Hi Steve -
Thanks to Herb for forwarding your post to me, and to you for your very kind words here.
It's always been my personal belief that decent and reasonable service should be an implicit part of anything a company sells. And, it always irks me when companies charge upfront for manufacturing defects or otherwise that they probably could have avoided in the first place had they developed their product a bit better from the beginning (e.g. send us $450 and your scope with it's lousy drive motors and we'll fix it free).
The Series IV 'Stiletto' is now in its fourth incarnation and most improvements made in the design components are completely invisible to the average user. Yours was an older Series III focuser which, while it worked wonderfully, simply reminded me of how far the design has come in ten years. Plus, I simply hate the thought of having an astro-accessory unused in a user's junk drawer. (Mine is full!!)
Our service policy has remained the same since day one. Here's an exerpt from our FAQ file in the Support section of our website (which few folks read) initially written in 1998:
"Q. I dropped a Series IV or CVF and smashed it to bits. What do I do?
A. You simply send it back to get fixed. I only charge fair shipping and the exact cost of repair parts for customers who stumble across the dog in the dark by accident. So, you don't need to trash the unit and order a whole new Series IV from us. We're not that kind of company. Then again, we're not Zippo either."I really do not like the idea of 'extended warranty plans' sold today. I believe they are simply a cop-out of a company's inherent responsibility to fulfill the initial sales agreement. The Stiletto focuser is not cheap in the first place, and is guaranteed to last a lifetime (but in your case, not continually!).
Thanks again & Clear Skies!
Richard
