Please add a "Beep" feature
I’ve always stated from the time we shipped the first roaster that any changes we made would, wherever humanly possible, be retro-fittable to all versions and more importantly cost effect for everyone. Based on that promise, when we set about designing the new programs we sought to use all the PCB's designs we currently had in place by adding a 2nd layer of programming to the main memory. By doing this, we could create a board that expanded the functionality, be relatively easy to install and affordable for everyone.
Had we gone to a beeper (something we considered) , it would have required we add a sound chip. That in turn, would have required 2 PCB’s - both our power boards, as well as control boards be fully re-engineered/ redesigned. These changes/redesigns not only would have required far more time but far more money as well. To do this would have also required we fully re-certify all components and systems. These factors alone would have led to the upgrade going from $49 to somewhere close to $150, an almost 300% increase. This would have greatly reduced the number of people able to afford the upgrade and added another level on installation that could have made the swap more daunting and difficult to some, even further limiting the number of people who would or could utilize this upgrade. This says nothing of the fact that had we not recognized all the other issues as noted, and simply gone ahead with the beeper, we would be inviting people to walk away from the roaster because now there would be an auditory warning for them to rely on. The walking away is the very thing we are trying to prevent.
Add all of this together, and the best move was to keep the format we had and have the warning appear at the same time in every roast depending on weight.
Having invented the roaster myself, and with100% certainty having performed more roasts than any other person with a Behmor, no one could have been as diligent as I, yet it required only 1 "oops" for me to retrain my 60-year-old self to this feature. We understand the frustration of losing some beans, but since this new feature has been added not one person has reported an issue because they walked from the roaster, or had something occur that distracted them from overseeing the roaster while roasting coffee. Yes, some have lost a few dollars in beans, and as much as we too cringe at that as well as understand the frustration, we’d cringe more and be beyond frustration if a situation ever arose that led to things far worse than losing a few dollars in beans.
I hope that helps clarify,
Behmor
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
Untitled by Shift_Six, on Flickr
