[Harp-L] B-Radical Bashing - Perhaps warrented but is it wise?

[BluzeHarp@xxxxxxx]

I should preface this by stating I don't really know Brad  Harrison.  Have 
met a couple times & he seems dedicated, but  there's no real tie between 
us.  Here's my two cents.
 
I worked as Jay Gaunt's production manager during the summer of  2009.  I 
booked Jay to open the main stage of the Greeley Blues  Jam that year, he & 
his mom Jan stayed at my house for 3  weeks.  Then we went to Memphis, San 
Francisco, & the SPAH  convention.  While at the convention Jan pre-ordered 
two  B-Radicals for me. (sweet!)  So I'm callin' mine 'Free Radicals'.
 
Even though Jay is a Harrison endorsee there was no special treatment, I  
went into the cue with everyone else and only recently got the first  of the 
two.  Key of C, plays great!  I'm still waiting on the  A, and along with 
many I think communications could have been  better.  That said, Brad is 
building a wonderful product from the  ground up, and having to learn all of it 
as he goes.  On top of that,  he's not just building the product, he's 
running the entire company...  finances alone are probably a full time job.  
There's  also shipping, inventory, production, R&D, customer service, receiving,  
quality control, plant maintenance, payroll, customer relations,  
accounting, supply issues, publicity, transportation, training,  marketing... yikes!  
 
Not consistent but communications have improved.   Especially apparent 
while Dave Payne was there, previous to that I  couldn't get a peep, and I had 
asked more than once.  
 
Now we come to Brad's recent 'no reply' post,  it can easily be interpreted 
as caviler  but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, I think he was 
trying  to explain rather than chastise, perhaps had a thought in his head  
that didn't come across quite right when he sent it.  Ever  go back later & 
look at something you wrote, only to find it could  have been better worded?  
Certainly a clear apology along with the  'explanation' would have helped 
smooth things over, maybe he'll get better  at that part when things start to 
roll & there's time to become more  philosophical.  Or maybe that will never 
be his strength,  & he will see the need to hire someone who can fill that 
gap once there  is a budget available.
 
Being in the same boat I well understand the complaints, by and  large they 
seem legitimate.  I share in the impatience,  yet I think a couple of the 
gripes have been heavy handed.   Not necessarily unfair, we have a right to 
be less than thrilled about the  delays, just that some of the anger seem a 
bit off the mark.  
 
Keep in mind this isn't a case of an established company blowing off  their 
customers, nobody anticipated the complications of bring this  unique 
product to market, & it doesn't feel like Mr. Harrison set  out to mislead anyone 
with fanciful projections.  Regrettable that he  wasn't the public 
relations genius needed to keep the feathers smoothed, but I  don't see any bad 
intent or lack of effort.  Hey, nobody excels  at everything, unfortunately 
communications seem  to be the part that Brad sucks at (harmonica humor  
intended), better that than development or production.  Think about it  folks, hard 
to justify a staff PR specialist when there must  already be significant 
money issues tied to the long delays.  I think  he's probably doing the very 
best he can under difficult  circumstances, not optimal or ideal but it seems 
a sincere  & gallant effort... I'm gonna' embrace it until it either sinks 
or  swims. 
 
By fussing so vociferously some may be shooting themself in  the foot.  If 
HH goes under due to lack of new orders, seems a viable  scenario but I 
haven't heard ANY such rumors, then those who made  the most noise & got people 
to shy away from ordering may  wind up being the factor that pushed them off 
the cliff... good luck  getting your harp then.
 
I wager that if we stay nice HH will do the right  thing and find a way to 
reward our support, maybe  after the company becomes more established.  
Meanwhile I'm not  giving Harrison a pass, customer relations could be better.  
Even  if you feel you're doing a good job, there are obviously a lot of  
customers who feel the opposite.  Right or wrong the perception won't  go away 
just because you disagree with it.  It's worth a hard  honest look once 
there's some breathing room, but for now it's  probably more important to solve 
the production issues.
 
Christopher Richards
Twin Tone Harmonica Microphones
harmonicaplanet.com