One of the hottest displays at this year’s CEDIA Expo 2023 was the AVA, Inc. booth where the young company was launching its new Cinema Remote. I was there and the booth was consistently packed with integrators interested in its new remote. In fact, I named AVA as one of my top stories of the Expo as a promising newcomer.
From my conversations with several integrators, I believe AVA wrote a lot of preorders for the Cinema Remotes at the show, as its unique design and clever features were indeed attractive. Now I have learned that the company’s first shipment of remotes has been delayed.
Learn what I’ve discovered about a shipping delay on the new AVA Cinema Remote
I really liked the new AVA remote with its sleek, cool design and great features. I liked the combo of both a colorful screen and a dynamic keypad interaction. When picking up the remote, you immediately notice that it just feels good in your hands… well-balanced, easy to handle, not too thick or otherwise awkward.
The AVA Cinema Remote also offers contextual layouts that adapt to whatever source or task you’re trying to accomplish. All in all, a well-thought-out and very attractive design.
AVA Notifies Dealers of a Shipping Delay
This week, the company sent out emails to those dealers who had preordered the AVA Cinema Remote to notify them that the delivery window has been pushed back. The email is signed “Raphael” CEO of AVA, Inc., a reference to co-founder Raphael Olberholzer.
While I didn’t see an apology in the email, it definitely expressed the desire to offer an uncommon level of transparency in explaining the reason for the delay. In the very first paragraph, Olberholzer tells dealers, “It’s very important to us at AVA to be a reliable partner to you and to share information transparently.”
Unexpected Part Substitution by Manufacturer
The AVA CEO goes on to add…
When introducing an exciting product like Cinema Remote, the entire team is always eager to ship to you as fast as we can. Unfortunately, there has been a delay.
In late November, we inspected the batch of several thousand Cinema Remotes that were supposed to be shipping now. To our surprise, we found that our contract manufacturer had made an unexpected part change. The result was that the Cinema Remotes deviate from AVA’s high build quality standard.
Our team has chosen not to ship these units until they have been switched back to the original part. We know the original part meets our very high standards. This is no fun and costly for us, but it’s the right thing to do so that you get perfect and not just “good enough” remotes.
This means that your order is now scheduled to ship in Q1 of 2024.
Excerpt from email ‘Update on AVA Order’
AVA Will Include a Free Gift as a Thanks
The company then reveals to dealers that – to thank them for their patience with this situation – the delayed shipment will include a free gift of nominal (but reasonable) value at no charge, which is a really nice touch.
Olberholzer closes the email by assuring dealers, “Finally, I want you [sic] to stress again that you can always count on AVA to be transparent with you and to ship products that meet only the highest of standards.”
Most Likely Not a Big Problem
The reality is that for most dealers this is a new model and a minor delay on the first delivery is most likely not a big deal. I doubt anyone has spec’d the Cinema Remote into their client projects yet as they haven’t had any to show clients…or to test.
Even so, the AVA CEO’s email explaining the situation and offering a gift of thanks is a class act. Olberholzer could have just said the shipment was delayed due to “unforeseen circumstances,” but he chose to be more transparent and reveal the actual cause of the delay.
Transparency Builds Trust
I’ve long recommended to manufacturers that by being more transparent, they build a more trusting relationship with their dealers. AVA appears to already understand this concept.
Learn more about AVA and its new Cinema Remote by visiting ava.com.
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