Gene cafe availability

[TC]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Hi all,

There have been a number of requests for updated info. on the Gene Cafe....

Hazbean has some stock and can land the Gene Cafe in Australia at prices competitive with the new vendor -while stock lasts....Grab one if you want one... Further info: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=45_28&products_id=507

I expect more stock in September.

Chris

[GoneBarista]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Just to set the record straight.

I am working for the company that Gene Café had appointed as its sole distributor here in Australia.

I have talked to 2mcm about the possibility of deleting this thread because it says negative things about our company and Genesis using inaccurate/false information. 2mcm reckons it is better for me to post in here to set the record straight, so, here it is.

I will list the inaccurate/false informations in this thread and try to supply our side of the story (you may want to grab a cuppa because it is a little long):


· Serge Siboni of GoBarista negotiated with Genesis and established the supply of Gene Café in Australia.

This is not the complete picture. Our company had also been negotiating with Genesis around the same time. We first contacted Genesis about Distributorship on the 1st of December 2006. We can forward the email between us and Genesis to those who wants proof of this.

Sorry guys this is a big lie
My first contact with Genesis was on the 18th October 2006 at that time Genesis didnt have any other contact.
I have done the hardest job and had the courage to bring the Gene to Australia.
I have all the proof for what I say and if anyone want to see it please send me an email and I will reply to you.

Genesis certainly has the right to chose his importer.
Genesis did encourage me at the time to be the exclusive importer
Genesiss minimum quantity for Australia was set over 100 units a month
Genesis didnt advise me of another importer was chosen until I placed my order of 40 roasters

Im personally desappointed by this situation and that is certainly not a fair go for GO BARISTA

Im hopping to get soon a final negotiation with the new importer and get the Gene Cafe back right here again in Australia.

Thank you for all your supports.

Sincerely

Serge Siboni

[TC]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

As the middleman who Serge most generously appointed to Victoria, all I can say is that significant anomalies exist in the two stories supplied and that Serge has supported many of his statements with hard evidence, none of which has been forthcoming from the other party- not that its really any of my business and given non existent margins, its very much a whatever situation :. I have evidence of first contact between GoBarista and Genesis in October 2006.

Email received from Korea leads me to believe that much of the information supplied by Serge is in fact true, however some overseas companies do business using all sorts of models and its quite possible that both parties are supplying factually correct information as they understand it and both have been told whatever they wanted to hear.

For the good of CSers, I hope that an amicable solution can be found- fair for all and which recognises the work done by Serge to establish Gene Cafe in the Australian market- regardless of who was talking to whom and when. The bottom line is that 40 units sold into a market where all other units were private imports. Its very easy to assume control of an established distribution when somebody else has done the hard work and laid his cohunas on the line....

In the meantime, holding off on purchases will in my opinion bring forward a solution. Serge has done the hard yards and is not deserving of a shafting...

2mcm

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Just to set the record straight.

I am working for the company that Gene Café had appointed as its sole distributor here in Australia.

I have talked to 2mcm about the possibility of deleting this thread because it says negative things about our company and Genesis using inaccurate/false information. 2mcm reckons it is better for me to post in here to set the record straight, so, here it is.

I will list the inaccurate/false informations in this thread and try to supply our side of the story (you may want to grab a cuppa because it is a little long):


· Serge Siboni of GoBarista negotiated with Genesis and established the supply of Gene Café in Australia.

This is not the complete picture. Our company had also been negotiating with Genesis around the same time. We first contacted Genesis about Distributorship on the 1st of December 2006. We can forward the email between us and Genesis to those who wants proof of this.

When our shipment of GC arrived, we have thought of selling Gene Café in CS but have learned that GoBarista is already doing that, thus, we stay clear of CS for ethical reason.

We also used eBay to sell GC on 12th February 2007 to have a feel for the market before we commit to the Sole Distributorship.

In summary, we are an early player (if not the first, only Genesis could confirm) on the bid for GC distributorship.


· We have undertaken to purchase and sell 1000 GC units.

Although I could not disclose the number of units we have agreed to purchase and sell due to confidentiality, it is nowhere near 1000. We negotiated the number down and the number we negotiated it down to is backed-up by our market research.


· We had refused to work with GoBarista

This is not true. We would be happy to work with GoBarista and have actually called Serge a couple of times.


· Inaccurate information on the ‘model under which their dealers operate’

2mcm is referring to the draft proposal that we have sent to Genesis. This model has been scrapped from the final proposal. Thus, there is no model. The wholesale price is only based on quantity. No contract between us and the local distributor.


· Questionable warranty business

Servicing warranty is where we would like to pride ourselves. We have an Electronics Engineer on our company who wants to get his hand dirty (a handy man too). We also have an Electrical Engineer on call should the need arises (not likely).


· It is lie that we cannot supply till mid year because of ‘complying with Australian safety standards’.

This is not a lie. The GC is an electrical product that falls under the ‘Cooking appliance – portable type’ category and needs Australian electrical safety approval.

Please refer to the following pages in the NSW Office of Fair Trading website for more first-hand information on this requirement:

Selling safe products
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/business/sellingsafeproducts.html

Safety and product information laws
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/business/sellingsafeproducts/safetyandproductinformationlaws.html


· We are selling the GC cheaper

This actually is a correct statement. The only reason I include it in the list is that I believe this is one of the major reason the Sole Distributorship was given to us. Thus, Genesis wants the GC to be affordable to as much Australians as possible and our company agree on this.


· We have 0 stock

We actually have heaps on stock. We have to set the stock number to 0 to prevent people from buying until the GC got the Australian electrical safety approved.


· Adverse publicity in Australia on Genesis’ action

Genesis did not do anything wrong other than choosing one Sole Distributor from those who have expressed interest (based on criteria known only to them).

When you use the internet to search for people’s experiences with Genesis, you can only find positive feedback (particularly on their after sales service). Try Googling ‘gene cafe service warranty’, you should find Eddie Dove’s comment on their commitment to their product and customers http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/accessories/genecaferoaster/eodove.


· Boycotting our company

Ouch! What did we do to deserve that? After going through the facts and you still feel the need to boycott that does tell on your character. It is your call, but please do re-consider.


I have nothing against CS (except this thread of course ). I know that there are CS members who are our competitor(s) in business, however, I believe that we should all be united in our goal to pass-on and share coffee-related knowledge and experiences. Let the competition be a healthy one, that is, try to outdo each other through superior products (that will make the customers the winners).

Let us be true to the great Australian tradition, give each other a fair go.

Avagoodday all,
The Other Distributor

[JavaB]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

I hope that Genesis might work things out and allow for 2 distributors...I guess it will all come out in the wash as they say.....Heres hoping

Chris

Chris,

Im sorry but I dont share your optimism... Whatever deal has been done with the new distributor their exclusivity would be guaranteed.... and with promised sales figures like they have agreed to (no matter how unrealistic) neither side will be wanting to break the agreement - at least not until the whole thing goes pear shaped....

So for now I suspect Serge and anyone else wanting to sell this model will have to deal with the new distributor under their terms and conditions (no matter how unfair that is)...

The only hope is that CS members support Serge and the rest of his dealers and boycott purchasing this unit until the original importer (Serge) - who did all the leg work and promotion - can again import suppliers in his own right.....

Whilst what Genesis has done is totally morally bankrupt IMHO.... I dont see any action - other than a boycott..... restoring Serges right to import...

It might also be worth making Genesis aware of this site.... and the adverse publicity their action is causing in Australia.... What they have done is VERY un-Australian and unwelcome.

[lucinda]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

I had a quick web search and if it is the same company, they have them on order and a little note that says they are no available until mid may...

not that I have the money to spend at this time but I would not be willing to send off my hard eraned if they do not have any available.

[Coffee_Kid]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

They even have hottop too?

[TC]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Im hoping that things will resolve. Siboni, Mark and I still have Gene Cafes for sale and Serge has guaranteed parts support so there seems to be little need to worry. CSers still have access to this terrific roaster.

I hope that Genesis might work things out and allow for 2 distributors...I guess it will all come out in the wash as they say.....Heres hoping

Chris

problem being that  xxx is selling them cheaper, im sure only because they are buying them cheaper. little point having two distributors with two different fixed prices. good luck though guys.

mm- the alternate supplier has 0 stock....so I wouldnt really call that selling them. They charge for delivery on this item- we dont....If you factor in delivery, the difference must amount to mere coins :-?

[muppet_man67]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Im hoping that things will resolve. Siboni, Mark and I still have Gene Cafes for sale and Serge has guaranteed parts support so there seems to be little need to worry. CSers still have access to this terrific roaster.

I hope that Genesis might work things out and allow for 2 distributors...I guess it will all come out in the wash as they say.....Heres hoping

Chris

problem being that xxx is selling them cheaper, im sure only because they are buying them cheaper. little point having two distributors with two different fixed prices. good luck though guys.

[TC]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Im hoping that things will resolve. Siboni, Mark and I still have Gene Cafes for sale and Serge has guaranteed parts support so there seems to be little need to worry. CSers still have access to this terrific roaster.

I hope that Genesis might work things out and allow for 2 distributors...I guess it will all come out in the wash as they say.....Heres hoping

Chris

[lucinda]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Well. OG and I were discussing the genecafe as an option for a home roaster. Looks like that option is gone for now. Will gladly await the fallout in the future and may pick it up then.

Serge, so sorry this has happened to you.

[hazbean]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

mj: sorry, Id misread the timescale you were looking at -- if youre
after something now, I think a Gene, while you can still get it from
sources known to be reliable, would be a pretty sound purchase

[JavaB]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

Thundergod,

Pretty much as I expected! Game, set, and mismatch!!!

[Thundergod]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

I got a very quick response to my enquiry this morning:

Thanks for your inquiry, and we are dealing with a sole distributor as the company name of ********(www.********.com.au).

Please contact them and hope to be a business for Gene Cafe in the near future.

If you have any problem to settle the business, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards.

Frank Ahn
Genesis Co., Ltd.

Coincidentally Id run across their website last night.

[mj]

Re: Gene cafe supply update- bad news...

hazbean - So there we go... one possible option coming forward... maybe :

JavaB - not expecting value for money exactly... after all the whole home coffee experience doesnt really add up as all that economic. But its a fun hobby none-the-less. My point was simply that there are always going to be new products popping up from time-to-time. If the Gene fails overall then its likely that some other product will appear. You do make a good point though that the Gene is the one with a fair track record today.

Chris - Im in Sydney so Ill hope to get a look at the Gene over at Sibonis. Just a question of time for me. I purchased a Giotto and Mazzer without any hands-on eval... but they both had a fairly solid following and I felt quite comfortable with my decision, and buying from TalkCoffee... especially after one sydney dealer couldnt bother returning calls etc... but the Gene is a lesser known product to me... as is the whole roasting biz.