Where is my Puzzle?

[smiteo]

if you haven't gotten all clues, do what the forum says, and email gold@revomaze.co.uk

[Solarmew]

thanks, will do :]
and holy crap you're like an hour away from me X.X

[Manifestjp]

Anyone hear an update on shipping the gold? It's been a month since our last update.

[Barcared]

Spoke to Chris yesterday. He hopes to put up a statement at the weekend re the Gold along with the next clue.

[ReVoRabbit]

We all know RevoMaze has gone through a lot of issues, probably more than any of us can comprehend. Most of us probably werent arround back when Chris used to offer to make house calls. I think RevoMaze has expanded greatly because of all of us, and that makes it a great thing. I have seen Chris grow and is over coming the challenges need to satisfy EVERYONE. Looks like we are all getting a statement from chris this weekend, and i hope we ALL are looking forward to it.

With the clues coming out at a regular interval, we know Chris is creeping up on the completion of the gold.

If you follow all the threads, you know hes had plenty of problems and a wealth of new things in the works.

with Chris' statement in our immediate future and the gold almost within our grasps, i encourage everyone to reach deep inside and search for the confidence in chris we all know belongs there and bring it here to the board. Chris is one with the users, lets give him the support he needs to finish off the gold with a bang (hopefully thats not dynomite).

[cornettracing80]

Well Said!....

[jsnbrtn]

Hi all,

got the latest clue but no statement from Chris as advised, and due for that matter.
Does anyone have any light to throw on the subject? Couldn't find any info on the announcement page. Sorry for the rant but I'm sure it's time to advise us if there are further issues/delays etc. We have been a very patient bunch and more info will help maintain that I hope.

[Sejanus]

An email has been sent out and I received it about 20 minute ago. Hopefully it will be posted here as well otherwise check your inboxes!

[ReVoMaster]

(this was emailed tonight to all Gold Pre-order group)

Dear All

I have been in discussion with Nigel (our Forum Administrator) regarding the delay on the Gold and have sent a detailed explanation to the moderators.

Firstly, please accept my sincere apology for the poor communications regarding the progress of the Gold that I hope to elevate your concerns with this message.

A comment has been made on the forum recently regarding that within a few months we had the Blue then Green. Then the Bronze and Silver.. but the Gold has been much, much longer.

What has happened …

When we started with our engineers, they had hardly any work and we could use their resources on a regular basis. They were very keen to apply as much time as possible to get the designs down and programmed. Since then early last year, they started to pick up work again and time became harder to get onto the machines and to use the programmer.

The programmer did most of the work and set the machines up (mainly between runs and weekends) and product quality that was excellent at the beginning then started to drop. Rather than listing the various issues, Nigel and I have been working to change the way we do business as some of my original goals are not being met.

These are my original goals:

1. Design innovating and challenging puzzles that exceed expectation
2. Produce them at an affordable amount to a high level of quality
3. Produce them within an acceptable timeframe
4. Provide high quality support

We started the Gold way back in 2010 and began the process to get them produced. The prototype and original drawing were at the engineers, but found getting time to produce the production was proving very difficult. The engineers and I were addressing issues we had regarding to the quality of the other parts being supplied and had many discussions, but the bottom line was down to drawings that started to effect all work they were supplying us.

December came and we agreed drawings would be used (generated by them internally). In addition, due to a major issue regarding the supply of the mazes with platting, a very large amount was scrapped and we were told by the engineers that I would have to find our own platting firm. This was done and the initial results were good, however from the batch we had remade, 22% did not meet our standards.

The first test was in January – we asked for a number of pins and housings for the plastic. QA was to be set up and tolerances checked.
Near 50% we received were wrong and I complained bitterly. They were redone but since then, Gold timeframe slipped saying the production could not start for 4-6 weeks.

Not approaching anything like the service we expect and the problems we were having, I have now found a new engineering firm who produce military and aerospace parts and are over 5 times bigger. I approached the company last year regarding the plastic and back then they were keen to work with us.

Before announcing anything I wanted to ensure the future of the puzzles and have been working with them. The first thing I had to do was create detailed engineering drawings as this company worked to high professional standards. By agreeing to the drawings, they have a 20 strong QA department that monitor and verify all work that is delivered. This process is why the company has invested in millions of pounds in new equipment and is becoming a world class company.

We have had excellent quotes for 1,000’s of metals and for 10,000’s of plastics and are proceeding with these. We are building up a repository of parts to my original standards goal and that is going to meet all my goals in the future.

This however, has come a price in as much we need the Gold as soon as possible. We have made this our utter most priority and plan to have many detailed meetings with the new engineers to ensure we are giving you the right information.

Nigel and I have invested a lot of time in getting the company back on track and the next main change is the communications you are given. Nicole has joined us and has fitted in exceptionally well. Her tasks are to ensure requests are logged, actioned and once completed followed up to ensure the request has closed satisfactory. In addition she is helping me coordinate my time and that I am meeting targets.

We have to be honest and get reliable information from our engineers and then relay that to you. I propose we do this in the weekly clue email. As explained to our moderators, no one is as disappointed as I am regarding the unacceptable delay in getting the Gold to you, but feel this is now a very positive move with my only regret not doing it sooner…

More information will be made next week along with some other positive moves both Nigel, Nicole and I are doing to bring the overall standards and quality back to where the puzzle deserves.

Sincere and best regards

Chris

Chris Pitt
Managing Director
Ashton Pitt Ltd

[mattangel]

The rejection numbers are astounding! Glad to hear that a new company has been sought out.

Are there estimates on a new timetable for the puzzle or components?