Rob Anderson
Well-known member
Not hardly, Trevor. As Brent himself acknowledged above, the system isn't quite working how anyone wants. Anyone including RED. Also, the comparison with B&H is not warranted -- B&H stocks things while RED builds them. But lets set aside that crucial disparity for a moment.
When you order from B&H, you are browsing a real-time inventory. You place an order based on what is available, which if the website says it is, it's at least identified within their database as being available in inventory. The only time this is wrong is with concurrent orders (including in-store v. online), or loss. Your card gets processed and your product is out the door within 1-2 business days. Discrepancy #1. RED's processing is 3-5 days just to define, allocate, accept payment, verify, ship. Further, you will still need to verify your order with a Bomb Squad rep before that process even begins. You'll never hear from B&H unless something went seriously sideways with your order or your payment.
Next, when B&H ships your product, you get an update with a tracking record that can be cross-correlated on their website, on your emails, and with the delivery carrier. Discrepancy #2. RED's FedEx notifications are completely and totally void of information that can be related back to an SO, beyond shipping weight and rough estimation. Bomb Squad delivery details are apparently ad-hoc and left up to BS discretion -- balanced in part by RED also keeping a handle on things and dealing with (a) developing product, (b) scaling their business to need, (c) running smart and optimally. Combined, it's an unrealistic expectation that your BS is going to send you notices detailing every stage of the transaction and because, as Brent also acknowledged above, RED does not have this automated (yet), it's skipped.
Finally, when you receive your B&H product, you can log back into your B&H account at any time and find line-item referencing to your order, complete with tracking details, product information, payment information, processing timeline, and even warranty details (for some products). Discrepancy #3. You're lucky if your RED account even changes an order's line item from "open" to "invoiced", let alone having a track-by-track receipt for things.
Simply put, the comparison is not warranted. RED has identified themselves that this is subject to change for the benefit of everyone and no, the current system is not even close to B&H's or "working great" at the moment. But it is working somewhat -- people get to order, make payments, get product -- and right now, that's most important.
So kudos to RED for keeping the wheels on and moving, and thanks for recognizing the need to improve things. They're already on top of it. Good to know.