Hi All,

For what its worth, this is a copy of my e-mail to Technote this morning.

Gentlemen:

The attitude, services, and competence of Technote are falling rapidly.

It saddens me to see your support forum close. It is yet another example of YOUR actions alienating your friends and customer base. My opinion of course, and evidently not shared by you.

Over the years I have bought thousands of pounds worth of software and accessories from you. I have recommended your products to fellow keyboardists on your forum as well as the SynthZone and Yahoo Technics forums. So I have not only been a good customer, I have been a strong advocate of your products - working in the background of course, but nevertheless there for you. As the saying goes, there is no better advertising than word of mouth advertising.

I guess the closure of your support forum is a business decision as was the case when you opened Technote sales offices in my home state of California and in Florida. But I am lost for any logical reason to close what is in reality the last vestige of SERVICE to your customers. The Technote forum was my first introduction to support forums on the net after I purchased my KN. I was so pleased to be able to listen and talk to other KN owners about my keyboard. I learned so much, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE YOU HAD A SEARCHABLE DATA BASE. It was immensely helpful to be able to search for, and get answers to my specific queries without having to scan the whole data base of daily entries.

YOU discontinud the Webclub, the free disks, and the searchable data base. I used that as well to obtain answers to my questions. As you are well aware, manufacturer's manuals leave an awful lot to be desired. It is great to have a service I can access to get answers.

My inital attitude toward Technote was very positive and supportive because you were "meeting my needs" as one of your loyal customers. The only thing you offer me now is SALES. I know you are a business and businesses exist to make money. As a former businessman, I am acutely aware of that. But SERVICES at no cost to the customer are an integral part of any business. You discontinued the Webclub, then modified the support forum such that it was only a shell of its former self, and now you are discontinuing it altogether. The only SERVICE you offer now is an answer to my question if I telephone or e-mail you. What a shame!

Your actions are alienating me now and that is hard to do because I am by nature a loyal person when I am treated properly. Your business may suffer from your actions, or perhaps not. Only the future will tell. One thing for certain, however, and that is that I have gradually lost services that were very valuable to me as a keyboardist as you continually pared down those you originally provided for us, and that alienates me - a loyal customer.

Up to this point I have come straight to you for my keyboard software and accessories. I may or may not purchase items from you in the future, but you can bet I will shop around now before I buy anything from you.

Yours Sincerely,

Charles "Chuck" Piper