Satellite Internet-STARBAND
I had not realized that Dish and Starband were no longer together. But I guess it doesn't surprise me. But while I do not mean to imply anything about what you do, or do not supply, since we have never met and I have never seen your equipment, I do have some background in related fields to understand this type of system and equipment. Who was really first, or why is an issue that is of no concern to me, nor is it important. I do know that Ron was the first in the pilot program, and I also know that he believes that more dealers will better serve both customers and dealers alike.
But my background of 40+ years of electronic field service has lead me to a few conclusions. One of those is that cheap is seldom most cost effective. This isn't aimed at anyone, it is just a fact that I have observed many times. I also spent close to six months researching dish internet before I chose to go with what Ron has and there are quite a few dealers who have off-set brackets to mount the dish to the stand and they are not all alike and I somehow have difficulty in believing that all were copied from you? Might it be possible that more than one person may have come up with a similar way to accomplish this? If not, the majority of larger dealers of any type of internet dish are using your design. And while you may well be able to do it for less, I still believe very strongly that quality is far more important than cost, if you are interested in a good end result. Competition is good for the customers and you may well be able to beat the price that Ron charges and I would encourage you to do so, if that is what you want. But I would also encourage all buyers, no matter who they choose or which dish service they choose, to look first to the quality of the product and the support that it has. For me, I can't see any way that you can provide any better suport than I have now, while you can possibly match it as more than one could do the same type of things. But you don't yet have the experience or the customers to join your user group that Ron has. I hope that you soon do have, as it would only benefit all of us for more of us to be out here. I did not intend to criticize your plan, only to point out that Ron has laid the ground work and he, like you, began by selling for Direct. This is not a saturated market so there is plenty of room for new dealers and customers and I am really glad to hear you are on line, and I would do what I can to help you. But you won't get my endorsement until I actually see you in action, as I have seen Ron and his people. The installer that I worked with will soon be a dealer too, so Ron is not discouraging others, but is actually helping them to get started. But please, do not sell short the training and the tools as both are very important to the success of this program and if we don't do what we have agreed to and do it well, the program could yet crash. Moving your dish behind the back of the service is perhaps better than nothing, but it just isn't the way of doing business that I am comfortable with. So let's tell people that to be installer certified does take some time and effort and that the proper equipment to do things well, and quickly will have additional cost. But the reward is worth the price. And if you can truely match what other dealers supply and for less money, go to it! When I actually see what you have and it proves to be be as good or better, you will get my support. But for now the most I can say is that you are there, and worth a look. But I know what Ron supplies and it was you who stated: quote:. Starband has several very competitive dealers that once in the program are likely to slash prices to the bare bones. To me you implied that Ron is over priced. Easy to say, when there is nothing to yet compare.
