link to the BeechTalk posting if possible.
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ddgates
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Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Location: Deer Valley Status: Offline Points: 1100 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 9:30pm |
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http://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=105446&start=255 Tom Harper's post is on page 18.
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David Gates
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teeth6
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 9:33pm |
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I chose not to sign the AeroPlan extended warranty and also wrote into Aviation Consumer but they chose not to publish my letter. It has received extensive publicity and upon registering, the entire agreement was written out. From my point of view, every new user, (whether a pre-buyer or a new buyer) got a 2 year warranty. I believe this is the same warranty that Garmin is giving to its GTN buyers. In return for getting a 3rd year of warranty, Avidyne was offering this AeroPlan which gave them some form of legal protection....perhaps. No one is requiring anyone to sign and agree to this. It appears to be something for an individual who would be willing to take that additional risk for another year of warranty. Again, I chose not to sign but realize I am still getting the same warranty that is industry standard by most manufacturers. It just seems that the people complaining the most make it seem like they get no warranty unless they sign the agreement. As Jake intimated, for those who don't agree with it, just ignore it and you still get a standard warranty that would be expected.
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Craig767
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Joined: 17 Dec 2014 Location: Gainesville, FL Status: Offline Points: 98 |
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Posted: 06 Apr 2015 at 9:39pm |
I believe that for new buyers the warranty is 1 yr. Not as good as Garmin.
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oskrypuch
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Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 8:42am |
That is my understanding. Only the pre-cert buyers got the extra year, for a total of two years warranty. After a review of the Aeroplan clauses, my insurance broker was not concerned about it, and said I would still be covered. Nonetheless, I declined Aeroplan, and went with the two years. * Orest Edited by oskrypuch - 07 Apr 2015 at 4:16pm |
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MikeK
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Posted: 07 Apr 2015 at 2:28pm |
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Thanks for the link, David. The response to Tom Harper's posting is about what I expected.
To me, I still think the black eye that Avidyne is getting from this program far outweighs any likely benefit.
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... we've been operating without a VP, Sales and Marketing for 18+ months ...