[ericbee]

Well, I have a terrible dealer. I won't mention him here but, he knows nothing, discounts very little if at all and has no clue on measuring, installing or technology. Essentially I tell him what i want, he orders it and bills me for it. My story..


I wanted a Sharp projector. I did the calculations and went as big as I could: 96" wide for a 15' distance. After going to the HE show, I see the Sharp and decide it isn't for me and prefer the SIM. The SIM cannot throw a 96" image from 15 feet. The body of the PJ alone is 15" and my screen was a reverse roll 6" off of the wall.


So now, I have to eat a 96" $4000 screen. That's bad. To make it worse, they are backordered on Firehawk material and the wait will be several more weeks, delaying the construction of my HT. I have to drop from 96" wide to 87" wide in order to accomodate for throw distance on the SIM 300.


Just venting I guess, I have no one to blame but myself and my crappy dealer.


Anyone looking for a brand new, 96" wide, motorized, 16:9 unopened Firehawk

 

[Don Stewart]

Eric,

I am sorry to hear you are having dealer problems. Please email me a PM with the particulars and also the dealer you are working with. If your existing screen unit is unopened we can trade it out for your new screen size requirement. The only cost to you should be the freight.

 

[vdelauz]

And so his perfect record continues!


Stay tuned for another chapter in...

"Don Stewart Saves The Day Again"


By the way, if that's not going above-and-beyond the call of duty, I don't know what is!

 

[NEO2000]

Man,


I have heard positive and negatives of a Firehawk in this forum. I have been playing around with the paint your screen this color or that color. And last night i got a personal demo of a 106" diagonal with a Sharp 9000 DLP and i was FLAWED... That screen is amazing. I want to give credit to Don Stewart for the R&D in this screen. My new screen will be a FIREHAWK without a doubt... Especially after reading this thread.


FINAL CONCLUSION: IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY....


- Out the Token Ring, through the router,

down the fiber, off another router, down the T1,

past the firewall...nothing but Net

 

[longshot]

I don't understand the negative reviews on the Firehawk either. I have a 100" Firehawk paired with a Sharp 9000. The picture is beautiful.

I stopped in my loacal A/V dealer this week and he asked me if I was still looking for a projector. Itold him I bought the Sharp from Japan and the Stewart Firehawk. He said he won't recommend the Firehawk to his customers because the colors are too "hot".

I asked him if he has seen the Firehawk with any of the new HD1 DLPS. he said "no, this is what he heard from others".

I walked out shaking my head in disbelief. And to think I almost dropped 10K in his place on his recommendations.

 

[Shawn O]

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Stewart Eric, I am sorry to hear you are having dealer problems. Please email me a PM with the particulars and also the dealer you are working with. If your existing screen unit is unopened we can trade it out for your new screen size requirement. The only cost to you should be the freight.

WOW,how's that for service!

 

[Free]

Eric, I am assuming that your projector is all the way to the back wall. Would you be able to mount it behind that wall in another room? That is the way I have mine set up and it is really the best way to take advantage of the longer throw distance of the Seleco's.


Anyway, glad to hear that you are going with the HT300 it is trully a great projector.

 

[btmoore]

More like dealer fiasco.


Stewart rocks!


My only disappointment is that I never had any problems with my 110" Luxus Deluxe Grayhawk so I have never had the pleasure of dealing with Don or their legendary customer service.


Regards

 

[ericbee]

Guys, the next time anyone says "why buy a firehawk" or "Stewart screens are too expensive" just take a read of this thread. I am absolutely overwhelmed that the President of teh company would offer to exchange teh screen for me, and for free no less. Unbelieveable! As a result of Don's offer, I am sticking to the original gameplan and getting the SIM2 HT300 and am very happy

 

[NEO2000]

ITs funny,


I was a little hesitant on the picture difference form a Firehawk and other types of screens. But when i seen one last night my girlfirend was like WOW that is AWESOME....I was saying the same thing in my mind....

If you haven't seen one then dont give opinnions until you have seen one..



NOW I am a BELIEVER........ FIREHAWK ROCKSSS

 

[David Wallis]

Now that's why I will only ever buy Stewart Screen. Not only do they make the best screen's that are so well finished and packed, but their service to the customer is absolutely FIRST RATE.


Well done Stewart and isn't it great to have Don around !


WOW

That's Impressive Service !!


DavidW

 

[mcody]

I too questioned buying a screen, sight unseen, that I felt was expensive and possibly a bit over-hyped. I was afraid that the gain would be too low and that the black level and color improvements would not pan out. After all, I reasoned, the Da-lites and Drapers are a bit less and probably just as good.


Thankfully I took my installers advice and bought a screen that would be good for my future PJ's as well as my current one (LT-150). I have been thrilled with the results and service like Don has offered here only underscores the value of Stewart products.


Thank you Don. A good company can produce a good product. A great company matches that quality with a level of service that goes beyond what people expect. Well Done.

 

[barryz]

I'd like to buy a Firehawk. Because of space limitations I'd want the manual pull-down Luxus Communicator. For a 100" diagonal (COM100V) I've just been quoted A$6900 by the local agent in Australia. At current exchange rates, that works out at around US$3,600. The Australian price includes 10% tax.


Whenever praising a product, there's always a price/performance ratio to consider - unless one is rich to the point where price tags become irrelevant.


From my perspective, the Firehawk seems overpriced.

 

[CCLAY]

"Whenever praising a product, there's always a price/performance ratio to consider"


Absolutely correct Barry, but you don't mention what the 'competitions' prices are. Do you have available to you a screen that compares to the Firehawk for a lesser price?

Chris

 

[rbhargan]

Let me see if I have this right. Ericbee paid for a 96" Stewart screen which he has, unopened, in its original box. He now realizes that due to a change in the projector he is buying he needs a smaller screen.


His dealer tells him that life is full of disapointments, and he is experiencing one now.


Don Stewart steps up and offers to exchange the 96" screen for the size that he desires (slightly smaller), and all Ericbee has to do is cover shipping and handling.


If I was Ericbee and the dealer made that offer to me, I would probably kick myself for having ordered the screen before getting the projector and chalked it up to experience. I would not necessarily be happy with the dealer for not giving me a discount for the smaller screen, but that is life.


For the manufacturer to step up and make things right impresses the hell out of me. I am getting ready to put in a home theater, and if there was any doubt about whose screen I was going to purchase, that decision is made.


Don Stewart has a lot of class, and a level of customer service that is stunning.

 

[acaciolo]

One of the things I learned about business is that you should never profit from your customer's mistakes. We ship expensive, heavy granite countertops around the U.S...and occasionally, our dealers screw up and measure wrong. We do whatever we can to make it as painless as possible for them, even though we can't ever reuse the countertop. But because of this...we have fiercly loyal customers.


When I give seminars to our dealers, I often use Don Stewart as an example of the epitome of customer service. If anybody ever questions me why I spec'd a Stewart screen (we also sell theaters and build houses), I am going to point them to this thread.


Stewart is going to remake a screen, take one back in inventory, deal with packaging and shipping....and they are doing it with a smile. Now this is a guy who knows how to think long term. Talk about customer service.


Don, my hat is off to you for setting the standard in our industry.


The point of this post? I just wanted to publicly thank Don for doing such a great job. Congrats.

 

[step]

I've seen the Firehawk, love it (this seems pretty universal), and would love to get one. My question is this- with 2 (soon 3) young children in the house, is it safe? Is it washable, or is the coating not really meant for that?


The kids touch the screen now, and it scares me to think about the endless possibilities with a more expensive screen. I'd prefer not to do a retractable since the price seems to go up pretty dramatically. :/ ???


Thanks,

Step

 

[cai]

I have a Grayhawk and about 2 weeks after I got it the 12 volt trigger power transformer burned. I received a new one 2 days after I informed them. Not as dramatic as ericbee's predicament, but enough for me to appreciate the level of customer service.


Sometime ago someone posted that they had stored a Stewart screen for about a year, while abroad, and that it now had creases. Then as now Stewart posted to the person to send the screen in for a replacement. To say that I was impressed with that gesture, would be an understatment.


Stewart, keep up the good work.

 

[barryz]

Quote:

Originally posted by CCLAY "Whenever praising a product, there's always a price/performance ratio to consider" Absolutely correct Barry, but you don't mention what the 'competitions' prices are. Do you have available to you a screen that compares to the Firehawk for a lesser price? Chris

Chris,

That's true. I haven't mentioned the competition. Well, at current Australian prices, I would rather spend a week or more of my time experimenting with Ken Hotte's Goo (if it's possible to ship it to Australia). For a small fraction of the price of a Firehawk, I could buy enough Goo to make a dozen screens, and if I made a few mistakes in the application - no worries!


Alternatively, if I were buying a new projector (which I'm not, but the point's still valid), I would have to consider whether or not it's better to buy, say, a A$12,000 projector plus a A$7000 Firehawk or an A$18,000 projector and a A$1000 alternative screen. Get my point?

 

[JustMike]

I had the chance to see the FireHawk in person for the first time the other day. I didn't have the chance for an extensive evaluation (I'll be going back), but what I saw made me pretty much decide to get one. In particular, I had the chance to walk off to the sides and test the off-axis performance of the screen. Yes, it gets dimmer. However, it's still totally watchable, so it will work fine on the occasions when I have a big crowd over and some folks have to sit off to the sides. Now I just need to get the Sharp 9k ceiling mounted so I can figure the final size of the screen.


Kudos to Don and his crew for a nice product and great service. I will second everything in Tony Caciolo's posting above -- it never ceases to amaze me that some companies don't understand the value of a happy customer. My previous car insurer comes to mind (good hands... hah!). When I find a company that does understand (as clearly Mr. Stewart and his team do), then they have my business for good. Stewart Filmscreen impressed me greatly at the first CES I ever attended and it has always been my plan to own one of their screens. I'm delighted to finally be able to do it!