Until now, I have not "risen to the bait" - choosing to ignore any remarks which appeared to be questioning the alleged 'secrecy' of my business, its volume of sales, or the level of 'customer satisfaction' which we achieve.
This response, now, is not directed at any particular person - but is just a general reply, to those remarks. If you recall, I had originally simply asked if anyone knew of sundial enthusiasts in Turkey - because one of our customers was seeking conventional (single-ring) analemmatic layout plans, saying that they would prefer to have these in their own Turkish language. Without checking with me first, John Carmichael had replied with a message which implied that we were getting 'customer complaints'. To do that in a 'public forum' was (at best) irresponsible, and (at worst) a defamation of our business integrity. I immediately requested and received his apology, as well as giving further information on how my "Sunclock" business works. I fully accept John's quick apology, although I was 'annoyed' at the time, plus this message is certainly not intended to be 'flame bait' in any way. I then replied to a message by Tony Moss, confirming exactly how our sales were generated. Considering that every large, sunny, level, area (outwith the 'Tropics') is a potential customer for us - you can understand that it is not too difficult to achieve an average of 5 orders per day, worldwide. As I explained, most of our customers are Schools - who use "Sunclocks" as a 'curriculum-wide' educational resource, painting them on the Schoolyard. This gives them an outdoor Science/Maths/Art project, which will brighten- up their Schoolyard with a feature that is functional plus 'vandal-proof'. In response to other remarks - I am not willing to disclose the details of our "Sunclock" design. If you own a business which has an annual turnover not far short of $100,000 (US) - then you do not place your 'proprietorial information' into the 'public domain', just to satisfy people's curiosity! If anyone wants to visit one of our layouts in a public location, and then 'reverse engineer' it - I am perfectly happy for them to do so. They will find that there is nothing 'magic' about it, and we only claim an accuracy to within 15 minutes (which is largely determined by the person's shadow). In my experience, most people do not expect extreme accuracy from ANY type of sundial - so are generally quite pleased if it agrees with their watch, and (in practice) how many people carry a watch which is always 'spot-on'? If anyone would like to see an 'independent test' carried out (1988-89) by "Gardening from WHICH" magazine, in the United Kingdom - then I refer them to the article on page 84 of their April 1989 edition, in which they state that they tested our "Sunclock", finding accuracy to be within 10 minutes. For non-UK members, of this mailing-list, "Which" magazine is the foremost 'consumer testing' publication in Britain - who secretly purchase goods as a normal customer, test these, and report their findings in that magazine. As regards our 100% 'customer satisfaction' record over the past 18 years, I defy anyone to find one dissatisfied "Sunclock" customer in any country. Admittedly, a few customers do not follow our layout instructions exactly, (because they sometimes install only one of the two rings instead of both) which creates an inaccuracy - but that is obviously THEIR fault, not ours! All sets of Plans are double-checked, before they leave us, and we make it clear to customers that they must install BOTH the Standard plus Daylight- Saving Hour-marker rings of their layout if they want year-round accuracy. With reference to Anselmo's message (and I did notice the 'wink' emoticon) about our Quality Control - people might like to know that I was a Quality Control Manager up until 1991, when my 'paying hobby' became too large and was interfering with my employment. "Modern Sunclocks" became a full-time business from that date, and has grown into its current worldwide success. It has been featured within some (UK) 'Business Opportunity' publications, where it is shown as a shining example of turning a hobby into a business. The current format and content of our "Sunclock" Layout Plans are based on customer 'feedback' and suggestions which we have received over the years, and which is (of course) a main component of any reliable Quality Control. I hope that the above will now satisfy any people, who are still wondering about my apparent attitude of "no comment" over the past few days. It was not my intention to be in any way 'rude', or 'un-cooperative' - but I just prefer to get on with the running of my "Sunclock" business in my own way. If anyone has specific questions, then I am happy to answer them by E-mail (provided that I am not asked for information which I consider 'private'). For example - a few people have already contacted me to ask about the type of computers we use, as these have significant advantages over 'PCs' (such as being immune to viruses, better speed/graphics, and being cheaper too)! As an example, this ten-year-old machine was capable of a 1152x896 monitor resolution - at the time when "Windows/DOS" could only give about 640x480. Once you have used a "RISC OS" machine, you won't want to go back to using some flaky "Windows" computer again! As far as I am aware, these are only available in Europe/Australia - being mainly used in the TV/film industry, where good speed, graphics (and above all reliability) are very important. Douglas Hunt. -- "MODERN SUNCLOCKS" - 'Human Sundials', using YOUR OWN SHADOW to tell time. Looking for a useful, decorative, yet UNIQUE feature ? - you've found it ! For further details and photographs, see our Website at: www.sunclocks.com Mail Address: 1 Love Street, Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, KA13 7LQ, UK. Tel & Fax (UK): 01294 552250. International Tel & Fax: + 44 1294 552250. Send E-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR [EMAIL PROTECTED] -
