I just found an interesting post by Rebarascal over on the Raging Bull thread at: ragingbull.com
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Trip to XYBR Thurs.
I went down after calling to make appt. I was going to southern Pa. and it was only a couple hrs farther. I was supposed to meet with a Mr. Capellaro because S. Fogarty & S Newman were going to be out of the office. When I got there Mr. Capellaro was also gone and I was directed to Mr. Walfish, who is a salesman. He seemed very evasive and acted as if I was an imposition. He would not show me an MAIV (which was the purpose of my trip). I ask about sales to colleges and Govt. He told me thought that wouldn't be a big part of their business as schools want them for free. I told him I sat on a local Technical college board and a hospital board and was very interested in training with the latest technology. He seemed to dismiss me as unimportant.
I noted the receptionist had a Dell laptop on her desk with a standard PC also. The waiting room was very small and I only saw one person come in while I was there. On a desk was a copy of the Wall Street Reporter opened to an article on XYBR and a copy of ComputerWorld opened to an add for XYBR. Mr. Walfish gave me brochures on the MAIV and a CD which is the same as you can download from their website. Mr. Newman has since apologized and invited me back. I did not get the feeling of enthusiasm from the staff, but I may be unfairly judging them due to my treatment. I still feel very strong about the concept , but would have liked to have seen a unit. It was a wasted trip. Seeing a unit and trying it for myself would have made me feel a lot better if the quality was first rate.
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I am very interested in how visitors to corporations are treated, because I feel it is a strong indicator of how well the business is managed, of how well they listen to customer needs. Many indications suggest Xybernaut employees may lack spirit or direction. This, to me, indicates a breakdown in employee relations with management.
Perhaps Xybernaut is not a well managed environment, but is instead a highly controlled environment (not good, IMO). This would be consistent with the tactic of keeping 4Q98 sales a secret, when pre-releasing a little information might have gone a long way toward generating investor understanding and confidence (what are they not telling us now?).
Oh, well. At least they have fixed some of the web page errors from my early whining sessions. Still, they only advertise 200/233MHz MA-IVs on their web page, when they actually only sell 233/266MHz wearables, as best as I can figure. And the specification page details still suck, as generally does the website (an all-new website is due out soon, but I believe that proper website maintenance would eliminate the need for this. KANA, you still suck.).
I called the Minneapolis branch office of EnPoint again today (reference: xybernaut.com and got the usual answering machine (I never leave a message). The phone book lists no address, which makes me wonder. The months pass...I'll get through someday.
I'm looking forward to VIA's introduction of their newest flexible wearable in the coming months. They are headquartered just south of town. I expect to visit them to see what their operation (and product) is like. Should be a fun time (though as Rebarascal learned, it doesn't have to be).
And still I'm optimistic. Go figure.
Shoe. |
