Greetings
As a new Europa kit owner, I have never had the opportunity to share my
experiences with the Europa list, but I want to add my comments to those
made below by Htin Hlebovy.
Kim Prout, the independent Europa Sales Agent for the Western U.S.A. never
charged me for my fairly lengthy demo ride or for answering my many
questions. His comrade, Ralph Peterson, also assisted me with getting
answers to many of my questions. After many many months of contemplation,
Kim and Ralph supported my purchase decision in a manner that goes above
and beyond what is normally expected in business.
Ralph Peterson, in particular, assisted me by picking up my Europa from the
Lakeland Florida office and delivering it to me in Tracy, California (total
driving distance -- 3005 miles). Ralph personally loaded the individual
components of my kit into the rental-truck and carefully wrapped the wings
and fuselage in 40 or 50 "moving blankets". His kind efforts saved me many
hundreds of dollars on freight charges as well as many additional hundreds
of dollars on the normal crating fee. He also helped me unload the kit,
and assisted me in getting started on the inventory process.
Kim also is the founder of Europa Squadron One and I believe he funds the
operation of this group out of his own pocket. He also sends his Europa
Squadron newsletter out to prospects and customers--picking up the cost of
printing and postage himself.
If you or anyone else can spot the greed in Kim's operation, than someone
will have to point it out to this pleased customer.
Bruce Ludeman
Tracy, California
PS: For those who are interested -- The results of the parts inventory:
+ 100% of the items on the multiple (5) inventory lists have been accounted
for:
= Only one item (a bag of pip pins) was "missing", but it was noted on
the packing list that this item was on back order.
= One small bag containing two tiny screws was left over when I finished
the inventory. I could not find the identification number printed on that
bag on any of the inventory lists. This is certainly not a significant
discrepancy considering the scope of this kit project (I have not ruled out
an oversight on my part).
>Hi y'all. As I'm a slow goer at this Europa-building project, I haven't had
>much to contribute, but quite a bit to listen in on. However, I vaguely
>remember browsing someone's note here a week or two ago regarding some
payment
>required to get Kim Prout to give you a call. I've never been charged $5 by
>Kim, nor have I ever been asked to... and I've confirmed (yes, by calling
Kim)
>that he still doesn't charge money. It seems to me that there seems to be
>some dubious information floating around here...
>
>Htin Hlebovy A-080
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