Atari Support in the "Motor City"
An outsider's view
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Atari Support in the "Motor City"
An outsider's view
by Gregg Anderson (RACE)
Hi folks. I just returned from a little visit with the family in Detroit, Michigan and thought I'd pass on a few tidbits of info. Contrary to popular opinion, Atari is NOT dead in the heartland of America. And while not as robust as it once was, Atari dealer support there is also far from terminal.
Much to the annoyance of my sister and brother-in-law, one of the first things I did after landing at Detroit Metro was to grab six pounds worth of yellow pages and list all the Atari dealers I could find. Would you believe that there are seven Atari dealers still in business in Detroit and its surrounding communities? I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven. I live in South Dakota where the nearest Atari dealer is in Denver -- about 425 miles as the Jeep rolls.
Despite some of the nastiest winter weather Detroit has seen in the last twenty years (rain, snow, sleet, ice, power outages, and roads only an ice skating polar bear could love), I pressed on and visited six of the seven dealers. The seventh is primarily a mail order business and doesn't have a real "storefront." What follows is a list of the Detroit area dealers with a short description of the shop and what they offer. I'll wrap everything up with a summary of how the surviving Atari dealers responded when asked about Atari and its computers.
1) Basic Bits 'N' Bytes 34815 Ford Road (Westland), 313-595-3171.
Basic Bits 'N' Bytes is a full service Atari dealer offering productivity and entertainment software for the ST owner as well as software support for a handful of other systems. There was a large selection of European games on display as well as the more familiar domestic titles. Basic handles the full Atari line along with a few PC clones. They're also an Atari service center and offer a selection of domestic and imported Atari magazines. There were two 1040ST systems available for demos in addition to a PC clone or two. Estimated cost for a TOS 1.4 upgrade was $99 (6 chip) and for a 520ST 1 Meg upgrade the cost was $150. As a side note; Basic used to be a six store franchise. They are now down to a single sales center of average size (though a busy one, the phone never stopped ringing while I was there).
2) Soft House Computer Center 32647 Ford Road (Garden City), 313-422-6760.
For hardware, Soft House handles only the ST line, though they do offer software for a few non-Atari systems. Unfortunately, they had to drop their 8bit support some time ago. They're serious about selling the ST though and were actively demoing a 1040 system to a new customer while I was there. Soft House is an authorized Atari service center (with full time technician) and offers a wide range of domestic and imported Atari magazines. As with Basic, the salesperson I spoke with was well informed on Atari related matters and very positive on the system's capabilities. They offer a wide selection of productivity and entertainment software and have a surprisingly large assortment of European titles not generally available here in the USA. Estimated cost of a TOS 1.4 upgrade was $99 (6 chip) and for a 1Meg upgrade the cost would be $200 (socketed).
3) Rite Way Computers 11557 12 Mile Road (Warren), 313-751-2454.
In both total size and overall selection, Rite Way is the largest computer dealer I visited. They offer full support for the Atari ST, Atari 8bit, Laser Apple clone and a number of PC Clones. As with the two previous shops, Rite Way is an authorized Atari service center and has a software selection that almost boggles the mind. There were literally rows upon rows of titles from both the US and Europe (though I must admit there were many multiple copies of the same package present). All in all, it was an impressive display of both hardware and software. While there, I watched a professional demonstration of the ST's MIDI capabilities being given to a customer on a Mega4/SLM804/Megafile system. The individuals I spoke with seemed well informed about their products and more than willing to take the time to help a potential customer. Interestingly enough, the only computer that seemed to attract interest while I was there was an Atari ST system. Rite Way charges $104 for a TOS 1.4 upgrade and $175 for a 1 Meg upgrade.
4) Command Computer Systems Inc. 28630 Ryan Road (Warren), 313-573-8130.
Though an active Atari dealer since 1981, Command Systems was the smallest Atari dealer I visited. This by no means implies that they don't support the Atari line, but it does say that they've been forced to expand into other systems at the expense of their Atari availability. Command Computers supports both the ST and the 8bit systems and actually sold more 8bits over the Christmas holiday than they did STs. The best seller for them this year was the 130XE. Command Computer is an Atari service center and capable of handling repairs on any of Atari's systems.
5) Sector One International 16 Mile Road and Dequinder (Sterling Heights) 313-978-2208.
Sector One was a major surprise for me, a store totally dedicated to the Atari 8bit computer. Yes, they have an ST or two available, but 99% of the store is devoted to the original Atari computer and to little else. I saw software and hardware items there I hadn't seen in years, in fact I've not seen this type of 8bit support anywhere since early '83. The shop is owned and operated by someone who's name should be familiar to any 8bit owner; Jim Steinbrecker (father of the original A-Modem terminal program). Jim is probably the most knowledgeable man I've ever met on the 8bit Atari and is without doubt the most supportive of that system. As he says, "it's possible to outgrow a specific computer, but no computer is ever truly obsolete. Least of all the Atari XE which is as capable a system as any." What can I say, if you've a question or a problem with any 8bit Atari computer system or are looking for that specific program for your 8bit than this is the shop to visit.
6) Team Computers 22205 Kelly (East Detroit), 313-445- 2983.
Team Computers was the hardest for me to find but only because I was starting out from the far west corner of Detroit. Team handles the complete line of Atari computers along with a line of Amstrad PC clones. As with most of the other area dealers, they are a full service dealer and registered service center for all Atari systems. Team was also one of the few shops I visited that had a complete Mega4/SLM804/Megafile30 DTP system up and running on display. In fact, they had three ST systems and an XE system set up for demos. Both individuals I spoke with seemed very familiar with the Atari line and only too willing to extol it's strengths and advantages over the competition. Team Computers even use their STs to support an active DTP and graphics production center they operate from their store. As with Basic, Soft House and Rite Way, they offer an impressive display of domestic and imported software for the ST and a surprisingly large selection of 8bit software as well. Team charges $99.95 for a TOS 1.4 upgrade and $175 for a 1Meg upgrade on a 520ST. 7) Innovative Concepts 31172 Shawn Drive (Warren), 313-293-0730
Don't bother to try and visit Innovative Concepts, they don't have a regular show room like the rest of the Detroit area Atari stores. That's because they are first and foremost an mail-order shop for the Atari line. They advertise in many of the more popular Atari related magazines (and many of the larger newsletters). Currently they are enjoying great success with their line of specialty cables for the Blitz back-up system and the always popular XFormer ST to 1050 cable. For specific details on what Innovative Concepts has to offer be sure to check out their latest advertisement in your newsletter or favorite magazine.
There you have them, seven Atari dealers in the Detroit metropolitan area. Since Detroit and its surrounding communities have over three million inhabitants, that works out to almost 1/2 million people per Atari dealer. Not so impressive when you consider how many MS-DOS, Apple, and What-have-you dealers are available in the same area. Still, it's better than it might have been and may even improve if Atari takes the right steps over the next year. But before you think I'm being overly optimistic let me point out that the present number of Atari dealers is only a fraction of what it used to be.
Three years ago Basic was only one of six stores with the same name, and others have "bit the big one." Shops like Strom, United Computer, Claus and others have all either dropped the Atari line or gone out of business.
What did the remaining Atari dealers have to say about Atari and its computers? Without exception, ALL were supportive of Atari's hardware. They like the ST and feel it offers an outstanding value in the price/performance area. They like the ST's reliability, its power, and even its software.
What they don't like is its lack of availability and some of the policies of the Atari corporation itself. The number one dealer complaint was Atari's total lack of national advertising. Most dealers find it difficult to sell a product that no one (outside of the "inner circle" of Atari supporters) knows exists.
The second major problem was a serious lack of product availability. 1040 and Mega2 systems were in serious demand over the last few months here as were monochrome monitors, yet these were virtually unavailable to Detroit area dealers.
The third problem (but generally the most mentioned) was the poor dealer support offered by Atari. Often dealers found themselves the last to be notified of new products, left out of distribution chains, and generally ignored except when it came to paying bills.
Fourth was the problem of promises made but not kept. Several dealers complained about Atari's promise to not announce or discuss products before shipping them, and then doing exactly that (IE: Portfolio, STacy, TT, ect). This tends to cut badly into sales of current hardware. Coupled with that complaint was Atari's release of the Portfolio with an "Atari only" order phone number that totally cut out the local dealers long before any of them could get their hands on a Portfolio. The general difficulty in contacting and working with the local Atari Representative was mentioned as a problem, along with a reduction in available software support for the ST (mainly from US companies).
Finally the failure of 3rd party companies to repackage older programs "on the cheap" and release them was mentioned, though this applies mainly to older 8bit software. Overall the feeling of the dealers was that they couldn't survive as an Atari only dealer, that most had to offer some clone support to stay in business.
So how was business? Two of the Detroit area dealers reported that their Christmas season was good to very good, two reported no real change and two reported a decline in sales. As for the overall year of 1989, the report was less encouraging. Four reported that sales were stable but generally below expectations. Two actually had a decrease in sales over the previous year, though they chalked that up to a generally lackluster retail market. This is not good news folks, when the best report I can get is one of stable overall sales. That means trouble even in a slow year. A lack of growth is the same thing as stagnation, and stagnation is the first step in decay.
Not everything is negative though. Most dealers admitted that as difficult as Atari is to work with, they're really no worse than Apple, IBM, CBM or any of the others. In fact several dealers confessed that Atari was generally more willing to listen to them than other computer companies. One dealer explained that Atari's main problem was one of "no flash," that Atari just isn't as noticeable as the competition.
So what's my over all feeling? First of all, that there is a lot of support for Atari in the Detroit area, if you're willing to drive a little ways to reach it. Second is that almost all of the area dealers are VERY positive on the ST system and are willing to go out of their way to support it. Third is that Atari itself should try a little harder to help and support its dealer force, and that the Detroit area dealers would be only too willing to help them do that.
Lastly is that driving in Detroit is an experience in and of itself. It's not that the roads are in terrible shape (though thanks to the cold, salt, and traffic most of them are), or that they drive like it's the last lap at the Indy 500 (they do). It's more a feeling of being trapped in a combat zone without warning.
All kidding aside, despite the rough roads, high speeds, and ice covered intersections (including the one that got my brother-in-law T-boned), the drivers of Detroit showed themselves to be skilled and courteous, giving this out-of-town visitor more than a few breaks.
Just as an aside, there is a large and active User Group presence in the Detroit area. User Groups such as MACE, GLASS, MAGIC and (in Windsor, Ontario) WAUG offer support for area Atari owners. For information on these groups, see the Detroit area Atari dealers or Atari Interface Magazine.
