I was also a Ketron dealer....Only Ketron dealer in my area..

Lou was the distributor in New York.

Selling price was a issue, and they did not want the product line discounted heavily....

In fact George Kaye and I had a small issue on X1 pricing on SZ...If I recall George had Lou call me to assure there would be no undercut of prices..

The distributor has all the control...they set the prices, allocation and have a big say about policy....or you won't see product..

I've said this before but I believe the US is a small market for Ketron (IT) as opposed to Europe and the UK. So they dedicate their resources, customer service and otherwise, accordingly. Then we get disgruntled, and don't buy Ketron, and the cycle continues. Not the dealer's fault- it starts at the beginning of the chain. The European mentality of shutting down production for the summer doesn't fly here, but if you want something not in stock in late June don't even think about it until things gear up in September. They do not think, nor act , globally on all levels. Puzzling since the world economy has taken such a hit and most companies are scrambling for sales. I have talked to the western US distributor and a midwestern US dealer who are always anxious to help and to sell. I think the New York distributor needs to work harder at responding to customers and supporting dealers in the northeast at least. You can't be draggin' your feet the NYC area (a center of world commerce) and be successful. But again, the Italian home office doesn't care much about how the markets and buying habits are here, even to the point of losing sales for a long summer vacation.

Of course some, including me , would say we should do that here, for the sake of life and families. Ah, but greed rules in this country, so summer closures are few and far between here. Hell, even some schools are going all year 'round. Eases the burden of daycare so people don't have to be home from work..$$$$$$..

If Ketron don't pick up the phone, how do they know what country the call is coming in from?

Hi everyone,

Here's the way I understand things:

1. AJ purchases Ketron products from the distributor at the SAME COST (no employee discount what so ever) as any dealer.
2. AJ offers more direct support than any dealer to date (at no extra charge to the end user).
3. The current distributors (CMC distributors) contracts his company (Ajam Inc.) to provide Product support services to Ketron USA customers 1 day a week (Mondays only) and these services include (but are not limited to):- phone calls/emails/text ...etc from customers and them, repairs for the entire country ...etc. So when he helps out outside of those days, isn't it fair to do so to his customers only?
4. The new Audya offered to my friend was a fully Ajamsonic converted Audya, including the new RAM & SSD.
5. As I understand, most manufacturers have what they call a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price). The distributor sets this and all their dealers adhere to it. Now this means e.g. AJ cannot 'advertise' anywhere (internet, in store .. etc.) say an Audya to be less than it's MAP of $4798.00.
HOWEVER ... if a customer walks into the store, calls AJ or communicates with him (text or facebook) and wants to negotiate the price, it is his right to sell him an Audya for $1000.00 and take a loss. The store owner knows what margin they can live with and when they can let a product go. Once you begin negotiating with a dealer, they can sell at whatever price they want - they just cannot advertise it at a price lower than MAP (in order to be fair to all). This is something people need to know. Guitar Center (one of the biggest chain stores over there) has always sold Yamaha products below MAP to many customers (AJ included) ... if you get in and start to bargain.

Let's be fair. AJ is my door to Ketron & I have nothing but praises for the way he's treated & helped me to date. And I like to make things like these known to all so they can experience same...

Also, I see very little effort from dealers over here defending Ketron Italy. I am a private individual, but if you look at my posts, you'll get the impression that I work for Ketron. I do everything in my power to give the Audya the reputation it deserves. Where are all the legal dealers to back me up whenever I do so?

Ketron makes a FANTASTIC product. They need all the support they can get. Yes, their outlook on life & marketing is way different than those of the rest of us, but never the less they are the designers & manufacturers of this stunning product. They can't be all that bad after all...

Henni

I love the products- that's why I am looking for an SD5 (had an sd3 module, loved it) instead of keeping Yamaha's "all that" 950. "Best natural sounds" really is. And the Sd series was/is relatively trouble free, and doesn't require a mortgage to buy. But this is about service and support, not the product.

I cannot say enough good things about AJ and thank him enough...

I did not buy my Audya from him, but judging by his support, you would think I did.

IMO it's "ALL" the "SOUNDS" in the "TOTAL MIX" that count in an arranger KB ...

AJ has helped me out several times. Ketron should recognize his value and give him a staff of customer service and technicians to work for/with him. Or sub him to provide these things on a regular basis. then he can hire the aforementioned staff.

When I bought the Ajamsonic upgrade. AJ was right on the phone to me to help with a problem that turned out to be user error. Now, I must say he appeared to be too busy to answer my general questions until a week or two after,but,that is understandable.

Once you are a customer, the level of service is great. This is because he agreed to spend X number of hours servicing Ketron customers in general, and the bulk of his time to his own business. I do know,however, that he spent much more time on non customers than he agreed to.

I am not passing judgement on his agreement with Ketron, just defending him otherwise.
Bernie

Email support from most arranger companies in the US is 7 days a week. One day a week for Ketron (unless you buy from AJ?)...

Yep. That's the way to build a reputation.

Not a good one, though.