worrall@freezer.it.udel.edu (Robert Worrall) (02/21/90)
Even after hearing many horror stories about Jasmine service, I am still convinced that I want their direct drive 100 for my new IIci. My question is this: Do they deliver the drives on time? Somone I know has been waiting for a while, and when I called Jasmine to inquire about purchasing a new drive they said there would be "about four weeks" wait. It didn't sound to me like they were sure I would have it to me on schedule. I would appreciate any comments on the ability of Jasmine to deliver. Eternal Gratitude, -Todd -R. Todd Worrall-KB2GGS ; 3027313160 ; worrall@freezer.it.udel.edu ;-)
stmontg@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Sean T Montgomery) (02/24/90)
I ordered a 40M DirectDrive on 1/24/90, to be shipped in 3 to 4 weeks. A call to Jasmine a week later revealed that to be a salesperson's fib, as it would take 4 to 5 weeks. After reading the Net about Jasmine, I called a few more times, never getting to a customer service person. Jasmine called me on 2/16/90 stating that it would take 5 to 6 weeks from 2/16!!! I called the customer service director, left a nasty message, and received another call on 2/16: best they could do was a ship date of March 15. I cancelled my order (which was charged to my credit card on 1/24, by the way). Hence, no they don't deliver. I am currently awaiting an external 40M La Cie drive...
ndjc@hobbit.UUCP (Nick Crossley) (02/24/90)
In article <11691@nigel.udel.EDU> worrall@freezer.it.udel.edu (Robert Worrall) writes: >Even after hearing many horror stories about Jasmine service ... I have also read many such stories here. My own experience has been that Jasmine drives are very reliable, and good value. I have had a DirectDrive 80 on my Mac Plus for over two years, with not one problem, and no lost or corrupted files, despite many system crashes during program development. Of course, this reliability has meant that I have never had to deal with their service department. One should also note that whereas people with problems are quick to complain, those with no problems do not often bother to say so; they are too busy actually using their systems. So, the number of stories you hear about problems with Jasmine drives could just be an indication of the very large number of drives Jasmine have sold, with no more than the industry average percentage bad drives. -- <<< standard disclaimers >>> Nick Crossley, ICL NA, 9801 Muirlands, Irvine, CA 92718-2521, USA 714-458-7282 uunet!ccicpg!ndjc / ndjc@ccicpg.UUCP
george@swbatl.UUCP (6544) (02/24/90)
In article <59358@hobbit.UUCP> ndjc@ccicpg.UUCP (Nick Crossley) writes: >I have also read many such stories here. My own experience has been that >Jasmine drives are very reliable, and good value. I have had a DirectDrive >80 on my Mac Plus for over two years, with not one problem, and no lost or >corrupted files, despite many system crashes during program development. >Of course, this reliability has meant that I have never had to deal with >their service department. > >One should also note that whereas people with problems are quick to complain, >those with no problems do not often bother to say so; they are too busy >actually using their systems. So, the number of stories you hear about >problems with Jasmine drives could just be an indication of the very large >number of drives Jasmine have sold, with no more than the industry average >percentage bad drives. I don't think that the reliability of Jasmine hardware is the issue here. It seems to me that most people think that Jasmine hardware is great IF THEY HAVE A DEVICE THAT WORKS! Problems don't arise until you have a chance to deal with their "Customer Service" department. Every company has product that goes bad. That's why most every company has a Customer Service department. A problem arises, they fix it, the end. Now, for a NetNews reader/poster, one of four things might happen: 1) You're so overjoyed with the service provided that you post news exclaiming how great the company is. (Yes, it happens) 2) You get your problem solved to your satisfaction and post nothing to the net. (I bet this happens a lot) 3) You get your problem solved, but you're not totally satisfied. You might grumble, but you don't post your experience to the net. (I bet this happens quite often, too) 4) Your experience was so bad that you have to warn others to watch out for this company. (These are the ones we all notice on the net) An occasional case 4 is nothing to worry about. There are some chronic complainers and hot-heads out there, so you might want to take an isolated case 4 with a grain of salt. If there are a lot of case 4's that reinforce each other, however, a real problem probably exists. Think about what I've said and apply it to the Jasmine postings. I'll let you come to your own conclusions. -- / George D. Nincehelser \ uunet!swbatl!george \ / / Southwestern Bell Telephone \ Phone: (314) 235-6544 \ / / / Advanced Technology Laboratory \ Fax: (314) 235-5797 \ / / / /\ 1010 Pine, St. Louis, MO 63101 \ de asini umbra disceptare \
etaw302@ut-emx.UUCP (Allen Wessels) (02/24/90)
Jasmine is having serious trouble servicing problem calls, repairing drives, and with billing people far in advance of shipping the product. I've suggested to several people that they cancel their orders for Jasmine drives after they are told that drives will ship on a given date and then are told on that date that it will be several more weeks. Of course, the check has been cashed or the card has been charged. The Jasmine product, when shipped, has been in my experience, a solid product. However, if it isn't, you may be without a hard drive for a long time. The bottom line is how much drive you get for your money and if your money is gone and you have no drive, or the drive arrives but has to be sent back to sit in a Jasmine service facility for months, how much use do you get from your computer.
roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) (02/24/90)
We've got at least a dozen Jasmine disks, mostly the old style
DD-20s, but some of the newer 45s too. All externals, I think. Some
basicly stay on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, some (like the one I have
at home) gets power cycled an average of about 2 or 3 times a day. I think
I've only seen two fail. One was a blown power supply, and Jasmine was
willing to sell me a replacement supply for a very reasonable price. The
other repair was return-to-factory, and while Jasmine's service didn't make
us very happy, it wasn't yet at the point of never returning phone calls,
making repeated borken promises, etc. From what I gather, that's where it
is now, but that's just hearsay.
When Jasmine first started out, they were a great company. Their
prices were truly wonderful compared to the competition at the time
(remember when $750 for a 20 Meg external was a great price?) and their
service was good too. They still have some innovative products at good
prices, like the DirectServe. I have a warm place in my heart for Jasmine,
and would urge people to cut them a little slack. On the other hand, if
things really are as bad as some people make out on the net, then it's time
to give up on them and move on.
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu -OR- {att,philabs,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy
"My karma ran over my dogma"tarr-michael@CS.YALE.EDU (michael tarr) (02/25/90)
MicroTech in East Haven, CT. sells NOVA series harddrives for a little
more than Jasmine. They come with a 5 YEAR WARRANTY and use the quantum
mechanisms in both the 40 and 80 meg models. So fare the company has
been very helpful. The drives are a little light on software utilities,
but they at come when promised (in my experience). Another company that
is overworked but seems to try very hard to make the customer happy is
LaCie. They also use quantum mechanisms and have great software
(silverlining). Although I still prefer fastback II as my backup
software.
mike tarr
tarr@cs.yale.edu hgw@julia.math.ucla.edu (Harold Wong) (02/27/90)
In article <25015@ut-emx.UUCP> etaw302@emx.UUCP (Allen Wessels) writes: >Jasmine is having serious trouble servicing problem calls, repairing drives, and >with billing people far in advance of shipping the product. I've suggested On a little different not. Has anybody had problems from Rodime? Twice on unrelated problems, I've had to send their drives back for service and it has taken me weeks before I've gotten it back. In the case of Jasmine it seems to be months nevertheless, it's still quite annoying. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harold Wong (213) 825-9040 UCLA-Mathnet; 3915F MSA; 405 Hilgard Ave.; Los Angeles, CA 90024-1555 ARPA: hgw@math.ucla.edu BITNET: hgw%math.ucla.edu@INTERBIT
isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu ( ISR group account) (02/27/90)
>illing to sell me a replacement supply for a very reasonable price. The >other repair was return-to-factory, and while Jasmine's service didn't make >us very happy, it wasn't yet at the point of never returning phone calls, >making repeated borken promises, etc. From what I gather, that's where it >is now, but that's just hearsay. Well this, isn't hearsay, and I'll say both the good and bad: Fact: Way back, Jasmine was great, good prices, good service, The first 3 or 4 drives came in fast, the one DD140 that went bad was back within a week. Fact: Then a year ago things starting falling apart. No calls returned. Even with their message saying they'll get back by end of next working day. Some days I'd have 4 messages in their message system. The only way I've ever gotten a call-back since August is by talking to Sales, and getting them to leave a handwritten note on someone's desk. That's it, no other way. Two call-backs, and I had called once a week every week from September->November, 3 days, 4calls/day every week in December and 1/week in January. One the other hand, the six drives that work are great. I just wish someone else made a BackPak. But for now, I'll never buy ANYTHING from them again and I tell that to everyone who asks me for advice (including telling them why) -- Mike Schechter, Computer Engineer,Institute Sensory Research, Syracuse Univ. InterNet: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu Bitnet: SENSORY@SUNRISE
phillips@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Mark D Phillips) (02/28/90)
>> >> I have also read many such stories here. My own experience has been that >> Jasmine drives are very reliable, and good value. I have had a DirectDrive >> 80 on my Mac Plus for over two years, with not one problem, and no lost or >> corrupted files, despite many system crashes during program development. >> Of course, this reliability has meant that I have never had to deal with >> their service department. >> >> One should also note that whereas people with problems are quick to complain, >> those with no problems do not often bother to say so; they are too busy >> actually using their systems. So, the number of stories you hear about >> problems with Jasmine drives could just be an indication of the very large >> number of drives Jasmine have sold, with no more than the industry average >> percentage bad drives. >> -- >> >> <<< standard disclaimers >>> >> Nick Crossley, ICL NA, 9801 Muirlands, Irvine, CA 92718-2521, USA 714-458-7282 >> uunet!ccicpg!ndjc / ndjc@ccicpg.UUCP The vast majority of messages regarding Jasmine have specifically dealt with the SERVICE Jasmine has offered, and a number of them have granted that, apart from some of the Rodime drives they offered a while back, Jasmine drives have been of reasonably good quality. My experience has not been bad with my drive, but I, too have had trouble (LOTS of trouble) getting service of any sort from Jasmine. I cannot believe that the amazing number of reports I have seen here, on GEnie, and in MacWEEK only indicate 'the very large number of drives Jasmine has sold'. Jasmine has a very bad problem with customer service. Period. So what good is a great drive if it is backed by crappy service? I have been quite happy with my Direct Drive 20, but I dread the day I have serious trouble, because I will surely be dead in the water. One should note that there very well could be hundreds of users out there who have had bad experiences with Jasmine that are just too fed up to bother hashing over experiences they would rather forget.
ralph@computing-maths.cardiff.ac.uk (Ralph Martin) (03/01/90)
You ask if anyone has had problems with Rodime. All I can say is that I have several of their drives, and have never had any trouble with them. Whenever I have got in touch with their Tech Support (in the UK) the service was prompt, and on the ball - they sent updated drivers free of charge by return of post, for example, when I asked for them. I dunno what they are like in the US though...