Hightech… you’re right… respect is a 2-way street. Unfortunately, Steve now has a “rep” (reputation) of being disrespectful at those asking questions. Everyone knows it, and the bashers make fun of it. Yes, agreed, some of those posts asking questions are disrespectful in the way they ask, however that doesn’t mean he needs to be disrespectful back at them. Although one cannot control the actions of others, one CAN control their own actions.
Steve should understand that those asking questions in a disrespectful manner are doing so out of frustration and disgust over the PPS. Disrespect should not be excused, but none the less, the reasoning understood and an attempt made to work around such, given the circumstances. By being disrespectful back he only fuels the fire and makes the situation worse. Steve has said in the past that if they are disrespectful to him, he will give it right back to them. I would ask… how is that working for him??? As you say, one only has to look at this board’s volume to see how that has been working.
As CEO Steve needs to wear many hats. And perhaps the most important hat right now is that of public relations officer. Steve IS the face (and voice) of the company, until such time he may see the wisdom in hiring a Public Relations Professional. As such, he needs to lead by example, and in spite of any disrespect shown out of frustration, be professional and not allow himself to perpetuate the very behavior he is angered by. I suspect, many of the disrespectful questions once were respectfully asked questions, turned disrespectful because of a nonexistent or evasive type answers in the past.
In my opinion… a professional would look past the disrespect, and directly into the frustration and underlying question, and make every attempt to answer the underlying question, and also address the frustration aspect. Diane is right when in her post she indicates shareholders are sacrificing also in supporting this company, and as such deserve a greater level of respect for their continued support. In my opinion again… 34th’s questions of late have mostly been disrespectful in nature, however it is well known that he was a strong supporter of this company until his frustration over the performance of the stock began to erode his support, and along with it, respect for the answers he was not getting in response to his questions. Additionally, Ronb was labeled a terrorist for expressing his ultimatum post, however it is also well known that he too was one of the largest supporters of the company. While I didn’t agree with his tactics regarding that infamous post… it was plain to see that it was posted out of frustration.
Mr. Samblis, please put aside your petty differences and anger at the frustration being exhibited, and respond to the questions asked. Be the leader here and don’t fall into the same behavior you despise. The ONE thing you could do to improve the current PPS, that wouldn’t cost the company a dime… would be to address some of the difficult questions being asked by investors on this board. If you can’t answer any particular question, state WHY you can’t answer that question. More answers like your response to 34th. (post# 32111) wherein you address his concerns… in spite of his post being disrespectful. It was an excellent reply… right up to the point of calling his statements “ridiculous”… which they were, but you didn’t have to point that out.
It is also understood that at times, the same question is asked over and over again. Although it may be frustrating to answer the same question over and over again… please keep in mind that (hopefully) there are new viewers arriving at this board all the time, and as such they perhaps have not see the previous answer. Or, perhaps current readers have simply missed your previous answer to that question. With important issues like unexplained selling of shares… its important to address that issue as much as possible to instill confidence you have not changed your position with regard to it not being you that is doing the selling. Some issues are important enough to answer frequently in order to maintain consistency in a previously stated position. As time moves forward, circumstances could have changed that caused you to change positions on specific issues.
So, in short, your job… should you chose to accept it… is to instill confidence within the investors. For those of you that have ever worked retail, you know that customers can be real… well lets just say difficult, to keep it clean… however you need to smile and make them feel important if you want to keep their business. I see no difference with investors.
That’s my 2-cents… sorry for the long post. I don’t post here much anymore because of all the frustration expressed in many of the posts, and nothing from our “leader” seems to address that. It’s a shame, because like I stated… it wouldn’t cost a dime to fix it.
