Update from J&C

[Turner Reich]

It blows a hole in everything from now on, who to trust and how much trust. It's interesting that someone brought it up on APUG but the thread closed so no further discussion was possible. It was a communications problem from the start with JandC. The corp. big shots and government heads committed this error and the ending is always the same. If someone person has the guts to talk and communicate then half the problems could be resolved.

But the way business in America works, were a judge can sue a dry cleaner for millions over a pair of pants that were late, then anything bad can happen. No wonder the US is marching back-wards in the business world.

I think John and JandC should have taken the company "off shore" before the problems started, it works for the big shot companies.

[erie patsellis]

I could see a "private club" or Co-Op type business model working down the road.


erie

[j.e.simmons]

The trouble with the APUG thread was that some folks began to speculate that another supplier was behind the problem. I say speculated because the posters offered no evidence that the other supplier had anything to do with John's situation.

I'm very sad to see JandC go. Jobs and traveling took me away from photography for years, and when I decided to come back, one local camera store had closed its doors and the other was getting out of the traditional business. JandC got me back into photography. I was always very happy with their products and service.
juan

[Aggie]

I had some of John's suppliers asking me what was going. This as late as mid February. I could give no answers, since I too was shut out along with everyone else. If you don't communicate with your suppliers, they are going to get upset. Especially if they see updates being done on his web site during that time. In his business he needed to communicate to the suppliers. After 5 to 6 months of no word, and repeated attempts at contact, you move on to others. It's sad the demise of another vendor, but business is business.

[tim atherton]

The trouble with the APUG thread was that some folks began to speculate that another supplier was behind the problem. I say speculated because the posters offered no evidence that the other supplier had anything to do with John's situation.

typical of apug censorship - don't actually allow any discussion. unfortunately, for all their good initial customer service, J&C just chose not to communicate, which was a fatal business decision. It was clear from he get go that once they closed the doors they weren't going to re-open and they just strung all sorts of people along in the process

[bob carnie]

I am not sure of Johns situation and I hope he is doing well.
In my own case , We came close to closing the doors over the last 17 years on a couple of occasions.
Twice because of my working partners and cancer, and once due to the rolling ball of Digital and our ability/inability to refinance in a world where small companies are the lowest of low customers with Banks and Govt Agenceys.
I wish John all the best and would not be suprised if his company resurfaces over the next couple of years.
It is very hard to express ones problems to clients and maybe his lack of communication lies here.
I remember when Ilford had its problems and we all were shitting our pants because our livelyhood was threatened with their potential demise. I don't remember a lot of communication during that period of time.

typical of apug censorship - don't actually allow any discussion. unfortunately, for all their good initial customer service, J&C just chose not to communicate, which was a fatal business decision. It was clear from he get go that once they closed the doors they weren't going to re-open and they just strung all sorts of people along in the process

[Brian K]

What is the actual back story? Why was Jand C having legal problems?

[Scott Davis]

typical of apug censorship - don't actually allow any discussion. unfortunately, for all their good initial customer service, J&C just chose not to communicate, which was a fatal business decision. It was clear from he get go that once they closed the doors they weren't going to re-open and they just strung all sorts of people along in the process

Tim- there was no "APUG Censorship" going on. Folks were starting to speculate rampantly in the worst gossip fashion, and so the thread was closed. Since the principals of the issue were not divulging more than minimal detail, there was no point in letting the thread go on, as it would have produced lots of sound and fury signifying nothing.

[sanking]

typical of apug censorship - don't actually allow any discussion. unfortunately, for all their good initial customer service, J&C just chose not to communicate, which was a fatal business decision. It was clear from he get go that once they closed the doors they weren't going to re-open and they just strung all sorts of people along in the process

I don't believe it is at all true that J&C had no intention to re-open. In fact, from my conversations with him from a year or so ago I got the impression that John had some very ambitious plans to expand the business.

Many people seem very surprised that J&C shut down all communication at a certain point. I am going to suggest that sometimes people have personal issues that far outweigh business concerns, and that such matters are by their very nature highly private.

Sandy King

[Brian Ellis]

Tim- there was no "APUG Censorship" going on. Folks were starting to speculate rampantly in the worst gossip fashion, and so the thread was closed. Since the principals of the issue were not divulging more than minimal detail, there was no point in letting the thread go on, as it would have produced lots of sound and fury signifying nothing.

That's actually a pretty good informal definition of censorship. Somebody had to decide what was "the worst gossip fashion," what was "sound and fury" and what wasn't, and what was significant and what wasn't. People who make those decisions and then publish or not on the basis of them are called "censors."