Cancelling order

[nora 0]

I have asked to be re-funded for my order. We'll see how that goes.

 

[EskeRahn 5,471]

What Erik wrote is nothing but another “we want”, “we estimate”, “we plan”.

 

And what DO you want then? Do you prefer a "promise"? And if so what if that -for whatever reason- can not be fulfilled? The Guillotine? The lions?

Get real please. The best anyone can do is an estimate. Sure their estimates have been rather poor. But as I have no info on what actually caused the delays, I do not know if these delays are something they 'ought' to have anticipated.

I guess ANY startup is quite likely to fall into a number of pitfalls that companies with a long product history does not fall into every time.

If you do not want to wait, well then you are free to request a refund.

[netman 1,424]

anonim001 wrote:

What Erik wrote is nothing but another “we want”, “we estimate”, “we plan”.

And what DO you want then? Do you prefer a “promise”? And if so what if that -for whatever reason- can not be fulfilled? The Guillotine? The lions?

 

Get real please. The best anyone can do is an estimate. Sure their estimates have been rather poor. But as I have no info on what actually caused the delays, I do not know if these delays are something they ‘ought’ to have anticipated.

 

I guess ANY startup is quite likely to fall into a number of pitfalls that companies with a long product history does not fall into every time.

 

If you do not want to wait, well then you are free to request a refund.

 

They need a sacrificial person to bring the promise, and lions!

[Gon009 70]

anonim001 wrote:

What Erik wrote is nothing but another “we want”, “we estimate”, “we plan”.

And what DO you want then? Do you prefer a “promise”? And if so what if that -for whatever reason- can not be fulfilled? The Guillotine? The lions?

 

Get real please. The best anyone can do is an estimate. Sure their estimates have been rather poor. But as I have no info on what actually caused the delays, I do not know if these delays are something they ‘ought’ to have anticipated.

 

I guess ANY startup is quite likely to fall into a number of pitfalls that companies with a long product history does not fall into every time.

 

If you do not want to wait, well then you are free to request a refund.

 

Numbers. Data. What is their progress with licencing, certificates, how much of phones are already during packaging(percentage), how many of them are being shipped to London etc. How much of their contract with the factory is completed. Can we even know that they won't experience the same difficulties with shipping. How they will ship it, we paid quite a big amount of money for shipping. What difficulties they are facing now. I don't want photos from the factory that could mean everything, I want data. We know about FCC certificate only because people are mining all sources to find any information. So far it looks like their communication with the factory looks like "We want to produce phones", "Ok, we will do it", "So, is production going well?", "Yes, soon, phones will materialize inside of DHL transports once they are ready". I doubt that as a startup they just throw money at the factory, at people who organize shipment etc. and don't care to know what is happening.

The problem with what Eric said is that they tell the same things again. "Sorry, delay, we expect to ship in early/mid/late-{select a month you want}".

He may tell the truth this time. Or not and in mid-October will get get another post like that. Or maybe before October only people with coupons will get the phone. He didn't support his post with data to convince us.

If there was another landscape slider available now I would just cancel my pre-order and get it. Be it MediaTek >2cm brick, I don't care. I won't cancel it just because if I want a hardware keyboard now, there's no choice but to wait. I guess this is the only reason why Pro1 isn't ending in a refund disaster and they know it, that's why there's so little communication even when half of the forums(and who knows how many people outside of forums) already got angry. Hell, even if Unihertz Titan was available to buy now to get it within a week, I would buy it even if I dislike portrait keyboards. Now I will wait, if Pro1 doesn't arrive till January 2020 I will just buy Titan instead. Or maybe something other if suddenly someone jumps in with a hw keyboard phone. Whoever ships first, wins.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

Numbers. Data....

Do you know ANY brand of phables that are open on their numbers? Just asking....

[anonim001 105]

Gon009 wrote:

Numbers. Data….

Do you know ANY brand of phables that are open on their numbers? Just asking….

 

Any distributor gets such data from his provider... they didn't decide to use other distributor beside themselves, so they should count with such questions from customers.

And the photos from production lines are also nothing special or exciting here, we have seen similar ones already and that gave us nothing but fake hope.

[anonim001 105]

anonim001 wrote:

What Erik wrote is nothing but another “we want”, “we estimate”, “we plan”.

And what DO you want then? Do you prefer a “promise”? And if so what if that -for whatever reason- can not be fulfilled? The Guillotine? The lions?

 

Get real please. The best anyone can do is an estimate. Sure their estimates have been rather poor. But as I have no info on what actually caused the delays, I do not know if these delays are something they ‘ought’ to have anticipated.

 

I guess ANY startup is quite likely to fall into a number of pitfalls that companies with a long product history does not fall into every time.

 

If you do not want to wait, well then you are free to request a refund.

 

I work as a customer service specialist in a big industrial company. If my estimations for product delivery fail by THAT much, the company has at least to pay for the delivery (not to talk about other results of our delay) from its own money - even if it's a few thousand €.

 

I'm not talking about any other costs here, because here are no other real costs, but some benefit for the waiting time like a refund of the shipping costs or other additional value would be appreciated. So far we are treated like fanboys of some other big known phone manufacturer - "we'll give them overpriced cr*p, they'll take it anyway, they love us".

 

What do I want? A BINDING information. If it's 2020 - let it be, I'll get a refund and buy the device maybe later next year as a used device. Changing the delivery date every 2-3 weeks is just playing with us and our patience. Now my money are frozen. I'm not some investor to give out money for something I'll maybe get and maybe be happy with it or not.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

What do I want? A BINDING information.

 

…and what do you EXACTLY mean by “Binding” then?

[anonim001 105]

anonim001 wrote:

What do I want? A BINDING information.

…and what do you EXACTLY mean by “Binding” then?

 

For example, that I will get a tracking number for my package with the phone by day X.

 

They know how many people bought the device. They know how big are the production batches. That information is quite easy to calculate. Producers also have binding production dates.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

For example, that I will get a tracking number for my package with the phone by day X.

 

They know how many people bought the device. They know how big are the production batches. That information is quite easy to calculate. Producers also have binding production dates.

 

What would be binding" in that statement? What if it is not sent by this "day X" then?

[anonim001 105]

Refund of delivery costs. A voucher for something in their shop. A discount on the device. Some other benefit like for example an additional longer USB cable. There's ton of ways to reward us the long waiting time.

If I gave the money to my bank instead of paying them, I would get some % for this. You see what I mean here?

[EskeRahn 5,471]

Refund of delivery costs. A voucher for something in their shop. A discount on the device. Some other benefit like for example an additional longer USB cable. There’s ton of ways to reward us the long waiting time.

 

If I gave the money to my bank instead of paying them, I would get some % for this. You see what I mean here?

Here in Denmark we got negative or at best zero interests on money in the bank currently....

But that apart so what you are asking is not something binding but discounts or bonus items? I guess we would all like that.

 

[Jhonny B 5]

Look guys getting few dollars reward means nothing.

Its not all about money. for some like me its more about i am on halt not buying any other device and keep waiting.

sure i and all other are still on it because there is no other option in the market similar to this.

But if it keeps going like this that means its never going to be released and may eventually be cancelled by FX.

And at the end of the day its not a super device, its just a phone with keyboard and laptop like factor. and i am now thing to get the keyboard case for another phone if i can find and that will give it similar to pro1, atleast it will be possible to get.

I think all we want is an update on real situation. that is when really will it be shipped rather then keep for FX to keep buying time in weeks.

And i think if FX announce another delay in mid october then it will hurt their fan base as many will loose hope and cancel orders.

 

[Hook 3,043]

A little perspective on delays of which, so far, by my calculations, there have only been two if you ignore the rumors.

 

Initially, last winter, they set a target of July 2019. Did anyone actually think a target picked that far out had anything but a very slim chance of being accurate? In june they changed that to the much more reasonable "Summer 2019" which gave them a range rather than a point date. Anything up until 20 SEP would be on time. I do not consider that a delay but a projection based on more accurate data than the ridiculously early projection.

 

Before we get to the first delay, there is the issue of the initially stated policy of not asking for money until 2-3 weeks before shipping. Clearly that didn't happen and has irkes some people. However, when the made the request for money at the beginning of August they stated clearly that the policy was no longer in effect before you sent in your money:

 

"We are beginning the manufacturing in the next few weeks with estimated first shipping to pre-order customers during the 2nd week of September.

Within the next 48 hrs, look out for the automated payment email (“Your F(x)tec pre-order from <date>, 2019 is now available”)"

 

So change in policy, provided before payment, and still the same projection date.

 

The first real delay occurs in September, in the newsletter dated 14 Sept.

 

"We have had delays in obtaining the final licenses needed for the best ‘out of box’ experience and this delay has been further compounded by our factory closing next week for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

Production has started and we are eager to start shipping; but until we are fully satisfied with the best ‘out of box’ experience we will not ship until this has been resolved. We appreciate that this may be disappointing, but quality is our number one objective and we are now not likely to ship the pre-orders until early October."

 

That's one delay. Today, Eric may have given us a second delay (depending in part on whether you think early and mid overlap ;-) ) as well as a clear statement of the time course for shipping, that no matter when they start shipping it may actually take time to ship them all. They will be trying to get them all out by the end of October. Yes, trying. Yes, they could run into shipping bumps so no promises.

 

Frankly, for a project of this scale, I think they've done pretty well.

 

 

[nora 0]

I do want to point out that there are reasons for cancellation other than "outrage". I need a phone when I am at conferences; I was hoping for the Pro1 to be that phone, but with conference season fast approaching, I cannot be sure I will have the phone before I need to travel and cannot be home to receive it. Therefore I have no choice but to cancel and buy a traditional phone from a more established manufacturer. I suspect many are in the same boat.

[Siani_8 105]

I do want to point out that there are reasons for cancellation other than “outrage”. I need a phone when I am at conferences; I was hoping for the Pro1 to be that phone, but with conference season fast approaching, I cannot be sure I will have the phone before I need to travel and cannot be home to receive it. Therefore I have no choice but to cancel and buy a traditional phone from a more established manufacturer. I suspect many are in the same boat.

 

I seriously doubt many people are in the same boat and most people have a phone already that could last one more month. Maybe I'm wrong.....

[Tim6263 134]

I’ve told family and friends about the Pro1 and how excited I am, how much I spent on the phone and the fact that I’ve never bought a new phone ever but I’m willing to this time because I really like the device and want to support the company.

 

How disappointing is it that every time they ask me about it, I say it’s been delayed? And I’ve been saying that since July…

 

Not kidding my brother just told me yesterday I wonder when you’re going to give up and get a new phone

 

I know the feeling, only too well.....

[Tim6263 134]

Gon009 wrote:

Numbers. Data….

Do you know ANY brand of phables that are open on their numbers? Just asking….

 

I'm afraid I'm with Gon009

F(x) know a) how many pre-orders they have to fulfil; & b) how many units are in production. They SHOULD also know: production status; shipping quantities & despatch dates. When all we get from F(x) is "expect", with no mention of specific dates or quantities, we are left in the dark. We are left with no option but to read between the lines that, actually, they don't know themselves.

Which is anything but reassuring. And that's why I wrote to them: "FX need to take on board that your customer service to date is truly shocking."

What we need to restore some confidence is, "Genuine, meaningful, helpful communication … some openness and honesty from FX" (also from my email, 28 Sep,)

------------------

Their reply to me was couched in the same terms of "expect the first batch of the Pro1 to ship..."

------------------

So I will be emailing a reply to F(x) later on today, trying to reinforce our desire for more open & honest information...

[kin9 12]

Please go to the shop page, you can still find that "Order your Pro1 today. Shipping globally is estimated to be early October 2019."

It is totally misleading. I really want to know what the team is doing.

[Gon009 70]

This reply: https://www.fxtec.com/forums/topic/direct-emails-from-fxtec-that-i-have-been-authorized-to-share/ is the reply I wanted. It's not super precise but precise enough for me. It gives more light on everything than just saying "soon".

I want to ask why something like this is sent only to certain people when they ask? Seriously, this info is SUPER important and for me it makes a huge difference because it gives some ideas about the project status. Why didn't Fxtec team write it in public until someone put the email on the forum?

 

Seriously, all that outrage is made by the Fxtec team themselves. They have the data and information, they just don't share it with us. Anyway, I'm glad that they finally let us know more about the status of Pro1.

[gtmaster303 0]

anonim001 wrote:

Refund of delivery costs. A voucher for something in their shop. A discount on the device. Some other benefit like for example an additional longer USB cable. There’s ton of ways to reward us the long waiting time.

 

If I gave the money to my bank instead of paying them, I would get some % for this. You see what I mean here?

Here in Denmark we got negative or at best zero interests on money in the bank currently….

 

But that apart so what you are asking is not something binding but discounts or bonus items? I guess we would all like that.

 

Objectively speaking I agree with him. We were the first to pay for the device months ago and support an unknown company when mainstream consumers typically wouldn't. I think some type of token saying sorry and thank you would go a long way here.

[kin9 12]

It is because they don't want you to get the information about delay so early to prevent the cancel of order by many of you.

[is 65]

I don't think so. It's hard to get the product out with so many variables, including, but not limited to licenses, certifications, customs, holidays, last-minute production delays, embargoes and everything else. And while any update would be greatly appreciated, I do understand how it might seem annoying, but I've been on the other end of it, and not at that scale by far. It often times is somewhat of a moving target, estimates, rather than commitments.

 

Even when you have all the processes ironed out it's sometimes hard to commit (without huge risk compensations, of course). Unless you have all your stuff pre-made and sitting on some amazon warehouse, which is unrealistic in this case.

 

This is not exactly tailor-made for each of us, but it's as close as it can get in today's time: pretty limited niche market, some widely ignored use-cases in terms of software (landscape mode situation has been up and down over the past 10 years), some decisions you can't exactly copy from others. Mistakes will be made, including in estimates.

[gtmaster303 0]

A little perspective on delays of which, so far, by my calculations, there have only been two if you ignore the rumors.

 

Initially, last winter, they set a target of July 2019. Did anyone actually think a target picked that far out had anything but a very slim chance of being accurate? In june they changed that to the much more reasonable “Summer 2019” which gave them a range rather than a point date. Anything up until 20 SEP would be on time. I do not consider that a delay but a projection based on more accurate data than the ridiculously early projection.

 

Before we get to the first delay, there is the issue of the initially stated policy of not asking for money until 2-3 weeks before shipping. Clearly that didn’t happen and has irkes some people. However, when the made the request for money at the beginning of August they stated clearly that the policy was no longer in effect before you sent in your money:

 

“We are beginning the manufacturing in the next few weeks with estimated first shipping to pre-order customers during the 2nd week of September.

 

Within the next 48 hrs, look out for the automated payment email (“Your F(x)tec pre-order from <date>, 2019 is now available”)”

 

So change in policy, provided before payment, and still the same projection date.

 

The first real delay occurs in September, in the newsletter dated 14 Sept.

 

“We have had delays in obtaining the final licenses needed for the best ‘out of box’ experience and this delay has been further compounded by our factory closing next week for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

 

Production has started and we are eager to start shipping; but until we are fully satisfied with the best ‘out of box’ experience we will not ship until this has been resolved. We appreciate that this may be disappointing, but quality is our number one objective and we are now not likely to ship the pre-orders until early October.”

 

That’s one delay. Today, Eric may have given us a second delay (depending in part on whether you think early and mid overlap ;-) ) as well as a clear statement of the time course for shipping, that no matter when they start shipping it may actually take time to ship them all. They will be trying to get them all out by the end of October. Yes, trying. Yes, they could run into shipping bumps so no promises.

 

Frankly, for a project of this scale, I think they’ve done pretty well.

 

Not to get technical but I count more than you did.

July to summer - 1

September/summer to early October - 2

Early October to mid/late October - 3

Time will tell if there's another delay...

We're obviously getting closer but the delays are real and frequent enough to be a problem for some.