alcmist@ssc-vax.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) (06/13/84)
steve snyder enterprises, according to an article in skydiving magazine, has announced that they will no longer sell spare parts for their altimeters. their stated purpose in doing so is to force independent repair people (like the one i use) out of business and make sure that anyone with a broken altimeter has to send it to new jersey to be fixed. this means that anyone with an altimaster that needs repair will have no choice but to pay steve snyder's prices. SSE charges $38 for a job that my repairman could have done for $12. this also means waiting for SSE to get around to fixing your altimeter. they put a lower priority on altimeters than on the Sentinel AADs. (that's their statement, as quoted in skydiving magazine this month). the drop zone where i used to work has frequently waited >2 months to get a defective Sentinel back from the factory (with a bill for $12 and a note that they couldn't find anything wrong). you will also need to put up with the quality of their "technician"'s work. if i describe all my experiences with sentinels i will have to send this to net.flame. i personally will never do business with a firm that reacts to competition by trying to force its competitors out of business (by suing them, refusing to sell them parts, or whatever Snyder tries next). please note, besides the disclaimer below, that i am not speaking for the owner of the issaquah parachute center, my (former) employer. fred wamsley, uw=beaver!ssc-vax!alcmist -- I am not speaking as a representative of the Boeing Company or any of its divisions. Opinions expressed are solely my own (if that) and have nothing to do with company policy or with the opinions of my coworkers, or those of the staff of the Software Support Center VAX.