Even with my limited experience I could tell you what companies I will never
purchase equipment from again, or which distributors locally I would give my firstborn to for saving my shows.
So, you know, thank you to those of you sharing your experience here.
Note a recent article in PLSN by Nook the LD. Takes it to a place about say places one will never deal with again for business purposes but doesn't take it to names. Been past discussions on Stagecraft and here about brand/supplier specifics, often they don't help much once it gets into those with differing views and experiences.
Purchase equipment from again... that's a big statement if still limited in experience. I have a few years of experience if of help and wouldn't say that of any brand of anything in that they constantly improve and they are lot to lot no matter the brand often a wrench thrown into what you might decide.
Have a old TD mentour that won't buy any Thorn/GE based on his experiences initially like 20 years ago with the HX-600 lamp from them. For him, anything from them is a no sell. This even if the new
HPL lamp I hear will come from them first, much less GE owning Koto now that's total quality.
For me it often gets down to packaging for
drop test once a lamp survives a tour. Lots of lamps back from one tour of a specific brand where the lamp container was left open and the boxes turned to mush - much less moldy mush. About to give to one of my customers my second sample BTH lamp today but "Hi, My name is fumble fingers, I do the lamps", I dropped it while picking up the boxes for the BTL lamps and it the customer was picking up today.
Yep... Pop. While normally the foam in this type of
bi-pin lamp box from that brand would help it to survive impact, a letter will go out in the morning about this incident in that sample lamp to a customer not surviving a
drop given no doubt the added weight of the lamp
base. Gee, a
bit more support or Pop' won't help end users.
On the other
hand, one of the lamp distributers I dealt with over the years and in a way the one sales person from them that got me where I am as a lamp nerd in having to know my lamps just got bought out last week by another company. Not much about their demise especially from me in that they never really saved us much money unless we put a lot of time and effort into it, on the other
hand much curiosity was where the legendary sales person from them wound up... Very legendary person that would belittle you the customer in her superiority complex, much less as a professional working as one of our suppliers attempted to get me fired by going over my head in complaining about me for pricing about, yet that's also what her first question was in attempting to
beat others pricing as opposed to just giving me her fair honest best price. Years and years before and during my time as lamp buyer of hosing us when she could. Fair enough, broke with her and the company she represented after a few years of this and ear loads of why she was the best as a really bad sales person. Her nemisis for in pricing, attempted to get me fired as one of two in the industry that has ever attempted to do this in threat or action - she did do the action.
This given one should not have to argue with a sales person you are paying money to. Ding Dong the Witch is dead.... was the comment when I found out that company got bought out.
Anyway, that's industry and even for them, while many will know the lady from NY I speak of with personal experience, it does not tarnish her or where she worked with those just learning and in some things having to learn old school or by PM as needed.
Big question became where she wound up. Took some time but I found out
thru a third
hand source and one can bet I won't be calling that NY branch.
That's personal on the other
hand and years of background in getting that way.
On the other
hand, where I work and when I started with them they would not and no way say deal with
Altman as a brand. To many years bad experience, they were done with them. Once I became part of the buying staff next generation and me being a fan of them I re-did the relationship with that company and for a few years given a new sales rep everything was great. That sales person moved up or on and moved us to another sales rep that would also go to bat for the customer
etc. and years later they as a brand for us are very dependable as an example. Often or at times, it is not a company, just the sales person representing them which are of limited use or even bad for that company in dealing with the clients.
Good reason not to burn a bridge or state specific problems often in that its a small world, those you had at one place will at career change times wind up elsewhere, and once gone it does become a new relationship with where you used to be good or bad with.
Same also with manufacturers in both reps and product. Don't cross out what over time evens out.
This even if there is a lamp lady out there working for a new company I"m told that I personally will be avoiding dealing with. That's on the personal
level and where needed will just
call a different branch of that company she works for.