Ok, in my previous post I bemoaned the fact that my 19” flat panel monitor broke and took my $150 Matias Tactile Pro 1.0 keyboard with it. I thought I’d follow up on an experience that made me have a huge amount of respect for the Matias company.
Why a $150 Keyboard?
I realize most people purchase keyboards that cost $30 to $40 US dollars these days. Often they don’t purchase keyboards at all but use the ones included free with their computers. So knowing one can buy a completely usable keyboard for $30 then why would I spend $150 on a keyboard? There are actually several answers but I’m only going to discuss one in this post. (For more information on the history of this keyboard read this article on TidBITS.)
Now That’s Customer Service
I type A LOT. It's basically my livelihood. If I couldn’t type, I’m not sure how I could support my family. Because of the fact that I probably spend 10 hours a day typing and it’s so important to my family’s well being I’m willing to invest in a decent keyboard. The keyboard I’m talking about is the Matias Tactile Pro 1.0. It’s a wonderful keyboard that feels great and supports your hands long into the night. When I found my flat panel monitor had broken the keyboard stands off of the back basically making the keyboard useless I was crushed. I went to the Matias site to even see if they were making a Tactile Pro keyboard (I knew they had long discontinued the 1.0 version.) I also knew that due to a tight budget lately, I might have to replace it with a $30 keyboard. I found Matias was no longer making a Tactile Pro keyboard. They will release a 3.0 version next year but the 1.0 and 2.0 versions are no longer available. I know they make a really nice USB 2.0 keyboard but it isn’t anything like the Tactile Pro.
Disappointed, I filled out the web form to be notified when the Tactile Pro 3.0 keyboard becomes available. There is a message section and I just put in pathetically that the feet had broken off of my Tactile Pro 1.0 keyboard so I needed to purchase a new one.
Ok, now you know how web forms work. The email address goes into a database and no one ever reads the message section.
Except at Matias!
Less then 24 hours later I was contacted through email by a customer service representative.
She wrote to me that if I give her my address she would mail me replacement feet. That’s right. I sent her my address. And a few days later, Matias paid $6.50 CAD to send me an envelope with two replacement feet.
Canadian Postage
My new Feet
Truly amazing. Matias, you have a customer for life!
3 comments:
Any word on the Tactile Pro 3.0? I had two prior generation Tactile Pro keyboards crap out on me. That's a lot of money down the drain in only two years. I'm using the Das Keyboard, but would prefer a Mac layout.
Thanks.
Aric;
New version of Fetch Art works fine, but an annoying feature is that is comes up behind the iTunes screen. The old version appeared on top.
I'm not complaining, just passing along a comment.
Thank you.
Using Mac OS 10.5.8
Thanks John I'll see what I can do about that. I have seen that behavior myself too.
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