Jim Power is RETIRING!

[mosttoysrk]

Interesting response I received back from Jim Power.

"As for me, I haven't retired. After 22 years, my position has been 'down-sized'. Some production has moved to Canada and some positions have been eliminated. Melodie & Dana will still be here to help you.
I will take some time off, relax, work on the house and think about what I want to do in the future.
Again, thanks and happy listening!"
jp

 

[jtwrace]

Interesting response I received back from Jim Power.

"As for me, I haven't retired. After 22 years, my position has been 'down-sized'. Some production has moved to Canada and some positions have been eliminated. Melodie & Dana will still be here to help you.
I will take some time off, relax, work on the house and think about what I want to do in the future.
Again, thanks and happy listening!"
jp

Yep. SCREWED is what that means. Too bad!

I hope Jim has been wise financially over the years...mabye when his house work is done, he'l resurface in the ML classic service business on his own...

 

[Rich]

Interesting response I received back from Jim Power.

"As for me, I haven't retired. After 22 years, my position has been 'down-sized'.

Wow! Welcome to the new Martin Logan (or should I say, the new Bose)! To hell with quality and customer service (not to mention decades of employee loyalty); we are going to pursue profit above all else! Cut costs, build 'em cheap, and rely on the brand name and empty marketing slogans to raise the prices and make a ton of money selling overpriced, inferior gear. I was sickened by the move of production, and am even more sickened to hear this.

I hope the current CEO of Martin Logan/Paradigm (you know, the guy with zero experience in the hifi industry) takes a long look at the postings in this thread and realizes what he is throwing away. Their marketing director (Justin) simply cannot create the kind of brand loyalty that Jim Power has engendered over the years, no matter how many folksy taglines he comes up with. Good grief! I have Summits, Ascents, Clarities, and Frescos, plus a Stage and Descent, but I can guarantee you that my next pair of speakers will not be Martin Logans!

 

[Audio 1]

This for sure is the last nail in the coffin. All the wishful thinking in the world will not revive this brand and this solidifies that point beyond question. Hopefully Jim Power and others that were fired will start their own company and bring back what once was.

 

[twich54]

Interesting response I received back from Jim Power.

"As for me, I haven't retired. After 22 years, my position has been 'down-sized'. Some production has moved to Canada and some positions have been eliminated. Melodie & Dana will still be here to help you.
I will take some time off, relax, work on the house and think about what I want to do in the future.
Again, thanks and happy listening!"
jp

If this true, and I will be touching base with Devin Zell shortly, they can come and pick up the Motion 4's ASAP, for I too want nothing to do with a 'Slacker Organazation' that treats people such as Jim in that manner !

 

[MDSPHOTO]

If this true, and I will be touching base with Devin Zell shortly, they can come and pick up the Motion 4's ASAP, for I too want nothing to do with a 'Slacker Organazation' that treats people such as Jim in that manner !

What's sad is that we all have horror stories in our lives from dealing with customer "noservice" from companies, don't even get me started on Comcast! But every single one of us has had a positive experience dealing with JP to the point that for many of us he is the reason we purchased a second or third set of MLs. To dump him for what appears to be short sighted salary savings is the stupidest decision the company could make. I know some people were crying "chicken little" when they announced production was moving north and a CEO with no hi-end audio experience took over, but folks I think its time to get the umbrellas out!

 

[RUR]

Sheesh, I just spoke to Jim this morning about my Summits and congratulated him on his retirement, thinking it would be a happy time for him. Now I feel like an ass, and all because we've been led to believe he was, you know, actually retiring by choice.

Not cool.

 

[robertawillisjr]

Interesting response I received back from Jim Power.

"As for me, I haven't retired. After 22 years, my position has been 'down-sized'. Some production has moved to Canada and some positions have been eliminated. Melodie & Dana will still be here to help you.
I will take some time off, relax, work on the house and think about what I want to do in the future.
Again, thanks and happy listening!"
jp

Sounds bad but we don't know the entire "story". I will certainly miss Jim he has helped me on a number of occaisions.

 

[Wardsweb]

From a purely business stand point it does makes sense. You take a look at a senior staffer and you get higher pay. You take a look at a junior or entry level staffer and you get considerably less pay, typically. From a cost cutting stand point it is a no brainer.

Now I don't agree with this mentallity because my wife was let go after 31 years (senior research scientist) during one of these so called "down sizing" events.

And you wonder why we are loosing company loyalty in the work force.

I'm just saying...

 

[David Matz]

From a purely business stand point it does makes sense.

Not sure if I agree. A business is like a living, breathing organism. You can't separate the numbers from the people and culture of the organization. Does the right foot or the left foot walk alone? They walk together. The company is the culture. The culture is the company. The numbers are an analogue.

Sounds like this company is in deep, deep, trouble...

Jim was a huge, huge asset!

 

[Pcar928fan]

^^^^^
Ward,

Same for me but not quite the seniority. Over 21 years at Glaxo (now GSK) and BOOM! Highest paid person they could lay off w/o having to pay long term healthcare benefits for... Of course Obama is going to take care of me now, so no worries.

 

[cyclone]

Interesting response I received back from Jim Power.

"As for me, I haven't retired. After 22 years, my position has been 'down-sized'. Some production has moved to Canada and some positions have been eliminated. Melodie & Dana will still be here to help you.
I will take some time off, relax, work on the house and think about what I want to do in the future.
Again, thanks and happy listening!"
jp

Hey Jim why don't you and some of your unemployed ex-coworkers make some great ESL speakers "Made in the Heartland" I'll bet you'd have an instant fan base.
Well whatever you end up doing I wish you well, it's been enlightening and a pleasure talking with you thru the years.

 

[Rich]

Hey everyone,

It was recently announced that our dear friend Jim Power, the head of Customer Service at MartinLogan, is retiring at the end of March.

Hey Tom,

I am just curious who passed this information on to you in this form? In other words, who exactly told you that Jim was "retiring" rather than that his position was being eliminated to save costs. As you know, there is a very real difference between the two. I am really tired of being fed BS by ML corporate regarding the changes currently taking place there, and I would like to know who exactly is feeding it to me. Thanks.

 

[twich54]

Hey Rich, FWIW, I sent an email to Devin Zell yesterday asking him for clarification, as of
this AM no response, as soon as I get something I'll forward it

 

[MDSPHOTO]

From a purely business stand point it does makes sense. You take a look at a senior staffer and you get higher pay. You take a look at a junior or entry level staffer and you get considerably less pay, typically. From a cost cutting stand point it is a no brainer.

Now I don't agree with this mentallity because my wife was let go after 31 years (senior research scientist) during one of these so called "down sizing" events.

And you wonder why we are loosing company loyalty in the work force.

I'm just saying...

It may make sense when you are running a huge faceless organization in a commodity market, but in a super niche market whose aura is built by the quality of its product offerings and the person/people that support it you are cutting your own throat!

 

[jtwrace]

I got a reply back from Jim as well. I will not post though. Only to make sure that it doesn't back fire on him.

I will say it's B.S. and am glad to say that I'm not a ML owner.

 

[timm]

It may make sense when you are running a huge faceless organization in a commodity market, but in a super niche market whose aura is built by the quality of its product offerings and the person/people that support it you are cutting your own throat!

I think this gets right to the point -doesn't it? Maybe ML doesn't want to be a 'niche' product anymore. If that is the case, pushing a lot of customer support onto their suppliers/dealers would probably be the next step. I don't agree with it - because I like my niche speakers - like the excellent customer support- and was willing to pay a premium for that. I would be curious to know if anyone knows what is in the pipeline -- Anything Hi end - or is it all primarily HT/Best Buy types of products? That would tell us a lot about where they are headed. The fact that they just came out with this Motion series - and if you look at (in my opinion) what seems to be all their growth, it would appear as if that market is where they are headed. Question becomes whether they still consider the high end something they can be profitable at...Or could they use it to garner more interest or have trickle down technology in their lower end products?

To Jim: Thank you for your never ending support of this community. It is appreciated - and in fact you do make a difference. How many people can say that? I can't think of a better compliment than that. Good Luck.. Tim.

 

[sleepysurf]

Sounds like this whole relocation/pseudo-merger with Paradigm, and downsizing of key personnel has the potential to become a PR nightmare for ML/Shoreview. Interestingly, I was just perusing the latest issue of Sound+Vision (yes, I'm embarassed to admit I'm a subscriber <g>), and it has an interesting piece entitled Green Life, Smart Life (Part I), featuring the "green" and "high-tech" home of Kim Lancaster, president of Caster Communications, who apparently handles the PR for ML, Paradigm, Anthem, and others.

For those interested in providing some private feedback to the powers that be, here's a link...
http://www.castercomm.com/clients.cfm?id=143

Also, here's the contact page for Shoreview Industries...
http://www.shoreviewindustries.com/contact.htm

Personally, although I'm dismayed with how Shoreview seems to be strong-arming ML, and (in our opinions) jeopardizing the company's reputation and future, I do NOT think it's our right, as consumers, to tell this (privately held) company how to run their business. In the end, the market will decide if they were right or wrong. If this whole escapade proves to have been the first step in the "Bose-ification" of ML, there will always be plenty of other capable high-end speakers out there for us.

 

[Rich]

I do NOT think it's our right, as consumers, to tell this (privately held) company how to run their business.

I disagree. This is a private forum and it is our right to express any opinion we wish about how they run their business (for as long as Tom wishes to continue to run it that way, of course). It is also their right to completely ignore us. But I think to do so is not in their best interest.

In the end, the market will decide if they were right or wrong. If this whole escapade proves to have been the first step in the "Bose-ification" of ML, there will always be plenty of other capable high-end speakers out there for us.

Agreed. Ultimately, their strategy may be just fine from a profit-making perspective. I have seen many brands trashed over the years for short-term profits. But I don't think they will continue to attract and hold consumers that are willing to pay thousands and tens of thousands of dollars for a pair of speakers with this sort of strategy. They seem intent on destroying any hint of what ML used to stand for, and they will lose many long-term high end customers because of it. Perhaps they will make that revenue up on the low end. Perhaps not. Either way, I expect Soundlabs, Magnepan, and a host of other truly high end manufacturers will benefit from their loss.

 

[spectral]

Personally, although I'm dismayed with how Shoreview seems to be strong-arming ML, and (in our opinions) jeopardizing the company's reputation and future, I do NOT think it's our right, as consumers, to tell this (privately held) company how to run their business. In the end, the market will decide if they were right or wrong.

Of course it's our right. a) We have invested our money into their products; b) WE are part of the market you mention. So as customers, we are providing all the input that's necessary for something that some of us think is affecting our use of their product, for which we've paid money. As such, we have every right to expect that the company stand behind its products as we see fit, and if we sense otherwise, we have every right to point that out, at the risk of being ignored - which I can tell you right now, I expect it will happen, judging from all developments in the last two years.