yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] kangeroo:
SMART DEVICES DIRECT

Hi all,

I am Robin from Smart Devices, here is an extract from a mail our MD Keith sent to a customer earlier- ...'I can understand your frustration and apologise. I hope you can perhaps also understand that the several changes in the delivery dates for the Qtek 9100 has been very challenging for our company. We have endeavoured to accurately relay the delivery information provided to us by the supplier and it has been particularly disappointing as we have been receiving supplies of the Imate KJAMS and JASJARS.

We have offered all our customers the opportunity to either cancel with an immediate refund, change to an equivalent device or continue to wait for the product to arrive.

The latest delivery for the 9100 is supposed to be around the 14th'...

The Imate kjam delivery was insufficient for our total requirement, before we could offer our 9100 customers this as an alternative the full UK stocks were sold.

We have 2 commits for the 9100, one 'next week' and the other 'by the 19th'.

If anyone has a concern with their order please send an email to shopping@smartdevicesdirect.com or call us on #44-1252-792862

We will tell you the best we can do, it is not in our interest to let you guys down and we have tried to be as up front as we can, 'warts and all' as they say.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
Interesting how it's just a cut and paste of someone's else response to a ANOTHER customer's grief.

Considering you've been getting nowhere with previous calls or emails to the company and that they're simply asking you to continue to make calls or emails to try to get your money back, I think it's best to take it up to the third-party, your bank or credit card company. Credit card disputes look bad on any company, but at least you'll have their attention for real instead of public 'damage control' such as this email is depicting.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Kensai:
C'mon, don't make this a tragedy. :)

At least the guy took some time to register an account here and post personally. I don't blame SDD for the whole Qtek 9100 delay. The suppliers have been late even for Expansys. After the first batch (October 5) we now have two more dates: October 14 and 19.

One of those two will be the good one! 8)

(at least for me...)
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Vasko:
Certainly not a tragedy, but, i won't trust on a company that charges early before shipping the goods...
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Robin is a good guy. He's been emailing me updates about stock and even spoke with me over the phone. The fact of the matter is, if you ordered around 30 days ago (like me) you're saving around £40 pre-tax compared to prices now! It's definitely worth the wait. If it slips into next month I'll start to consider withdrawing my order.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] aliendad:
very happy with the service i had from SDD in the UK, and the other good thing here in the UK is that payment cannot be taken unless the goods can be shipped if you order via mailorder, (unless ordered just for you)

ps go for the imat kjam
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] wardy:
Delt with Smart Devices myself , the company I work for where looking for PDA's to use in the field and the Wizzard was on the list . I gave them a ring and they where very imformative , in fact more so than my mobile operator who stated on the phone that they supported edge. Smart Devices helped me through this and it ment that they missed out on a sale because they helped me! They refunded my credit card immediately I see them as honest and friendly. Is it really there fault that their suppliers let them down.. Embarrasing for them, yes, as they trust their suppliers as we trust them to supply us. Always catch 21 being the middle man, especially on a high demand device as the wizard.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] skagen:
Its worse than that: they are charging the customer for something they don't even own.

Plus he only registered here to try and protect his image - they all know that these message boards are where the early adopter opinion leaders are.

And its awful that he just cut and pasted a response from another situation. That's as insincere as you can get.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] dalewinterstein:
I too delt with them and had similar expereince as wardy. They are a decent company (smartdevices) and do their best. Manufacturers I think are the ones that mess the retailers around and pass on bad info to the consumers
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] skagen:
The manufacturer cannot be blamed for a retailer dipping their hand into the customers credit card when the clearly have nothing on hand to sell. That one is just not excusable.

Shipping dates do change, but what is beyond debate is that the product is not in stock. So what are the taking they customer's money for?

I worked for a manufacturing company before and I can't imagine any of the retailers we sell to ever charging their cutomers before they themselves had the product on hand. The only exception would be if it was a custom made order.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Kensai:
After reading the above comments, I will certainly buy from SDD.

14 October is the next date for the Qtek 9100. Crossing fingers...
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
I agree, it is out of line taking the money up front... I believe the only reason they do this is because their store and transaction handler cannot be set up any other way.

They need some sort of pre-order system.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] garyhartaz:
SDD is a great company to work with and they are very responsive if you call or fax. E-mail and their online forms seem to be an issue however I am very pleased with their customer service for all of the products they sell.

TNT/DHL on the other hand are crap to deal with however it is about the fastest way to get product from UK to US without all of the hassles.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] cbrow51:
2 Thumbs Up for SSD

They have been totally up front with me and I received my k-jam yesterday from them. No issues, great communication. Called them several times between early preoder and ship of device. always answered the phone and spent time to explain exactly what was going on. Always responded to e-mails too. These guys do a good job given unreliable information from manufactures and suppliers. I would definitely do business with them again without question.

regards

chris
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] DJW:
My 2 cents,

DJW, MadMonkeyBoy
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
Thanks. I really wanted to see the chain of events unfold as you have captured it. That really shows the true essence of the entire scenario regarding the way they poorly handled the situation.

I reiterate that it's my opinion that, for a rep at SDD to answer publicly and use SOMEONE ELSE's email response to another customer who was having a similar issue is not professional or helpful in the matter.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] cbrow51:
Oh come on!! The e-mail response he used WAS from his MANAGING DIRECTOR.... I would assume he used that as its the the authoratative voice from SDD and probably the one who was closest to the suppliers. If he had made up his own response, someone I am sure, would probably compare the two responses to see where they differed! I'm also curious how/why MMB, a direct competitor of SDD I assume, would have an audit trail like this....? To gather information from the competition I suppose..... :?:

Anyhow, we all have the right to choose who we do business with. Like others, I feel I got a good deal and good comms from SSD and would deal with them again. Some folks were not so happy. You pay your money and take your choice. Had they taken your money, not sent you anything and not offerred to refund you, then it would be a different story.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] DJW:
FWIW

When SDD announced their confirmed delivery date of 9/1, I ordered 100, and wired them the funds for half the next day.

Those emails are all to me, I didn't know at the time they were buying them from expan UK, and they were making false promises.

And there would not have been any hard feelings except it took 35 overseas phone calls and 2 weeks for me to see my funds from the time they offered immediate refund.

I am not trying to steal any business from them, just blowing off some steam as a mistreated customer of theirs.

dw
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
Unless he's said otherwise, or any developments have happened since then, wiese_john is currently out up to $700 or so.

Imagine MadMonkeyBoy out $35,000 and over 100 people clamoring for HIM to get the devices. I'd have a record trail, I'd be embarrassed, and I'd be pissed, too.

Let's look at the facts at wiese_john's scenario so far.

He likely received the same newsletter and placed his preorder.

He's now out $700.

He's waiting patiently for multiple responses that he never gets.

So, He posts his dilemma here.

SDD is quick to respond HERE with, "well, I've been told that my boss has been saying, 'Whoops.'"

Did I miss out on anything here?
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] cbrow51:
Well...only this promise from SDD:

"We have offered all our customers the opportunity to either cancel with an immediate refund, change to an equivalent device or continue to wait for the product to arrive.

The latest delivery for the 9100 is supposed to be around the 14th'... "

So, is there anyone out there that actually asked for their money back and didn't get it ????? Or are you all holding on for SDD stock to come in. Anyone.....
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Hehehe, I believe Robin mentioned you when I got a phone call from SDD offering me my money back. He said he had an upset customer who cancelled 100 Qteks ;)
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] DJW:
I chalk it up as a $300 lesson.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] garyhartaz:
Who is out any real money here? There is no indication that SDD is holding any refund back.

It always amazes me how everyone gets all worked up in the "early adopter" phase of a new product.

I've seen dates change from all of the reps BTT posted so it could happen to anyone!
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
Did you actually read everything previously? :roll:

1. Well, unless wiese_john posts otherwise, he is still out $700.

2. And, if you read the previous message, you'll see that DJW is out $300 after his $35,000 pre-order for 100 Qtek 9100's.

As far as I know, that's real money we're talking about here. That's a cool grand so far that SDD has yet to account for. That's enough indication for me.

and

3. I didn't post the log of events, that's DJW.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
Guys,

you really make a BIG story out of it... as if SDD is keeping the devices in the warehouse while every other distributor is delivering them. :roll:

Qtek 9100 is atm UNAVAILABLE for everyone. So nobody loses or waits unreasonably. All the above is a trivial misunderstanding. We all wait, patiently or less. :?
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] cbrow51:
I totally agree with you Kensai. Lets move on...
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
I think the only problem people are complaining about is that SDD take your money up front... it wouldnt be so bad if they had kept delaying it but we still had our money in our bank. Granted, they offered full refunds, but I still think they shouldn't have taken money until they could deliver the goods.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
Amen. NOW we can move on.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] wiese_john:
All,

I want to clear a few things up. First of all SDD had about 1 -2 weeks of non returned emails. After posting this I began getting very prompt emails and Robin and Nick were amazing. They switched me over to the I-Mate K-Jam for a small fee and I received my device 2 days later.

The K-Jam is amazing, except for a small application error which caused some serious conerns. i must of loaded something that it did not like which caused my device to lock on the I-Mate Blue Screen at startup. After Hard Reset (several times) and being patient my device came up fine. Just for everyone who experiences this - Comm Button & Voice Button along with pressing the Soft Reset Button. Be patient the I-Mate Blue Screen will go away in about 1 minute.

SDD did come through and I did not blame them for the 9100 delay. I was just very upset that they were not returning emails.

K-Jam ROCKS!!!!
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Hrm... I must have been one of the first to place an order for the Qtek 9100 but I never got offered a K-JAM :( I even emailed inquiring about it, though I did ask if I could get it for the same price as the 9100... which is probably why my email got ignored, hehe.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
SDD has now dropped the price back to £345 pre tax, which is £5 more than when it first debuted on the site. The odd thing is that last week it was up there for £379... were they trying to make up for losses on cancelled orders?

So really, there was no point in me pre-ordering so early now... although I should be guaranteed delivery out of the first batch.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
Let's hope they bring enough phones for everyone. Anyone knows when is the next delivery after October 19?
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Im not sure... (and its October 14th, tomorrow, when they get their first stock).

What I do find hard to believe is that they can still guarantee people delivery from the first shipment. Surely enough people have ordered from them to clean out what stock they do get tomorrow?

I will be mighty upset if I don't get delivery from the first shipment since I ordered my Qtek 9100 on the 23rd of August!
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] rookery:
Did anyone receive they Qtek9100 from www.smartdevicesdirect.com yet???? is it really Black in color on the cover?
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
I just phoned to see if I could pick it up (going on holiday this Thursday... didn't want to end up missing the delivery!)... they said they dont let people onto the site and that my order would be shipped this afternoon anyway (with any luck my phonecall has ensured that mine will get sent out - I'm sure they're fed up of hearing from me :p).

Seems a bit fishy that they dont let people pick the orders up, what do they have to lose? I've already paid up front as it is (including shipping which would have been free money for them if I had picked it up).

Anyway, im not too concerned as I chose next day delivery so with any luck I'll have it by Tuesday... plenty of time to get to grips with it before going on holiday ;)

I'll be sat staring at my door all day tomorrow until it arrives :D hehe
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
Arghh. I'm hoping to get mine soon.

So far SDD has been up to its word (with me), and the price was fantastic in respect to Greek retailers and online shops.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] prospects:
Yes i got my tracking number from SSD today it is suppose to be in Canada in 2 days
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Well thats nice. Its now 10:20pm and I have no confirmation of shipping or any such tracking number. I guess either they didnt bother to flag mine as shipped... or they didn't ship it.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] prospects:
my status order show processing ,i had to call to get my tracking
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Well, theres still hope for me then... I guess.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] ShALLaX:
Wahoooo! Just got mine. Works a treat too... no dead pixels either. Cant believe my luck. Now I have to make a screen protector for it :o *goes to get the guillotine and Boxwave protectors*
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
There is an old saying in Greek which goes: "better chew than talk..." :?

I feel an idiot I defended them. Now it's my turn. :x

My order is in 'processing' status since October 17 and the payment according to the account history screen shows that the transaction with my credit card went smoothly. They haven't responded 4 mails so far. Where is my darn 9100?

WHAT'S GOING ON SDD?! :|
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
:roll:

All I want to say is that I hope it gets resolved soon. Ultimately, you and your device are the most important things to you as of this moment, so the last thing you want to hear is someone say, "I told you so."

Good luck.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
BTT, not only you're entitled to say this to me, you could also RUB IT TO MY FACE!

My good faith got me into this. :cry:

Anyway, I'm now hoping for the same guy who spotted the previous case to also see this. You know, what makes me MOST mad is they're not responding e-mails. It's the least they could do. I wouldn't have a problem if they told me "you know, shut up we have problems and we shall ship in November"... but they don't even say that! :x

Please SDD, prove me wrong. I could have been a faithful customer.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BigDamHero:
Almost EXACTLY the same as me though i ordered on 18th. Ive phoned them twice and got one email reply!! (which with SDD is the equivilent of winning the lottery......three times in a row).

Apparently they were expecting delivery of 9100s on Friday (21st). That didn't come and now they are expecting them tomorrow (25th).

It's not the delays that bother me it's more the lack of information. If anyone from SDD is reading this PUT YOUR STOCK COUNTS ON YOUR WEBSITE. Or at least a note as to why it's not in stock and when you expect some. Everyone else on the planet does it!

If they actually told people they were waiting on a delievery and when it should be in they probably wouldn't get so many angry emails from people who are wondering why they have taken the £400 odd pound out of their bank account and offered ZERO information on when they will get what they paid for!

I live in hope they'll ship out tomorrow....cough.

Slightly OT but SDD seems to be playing with the price of the 9100 a lot. When i bought it it was £345. Then on saturday it was £325. Now it's up all the way to £355!

Lewis
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Ineedtoys:
Funny how none of the other UK dealers take the money up front before shipping.

SDD must be making a mint in interest.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BigDamHero:
I haven't been motivated enough to look it up yet but I'm sure it's illegal to do that. Seem to remember it being part of distance selling regulations....

Lewis
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Ineedtoys:
It may be in some parts of the US, but in the UK I believe they have 30 days to deliver goods or service.

But I prefer to use an outlet where the vendor doesn't stand to gain financially from giving misleading (or overly optimistic) delivery dates, or cost me credit card interest by charging for goods that they do not possess.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] davejeff:
Maybe I'm lucky but SD never charged me until they received the stock, they shipped it when they said they would and the unit arrived in California less than 48 hours after shipping...

The only issue I had was that their Website never accurately reflected the order state...which can be a little disconcerting.

Regards

Dave
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
Ahem, they have that.

Mine says:

October 14 - Order Pending

October 17 - Order Processing

...and that's about it. :evil:
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] rashe30:
Never had a problem with them. Called Nick to cancel my order a few minutes ago. Considering I already have a Jasjar I don't want the hassles of the waiting game. But they are a good company, everything I have ordered from them I always receive.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] sunseaker:
So is the 9100 in stock now or not or even the K-Jam for that matter. And what's with the price of the 9100 going up and down. £345 > £325 > £355???
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
I noticed the price up-down this weekend as well. But since my "selling" has been settled on October 17 (and I'm still receiving...) I got the higher one.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BigDamHero:
Delayed AGAIN

And SDD has said they're not getting stock until Thursday!!! (27th)

WTF? I really think this is getting stupid now.

Lewis
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BigDamHero:
Ok sorry to reply to myself but I should point out SDD just rang me and explained that they are dealing with a maufaturer in Tiwan and it's difficult they just tell their customers whatever they get told.

In short it could be Thursday. It could be friday. It could be in two months. God knows so I'd settle in for a LONG wait :-(

Lewis
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
October 27?! :shock:

Ahem, whatever. Why don't they just update their site then to the new date. It's the least they can do if they're bored to respond on so many angry e-mails. :roll:
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Ineedtoys:
You don't have to be a genius to work that one out. If the web site reflected the real stock position, instead of the totally meaningless " First batch of stock arrived 14th October!!!." it 's now showing, they wouldn't be able to relieve all those gullible gadget freaks of their money.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] sunseaker:
Man and I was about to place an order with them this afternoon thinking they were receiving the stock today. Something came up and I wasn't online to place the order. I am glad now as I'd be pissed if they debited my card when they don't even have stock.

It seems one will need to call them to confirm they have stock before ordering.

BTW, howcome Expansys is showing the K-Jam cheaper than the 9100? Do SDD get their stock from Expansys? I am more inclined to believe the dates Expansys are showing. I can't believe there is still a shortage of product after all this time.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] BeyondtheTech:
It has been said that SDD orders from Expansys. Why not just order from Expansys then?
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] rookery:
but isn't the mark price of Expansys higher than SDD ????
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Ineedtoys:
Yes - but many people will pay that premium because it's a long established company rather than a mobile discount shop, they don't charge a penny until they ship, and they have a no quibble 21-day refund policy.

Don't expect to get one soon though. Expansys have just put the estimated delivery back from 3 days to 6 - which on past experience means they don't have a firm date when the next batch will arive. And with their buying power, if they don't know, nobody else will. So don't put any trust in the yarns some vendors will spin just to get your order.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] Ineedtoys:
Even this can be misleading. Some companies will say they have stock, even though they haven't, or the stock they do have is already allocated to someone else. This is not necessarily the person on the phone's fault, it could be a limitation of their inventory software. Either way, you can bet your bottom dollar that the customer representative will be under pressure to close the sale.

The questions to ask are "If I order it now, will it definately ship today?" followed by "If I haven't received shipping confirmation by tonight, can I cancel the order without you charging anything to my card?". If the answer to either is no, go elsewhere.
[8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General] :
You're killing me now. I'm infuriated. They don't respond mails and now the date is slitting in November!! :x :x

Only positive aspect is I'll probably receiving the device at the same time my screen protector arrives by regular mail.