Are they in business?

Yes, it can take them 3-5 days to return email.

They are very good at repairs and very reasonable to deal with (you just have to be patient with the email).
 
Thanks everyone for the update.

My original e-mail is almost 3 weeks old. A bit long for no response.
I did send a 2nd e-mail about 2 weeks ago and still nothing.

Hopefully, I will receive something soon. Just looking to purchase from them.

Gosh darn it. A contact phone number would be nice.
 
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Sorry I'm late. I just got an email from Alex yesterday. He usually takes 3-5 days to respond. His work is worth the wait.
 
I tried several emails within 2 or 3 months and couldn't get a reply for fixing a Chiller set. I guess he just repeatedly ignores email instead of saying "not interested". I ended up getting great service with Eldorado. http://www.eldoradogames.com/

What are you looking for?
 
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I tried several emails within 2 or 3 months and couldn't get a reply for fixing a Chiller set. I guess he just repeatedly ignores email instead of saying "not interested". I ended up getting great service with Eldorado. http://www.eldoradogames.com/

"Thank you" Freebeer for the link. I'll give them a try.

It's great that some individuals receive service, but it also appears that some are not.

IMHO, this is not the way I like to do business. Whatever happened to business/personal communication skills?

We are in the 21st century; am I correct?

These days, it appears that you have to shout outloud before anyone will respond.

Word of mouth spreads like a wildfire. Sad but true.
 
Email is NEVER a 100% form of communication. You simply can not assume he got the email.

I do agree with you.

However, this is why a contact number is truly important for any business establishment.

Big or small.

Proper communication is critical in any situation that requires a transaction.

When a person sends two e-mails within a 3 week period timeframe and nothing happens.

Never receive a bounced back e-mail ... what is a person than left to think?

It's not like the original e-mails were sent from some free e-mail account found on the web.

A personal e-mail was used.

Was their junk e-mail filter turned own? Who knows? Not sure why no response.

This is why I have always believed in good ole' phone communication.
 
Sometimes it takes a while for him to get back to you, but like I said the quality of his work is worth the wait. Sometimes he gets back to you right away, and sometimes it takes a while. Luckily for me I live close enough that I can drop stuff off so I don't have to worry. I've heard good and bad about Eldorado (mostly bad recently) and I really recommend Alex's work. I would just email every day or every other day until he responds. That's how I first contacted him.
 
Sometimes it takes a while for him to get back to you, but like I said the quality of his work is worth the wait. Sometimes he gets back to you right away, and sometimes it takes a while. Luckily for me I live close enough that I can drop stuff off so I don't have to worry. I've heard good and bad about Eldorado (mostly bad recently) and I really recommend Alex's work. I would just email every day or every other day until he responds. That's how I first contacted him.

Airlair, thank you.

Funny thing ... I live in Ohio too.

To be honest with you, I don't know what to think anymore. Who should I use?

There is a couple of fellow klover's that can help me out with untested SI boardsets, parts etc.

Greatly appreciated.

But, I really would like to have 100% working SI boardset for my personal complete restore project.

I want to make this machine working and looking brand new again; go the extra mile.
 
You might try re-sending the email from a different email account.
 
Yep, we are.

Hi Guys,

[Thanks F.M., for the heads-up about this thread]

Sorry, but we're not a 24/7 operation. We respond to emails as quickly as possible. I'm mostly a one-man show with a full-time-plus day job (other than this), three kids and a wife. The web site explains why we don't give out our phone #. You'd just get an answering machine anyhow, because if I spent all my time answering the phone I'd never get any boards repaired. The email always comes in faster than I can reply (keep in mind that a lot of folks ask technical questions, so it's usually not just a 20-second thing to respond). Chances are if you ask a question that requires more than a couple of minutes to anwer, then I'm simply not going to be able to respond at all. It's not that I don't want to, there just aren't enough hours in a day to do everything.

I'm sure 95% of you guys understand why things are the way they are, but it always seems that there's 5% who think we must be some sort of huge industrial conglomerate that makes millions of dollars each year repairing 30 year old amusement device circuit boards for collectors, and therefore we should have some sort of call center in Bangalore. It's not that I don't value your business, it's just that I have to balance a lot of things. Hopefully I've done that reasonably well for the 10+ years that we've been around. Hopefully also we're still a bit better than Eldorado as far as the overall customer experience goes. If we've really gotten that bad then it's probably time to throw in the towel...
 
> If we've really gotten that bad then it's probably time to throw in the towel...

Heh -- when you sent my boards back to me that you'd repaired, they worked. :)

I've not run into anyone saying anything other than that either...
 
Hi Guys,

[Thanks F.M., for the heads-up about this thread]

Sorry, but we're not a 24/7 operation. We respond to emails as quickly as possible. I'm mostly a one-man show with a full-time-plus day job (other than this), three kids and a wife. The web site explains why we don't give out our phone #. You'd just get an answering machine anyhow, because if I spent all my time answering the phone I'd never get any boards repaired. The email always comes in faster than I can reply (keep in mind that a lot of folks ask technical questions, so it's usually not just a 20-second thing to respond). Chances are if you ask a question that requires more than a couple of minutes to anwer, then I'm simply not going to be able to respond at all. It's not that I don't want to, there just aren't enough hours in a day to do everything.

I'm sure 95% of you guys understand why things are the way they are, but it always seems that there's 5% who think we must be some sort of huge industrial conglomerate that makes millions of dollars each year repairing 30 year old amusement device circuit boards for collectors, and therefore we should have some sort of call center in Bangalore. It's not that I don't value your business, it's just that I have to balance a lot of things. Hopefully I've done that reasonably well for the 10+ years that we've been around. Hopefully also we're still a bit better than Eldorado as far as the overall customer experience goes. If we've really gotten that bad then it's probably time to throw in the towel...

Hello Ayeckley,

Glad to see that you responded to this thread. I guess you had the time for a call out.

Yes, I understand about time restraints. Family, work etc. ... the whole enchilda. I have this t-shirt and still wearing it proud.

First off, I never thought once that you ran a 24/7 operation or were some huge industrial conglomerate. It's obvious that you are smaller operation and I'm completely fine with that.

I sent you (2) e-mails through a (3) week timespan. My e-mail was not of true technical nature, but rather letting you know that I would like to purchase a product from your company.

In my world, a potential new "paying" customer should always be on the top priority list.

Patience is a virture. Although, (3) weeks with no response is absurd.

What it all boils down to is time management.
And yes, we all can work at that concept a little harder.

Everyone does things differently; just part of everyday life.

You say, that if you answered phone calls that you would not have enough time to work on customer's boards.

Ok then.

Solution: Allow your customer base to leave a message on a voicemail. Is that so bad?

I just don't agree with these business ethics in today's world. It's a bad excuse.

Have I dealt with Eldorado? No. But, I do know that you can pick up the phone and actually talk with someone.

It's nice to hear that you have helped out many people over the last 10 years.

Fantastic for you and your customers. Congratulations for this achievement.

However, does that constitute for a lack of communication to your future clientele?

I don't think so. Sorry ... not in my book.

Time is money; especially during these uncertain economical times.

I truly do appreciate your concerned message and wish you the best in what you do.

It's time for me to move on. Good luck to you and yours.
 
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Sometimes it takes a while for him to get back to you, but like I said the quality of his work is worth the wait. Sometimes he gets back to you right away, and sometimes it takes a while. Luckily for me I live close enough that I can drop stuff off so I don't have to worry. I've heard good and bad about Eldorado (mostly bad recently) and I really recommend Alex's work. I would just email every day or every other day until he responds. That's how I first contacted him.

The only times I've seen Eldorado mentioned in the last year was as a punchline in a thread about bad board repair or the occasional rant thread about their work. Haven't used the services of Eldorado or Ayeckley so can't report firsthand on either, just an observation about what the general consensus seems to be about Eldorado.
 
Al, maybe you should change your business model to incorporate the 5% who don't get it. $200 an hour should be about right for elite level service..
 
Hello Ayeckley,
Glad to see that you responded to this thread. I guess you had the time for a call out.

Well, I figure I'm probably talking to about 50 people at once so it's a good investment of time. Saves me from having to send 49 individual emails. I'm not really upset about the criticism, I just want to explain why I've made the decisions I have and this is a good forum for doing that.

In my world, a potential new "paying" customer should always be on the top priority list.

If growing my sales was my top objective, then that would be true. That's not my main objective at this time however. With my particular business plan (which I will not discuss in public), existing customers get higher priority. Existing customers with jobs "in work" get highest priority. Hopefully that's part of the reason that most folks here seem to be supporting me on this. It's not like I haven't thought this through.

Solution: Allow your customer base to leave a message on a voicemail. Is that so bad?

Not a viable solution, I'm afraid (although I am listening to the suggestions). You'd have me pay $70 per month for a dedicated phone line, and then expect me to respond to both voicemails AND emails (which is already hard enough by itself)? Having a phone lowers my productivity, not raises it. I need solutions that improve my productivity, while keeping the costs to the customer the same (or lower).

I just don't agree with these business ethics in today's world. It's a bad excuse.

If I understand correctly, you believe it's unethical for me to not respond to email quickly? Also unethical not to have a phone presence? Wow. I'll go so far as to say that it imposes an inconvenience on customers (and I'm grateful that they tolerate it), but I don't think "unethical" is an appropriate description.

However, does that constitute for a lack of communication to your future clientele?
I don't think so. Sorry ... not in my book.

We're not going to be able to capture 100% of the new business potential. Again, if growth were the big concern then you are correct - I'd be making a mistake with these choices. Just for fun, do a market analysis of this industry and see where the numbers top out. If I wanted to grow a business, this is (unfortunately) not the industry I'd choose.

It's time for me to move on. Good luck to you and yours.

Agreed, and likewise. I think we've had a reasonable discussion here, and I suspect that we're going to still have a difference of opinion after we've both made our points. If I can figure out which email(s) you sent then I won't respond to them. If you do wind up getting a response, then feel free just to disregard...
 
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