mechrw@tnessd.sbc.com (Robert Wallace (214+464-6552)) (05/02/91)
I heard a rumor that the Amiga dealer Amazing Computers in Dallas
(and other Texas cities) is now out of business. That they closed
their doors for "inventory" and never reopened.
I haven't been by there in a month or two, but just called their Dallas
number and the phone was never answered. Apparently the rumor is true.
It seems Amazing, because they were seemingly selling systems out the door
as fast as they could get them in. Software, too.
Does anybody have any information about the reasons they are gone? Did
they just take the money and ran? Did Commodore cut them off? And who's
taking over their warranty work?
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Robert Wallace | What shall I do or write |
| (contracted to) | Against the fall of night? |
| Southwestern Bell | A. E. Housman |
+-------------------------------------------------+docken@convex.com (William Dockendorf) (05/02/91)
In article <315@texbell.sbc.com> mechrw@tnessd.sbc.com (Robert Wallace (214+464-6552)) writes: >I heard a rumor that the Amiga dealer Amazing Computers in Dallas >(and other Texas cities) is now out of business. That they closed >their doors for "inventory" and never reopened. > >I haven't been by there in a month or two, but just called their Dallas >number and the phone was never answered. Apparently the rumor is true. > >It seems Amazing, because they were seemingly selling systems out the door >as fast as they could get them in. Software, too. > >Does anybody have any information about the reasons they are gone? Did >they just take the money and ran? Did Commodore cut them off? And who's >taking over their warranty work? > > +-------------------------------------------------+ > | Robert Wallace | What shall I do or write | > | (contracted to) | Against the fall of night? | > | Southwestern Bell | A. E. Housman | > +-------------------------------------------------+ Well, I almost saw it as it happened here in Dallas. Apparently, last Thursday (April 25), the owner came into the Dallas store about 2 PM, and told the employees that they were closed down. The employees were allowed to remove any personal items and then the rest was "inventoried". When I dropped by for my weekly visit later in the day, there was a sign that said "Closed for Inventory". I thought this was a little strange since they usually only do this on the last day of the month. I briefly looked in, and saw some of the employees and left. I went back the next day and the sign was still there, but the "inventory" was being done by removing everything from the store! Hmmm... Later I was told about the owner coming in and closing them down. This does seem pretty "Amazing" to have happened, especially since they were the biggest dealer in the area and were always selling stuff like crazy. Going far out on a limb here, I would guess that maybe they were real successful as a single store and when they decided to open up multiple new stores last year (over half a dozen new ones - Ft. Worth, Austin, Florida, etc), they tried to grow too fast and overextended themselves. This is one of the easiest ways for a successful small business to put itself out of business. It's a bummer, I really liked that place. William
kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) (05/02/91)
In article <315@texbell.sbc.com> mechrw@tnessd.sbc.com (Robert Wallace (214+464-6552)) writes: >I heard a rumor that the Amiga dealer Amazing Computers in Dallas >(and other Texas cities) is now out of business. [...] >It seems Amazing, because they were seemingly selling systems out the door >as fast as they could get them in. Software, too. Don't know about Dallas, but it is hard to believe. Amazing in Austin went out of business a couple of months ago, but that was supposedly because the owner didn't know how to run such a business. Heard rumors it will be re-opened under another owner. Amazing in San Antonio just finished their best month ever - mainly Toaster systems. ===================================================================== Kent Polk - Southwest Research Institute - kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu "Duct Tape is like the Force... It has a Light Side, a Dark Side, and it holds the Universe together" =====================================================================
hill@cse.uta.edu (Adam Hill) (05/02/91)
'Tis true I am afraid. Last Thurs Amazing FW and Dallas were closed
for good. Lets just say the closing was "less than friendly".
All warantees and repair work is/was refered to Metropolitan
Connecting Point in Richardson Tx (214) 437-9119. Metro is the ONLY
DEALER in the Dallas/FW area. There may be some that pop up later.
I have NO idea how this affects Amazing in other parts of the
country.
--
adam hill -- hill@evax.uta.edu ASOCC - University of Texas at UTA
I programmed for three days Make Up Your Own Mind.. AMIGA!
And heard no human voices. Amiga... Multimedia NOW!
But the hard disk sang. - TZoP Born To Run SVR4lshaw@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (logan shaw) (05/03/91)
In article <1991May2.162543.26976@cse.uta.edu> hill@cse.uta.edu (Adam Hill) writes: > All warantees and repair work is/was refered to Metropolitan >Connecting Point in Richardson Tx (214) 437-9119. Metro is the ONLY >DEALER in the Dallas/FW area. There may be some that pop up later. Oh no.... Not Metro.... > I have NO idea how this affects Amazing in other parts of the >country. Well, the one in Austin went bye-bye, but there's supposed to be another store (not affiliated with Amazing) that's going to open up RSN. -- // # "He said that He had your number; you cut the telephone line. \X/ # You said you needed a reason; He said 'there ain't much time.' Logan # You kept trying to avoid it; He kept knocking on the door. Shaw # In a flash it was over; you were a prisoner of war." -Rez Band
greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp) (05/03/91)
In article <1991May2.162543.26976@cse.uta.edu> hill@cse.uta.edu (Adam Hill) writes: > > 'Tis true I am afraid. Last Thurs Amazing FW and Dallas were closed >for good. Lets just say the closing was "less than friendly". Hmmm... I'd like to know the story behind it... > All warantees and repair work is/was refered to Metropolitan >Connecting Point in Richardson Tx (214) 437-9119. Metro is the ONLY >DEALER in the Dallas/FW area. There may be some that pop up later. Oh no! We're doomed! Seriously, Metropolitan has a pretty poor reputation, and I can back it up with my own horror story. You see, I, fool I am, bought my computer there. My brother was the actual person who paid for it at the time (I eventually bought if off of him). Anyway, to make a long story short, we bought an ECE MIDI interface with the computer. The MIDI interface box was marked "A1000 version," which concerned me since the A500 version square was unmarked. The salesman said that it would not be a problem. SO... We took the computer home, set it up, and loaded DMCS (as you may have guessed, the initial purpose of this machine was MIDI music). Of course it didn't work. We hooked it up to a standard Hayes modem and got no reponse, either (Strangely, this modem has worked with everything I've tried _but_ A500s. I never investigated this, though.). Figuring the serial port was the problem, we took the machine back to the shop. We waited a week, and I finally called them to check on it (they had promised to call us). I was told it would be ready when I got there. When I got there they finally bothered checking the serial port (which involved calling a BBS using one of their modems). They OKed it and said I could take it home. I talked with the service man and when I brought up that the MIDI interface was the A1000 model he told me that _that_ was the problem. When I got ready to leave, they wanted to charge me $30 labor. After gawking at them, I told them that I had bought the computer a week ago in that very store. They informed me that since there was no problem that the service wasn't covered by warranty. (What service?!?!?!) I told them that since the problem was the incompetence of their salesman that they would not only NOT charge me for the service, but they would also exchange my interface free of charge or I would call the Better Business Bureau. I guess they were surprised to see a (then) 16-year-old kid suddenly threaten their business, because they immediately agreed to my terms. (Yay for me...) I guess they thought they could screw me out of some $$$. Anyway, I have since then avoided this store. I will use mail order or drive to the new Austin store if another Dallas store doesn't exist, and I would recommend this policy to others. BTW, I should add that the salesman offered to sell us a hard drive with lots of software installed free of charge. Some of the software he mentioned was Excellence! and a few commercial games. I probably should have gathered at that point the fact that these people didn't do honest business. Now, all of this occured almost four years ago. This store may have changed since then. Personally, I don't give businesses a second chance to try and screw me around, so I don't know... Greg -- Greg Harp |"I was there to match my intellect on national TV, | against a plumber and an architect, both with a PhD." greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu| -- "I Lost on Jeopardy," Weird Al Yankovic