Interesting conversation with a sales guy at Polk, or not

gimpod

I had an interesting conversation with a sales guy at Polk this morning.

Now I don't like this forum software/layout anymore than most of you guys as a matter of fact I hate it, I was beginning to get a bad feeling that they might be dropping support for the older products i.e. SDAs and such. So I thought I'd better call and order those RDO-198s I needed for my CRS+ project which I did.

While I was on the phone I asked the guy flat out "Is Polk planning on dropping support for the older products?" he said there were no plans to do so.

I also asked him about this forum and he said that this is just the beginning of a major integration of Polk's online presence tying everything together and that the forum is not even close to being done. Also he said that there some major changes coming including a whole new main site (yet to be up & running).

I don't know if this guy was just blowing smoke or not, If this is all true and knowing how Polks IT guys seem to take there sweet time getting anything done this could take some time.

One thing for sure this forum in it's current state should have never gone public it's nowhere near being ready.

As I see it at this point all we can do is kick back listen to some tunes & get wasted while they try and get this mess sorted out.

JMO.

BTW: They charge my bank account already as:

CHKCARDPOLK AUDIO ONLINE BALTIMORE MD

Notice the ONLINE....

Toolfan66

I was wondering the same thing about the support of older Polk's, I have 6 new RDO 198's put away, I would like to have 10, maybe I will pull the trigger on 4 more..

You know, Just in case!!

Mikey081057

Interesting...There is alot of inteligence information that can be gleaned from a user just visiting a website or a forum that they can use to gain market intelligence that would filter down to development, marketing and even production. Every other company is doing it so Polk should do it too so as not to get their lunch eaten by their competitors. I would imagine most Polkies are loyal to the brand so their is not much about us they don't know or will know.

gce

Well I don't think this guy would just make this stuff up. So hopefully this will turn into something special, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Erik Tracy

The time of the wisened audio enthusiast with ears on experience is over....time for hipsters, youngsters, ear buds, likes, cluttered tags and sigs, and mobile wireless carefree audio....

I'm looking for the door about now...

gimpod

Toolfan66 wrote: »

I was wondering the same thing about the support of older Polk's, I have 6 new RDO 198's put away, I would like to have 10, maybe I will pull the trigger on 4 more..

You know, Just in case!!

I know if I had the money I would have ordered 4 RDO-194s & 4 RDO-198s instead of only 2 198s.

Makes one wonder how many of these tweeters Polk has sold over the years seeing how this is just about the only place you'll find out about them.?

BlueFox

From a business perspective, there is nothing wrong with attracting musical neophytes, but you want to steer them towards higher quality gear. Why? Because you have better profit margins. However, while you might need some of the features of this new forum design, you do not want to cater to the lowest common denominator. You want to show the neophytes there is something better, and this current design fails miserably.

F1nut

I also asked him about this forum and he said that this is just the beginning of a major integration of Polk's online presence tying everything together and that the forum is not even close to being done. Also he said that there some major changes coming including a whole new main site (yet to be up & running).

I have it on good authority that most of the above is true. Not so sure that what we are seeing here isn't the finished product.

Upstatemax

F1nut wrote: »

I also asked him about this forum and he said that this is just the beginning of a major integration of Polk's online presence tying everything together and that the forum is not even close to being done. Also he said that there some major changes coming including a whole new main site (yet to be up & running).

I have it on good authority that most of the above is true. Not so sure that what we are seeing here isn't the finished product.

I hope this is not the final product...

This site is horrible now.

I usually don't complain, but this is just silly and obviously just to pander to the "hipster" crowd. AKA broke losers living off of mom and dad that will spend zero $$$ on your products.

DarqueKnight

gimpod wrote: »

One thing for sure this forum in it's current state should have never gone public it's nowhere near being ready.

F1nut wrote: »

I have it on good authority that most of the above is true. Not so sure that what we are seeing here isn't the finished product.

It's obvious to me that the current forum is a work in progress. It would have been ideal to go live with a "finished product", but limited time and resources don't always provide that option. Given a choice among continuing with the former forum with all its broken functionalities, going forward with a "prototype forum", or no forum at all, I'd choose the work-in-progress prototype. What I would have preferred is all of the features and functionality of the old forum carried over into a new forum with updated features.

One thing we must be mindful of is that, relatively speaking, Polk is a small company with a small number of employees. They don't have a lot of time, money, and manpower to invest in things that don't have significant effect on revenue. Some, perhaps a lot of, companies would have just thrown everything in the old forum away and made everyone re-register and start from scratch with a new forum. That's what PS Audio did earlier this year. All those great technical, review, and how-to threads from me and others going back years and years are gone forever.

Ironically, because Polk is a small company, they are more sensitive to smaller sections of their customer base. That's why we continue to have corporate support for Polkfest. Polk is the only audio company I have dealt with that has invited me to their corporate headquarters for a full day of touring and demonstrations, and then invited me to the homes of the co-founder, VP of marketing, and VP of engineering where I was treated to catered food and drink fit for a head of state (and some very nice audio demos).

Another example is that not many companies support products discontinued 23 years ago. Not many companies, big or small, would allow the kind of vigorous debate, public dissent, and criticism that Polk tolerates on its forum. In fact, I don't know of any corporate sponsored forums that are not heavily moderated to the point where a sense of community is nonexistent. Most corporate forums are just extensions of their marketing and customer service departments. Those forums only exist to provide information and assistance to current and potential customers on current and future products. This forum is more of a customer appreciation effort and is oriented toward audio education and discussion with an emphasis on moving toward higher and higher audio performance.

In view of the way Polk has supported us over the years, all the talk of a "mass exodus" is insulting. I think we should calm down and give an "old friend" the benefit of the doubt and try to work through this difficulty together.

No one has given me a "take it or leave it" ultimatum. No one has slammed the door in my face when I offered constructive criticism and suggestions on the new forum format, so I will continue to do so.

halo71

Perhaps true...big changes coming, a revamped main site etc etc. But WHY would Polk upgrade to this romper room website? I keep waiting to see a Tele Tubbie peek out from the side bars. I sure hope they get they "$hit" together first if they "upgrade" the main site.

DarqueKnight

halo71 wrote: »

Perhaps true...big changes coming, a revamped main site etc etc. But WHY would Polk upgrade to this romper room website?

I don't know. Based on my previous experiences with them, I'm willing to give Polk the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was the best they could do with the time, money, and resources they had available at the time.

I don't think they sat around and thought of ways to piss off and run off forum members.

halo71 wrote: »

I keep waiting to see a Tele Tubbie peek out from the side bars. I sure hope they get they "$hit" together first if they "upgrade" the main site.

I keep waiting to see people accept a gift graciously without any sense of entitlement. Polk does not owe us a forum. They especially do not owe us a free forum which is largely a social medium rather than an extension of their revenue generating sales and marketing departments.

I don't particularly care for a lot of the aspects of the new forum, and I have offered suggestions and constructive criticism. However, I view the forum as a gift graciously offered and I feel it is my responsibility to graciously accept it or if I cannot accept it, try to work with the gift giver in a way that is not insulting. If someone gifted me an expensive pair of shoes that turned out to be a size too small, I would not refuse the gift in a dishonorable manner. There are ways the matter could be amicably resolved.

I am not saying that we should not complain about lacking functionality, features, and aesthetics. I am not saying that we should not offer comments and suggestions for improvement. I'm saying we should do so in a respectful manner.

zane77

Great posts DK

Hermitism

I wish the designer would open a line of communication with the forum members to express his ideas and plans. If anything, to let us know how close this is to the final product. I think if there hadn't been such a lack of communication, the transition would have went much smoother.

cnh

DK, always the gentleman!

Polk? We've always given them a LOT of rope. And there are thousands of posts that prove that!

cnh

BlueFox

I agree we should be a bit more positive in our criticism of the new format. I think it was the complete shock of the new format that prompted the hostile outburst from so many, myself included. Add in the fact that there was never any notification the URL had changed, and we had to find the new forum, helped increase the disappointment and anger. It is especially painful since all that needed to be done to the old site were some minor tweaks that would have added all the new functionality here, but without any of the issues.

That said, I am calmer now with the new site. Get rid of the red text font, go wide-screen, and I am happy.

I do like the increased edit time, avatars, and better picture posting. I hated the size restriction on the old site, and really got tired of cropping and resizing photos for it.

gce

Well said BlueFox...I totally agree!

halo71

DK...I never said they owed us a forum nor meant it. And if they done away with it tomorrow I would not lose a wink over it. But..."time, money and resources they had available at the time"??? Really? I am not so sure that Polk was saving up their pennies to be able to upgrade to a more modern or better forum than the old one. I mean come on.....the old forum was broke and never fixed. But it was still a helluva lot better than this!

I could see some small company putting out a crappy website like this one has shown to be. But a major player in the audio world doing this, should be ashamed. Even if major changes are coming. Polk should have hired a company or web designer that knows what he is doing. Simple as that.....

EndersShadow

DSkip wrote: »

DK's response is why I have stayed out of the gripe threads. This place has felt like home to so many that I understand the frustration, but I found out during the vacation that it wasn't the forum I missed at all, it was maintaining contact with several of the members here.

On a side note, I've created a forum of my own. I know we have an alternative forum, but I've stayed away from it because I don't want to discuss religion or politics or any other topic that can cause unnecessary controversy. I simply wanted a second place that focused on audio and the relationships created through it. The forum can be found here: audiosnob.boards.net/

I intend to use this forum as a backup to the information we have here on Polk, including the reviews I've personally done. I also created it with the hope that it would be a secondary meeting location if something does happen to this forum again.

If you have your own reviews that you'd like archived in a secondary location, I greatly encourage you to do so on the forum above. The fact that something could happen and all information would be lost with no alternatives left me a little fearful.

Skip, just as a FYI, check out the "alternate" site. I did some cleanup to make it more audio friendly. All the non audio stuff is located in one location at the bottom.

EndersShadow

DSkip wrote: »

EndersShadow wrote: »

Skip, just as a FYI, check out the "alternate" site. I did some cleanup to make it more audio friendly. All the non audio stuff is located in one location at the bottom.

I appreciate the response. The forum I created is one I don't want to be limited to just Polkies. This is actually part of a bigger concept I have that I don't care to discuss at the moment. I don't care to visit the alternate, no offense to anyone who is a part of it. I like the interactions we have here and feel that the extra parts could have the potential to change my views on some members. I don't want that to happen.

No offense taken, just wanted you to be aware that this week I made some significant changes over there to allow it to be an audio site with some off topic sections.

The intent at that site is also not just for fellow Polk members, but regardless, just was more of a FYI. We can talk more via PM if needed.

nooshinjohn

EndersShadow wrote: »

DSkip wrote: »

EndersShadow wrote: »

Skip, just as a FYI, check out the "alternate" site. I did some cleanup to make it more audio friendly. All the non audio stuff is located in one location at the bottom.

I appreciate the response. The forum I created is one I don't want to be limited to just Polkies. This is actually part of a bigger concept I have that I don't care to discuss at the moment. I don't care to visit the alternate, no offense to anyone who is a part of it. I like the interactions we have here and feel that the extra parts could have the potential to change my views on some members. I don't want that to happen.

No offense taken, just wanted you to be aware that this week I made some significant changes over there to allow it to be an audio site with some off topic sections.

The intent at that site is also not just for fellow Polk members, but regardless, just was more of a FYI. We can talk more via PM if needed.

And more to come... The new look is awesome, and I must say that in the time the site has been up, we have never needed a moderator to chastise anyone, ban anyone, or delete spam of any kind.

Moose68Bash

Thank you, DarqueKnight, for injecting some reason, commonsense, courtesy, and -- above all -- sincere gratitude into a "discussion" that had become from time to time unnecessarily and dysfunctionally acrimonious and myopic.

Yes, you are a gentleman -- and a scholar!

Well said!

BlueFox

EndersShadow wrote: »

No offense taken, just wanted you to be aware that this week I made some significant changes over there to allow it to be an audio site with some off topic sections.

Apparently, all the comments here about how completely and utterly terrible a red font is just flew over your head.

vmaxer

DSkip wrote: »

DK's response is why I have stayed out of the gripe threads. This place has felt like home to so many that I understand the frustration, but I found out during the vacation that it wasn't the forum I missed at all, it was maintaining contact with several of the members here.

On a side note, I've created a forum of my own. I know we have an alternative forum, but I've stayed away from it because I don't want to discuss religion or politics or any other topic that can cause unnecessary controversy. I simply wanted a second place that focused on audio and the relationships created through it. The forum can be found here: audiosnob.boards.net/

I intend to use this forum as a backup to the information we have here on Polk, including the reviews I've personally done. I also created it with the hope that it would be a secondary meeting location if something does happen to this forum again.

If you have your own reviews that you'd like archived in a secondary location, I greatly encourage you to do so on the forum above. The fact that something could happen and all information would be lost with no alternatives left me a little fearful.

Wow, great job!!!!

PolkieMan

What was said about the plug being pulled and not letting us know where to go kinda bit me too as I kept checking back and getting the same message. I got on their Facebook page and asked if they had decided to just turn off the switch and was promptly told to do a reset and go to through regular ole Polkaudio.com. Anyway it is what it is and at least everyone is still around. Cheers!

nadams

It's funny how this same subject comes up every time the look changes. I want to go back to the 2002-era Club Polk! When Troy and Russ' head got photoshopped on every-f'n thing and Sal didn't have an EV complex. And the higher-ups at Polk ignored us and let us do our thing because the internet was a fad.