New DB ski owners....

Stephan and Mikey,
Thanks for all the straight up info and specifics. I also suspect your customers are not the average ski shoppers. More forgiving, plus anyone who knows even a little about startups, knows that production issues and engineering is always a problem in the first few years.

I have complete faith in your product, I especially like your passion and belief in the db community and culture , and will be right there in line next fall to pony up the cash for your boards, granted a demo of them goes well. I can only imagine it will.

Thanks again for putting in more time to communicate with all of us here. We're dreaming right along with you.

Guys, thanks for all your encouraging words. As Stephan said, this season has so far been a big dissapointment for us all. That said, skis continue to trickle through and we're hopefull of having everything sorted, and a stockpile of skis to kick off next season with.

For those of you that have placed orders and are sticking it out, thanks again - your patience will be rewarded with some killer boards, that i promise. There'll be a new communication along the lines of Stephan's posting going out this week, to update those that don't frequent this board.

In response to Kanutten's + other's request to know where they fall in the order list, i suggest emailing administration@dbskis.com - although i'm not sure as to how available this info is.

All the best,

Mike
Mike@dbskis.com

Ok, I'll send an email to Roman regarding the progress.

What about the china situation, are you doing something in particular to sort the situation out? Or are you sort of going for plan B, where more DB boards are produced out of Michigan? If it is true that Goode got a lot of skis that were supposed to be DB's, then it would make sense if DB got an increased share of the Michigan production capacity.

But then again what do I know about molds and so forth. I guess I am just interested in what sort of action is taken in order to sort things out.

http://www.biglines.com/photos_large.php?picid=34585



http://www.biglines.com/photos_large.php?picid=34585

I know I am sort of close if skis start arriving, but I have no idea if any have been arriving at all ....

Has anyone had any more news? Or seen any skis?

>Has anyone had any more news? Or seen any skis?

Received my Surreal (185cm soft) early January. A few days after getting hand in a cast from accidentially skiing off a cliff into trees at Solitude. Mounted tele with HH and have skiied a dozen days but haven't found more than calf deep what with work and recent Colo drought. Wished I'd had New Years day at the bird.

Great ski. Can't say enough positive things. Even the "soft" version is stiff for tele. Incredible at high speed. But I'd trade a bit of speed performance for somewhat softer tip for slow speed in trees. Posted a few other comments on telemarktips.com.

Bottomline. Well worth the wait and the $.

I demoed the Surreal at Stowe on Sun. 3/14/05. !95cm 27lb flex...
They do not suck. :D
Thanks Mike Cannon for being the gracious host.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doofdoof

I know I am sort of close if skis start arriving, but I have no idea if any have been arriving at all ....

Has anyone had any more news? Or seen any skis?

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Anyone for tennis?

Edit: bump

All the symptoms of a long anxious wait about Tabla Rasa order: (since Nov 22)

Crying all night;
Red eyes and very wet;
Not skiing pow anymore;
Feeling depressed looking at the door (unfortunetely no FedEx);
Staying bed all day;
Wanting no more snow: what for? :eek:

No I don't see DB Tab in a near future and Spring is almost there.
Good Irish day folks :D

Sep 6th ....... :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doofdoof

Sep 6th ....... :eek:

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Is this the new projected delivery date for the Tabla Rasa prepaid-orders?

OMFG.

Nope. Just the date I ordered.

Did you get the 29lb or 25lb?

25lb

1234567

im waiting on 29lbs flex tablas. i ordered in sept or oct i believe. this sucks.

in other news, super stiff bros are still killing it. truly no speed limit on these, i couldnt be happier with how they are skiing.

It is snowing again.

Where are those freaking TR's?

Mikey? Stephan?

Bump for news?

Sorry guys, no new news from my end. Will attempt to get an update over the weekend and post soon.

Mike
Mike@dbskis.com

What is going on? :eek:
My hearth is still pumping: i'm out of breath waiting a knock on the door from a delivery company. ;)
I pray for a Winter that never stops :FIREdevil

this is fucking nuts. have you guys shipped ANY tablas this season? not to be a dick, and thanks for the updates etc (you guys have also been super responsive to emails), but it sucks to see pat and the pmgear team getting crapped on in other threads about not shippping, being one of the lucky ones to have gotten a pair (granted, i was also one of the first to pay, and helped them test them - so no hard feelings here hopefully) and LOVING how they've been skiing - im beginning to wonder why im on this bandwagon. most of it is attributed to statements made here by people who ski for other companies about how much your boards kill it. its too bad your manufacturing doesnt kill it as well. at this point, im not cancelling because i want one of the collectors items these are going to become when you've exhausted all of the good buzz and support you've had coming your way. you guys are seemingly successful in spite of yourselves. tell stephan to get off his snowmobile and start breaking some kneecaps (other peoples - not his). we want our skis!

recommendation from someone who manages a large customer/constituent base on a daily basis (and knows that cyrille knows how this works): its time to start calling people out, and time to start posting daily updates on your site. who is fucking this up? its almost APRIL.

EDIT: and another thing - you're "sold out" for 04/05? www.dbskis.com ... nice one guys.

The silence is deafening .....

This should be a case study for how not to run a ski company.

Um, this should be used as an example of how not to order skis. Where the mother f*ck are my my mother f*ck'n god damned $900 powder rippn' skis??!?!! Ya know what?! I am an old, patient, profesional person who has waited and been faithful (up until now) and I now ask myself why. I feel like I am acting 16. This is truely B.S. I should not be so upset about not receiving product; I should cancel my order. I am all grown-up and I should just cancel. I should buy some Burdos or some spatulas or some fat Volkls but I should not get all worked up about not getting some supposed sick-ass light shite because it just ain't worth it.

This is bad business. I ordered September 19th. It's now April 1st. If this is such a passionate persuit of the "powder culture" where the hell are they now?! Why the hell am I not hearing from the people who own and operate this progessive online ordering, boutique ski, custom built shite??!! Where the hell is all of this personal attention?

Right about now I should be getting around $500 worth of email explaining about how important my business is. Where the hell is the weekly update on dbskis.com?! Shite! I'm an admin for crying out loud! I know how long it takes to post a lousy sentence on a corporate site! The president of my company calls up weekly all pissed about how we need to get more info up on our site because we have customers out there who we need to hold onto. So when, like four weeks go by when they (DB) are five months behind schedule without any update I can only come to one of three conclusions:

1) They're friggn' ignorant and just don't know jack about customer service.

2) they're so jacked up they are too afraid to even speak to customers.

3) They don't care and are just gonna do things on their schedule and f*ck the rest of us.

I am serious. When shite is so messed up that you are this far behind schedule I don't care if you are Ford or the old lady down the street; you must communicate. And when I am pathetically checking TGR five times a day to get info and getting some info occasionally and checking dkskis.com five a day and not getting shite, then something is wrong.

Man, what a disappointment. I have been talking all sorts of stoke about DB and they can't even voluntarily keep me posted on where my shite is. Some powder culture they're building! Ha! They should just stick to skiing and leave the rest up to folks who can produce. Wait, screw that. They should just leave it up to the folks who can communicate with customers! I'm upset that I 'm not skiing the Tabla Rasa's that I have paid for but what I am really upset about is that I am not skiing them AND I have not heard anything for over a month!

Can ya tell I'm a little upset?

March 10, demo's in Stowe. F*ck that. How about March 1st TR's under my boots! How 'bout March 12, "So sorry, 10 pair came in and we expect 5 more next week....." Then, maybe March 15, "Production still delayed but we such and such should be coming in end of month"????? How about something other than silence?!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chskier

Um, this should be used as an example of how not to order skis. Where the mother f*ck are my my mother f*ck'n god damned $900 powder rippn' skis??!?!! Ya know what?! I am an old, patient, profesional person who has waited and been faithful (up until now) and I now ask myself why. I feel like I am 16. This is truely B.S. I should not be so upset about not recieviing product; I should cancel my order. I am all grown-up and I should just cancel. I should buy some Burdos or some spatulas or some fat Volkls but I should not get all worked up about not getting some supposed sick-ass light shite because it just ain't worth it.

This is bad business. I ordered September 19th. It's now April 1st. If this is such a passionate persuit of the "powder culture" where the hell are they now?! Why the hell am I not hearing from the people who own and operate this progessive online ordering, boutique ski, custom built shite??!! Where the hell is all of this personal attention?

Right about now I should be getting around $500 worth of email explaining about how important my business is. Where the hell is the weekly update on dbskis.com?! Shite! I'm an admin for crying out loud! I know how long it takes to post a lousy sentence on a corporate site! The president of my company calls up weekly all pissed about how we need to get more info up on our site because we have customers out there who we need to hold onto. So when, like four weeks go by when they (DB) are five months behind schedule without any update I can only come to one of three conclusions:

1) They're friggn' ignorant and just don't know jack about customer service.

2) they're so jacked up they are too afraid to even speak to customers.

3) They don't care and are just gonna do things on their schedule and f*ck the rest of us.

I am serious. When shite is so messed up that you are this far behind schedule I don't care if you are Ford or the old lady down the street; you must communicate. And when I am pathetically checking TGR five times a day to get info and getting some info occasionally and checking dkskis.com five a day and not getting shite, then something is wrong.

Man, what a disappointment. I have been talking all sorts of stoke about DB and they can't even voluntarily keep me posted on where my shite is. Some powder culture they're building! Ha! They should just stick to skiing and leave the rest up to folks who can produce. Wait, screw that. They should just leave it up to the folks who can communicate with customers! I'm upset that I 'm not skiing the Tabla Rasa's that I have paid for but what I am really upset about is that I am not skiing them AND I have not heard anything for over a month!

Can ya tell I'm a little upset?

March 10, demo's in Stowe. F*ck that. How about March 1st TR's under my boots! How 'bout March 12, "So sorry, 10 pair came in and we expect 5 more next week....." Then, maybe March 15, "Production still delayed but we such and such should be coming in end of month"????? How about something other than silence?!

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So, you're saying I should place an order tomorrow first thing?

Yes. Order 'em; they're the best damned ski that never will be.

How about this explanation:

db goes to Dave Goode with their idea and offer him a piece of the action if he will make skis to their specs. He agrees. They pre-sell more skis than he can produce economically in Michigan. He then decides to set up a production facility in China because he thinks that he can make more skis and thus more money going this route.

Producing carbon fiber/kevlar skis in China is more difficult than Goode anticipated. Someone has to be there, constantly supervising. Anybody want to move to China?

db is screwed because their delivery schedule is shot, and are at the mercy of Goode's change in production plans. Goode isn't too concerned because his name is not on the product, and his investment in db is minimal.

As each delivery date comes and goes, db becomes reluctant to say anything. Things are not going well in the factory so the flow of information between the production facility and Goode/db slows to a trickle. No one knows anything.

In reality there are almost no 2004-2005 db skis on the slopes. Has anyone seen a pair? How many? Where?

I think that is probably what has happened but my point is that it does not matter how bad things get; you have to communicate with your clientelle. My folks were in the restaraunt business and one thing my old man said that will always stick with me was this, "Son, we're not really in the food service business; we're in the hospitality business." He was right.

You see, it seems to me they still believe that they are in the ski manufacturing business and have not yet realized that they are in a whole lot more than that. The sooner they figure out how to pull their heads out of their rear ends the sooner we will all be better off. I (and so many others) will not be all disappointed and stressed out and they will not get any "bad press".

Like I said, dbskis.com doesn't have shite. I can tell you right now that I would never have posted anything negative about DB if they had just posted SOMETHING at dbskis.com addressing the production problems. Something within the last month, for crying out loud. Heck! Post some real photos at least! Some killer close-ups of some fabled TR's would have shut me up for weeks! It just does not require all that much to talk to your customers.

I am with you on the customer service issue.

If I want to buy a pair of skis and you tell me that I won't get them for 18 months, and I still go ahead and give you the money, I would have to wait patiently till they are done.

In this case however, patience is wearing thin.

you guys might want to take the company up on their offer for refunds if there's no chance of getting the skis in time to use them this season

agreed.. the worst is not hearing from anybody about whats going on. When Pat was having trouble with production on the Bros - he was on here, calling people, doing his best to do right by all of their supporters and customers. With db, we get nothing but speculation, and "tomorrow". Bad form guys.

Yep. I thought I was pretty darned clear. My gripe is not so much that I have to wait (I waited 6 months without one sign of complaint) but that I have to wait in a total vacume.

Like I said, it's soooo easy to mass email your customers simply stating SOMETHING. They could easily send out an email each week with an update, even if it's, "No news."

Sheesh, fandango spams me all the time, i.e., there is a pulse. DB is flat-lining!!

Do you remember before 2000? Dreams were sold by computer companies and promises were done for a better future. The total Happy Society in the Informatic New Age and Cybernetic robot. Then the crash came and miracle didn't happen. All go away in the dust and never come back.

We heard so much promises, philosophical asessements from a new company about powder culture, carbon/kevlar future materials, lightness, fastness, fattest skis made in USA. We want to believe it so much! Then the delays, China problem, the trip of a lifetime from the folks, the silence and Winter is gone. 6 months or 9 months maybe more from some customers. Never saw a TR's on the slope. Just picture! So much easy to create illusion on a numeric World. Remember? But I don't want to believe it...

Well it looks that our dreams were captured, torture, upset and I feel sad, maybe angry I don't know because I'm so confused. I shall forget the DB skis, I shall skip these 6 months waiting each day on a stress feeling, close the door on DB subjects on diverse forums, and change my mind focusing on mountain bike instead. Push the eject button. As Tibetan said: "If a problem arise and can be resolve. Being unhappy won't help. If a problem can't be resolve. Then being unhappy won't change anything". It lives you to different avenues (we all want La Croisette in Nice or Hollywood Boulevard!): :D

1- Input from DB Team: resolving the manufacturing problem fast in China or talking more on that subject to their customer. Where in China? What's problem? How much orders? How much done? More fluidity over the trouble water please! :mad:

2-Output from us: waiting all Summer long if explanation is good or canceiling our orders right away. Dream, miracle or mirage are 3 differents things. We have to preserve our honnor, our integrity here and getting more each day the impression of being hijacked is no good to our mind and soul... :eek:
Is my destiny to be a lunatic?

Eject button?

Maybe it would be best if everyone requested a refund, then wait until next season to see how the new skis look & ski.

Actually being able to demo the skis before throwing down $$$ makes some kind of sense.

I was told by the DB guys that a bunch of skis has just arrived, hopefully we will see some movement.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doofdoof

I was told by the DB guys that a bunch of skis has just arrived, hopefully we will see some movement.

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Hmmm... Any more on this doofdoof? Did he say anything about Tablas vs Surreals etc. When did they arrive, and I assume arriving in the US for final work is what he was talking about...

If any of the DB guys would like to chime in here, it would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Kanutten,

Sounds like they got a few pairs of Tablas - i.e. not many. So no luck for me.

:(

At least there is some movement though, that is good news.

I did not ask about Surreals.

Maybe some good news for Funkendrenchman (order by Sept) soon? :biggrin:
Some fresh air out Kyoto Protocol?
Anxiously waiting... :o

Doof, who did you speak with?

What other news did you hear?

He must have spoken with a ghost because they won't "speak" with me at all. They have not responded to email, anyway. As far as I know they could be out of business. This is absolutely pathetic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chskier

He must have spoken with a ghost because they won't "speak" with me at all. They have not responded to email, anyway. As far as I know they could be out of business. This is absolutely pathetic.

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get the refund and make them promise to leave you high on the list for next year, they owe you at least that