[Coco] Cloud-9 Tech

[Boisy G. Pitre]

I certainly do remember the email to which you are referring.

Some of your past messages to this list show that you are no charm  
bracelet yourself.  Unlike you, however, I've built a rapport with  
many people in this community face to face, going back almost two  
decades.  Since 1992, I have put my money where my mouth is and  
attended CoCoFests, interacting with fellow users and customers (the  
ones who go, anyway).  I don't recall seeing you there.

Whatever chip that you have on your shoulder about me can stay firmly  
planted, but I dare say that anyone who has purchased a product from  
me has been treated with the utmost respect.  Your assertion that I  
treat my customers as though they are ignorant is patently false.  
People who spend their money with me will get my time and assistance,  
and I'll do everything I can within reason to help them.

So feel free to bring up my lack of respect on a case by case basis  
and I'll be happy to answer them, one by one.

I'm a rather cut and dry person; I speak my mind, and I don't mince  
words.  I attribute it in part to my Cajun upbringing and the  
bluntness that I was exposed to growing up.  That comes across to some  
as curt and rude to some.

Anyhow, suite yourself about not buying my products. As you stated  
yourself your hobby isn't large, so I won't go broke missing your  
business...  I'll survive somehow.

By the way, if you truly feel that way, then I presume you're not  
using DriveWire either, even though it's free, right?

Have yourself a great weekend!


On Nov 7, 2009, at 10:49 AM, Derek wrote:

> As I said last year on the email list because of the way you treat  
> customers and your attitude that we are all ignorant and a hassle to  
> deal with is why I will never again purchase from Cloud-9 as long as  
> your part of the company. Every time you reply to a product or  
> service question it is done in a way that shows a total lack of  
> respect for people and that fine,. I respect your right to feel the  
> way you do and to express yourself. I reserve the right to not do  
> business with your company until how you treat people changes.
>
> My budget for my vintage computing hobby is not large but I can tell  
> you I have bypassed your company's products this past year in favor  
> for expansions and accessories for other vintage platforms because  
> every time I have gone to possibly place an order for Drive wire or  
> the Super IDE controller I remember how you have treated me and  
> others on the email list in the past and I just cant bring myself to  
> do business with you.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ** Mistrust Authority. Promote Decentralization **
>
>
>
>
> --- On Sat, 11/7/09, Boisy G. Pitre <boisy at tee-boy.com> wrote:
>
> From: Boisy G. Pitre <boisy at tee-boy.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Cloud-9 Tech
> To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Date: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 7:05 AM
>
> Mark really should address this since Cloud-9 is his business and I  
> sell my products through him, but since he's on vacation, I'll  
> respond.
>
> I think your message doesn't convey a sense of disrespect as much as  
> it does an ignorance of how Cloud-9's business is handled.
>
> Cloud-9 order fulfillment works this way: Mark buys software product  
> in bulk from me and stocks those products at Lab North.  As orders  
> come in, they are evaluated.  If it's a purely software order, I'll  
> fulfill it here at Lab South, since I have the capacity to make the  
> software products.  If it's a mixture of hardware and software, Mark  
> will fulfill it at Lab North.  We do this to prevent having to ship  
> from two different locations for the same order.
>
> That's why some folks get packages sent from Minnesota, others from  
> Louisiana.
>
> When Mark is away (he and I stay in touch regularly, so I know his  
> schedule), I will fill orders that I can.  For those that I can't,  
> I'll inform the customer of the delay.  When Mark gets back in zone,  
> he takes care of those orders.
>
> Sometimes we go an extended time without getting orders, so it's not  
> unusual to have quiet periods without emails. As a result, when  
> things break, like the email seems to have, we don't notice it right  
> away.  Since Mark handles the IT stuff (email routing, knows  
> passwords, etc), he will have to return before the situation becomes  
> rectified.
>
> Aside from all this, Mark has a busy life these days, and he's given  
> a glimpse of what's going on in his life in prior messages.
>
> Now from this point onward, I'll speak for myself.
>
> Between managing and running my own successful business, attending  
> graduate school, running a household and seeing after all of the  
> other goings on in my life, the CoCo is really way down on the list  
> of priorities.  Sorry if that hurts, but that's the facts.   I have  
> less time and more commitments  on my plate than ever, and the  
> revenue that I obtain from Cloud-9 is infinitesimal compared to my  
> other sources of income.
>
> There's an equation that I derived some years back that describes my  
> philosophy on how I spend my time.  I call it "Boisy's Formula of  
> Probability of Continued Effort." This is my formula; it works for me:
>
> P = V / (E*T*H))
>
> Where:
>     P is the probability of continued effort for a given task;
>     V is the value that I obtain out of doing the task (value can be  
> in the form of money, food, or even something as intrinsic as  
> happiness and fulfillment);
>     E is the level of effort required to generate that value;
>     T is the amount of time I have to spend doing the task;
>     H is the hassle factor that comes along with performing the task.
>
> The goal is to maximize V while minimizing E, T and H, thus keeping  
> P at or above 1.  High values of P are very, very good.
>
> For everything I spend my time doing, I apply this formula in my  
> head.  And it answers a basic question: "Is this worth my time?"   
> For my work in the CoCo, V, E and T are pretty much constants, with  
> the large majority of V being enjoyment of the hobby and the  
> positive interactions I get with the majority of our customers and  
> friends.  Very little of V is in the form of monetary compensation.
>
> Without a doubt, Mark and I have built a great network of friends  
> and customers through Cloud-9, and I appreciate their business and  
> support.  They keep the value of V pretty high, but it's the value  
> of H that I watch carefully.  It increases when I have to write long  
> emails like this one when I would rather be doing something else on  
> a Saturday morning.  It increases when people wrongly assume that we  
> are ignoring them and then send nasty emails.  It increases when my  
> time gets taken advantage of by others without fair compensation or  
> under false pretenses.
>
> Thanks for listening!
>
> On Nov 7, 2009, at 7:31 AM, Derek wrote:
>
>>> Remember Cloud9 is not Mark's prime source of income. It is done  
>>> for a love of the Coco
>>> and the community.
>>
>> I mean no disrespect to the folks at cloud 9 and have even  
>> purchased my 512K Ram upgrade from them but if you going to run a  
>> business there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. If there  
>> are problems with filling orders you should at least post on your  
>> web page about possible delays or reply back to your customers  
>> about how long the delay will be. It sounds like a few folks have  
>> emailed but got no reply back and they have had to post here or on coco3.com 
>>  to get an answer.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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