No, in fact, why would you even ask the question? Why should a consumer care about a financial business decision? If I owned stock, different story.
Do you thing any of our customers care that we sued a competitor for a copyright infringement yesterday? I doubt if most of them even know, and would care of they did. It happens several times a day in the real world.
This doesn’t change my view of Specialized at all. They may have had good reason to sue, it sounds like they did. Your post however is so biased that it influences how I look at you =)
You know, I was all set to ignore this (not really a fan of whiny phrases like “big bully”) but after reading that article, I’m actually pretty disgusted with Specialized. It aint just the lawyers doing wrong here.
Not that it would likely stop me from buying one of their bikes if the price was right though…
You know, I was all set to ignore this (not really a fan of whiny phrases like “big bully”) but after reading that article, I’m actually pretty disgusted with Specialized. It aint just the lawyers doing wrong here.
Not that it would likely stop me from buying one of their bikes if the price was right though…
I find it hard to tell how disgusting specialized is being. starting a company that will compete with your current employer is a tricky situation =)
You know, I was all set to ignore this (not really a fan of whiny phrases like “big bully”) but after reading that article, I’m actually pretty disgusted with Specialized. It aint just the lawyers doing wrong here.
Not that it would likely stop me from buying one of their bikes if the price was right though.…
This is an important point. People don’t buy bikes on a weekly basis, and very seldom do they buy them on an annual basis. With that in mind, I think that most people look at the Specialized product and if the price and value fit into their buying formula, then they go ahead and buy it. No one looks at a Specialized bike and thinks, “Hmmm . . . I like this bike sitting here in front of me at the LBS, and the price is right, but if I buy it that will only contribute to the manufacturer’s (debatably) unfair business practices.”
You know, I was all set to ignore this (not really a fan of whiny phrases like “big bully”) but after reading that article, I’m actually pretty disgusted with Specialized. It aint just the lawyers doing wrong here.
Not that it would likely stop me from buying one of their bikes if the price was right though…
I find it hard to tell how disgusting specialized is being. starting a company that will compete with your current employer is a tricky situation =)
Agreed. But specifically ***asking ***someone who has told you he’s starting his own company to stay on and the trying to play it in court as if he was the one trying to hang around trying to steal secrets isn’t tricky at all, except in an intentionally bad way.
But like I said, probably not enough to keep me from buying a bike
It appears that the answer is yes, at least in this instance. Specialized basically lost their lawsuit against this startup campany, ordering the company to pay Specialized one dollar. http://velonews.competitor.com/...specialized-1_203443
So does this change how you look at the company and your buying habits?
I think you left an important piece out:
“The lawsuit brought by Specialized against Volagi is over, and the tiny startup company is obliged to pay Specialized one dollar in damages for breach of employment contract by Volagi co-founder Robert Choi”
While the larger portion of the lawsuit was thrown out, they were in fact found to be in breach of a contract. So Specialized won a portion of their lawsuit.
First off, I’m a HUGE fan of Specialized’s bikes. I absolutely love my Tarmac, best bike I’ve ever ridden. I also really like the bikes in their other lines - their TT, CX, MTB bikes are all fantastic looking and I’d love to try them all.
That said - I do believe that we have a moral duty to support companies which conduct themselves ethically. To do otherwise is to give our blessing to unethical behavior and by that blessing, ensure that it flourishes. I just can’t do that and consider myself an ethically consistent person.
So while I’ll continue to ride the crap out of my Tarmac and love every minute - the next time I go shopping for a bike, it won’t be a Specialized. There just isn’t enough of a difference between the various manufacturers at the top end of their road bike lines. Specialized have set themselves apart from the rest on this issue and that’s enough for me to take them off my list, unfortunately.
Absolutely, if that is all 100% true with no details left out, that would be a d-bag move.
On the other hand that could all be true but if they also ‘stole tech’ or something then they would still be in the wrong.
who knows!
Agreed. But specifically ***asking ***someone who has told you he’s starting his own company to stay on and the trying to play it in court as if he was the one trying to hang around trying to steal secrets isn’t tricky at all, except in an intentionally bad way.
But like I said, probably not enough to keep me from buying a bike
You know, I was all set to ignore this (not really a fan of whiny phrases like “big bully”) but after reading that article, I’m actually pretty disgusted with Specialized. It aint just the lawyers doing wrong here.
Not that it would likely stop me from buying one of their bikes if the price was right though.…
This is an important point. People don’t buy bikes on a weekly basis, and very seldom do they buy them on an annual basis. With that in mind, I think that most people look at the Specialized product and if the price and value fit into their buying formula, then they go ahead and buy it. No one looks at a Specialized bike and thinks, “Hmmm . . . I like this bike sitting here in front of me at the LBS, and the price is right, but if I buy it that will only contribute to the manufacturer’s (debatably) unfair business practices.”
That’s the sad part. Because if I had money to burn, I could afford to “stand on my principles” (so to speak) that way and buy something else. But stuff like this happens with corporations so often that if I stood on my principles every time, I could hardly buy anything. And large companies realize that. They count on it. It’s that same sort of corporate thinking that leads company XYZ to weigh the costs of, say, not polluting that river vs the costs of litigating all the lawsuits that will result. To them, it becomes a purely financial decision. Which is what you get with the group-think that pervades large companies. It’s strangely a lot easier for a group of guys around a conference table to to do something unethical than it is for just one of them to do so.
And because too many people (like me) read this story and then just dismiss this sort of unethical behavior with phrases like “it’s just business”, they not only get away with it, it is reinforced to them that it’s the right thing to do. We’re the enablers
… ok, whoa that was way deeper than intended to be. Excuse me while I jack back into the matrix like a good consumer…
That’s the sad part. Because if I had money to burn, I could afford to “stand on my principles” (so to speak) that way and buy something else. But stuff like this happens with corporations so often that if I stood on my principles every time, I could hardly buy anything. And large companies realize that. They count on it. It’s that same sort of corporate thinking that leads company XYZ to weigh the costs of, say, not polluting that river vs the costs of litigating all the lawsuits that will result. To them, it becomes a purely financial decision. Which is what you get with the group-think that pervades large companies. It’s strangely a lot easier for a group of guys around a conference table to to do something unethical than it is for just one of them to do so.
And because too many people (like me) read this story and then just dismiss this sort of unethical behavior with phrases like “it’s just business”, they not only get away with it, it is reinforced to them that it’s the right thing to do. We’re the enablers
… ok, whoa that was way deeper than intended to be. Excuse me while I jack back into the matrix like a good consumer…
Great post!
I think it’s incumbent on the consumer to draw a line somewhere - it’s hard to be perfectly ethical in ALL our purchasing decisions, based on both pragmatism and the fact that we can’t ever have all the information. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reasonably attempt to apply an ethical standard to the decisions that we can reasonably control and are reasonably informed on.
I know some of the Specialized boyz peruse these forums and their CEO in Morgan Hill is a savvy guy. I’ve delved into some of Specialized many lawsuits now (would not have otherwise if it weren’t for this one against Volagi) and my buying dollars will be going somewhere else (was seriously looking at a new Venge for the road race season).
I know some of the Specialized boyz peruse these forums and their CEO in Morgan Hill is a savvy guy. I’ve delved into some of Specialized many lawsuits now (would not have otherwise if it weren’t for this one against Volagi) and my buying dollars will be going somewhere else (was seriously looking at a new Venge for the road race season).
You have proved to be good at searching the net … don’t have to go far with regards to Specialized’s practices (i.e. Stan’s no tubes, saddles, front MTB forks, etc.)
Let me be clear, Specialized has not done any thing illegal, much like WalMart and their “bullying”. I just don’t choose to shop at WalMart (and have not stepped foot in one in 5+ years) either, despite it likely costing me some $. Perhaps Specialized has just grown to the point that are now acting like a WalMart, Apple, Oracle, etc. with their lawsuits. Either way - I’m allowed to vote with my $ and I will.
Now that this lawsuit is over, I would love to hear from some of the Specialized guys re: this. This is just ONE forum on the web and this lawsuit was not received well on any other forum either (from bicycle retailer ones to mountain bikers).
You have proved to be good at searching the net … don’t have to go far with regards to Specialized’s practices (i.e. Stan’s no tubes, saddles, front MTB forks, etc.)
Let me be clear, Specialized has not done any thing illegal, much like WalMart and their “bullying”. I just don’t choose to shop at WalMart (and have not stepped foot in one in 5+ years) either, despite it likely costing me some $. Perhaps Specialized has just grown to the point that are now acting like a WalMart, Apple, Oracle, etc. with their lawsuits. Either way - I’m allowed to vote with my $ and I will.
Now that this lawsuit is over, I would love to hear from some of the Specialized guys re: this. This is just ONE forum on the web and this lawsuit was not received well on any other forum either (from bicycle retailer ones to mountain bikers).
I think a response on this from Specialized would be great but I’m not holding my breath.
That’s the sad part. Because if I had money to burn, I could afford to “stand on my principles” (so to speak) that way and buy something else. But stuff like this happens with corporations so often that if I stood on my principles every time, I could hardly buy anything. And large companies realize that. They count on it. It’s that same sort of corporate thinking that leads company XYZ to weigh the costs of, say, not polluting that river vs the costs of litigating all the lawsuits that will result. To them, it becomes a purely financial decision. Which is what you get with the group-think that pervades large companies. It’s strangely a lot easier for a group of guys around a conference table to to do something unethical than it is for just one of them to do so.
And because too many people (like me) read this story and then just dismiss this sort of unethical behavior with phrases like “it’s just business”, they not only get away with it, it is reinforced to them that it’s the right thing to do. We’re the enablers
… ok, whoa that was way deeper than intended to be. Excuse me while I jack back into the matrix like a good consumer…
Great post!
I think it’s incumbent on the consumer to draw a line somewhere - it’s hard to be perfectly ethical in ALL our purchasing decisions, based on both pragmatism and the fact that we can’t ever have all the information. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reasonably attempt to apply an ethical standard to the decisions that we can reasonably control and are reasonably informed on.
+1!
It’s funny, my Dad is a very politically-minded guy, the type who will get into it with strangers at a trailhead over some random overheard quip about user fees or whatnot; and yet he’s is also an old-skool compulsive when it comes to bargain-shopping, so he’ll often drive all over to find a killer closeout at some big-box suburban sprawl-ville or outlet mall… so every time he tells me what a great deal he got I can’t help but give him shit at how he just voted with his wallet for more of the same land-use horror show he complains about.
Don’t really care…I love my bikes and my gear. I will continue to support the company.
If people think this is unethical behavior, they must not be that entrenched is the business world. Lawsuits like these happen all the time.
I also think it is totally fine to vote with your money. If you don’t like the logo a business uses, you can choose to buy elsewhere. That is your absolute right.
