Dimitri Karas out at Ares...

[TheGaut]

Sucks. . Liked the guy. Not sure why the new owner needed to make an announcement.

[teg33]

He's still there, just not officially

[desertjosh]

Yep, I think it was to "separate " himself from legal issues.

[Merc1138]

Sucks. . Liked the guy. Not sure why the new owner needed to make an announcement.

He's been gone since around the time of his superhero cape at the ATF office bit. The new owners made the announcement because there are a large number of potential customers that want nothing to do with Dimitri.

[Spyguy]

He's still there, just not officially

No, he's been officially terminated. I got the following email this afternoon:

July 6, 2015

It is with heavy hearts in Ares Armor Inc. that we announce the forced termination of Founder Dimitri Karras for breach of duty as an employee of this firm.

Mr. Karras had been on paid administrative leave since March 2015 for highly unprofessional behavior against members of the management team, staff, and others. Most recently, he launched a series of disruptive and disrespectful public attacks against the CEO, and the company. Furthermore, the uncovering of serious financial discrepancies connected to his selling the company only served to complicate matters.

Mr. Karras repeatedly took advantage of the incredible patience and generosity of new owner and CEO, Bryce Stirlen. "We as an organization simply cannot allow him to continue this type of behavior against the company and people who supported him," said Stirlen. "Mr. Karras has a very well-documented history. As one the of the company directors said in a management conference call, 'sometimes to grow a bigger and better garden you just have to root out the weeds.' Regardless, we still wish Dimitri the best of luck in his future endeavors."


Bryce Stirlen, CEO
Ares Armor Inc.

This is obviously not just a PR move.

[L84CABO]

[slunk0844]

Well........bye

[Merc1138]

Wait... on leave since March?

Sorry guys! I would love to come on in an entertain you all for a bit... However, I am not currently working at Ares Armor.

On another note: Who wants to see a picture of me and csacannoneer hugging it out and being all bro-skie at Shot Show??? Haha

Don't worry pops, I won't let them know we are secret shot show buddies now. Hahaha

But that was posted on February 16th. Seems people were right to suspect he was still involved there.

TheGaut, in addition to my previous comment about people not liking Dimitri, Ares Armor has a very poor history of customer service and product issues, that in one way or another seem to get tied back to Dimitri(seeing as how it was him running things), and separating yourself from someone who has negatively impacted your business is a step forward in resolving issues and attempting to regain customer trust.

[TheGaut]

No, he's been officially terminated. I got the following email this afternoon:
This is obviously not just a PR move.

Could still be sort of a legally "calculated" move. Anyway, don't know him personally be he seems like a very smart guy and built the business from the ground up if I'm not mistaken, which is why the behavior described is a little surprising.

Anyway, wish him the best.

[Merc1138]

Could still be sort of a legally "calculated" move. Anyway, don't know him personally be he seems like a very smart guy and built the business from the ground up if I'm not mistaken, which is why the behavior described is a little surprising.

Anyway, wish him the best.

And crapped all over a lot of customers who have still never received the products they paid for.

[spyde12]

...I'll stand idle by the sidelines for a while until I even think about buying anything from them... I've read enough threads from others here and I'd have only myself to blame if I get screwed.

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[TheGaut]

Wait... on leave since March?



But that was posted on February 16th. Seems people were right to suspect he was still involved there.

TheGaut, in addition to my previous comment about people not liking Dimitri, Ares Armor has a very poor history of customer service and product issues, that in one way or another seem to get tied back to Dimitri(seeing as how it was him running things), and separating yourself from someone who has negatively impacted your business is a step forward in resolving issues and attempting to regain customer trust.

Bummer erratic post.. ... wasn't aware. I'm local, new to building ARs so little do I know. Liked to encourage them but yea heard about quality issues. Oh well.

[antiseen]

Hmmmm, who didn't see this coming a mile away? Ever since he was supposedly distancing himself from the company because of the legal heat or whatever. Sounds like he was being pushed out slowly with this being the final goal.

Anyway, I've got no dog in this fight so I'm not cheering or defending either way.

Doubt their 99% receiver will ever come to fruition now. Probably just be another ho hum run of the mill gun shop that will fade into obscurity. I'm sure more people will prefer that over the "poking the bear" Ares, however.

[Spyguy]

...I'll stand idle by the sidelines for a while until I even think about buying anything from them... I've read enough threads from others here and I'd have only myself to blame if I get screwed.

FWIW, I ordered some newly-designed BCGs from them and they delivered extremely quickly. The products appear to be very good quality.

But they still have issues understanding good customer relations. At the time I placed my order, I posted a thread here on Calguns about the particular BCG's I was interested in. One of Ares employees showed up in the thread and offered to give a couple of the BCGs free to whomever claimed them first, completely disregarding the fact that I was the one who created the thread that was showcasing these specific products by Ares. I showed up in the thread shortly thereafter only to discover the offer had already been claimed by two other members. I was like, "Wtf? Gee, thanks a lot Ares." Even some other Calgunners were wondering why Ares would do that to me.

When I made that thread, I certainly wasn't expecting any compensation for the publicity I was giving them. But the way they handled that offer left a bad taste in my mouth.

[spyde12]

FWIW, I ordered some newly-designed BCGs from them and they delivered extremely quickly. The products appear to be very good quality.

But they still have issues understanding good customer relations. At the time I placed my order, I posted a thread here on Calguns about the particular BCG's I was interested in. One of Ares employees showed up in the thread and offered to give a couple of the BCGs free to whomever claimed them first, completely disregarding the fact that I was the one who created the thread that was showcasing these specific products by Ares. I showed up in the thread shortly thereafter only to discover the offer had already been claimed by two other members. I was like, "Wtf? Gee, thanks a lot Ares." Even some other Calgunners were wondering why Ares would do that to me.

When I made that thread, I certainly wasn't expecting any compensation for the publicity I was giving them. But the way they handled that offer left a bad taste in my mouth.

That is totally odd. I didn't get to read that thread, but I remember a member posting the complete upper he purchased. Both times, the quality was poor when he got a replacement. I get that your mileage may vary, but I don't like the odds with that place at this time. This can change based on what happens in the next few months. We shall see.

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