Dave, I think KG has just taken a job with Apress, so hopefully his excellent customer service will prove contagious! ;-)

When they (Apress) approached me about working for them, I was very honest about where I felt their strengths were, and what areas I thought needed some work. They have outstanding editors who really know how to work with authors, and that has always been their strong point - an "author-friendly" publisher. Other areas of their business have some kinks here and there, and it sounds like Dave ran into one.