Concertone - a BH holding ?

[miatared]

Bob:

Is Concertone controlled by Berkshire Hathaway ? Must be.

I would imagine so.

My reasoning is simple.

1. They seem to be installed on all BH controlled RVs...
2. Their web site is just as crappy as any other BH web site, case in point FR's web sites are sooo bad it is not even funny - no phone number, no name, no address, no email, nothing - Concertone's site has the same design (if we can even call it that). Funny one would think that Bill Gates would have shown the Oracle' web guy how to at least use FrontPage... (I'm an IT guy)
3. The entire Concertone line seem to be plagued with many issues, if I was FR I would have switched vendor a loooong time ago.
4. The user manual is so bad, even worse than a bad English manual from mainland China. Another 'feature' of FR's manual. 3rd generation photocopies is what I got with my trailer.

Call me curious.

[NWJeeper]

Bill Gates does not own BH, Warren Buffet does.

BH also owns Coke-A-Cola,

BH lets companies run themselves and doesn't do much interfering with them. In fact Warren Buffet never even visits the companies that BH owns.

Watched a great show on Warren Buffet last night on National Geographic channel. At least with FR being owned by BH we know they will be around for a long time.

[miatared]

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

Bill Gates does not own BH, Warren Buffet does.

What I meant is that Bill Gates (who is good friends with Warren Buffet -- also known as the Oracle of Omaha) could have taught a lesson or two on web design to his people... Warren Buffet has left much of his money tro a foundation managed by the Gates....

So BH does control Concertone?

[Hokiehall]

I have heard that Warren Buffet still thinks the internet is a fad that will go away. I don't know how true that is, but you can tell from the websites that there may be a grain of truth in it.

[Bob Fields]

Originally Posted by miatared

Bob:

Is Concertone controlled by Berkshire Hathaway ? Must be.

I would imagine so.

My reasoning is simple.

1. They seem to be installed on all BH controlled RVs...
2. Their web site is just as crappy as any other BH web site, case in point FR's web sites are sooo bad it is not even funny - no phone number, no name, no address, no email, nothing - Concertone's site has the same design (if we can even call it that). Funny one would think that Bill Gates would have shown the Oracle' web guy how to at least use FrontPage... (I'm an IT guy)
3. The entire Concertone line seem to be plagued with many issues, if I was FR I would have switched vendor a loooong time ago.
4. The user manual is so bad, even worse than a bad English manual from mainland China. Another 'feature' of FR's manual. 3rd generation photocopies is what I got with my trailer.

Call me curious.

Awesome - Just awesome!

You have side tracked me from answering a technical question, but I indeed appreciate your interest (ie curiosity)!

First, Concertone is not a BH company, but we and ME would enjoy keeping company with such smart guys!

And in answer to each:
1. Other than a relatively recent effort to sell products directly to consumers via their website, Concertone has been an RV OEM supplier for more than ten years. In fact, almost one million Concertone Entertainment systems have been installed in a variety of RVs and we have no real aftermarket strategy in place today.
2. Because Concertone was solely an OEM supplier with the manufacturers/dealers being responsible for the warranty and service process as well as communicating with the customers Concertone had no “reason” to provide these services directly. The business relationship in fact dictated that Concertone take a “backseat”. (let’s not debate the wisdom of these decisions YET as I am first trying to give you the background). As far as the web design itself, I believe the Concertone website as started just BEFORE the economy crashed (any similarity to FR websites is purely coincidental). The plans were to grow the site as the business grew. You may or may know that the RV (and marine) industry is now less than half of what it was in 2006. Many companies did not survive. Concertone is positioned well coming out of this situation, but our website did not fare as well! ;-)
3. As I mentioned in answer one, the number of Concertone units in service as compared to the number of issues actually seen are in fact very low. I understand that the problems have indeed been real and painful for those that have experienced them (and for that we are very sorry), but the fact remains that they were low. Hopefully, if “you were FR” you would have looked at ALL the FACTS and made your decision according. Maybe you still would have chosen to drop us or maybe you would have chosen to include us in the customer resolutions sooner, who knows. I can tell you that the people responsible for Concertone both within FR and Concertone are indeed concerned with the brand(s) and customer satisfaction. Whether it gets executed properly and via independent dealers is a completely different answer. (Again I am trying to give you the background here).
4. Manuals may contain very bad Engrish indeed. ;-) Again, any similarity with FR is coincidental.

I HOPE you appreciate my CANDOR here and use this as a positive step in moving forward and not using it as a club for personal gain. I am personally taking a huge risk discussing these topics so frankly ESPECIALLY ON A PUBLIC FORUM. I know we agree all should conduct business this way, but we can also agree most businesses (and individuals) try to control the spin.

That said, here is my SPIN:
I started my participation here while working on a special project for Concertone. They, like you wanted to understand where they stood in the marketplace, but they also wanted to know what the opportunities might be for growing their business (yes I said growing their business). During my investigation, I of course discovered some of you - my new friends here as well as a couple other active forums. You were not all HAPPY to say the least, but I did begin to discover certain similarities in your experiences and complaints.

The majority of your “beefs” included the perception that no one was willing to help you resolve the problem(s) to completion. Many folks with problems experienced the following:

- Dealers took the easy road and simply blamed Concertone because of “all their problems” blah blah blah.
- The Factory did not hold the dealers accountable to ensure they actually tested the systems AND checked/verified the installations which further enhanced the poor quality concerns in both the dealers and consumers mind.
- And Concertone, heck we don’t talk to anyone, we require folks to jump through hoops and at the end of the day only offer to sell them a replacement (for the unit they are dissatisfied with).

As I have often said, people don’t remember the problems but they do remember how their problems were handled! That is what makes or breaks customer satisfaction (and in this multi-tiered distribution setup, we had a bunch of customers we were not satisfying!). Many people (both consumers and dealers) that I have talked to recently are surprised and pleased to hear from Concertone AND are hopeful we can figure out a solution to their challenges.

All that said, as a business Concertone still has the challenge and the responsibility to ensure products are installed properly and that the appropriate entity honor the warranty and service appropriately. I can tell you stories about how 50% of what is sent back from dealers has NPF – No Problem Found. The rewiring that took place during the “swap” was more likely the issue. I really like the doors broken off the unit, but returned as defective – I hope you can understand that is DAMAGE or ABUSE not defective! Many (if not all) who made these “claims” had their units replaced for NO CHARGE. We are going to front loaders by the way to solve that issue!

There are many more “things” that I have found but I can tell you that I was so EXCITED about the opportunity for Concertone to expand and grow their business, I have accepted their offer to become Vice President of Sales & Marketing!

I know, I know – some of you already thought I was crazy (and now you may know it) and felt bad for me by being associated with Concertone, but I can tell you that I look forward to continuing our "discussions" and indeed raising the YOUR satisfaction with Concertone by demonstrated commitment . More on these efforts to follow! ;-)

[cfsoistman]

Bob thanks for the information. You have your work cut out for you. There seems to be non-stop postings about Concertone problems, from installation and product quality as well. Are there any plans to address the proper installation with FR? I personally don't have a Concertone in my Motorhome but do have the Executive HT1000 Home Threatre, is this your product as well? I have no clue who actually makes it.
Best of luck and keep us informed as you are able.

[Bob Fields]

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

Bob thanks for the information. You have your work cut out for you. There seems to be non-stop postings about Concertone problems, from installation and product quality as well. Are there any plans to address the proper installation with FR? I personally don't have a Concertone in my Motorhome but do have the Executive HT1000 Home Threatre, is this your product as well? I have no clue who actually makes it.
Best of luck and keep us informed as you are able.

Your welcome and clearly there is work to be done and while I may be a "sales guy" I consider my greatest responsibility EDUCATION. There are so many factors that can affect the ultimate satisfaction of our product and many of them are outside of our control, so education is a critical component including installation theory and training.

I have only begun and it will take some time, but again I have seen enough behind the scenes to really believe in the opportunities ahead!

No your unit is not supplied by Concertone and thanks for your well wishes! I'll be here and look forward to keeping you all informed!

[Hokiehall]

Bob, welcome to the forum. About all I can say is good luck. A lot of people here are discouraged with Concertone. I welcome you to do everything you can to appease them in some way.

I guess I am lucky since my 04 model only had a radio/cd player in it and no tv. Mine has worked fine from the get go so I have no complaints. Of course it is a really simple unit.

[NWJeeper]

Bob,

Despite the issues many have with the Concertone systems (I do not have one) I am encouraged that the company realizes the huge resource the internet is in gaining feedback from their customers and using that information to improve their products. Foolish is the company that doesn't have a person on their staff dedicated to coming to forums like this and answering questions and collecting data and information to make their product or service better.

I only wished that someone from Forest River was here listening to the complaints and taking a look at the mods some of here do to fix what is short sided engineering at the factory (ie the installation of my bedroom tv for one example).

Thanks for your help and support to our group.

[miatared]

Thank you Bob for your candor and insight - very much appreciated.

I am one who believes it's never too late to do the right thing.

I am hoping Concertone will appreciate your efforts. Come to think of it, you should be promoted to the position of Director - Client Relations. You seem to have the right stuff.

Welcome and keep up the good work.