When can we expect the Mamba XL in stores again?

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

Trust me I understand what your saying and can agree with you about customer service issues. We all have to deal with these issues in the R/C hobby from time to time. Once again your comparisons are way off base. If your microwave takes a crap you can just run down to Wal-Mart and pick up a new one for $100. If your TV dies they have them sitting on the shelf as well ready to be picked up at a moments notice. Even if your fridege goes belly up you can have one sitting in its place that very afternoon. But none of those things are expected to give out nearly as frequently as an R/C ESC due to the usage requirements. We are talking about having a backup for something you mght not be able to just jog on down to the local store and pick one up in the event that the one you are using dies. So please think about what you chose to compare this situation to. Having backup spare parts in this hobby is expected and in some cases required if you hope to be able to keep your vehicles running for the afternoon. So please stop trying to compare R/C electronics, which do fail periodically, to household appliances and 1:1 automobiles, because it just doesn't make any sense. If your concern is so great that you are dying for an answer from CC or anyone else for that matter than it only makes sense to have a spare in your R/C toolbox. Speaking of customer service have you tried calling them on the phone? I know the world has gone gaga over texting, tweeting, and even emailing for just about everythig these days, but some businesses still actually rely on telephone communications for its customer service outside of its doors. I am not trying to argue with anyone on how they run their R/C toolbox, but it only makes sense that if you have items that are hard to acquire or take time to replace due to warranty turn around time that you have a backup if it is all that important to your hobby habits. Regardless of ones driving habits, or how one thinks a piece of electronic equipment should perform these things do fail, and quite often in fact. If money is no object in this discussion I don't understand why you are even on here tryin to defend not having a spare ESC.

Don't know where to start???? First of all I would never buy a crappy $100 microwave from Wal-mart. I paid nearly $400 for my microwave because I wanted a reputable brand, with all the features (convection oven), stylish and with a service center in my country. So a $100 crappy, Chinese no name brand isn't going to cut it for me. I am the same way with everything I buy. I would rather own one good thing than a house full of crap. Get it? So that is a reason why I went with Castle instead of MGM within regards to this ESC. Because they had better service and the ESC would do everything I needed it to. So now what? Buy another ESC, send my in and who knows how long it will take to get back to me??? You really don't see a problem with that? Maybe you have shares with Castle and just tell people to buy a back up. Probably not but at least that would explain to me your angle of view on this.
I DO NOT WANT TO BUY A SECOND MONSTER MAMBA XL!!! Get that. All I want is a bit of customer service that Castle is so renown for and a simple answer. Not expecting a new ESC to appear in front of out of thin air. You are giving me an answer I never asked for no do I care much to hear.

With regards to calling them I work during their business hours (also the time difference) and due to the nature of my job I can't have any electronics at all near me. I work with extremely flammable goods and not even allowed to have phone of any kind. Still even if I did why should I call them. Part of their customer service is their emailing facility. It sure as heck has worked before so why not now?

What no one is talking about here neither is that Castle is shipping new Monster Mamba XLs to stores before they have even taken care of everyone that had bought one already. I hope I am wrong here (I really do) but at least that is what it looks like to me and few others that are in the same boat. If it is the case that isn't just bad service, it is bad business practice. You don't think so? Well again, don't care because I think so.

Now for the part that really makes me mad. I sent Castle a BS question about a Sidewinder ESC from my brothers email account and received an answer less than 24hrs later. What does that say? Not sure but it looks like they might be getting sick about people asking questions about their HV line of ESCs. Remember also these are the same ESCs that Castle was dismissing claims that there was anything wrong with them at all not that long ago and few short months later a blanket recall. Hmmmmmm..... Starting to think I made a bad purchase decision. I think I will run the ESC till it drops it's guts (if it does) and then look for another brand. Not saying that it will be better customer service or that grass is greener on the other side but right now I don't see a reason to give them my hard earned.

I wont discuss this topic any more because I had all I wanted to say. If Castle want to respond, good. If not, I really feel as though I don't care anymore. Over and out.

[Pdelcast]

Originally Posted by BIG-block

Don't know where to start???? First of all I would never buy a crappy $100 microwave from Wal-mart. I paid nearly $400 for my microwave because I wanted a reputable brand, with all the features (convection oven), stylish and with a service center in my country. So a $100 crappy, Chinese no name brand isn't going to cut it for me. I am the same way with everything I buy. I would rather own one good thing than a house full of crap. Get it? So that is a reason why I went with Castle instead of MGM within regards to this ESC. Because they had better service and the ESC would do everything I needed it to. So now what? Buy another ESC, send my in and who knows how long it will take to get back to me??? You really don't see a problem with that? Maybe you have shares with Castle and just tell people to buy a back up. Probably not but at least that would explain to me your angle of view on this.
I DO NOT WANT TO BUY A SECOND MONSTER MAMBA XL!!! Get that. All I want is a bit of customer service that Castle is so renown for and a simple answer. Not expecting a new ESC to appear in front of out of thin air. You are giving me an answer I never asked for no do I care much to hear.

With regards to calling them I work during their business hours (also the time difference) and due to the nature of my job I can't have any electronics at all near me. I work with extremely flammable goods and not even allowed to have phone of any kind. Still even if I did why should I call them. Part of their customer service is their emailing facility. It sure as heck has worked before so why not now?

What no one is talking about here neither is that Castle is shipping new Monster Mamba XLs to stores before they have even taken care of everyone that had bought one already. I hope I am wrong here (I really do) but at least that is what it looks like to me and few others that are in the same boat. If it is the case that isn't just bad service, it is bad business practice. You don't think so? Well again, don't care because I think so.

Now for the part that really makes me mad. I sent Castle a BS question about a Sidewinder ESC from my brothers email account and received an answer less than 24hrs later. What does that say? Not sure but it looks like they might be getting sick about people asking questions about their HV line of ESCs. Remember also these are the same ESCs that Castle was dismissing claims that there was anything wrong with them at all not that long ago and few short months later a blanket recall. Hmmmmmm..... Starting to think I made a bad purchase decision. I think I will run the ESC till it drops it's guts (if it does) and then look for another brand. Not saying that it will be better customer service or that grass is greener on the other side but right now I don't see a reason to give them my hard earned.

I wont discuss this topic any more because I had all I wanted to say. If Castle want to respond, good. If not, I really feel as though I don't care anymore. Over and out.

Well, let me see if I can put this in perspective --

Please be aware that we have shipped over 55,000 ICE HV "style" controllers in the last three years. Every single one of these controllers needs to be updated.

This takes a while. We have to build new control boards for each and every one of those controllers. On top of that, about 10% of the controllers we receive need to be completely replaced because they are damaged in some way.

The Mamba XL is basically the same ESC as the Phoenix-ICE160HV. They share the same control board. So they are in the same queue as the ICE160HV.

While we would love to be able to replace every single controller on the same day we receive them, we simply can't do it. Right now, it's taking anywhere from six weeks to twelve weeks to run through the queue.


At the same time, we are trying to keep the company in business... It wouldn't do anyone any good if we bankrupted the company. Last month was our single largest month for sales, and we had a significant loss -- due to the fact that warranty costs (recall costs) exceeded profits by a significant margin.

We also have to consider that we OEM to several other companies -- and they also need to stay in business. We have to keep our OEM production continuing without interruption because other companies rely on us to keep their production lines running... And we also need to make sure that our dealers and distributors have product to sell. They also rely on us to make a living. When dealers can't sell cars or helicopters because they can't get controllers for them, it hurts the entire hobby, and the hobby business.

For your question you emailed about -- please be aware that our tech support guys don't know status on recalled product. We have four people working tech support. When they get questions about recall status, they forward the request to our people who are handling the recall. Right now, I've told the recall people to concentrate on getting the recalled units repaired and replaced, and not to spend all their time responding to requests for status on recalled units. I understand this will piss some people off -- because they can't get status on their recalled units. But I think it's more important to get the recalled units returned as quickly as possible. I've asked people who absolutely CAN'T wait, and need status, to PM me directly on forums. I try to take care of the requests personally.


So, we are asking our customers to please, please bear with us. This is an extremely difficult task for us ... we are recalling and replacing three years worth of ESC production, and trying to keep our business (and our customers' businesses) viable at the same time. It's a monumental task for us to take on.

[outlaw]

Patrick,

all i can say is, there are not much companys replacing 3 year old products like Castle does
Most other wait until they break

Customer Support is not an deparment, it is an attitude
seen @ Castle Creations

makes me forget the 6-7 weeks waiting on the MXL coming back

Thank to everybody @ Castle

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

it's taking anywhere from six weeks to twelve weeks

Thanks Patrick. If I received an email back with just those words I would have been very much satisfied with that. Also thanks for taking the time to write such a lengthy post to explain the current situation and put some rumors to rest. It's a bit hard to know what is going on when there isn't much info about.

The reason why I really wanted to find out the turnaround time is that I don't get all that much time for RC's due to work but I have four weeks off during the Christmas/New Year break. I want to run my Rc's as much as possible during my break. I wanted to see if it was possible to get the Mamba XL upgraded in time for my summer break but now I know that isn't a possibility. I'll just chance it and run it over summer and send it in to you guys when I get back to work.

I think it would be nice if you guys just checked in once a month and just give us a very basic update on the HV recall. I am going to put up your post on some of the Aussie forums so hopefully people will be better informed on what is going on and you will hopefully receive a few less emails. LOL.

Also sorry to hear about you guys posting a loss but I am sure things will turn around once the Mamba XL2 and other HV ESC's prove them selves and the whole expense of the recall is behind you. I am sure if it.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by BIG-block

First of all I would never buy a crappy $100 microwave from Wal-mart...

Just want to chime in and say my $100 Wal-Mart microwave has lasted several years with no issues.

[brian015]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Just want to chime in and say my $100 Wal-Mart microwave has lasted several years with no issues.

If you spent $100 at walmart for a microwave, you got the super deluxe version - I think mine was $39 and is going strong after a few years.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by brian015

If you spent $100 at walmart for a microwave, you got the super deluxe version - I think mine was $39 and is going strong after a few years.

Hey, when I buy, I go all out!

[Semi Pro]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Just want to chime in and say my $100 Wal-Mart microwave has lasted several years with no issues.

if it makes you feel better my $700 GE microwave has a bad board for the light and power vent......it lasted a year

now thats getting what you pay for!

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Semi Pro

if it makes you feel better my $700 GE microwave has a bad board for the light and power vent......it lasted a year

now thats getting what you pay for!

lol, sometimes I don't get why there is such a disparity in price between products. A microwave is a fairly simple device when you break it down. Sure, the high-end models may have special timers/features which may come in handy occasionally, but I use the "30 second" button mostly (hitting it multiple times for cumulatively longer times). The power level and size is plenty for normal stuff - meaning I don't try to cook a 20lb turkey in it. Other than that, what kind of features do you get for an extra $600??

[brian015]

Originally Posted by BrianG

but I use the "30 second" button mostly (hitting it multiple times for cumulatively longer times)

That's the only button on my $39 microwave I've ever used.

My wife: "how much do you think this weighs so I can defrost it"
Me: "just hit the start button a few times and it will be fine"

Other important info about start (+30sec) button:
- reheat coffee: hit 2 times for perfect temp
- cook veggies for kids: hit 2 times (if not done, hit 2 more times)
- microwave popcorn: hit it many many times because it's a cheap and not so powerful microwave and you don't want it to shut off in the middle
- melt cheese on anything: hit 1 time
- reheat coffee that was left in the microwave from the last time and I forgot where I put it and finally remembered I had heated it up a couple hours ago: hit 2 times for perfect temp

[Semi Pro]

Originally Posted by BrianG

lol, sometimes I don't get why there is such a disparity in price between products. A microwave is a fairly simple device when you break it down. Sure, the high-end models may have special timers/features which may come in handy occasionally, but I use the "30 second" button mostly (hitting it multiple times for cumulatively longer times). The power level and size is plenty for normal stuff - meaning I don't try to cook a 20lb turkey in it. Other than that, what kind of features do you get for an extra $600??

its a hanging model and it has alot of bells a whistles, was it worth $700 mostlikely not, am i going to cook a turkey in it? no, but its always nice to know i could if i wanted to

do we need brushless power....no come on nitro was fine

if you want to see what it is here you go
http://products.geappliances.com/App...ku=PVM2070SMSS

now that they are discontinued they are cheaper

now we are off topic!

Originally Posted by BrianG

Just want to chime in and say my $100 Wal-Mart microwave has lasted several years with no issues.

We go through 5 or 6 cheap microwaves a year at work. Thats whats put me off buying a cheapy. I know they get a lot of use but I still thought they were dying rather too quickly. They always seem to breakdown at the worst possible times. During my lunch break.

Anyway the reason I paid so much for my microwave was when I stayed at a friends house for a week (looked after his dogs while he was OS) I fell in love with his microwave. It has more features than a space shuttle but I really liked the sensor cooking. Hit start and the oven it self will work the rest out. And it did so perfectly every time. Also while it is an microwave oven it is also a convection oven. It will also roast. A whole chicken perfectly cooked with crispy skin and all under 15min. I thought it was well worth the money and have no regrets paying for it. My old microwave I took to work where some idiot tried to microwave a doughnut wrapped in aluminum foil in it. No prizes for guessing what happened next.

[JERRY2KONE]

I guess some of us are just lucky that way. I buy the middle grade model and let the wife do the rest while I sit and watch a good game or a race. I can even get a good massage, and more if I push the right buttons.

[_paralyzed_]

My microwave is 1,000 watts. You need at least 1,000 watts to pop a bag of popcorn properly. If it is less than that you get unpopped kernels in the bag. If you try to microwave it longer to ensure all of the kernels are popped you end up burning the kernels that are popped. Isn't colonel an odd word? It is pronounced the same as kernel, but spelled completely differently. One time I was behind a couple at KFC. The man ordered a "colonial" chicken sandwich. He was so dumb he pronounced colonel "colonial". As if chicken sandwiches helped colonize people to later form the states. That's not even the dumbest part. After the man completely botched the pronunciation, his wife said, "I'll have the colonial chicken sandwich too". It was the cheapest item on the menu. I don't know what that has to do with anything, it's just a fact. I have a friend that is convinced KFC grows headless hybrid chickens in test tubes. He absolutely will not eat KFC chicken. He doesn't believe in the moon landing either. I have another friend that I went to the KFC buffet with. I noticed he wasn't eating any chicken. I said WTF? He said, "I don't eat chicken with bones in it". I said, "what do you think there is a farm somewhere with boneless chickens that look liked deflated basketballs?". He didn't know what to say. Some people just don't understand how the world works.