Some new info and pics on the Collings Guitars website: www.collingsguitars.com. That balding mandolin carver is gone. We could have a contest to identify the mystery arm that is measuring top thicknesses.

Cool. I'll check it out. Thanks!

B

Cool. The honey amber mandolin finish is awesome! Too bad we still have to click through that useless enter screen.

Sorry gang. It still needs a'lotta work. Some screens will not come up, pictures are too small, not enough information. I don't think that should be so hard to do.

A different perspective: Collings has sold every instrument they make pretty much by the moment they start building it. Given that their website is reasonably functional, how would it serve them to devote more than a little time here and there to making it better? And I kinda like those images on the Enter screen...

B

(And no, this isn't an April Fool's post, except for it's occurrence at this particular point in the space-time continuum.)

Originally posted by B Woods:
...how would it serve them to devote more than a little time here and there to making it better?

_________________

I think, in 2008, a modern website may not necessarily be all about solely serving the supplier as much as a media resource that current (and future) customers use as a reference, to window-shop, to share with others. A well-designed site is not only becoming dramatically less expensive and easy to manage, but really something that is expected. Imagine, using the logic of business necessity (or lack thereof), if Collings decided to discontinue telephone service, would not provide an email address, instructed Alex to stop answering our voluminous inquiries and ignored requests for tours? All because they can already sell all they build.

quote:

A well-designed site is not only becoming dramatically less expensive and easy to manage, but really something that is expected. Imagine, using the logic of business necessity (or lack thereof), if Collings decided to discontinue telephone service, would not provide an email address, instructed Alex to stop answering our voluminous inquiries and ignored requests for tours? All because they can already sell all they build.

Well, I would agree with you, Homer, that those would be bad ideas. But in the case at hand, Collings is not refusing to provide a service. They do, in fact, have a website that has quite a bit of information, and, to my taste, is very visually appealing. The issue is not whether they should have a nice website, but rather whether they should expend more effort to have a website that matches a set of aesthetic criteria and informational desires different from those the site matches now.

All of the things you rightly identify as good customer service practices are things that they provide within limits, while remaining focused on their principle goal of making the highest quality instruments they can. Yes, they answer the phone and try to be helpful, but I've had them ask if they can call me back with info not readily available. Yes, Alex is very responsive to email, but it can be a day or two sometimes before he gets back to you. The tours are great, but, as I easily learned at the website, they are now limited to a certain day and time (although it would surprise me if they wouldn't try to accommodate someone whose schedule precluded coming then.) And, in the same vein, it seems to me, they have a visually appealing website with almost all the information I have ever sought, but they haven't developed it to be all things to all people. They could do more in all these areas, but my point was, what they are doing right now, which includes providing but placing reasonable limits on a variety of customer services, seems to be working extremely well in terms of building quality instruments, and meeting the demands of and satisfying a growing population of avid customers, and succeeding economically.

And to be clear, there's no heat in my reasoning. I simply enjoy thinking about things and trying to express myself. And I do think that what I'm arguing above is probably an accurate reflection of the company's sense of how to balance a complex set of interactions with customers. I think they rightly believe that they provide, overall, very good customer service, and that, overall, their customers agree. That's an awfully good outcome for any entity relating to a demanding public. Cheers!

B

Thanks B. All points well-taken and extraordinarily well-stated. And, as is usually the case with thoughtful comments, you've persuaded me to clarify what the heck I'm actually trying to say.

My point is that, as builder peers go, the Collings site seems less enjoyable, less informative, less fun, less creative. It is, however, more comprehensive than previous iterations. That said, I just went back and spent some more time with it. I like it more now. But I'm left wanting something more. A gallery of customs maybe?

I can't beleive that it would be that hard to put a picture up for every time you click on a different model. Some you click on and you get a page cannot be found display, and what about options? I mean these are just basic things. If I had known what I know today about all the different models and options ( Things I learned on the forum ) that are available I may have made some different choices. I stumbled upon the Collings forum by accident, would'nt it be nice for Collings to provide a link? to it.

Tell me again, what was the question? The question was who was the hairy armed dude in the picture. I think we should really expand the questions and make this a real Collings Contest. Kind of like Cash Cab With prizes and every thing.Forget about the website let's each determine what the pictures all about. We have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes. So here is the list of questions. The judges ruling is final. Please enter as many times as you wish.

Question 1: Who is the hairy armed fellow sanding the top to the proper thinkness and judging the wood?

Question 2: In picture, How come the second madolin is more shiny then the others?

Question 3: What is written on the OM1 in picture 3 and what is the serial number?

Question 4: Identify the part laying next to the c10 neck.

Question 5: What brand of glue is next to the bending iron?

Question 6: Is the the kerfing guy looking for something or did he glue his finger to the hoop?

And the Bonus question: What brand is the chisel in picture 7?


Prizes
1st Place: A Collings Heavy Guitar Pick
2nd Place: A Collings cut out rosette
3rd Place: A 2008 Price Sheet and Dealer List

Should I ruin your fun and answer all of the questions?

Employees of Collings Guitars and its subsidiaries are not eligible.