Leaving aside that you don’t have to pay anything to wait in line at Will Call to see if last-minute tickets are available, this isn’t a great analogy.
People have paid for their tickets, guaranteeing them a seat in the theater. Showtime has been repeatedly pushed back. All the people want to know is, will the show start soon, or should they go see another play down the street? If it’s just a matter of finishing cleaning the bathrooms, they they may opt to stay. If they’re still busy sewing costumes and installing the seats, maybe not.
I think what gets me is the over arching sense of entitlement.
Is one entitled to the answer of every question and every speculation one may have just because they pre-purchased a GF? All we agreed to was to pay X amount for a GF and/or filter to be tentatively delivered on or about Z date. The precise details of exactly what we agreed to were spelled out in our sales agreement. When Z date did not occur and had to be pushed back, everyone was advised of that, and given the continued option of a full and unconditional refund so that one could go buy an Acme laser cutter if one so desired, or hang in there and await the delivery of their GF.
But to the best of my knowledge, the specifics of what one actually paid for in the sales agreement did not change. And just because one wants to know something does not mean one is entitled to know that something. And speculating on doom and gloom based on conjecture and a certain data set strongly reminds me of the story of Chicken Little – if X occurs, therefore Y must be happening. Oddly enough, the sky actually may not be falling…
Part of the tension that seems to be grip this forum right now is how different personalities see and react to what’s happening. I, for one, don’t consider knowing which of the advertised functions and features are actually working as minutia. Those features/functions were what compelled me to put my money down. All of us at some point have purchased something that was billed as one thing, but ended up something less. No one wants that to be the case here, but you can’t remove the fear, not until the finish line is crossed. @palmercr is fully justified in wondering if what he paid for is actually what’s going to be delivered. And while I understand the need for secrecy at times, it will ALWAYS lead to suspicion and doubt. And for the record this forum is very “bipolar” along these lines. On the one hand we have a crazy amount of access to the founder/CEO with @dan’s involvement in the forum, but at the same time we tend to stare at a brick wall of secrecy as to the details of what’s actually happening. It causes a variety of reactions. For those that are drawn to personalities, @dan’s and his staff’s interaction is enough to keep us happy and optimistic. For others who are less personality (socially) oriented, and prefer details and “facts” the interaction can lead to greater frustration because access to people in the know doesn’t lead to any more details.
So if you feel secure because you trust @dan and those who have got to put their hands on PRUs, then great (I probably lean into this group), but don’t dismiss the agrivations of those on the other side as being unfounded or inappropriate. In the end we all put our money down on the Glowforge team and everyone who hasn’t opted for the refund hasn’t given up, regardless of how pleased we are with the process. Believe it or not, we are all rooting for the same team, and I’m still hoping for a grand slam.
People are free to react the way they want to react, and ask all the questions they like.
GF is free to decline response as stated in the sales agreement we all “signed”.
Problem is, as is human nature, nobody can be pleased. First, hardware delays got people tied up in a wad. Now that hardware is good and they’re pulling together the first shipping runs, people are attacking over the software. When that gets taken care of, people will find some other goal post to move or something else to complain about.
It just goes on and on and on.
Personally, if the GF can cut and engrave material, it has 100% capability when compared against most other lasers on the market. That is the benchmark IMO. If the autofocus works, it surpasses most other lasers where it needs to be done manually. If the laser alignment is handled inherently within the design, it surpasses other lasers that require manual setup. Camera positioning is WIP but no other lasers out there have that feature except MUSE which is much more expensive, so +1 for GF. All the other features like 3D engraving, being able to flip and register material, etc. Yes are all features that really helped seal the deal, but in my eye are still features that go above the 100% it already meets.
I mean… if GF called to say your unit was ready to ship out the door that very same day and needed to confirm your address, is there anyone here who would decline because the software is not 100%?
And in truth, all the fear in the world won’t change the outcome one iota, but it will color how you live every day. Since you have a money back guarantee up until the time you agree to your email (and will have all your questions answered), what point does the fear serve?
We can’t control anything outside of ourselves, but we can always control how we react to it.
Still no shipping notification on a Basic ordered day one? I would have thought that even with the special algorithms a day one order would have received a shipping notice by now. I had hoped a week of “production” would lead to another wave of shipping e-mails by now.
As things begin to move, I’m hoping we will start getting news as it happens, rather than in a big announcement once a month, although things don’t seem to be operating like that.
Shipping notifications/tracking numbers just started going out today per Jules post above.
It appears so far it’s just a small number of Day 1 orders that have received the emails requesting shipping addresses, likely a test run for logistical reasons. So they have not processed all Day 1 yet, which somebody else has estimated to be 400-500 units based on reported Day 1 sales total $$$.
Who knows, it could be anything from 10 to 1 or 100 to 1 when it comes to what is really happening vs what we hear about here in our narrow, little forum world. I have fantasies of it being 500 to 1, but that’s a stretch I think One can dream though!
I think you’re likely right. Also, I’m pretty sure they aren’t actually building our personal units until we respond to the email asking if we still want one. (Something @dan said once a long time ago…)
So I was more or less expecting about a week between the request email responses being returned and the shipping notices. That’s pretty much what happened, so it looks mighty good so far.
Guess we’ll see how it gears up in the next few weeks.