stuart@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (S. D. Ericson) (02/09/90)
Hello netters, I am going to tell my ongoing tale of my service dealings
with Jasmine. Bit first, for those of you who don't want to hear any
more of that, I have a few questions, which I will gladly summarize
to the net:
1) Have any of you had bad experiences with Jasmine? - I would like
to compile a list of unsatified users and their complaints.
2) If I can get my money back from them, where should I invest it?
Notes: I'd like an internal drive for a IIcx, 80MB or larger, and
I like the speed of the Quantums. What about LaCie's
famous software and a bare drive?
3) Any hints as to how I can get Jasmine to give me a refund?
Please mail to me, Stuart Ericson, using the addresses:
USEnet: ...!att!ihlpa!stuart ARPA: stuart@ihlpa.att.com
And now, back to the story...
Last May (89) I was on the search for an internal quantum drive, by
recommendations from the net. Unfortunately, I thought Jasmine gave
the best price&software for such a drive. That summer, I began to
get the well-known quantum problems, and learned to make backups
VERY frequently (many kudos to MicroSeeds for Redux!). Finally, in
September (4 months) the drive failed completely.
It took about a week and 40 dollars in long-distance calling to get
through for a return authorization. I left many messages, but they
never returned any calls. Finally I managed to get through to a
technician, just for the return authorization. I was also able
to talk them into giving me a loaner drive. After I received the
loaner, I began to believe in their service and support after all,
they were even able to ship the loaner to me within a week of the
earthquake. But the good feeling didn't last long. Soon the loaner
drive itself was failing - it was one of their bad Rodime-based drives.
Once again, I found it necessary to back up the drive after EVERY use
of the machine.
I called Jasmine thinking I could get a replacement loaner. I was
informed that I was lucky to have a loaner, and if I sent the one
I had back, it could be weeks before I had another. And they didn't
know how long it would be before MY drive was fixed. So with their
help I learned that sometimes I could revive the drive with use
of a hairdryer - it warmed the sticking grease. But that solution
was not perfect. Eventually, the hairdryer trick didn't work. A
another 10 or 20 dollars in call attempts to Jasmine got me the
next solution: if you can ever get the drive going, DO NOT TURN IT OFF.
As luck would have it, after repeated attempts, the drive did start
up, and I've had it on ever since.
By now it was december, and I was anxious to get a reliable, full-size,
fast drive back into my machine. I spent a more time and money
getting through to Jasmine, and they finally game me an estimate: probably
in January. I tried to express my frustration, so they said they would
expidite the fix. Because they had held my drive for 3 months, and it was
going to be another month, I tried to pursue another avenue: refunding
or upgrading to another drive. They promised to call me back, but once
again I had to put in the time and money to get through. After a while,
I gave up and decided to wait for January.
By the January fifteenth, I was anxious and spent more time and money
trying to get through. Eventually I received a message on my answering
machine stating that they were sorry, but it was going to be another
4 weeks! I was infuriated -- this was an EXPIDITED repair? This is the
fifth month that they have been holding my drive, and I have spent at
least one hundred dollars on phone calls, shipping and other related
expenses to get my drive fixed WHILE UNDER WARRANTY!
I gave up. It was time to get a refund. Their warantee states that
Jasmine has the option to either fix or replace, and if they cannot
fix it, they can give a full refund of the purchase price. Well, I
figured, if they cannot fix or replace the drive in four months,
they cannot fix it at all, so I should get a refund. So I called and
left a message to that fact, and asked for a refund.
Surprizingly, the next day, Tim Timon, manager of techinical support,
called back to tell me how he had suddenly expidited the repair and
assured me that the drive would be sent out next week. Well, I no
longer trusted the word 'expidited', and I do not trust Jasmine. If
they do send me the drive next week, and it failed, would it be another
5 months before they fixed it again? To top it off, Tim told me that
my warrantee would not be charged for the time the drive was in service.
In other words, they are not confident of their service - my drive will
NOT come back with a 2-year warrantee, but about a year and a half.
Ridiculous!
So I asked again about a refund. He said that he wasn't authorized
to give me a refund, and referred me to Rose Williams. I was able
to leave a message briefly stating my case and asking for a refund.
We shall see how this turns out... I would be grateful for any
suggestions as to how to get a refund - I want to get away from
this company! Again, I also would like to hear other stories
of Jasmine troubles, as well as suggestions as to where I should
go for RELIABLE drives and service.
Stuart
Stuart Ericson AT&T Bell Laboratories
USEnet: att!ihlpa!stuart IH 1C215
ARPA: stuart@ihlpa.att.com 2000 N. Naperville Road
Voice: (708) 979-4491 Naperville, Il 60566-7033henry@chinet.chi.il.us (Henry C. Schmitt) (02/10/90)
In article <13436@cbnewsc.ATT.COM> stuart@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (S. D. Ericson) writes: >Hello netters, I am going to tell my ongoing tale of my service dealings >with Jasmine. Bit first, for those of you who don't want to hear any >more of that, I have a few questions, which I will gladly summarize >to the net: > >1) Have any of you had bad experiences with Jasmine? - I would like > to compile a list of unsatified users and their complaints. > >2) If I can get my money back from them, where should I invest it? > Notes: I'd like an internal drive for a IIcx, 80MB or larger, and > I like the speed of the Quantums. What about LaCie's > famous software and a bare drive? > >3) Any hints as to how I can get Jasmine to give me a refund? > >Please mail to me, Stuart Ericson, using the addresses: >USEnet: ...!att!ihlpa!stuart ARPA: stuart@ihlpa.att.com > >And now, back to the story... > [A sad story about problems with Jasmine omitted...] I had a very similar experience with Jasmine when I purchased one of their original (10Mb) MegaDrives. After 11 months, sending the drive back twice, waiting as the software that would "fix your problem" was delayed again and again, then having it arrive on a bad disk, I finally asked for a refund. After a month of waiting for a refund, I contacted the BBB in SF. Jasmine called (or did I call them?) and said they would refund my credit card. After two more weeks I called American Express and they credited my account and started an investigation. Next I wrote to MacUser (look in the masthead for where to complain about advertisers). FINALLY, Jasmine sent me a check. (I won't go into the several months I spent trying to reverse the credit to my AmEx. I'm too honest to spend it :-). My advice is to avoid Jasmine at all costs. If you're trying to get service or a refund from them: write the Better Business Bureau in SF, write MacUser, write your Congresscritter! In other words turn on as much heat as you can possibly manage or they'll just ignore you! Don't let them get away with this kind of crappy customer treatment. -- H3nry C. Schmitt | CompuServe: 72275,1456 (Rarely) | GEnie: H.Schmitt (Occasionally) Royal Inn of Yoruba | UUCP: Henry@chinet.chi.il.us (Best Bet)
sobiloff@agnes.acc.stolaf.edu (Chrome Cboy) (02/11/90)
In article <1990Feb10.072808.11517@chinet.chi.il.us> henry@chinet.chi.il.us (Henry C. Schmitt) writes: > My advice is to avoid Jasmine at all costs. If you're >trying to get service or a refund from them: write the Better >Business Bureau in SF, write MacUser, write your Congresscritter! >In other words turn on as much heat as you can possibly manage or >they'll just ignore you! Don't let them get away with this kind of >crappy customer treatment. As one of the few remaining Jasmine apologists left (:-), I disagree. They had some early problems with their products, and then they got screwed with their DD70s, but most companies in their position would do the same kind of tactics. This may be faint praise, but I think that their current lineup of products are quality items--I haven't heard of any problems with them, have you? I agree that their customer support can be trying at times, but at least they are willing to talk to you (as opposed to quite a few others I've had to deal with in the past!) and *try* to help you out. IMHO, of course... -Blake
alen@crash.cts.com (Alen Shapiro) (02/12/90)
>In article <1990Feb10.072808.11517@chinet.chi.il.us> henry@chinet.chi.il.us (Henry C. Schmitt) writes: >As one of the few remaining Jasmine apologists left (:-), I disagree. They had >some early problems with their products, and then they got screwed with their >DD70s, but most companies in their position would do the same kind of tactics. >This may be faint praise, but I think that their current lineup of products >are quality items--I haven't heard of any problems with them, have you? >I agree that their customer support can be trying at times, but at least they >are willing to talk to you (as opposed to quite a few others I've had to >deal with in the past!) and *try* to help you out. IMHO, of course... > -Blake A dying breed I'm afraid. I too was willing to make excuses for Jasmine until my last 4 months of trying to get them to be decent. Their currently offered kit is impressive but lacks important finishing touches. The 130Mb and 180Mb Fujitsu drives recalibrate themselves every five minutes and during this process (about 2-3 seconds) they queue transfers. Fujitsu do not significantly delay this time interval (between tests) even under heavy development loads (I've tested from 1 opertion per second all the way to 10 operations per second). Ever waited an extra 3 seconds for an SFGetFile() to display when you're under development pressures. It can be very frustrating. Their backpack modems have some design faults. 1) volume control is eratic, 2) ATZ<CR> results in garbage (not OK response) at all but 300 baud. Jasmine's quality control is rediculous. 2 of the 4 modems they have sent have been non functional on receipt. A loaner drive developed a heat fault within one week of receipt. They sent back my 130Mb upgraded drive with the original fault (as fully described on a label stuck to the drive). I have 3 outstanding RMA's with them, 1 from November last year, one from October and one from December (which is a RMA for an upgraded drive which has a heat fault of sorts). Jasmine offer a veil of silence, do not return calls, have a terrible phone system that allows for indefinite holds and cut-off from their end. The president of the company (Denis Chang) refuses to take calls and punts to his secretary (Connie who has been the only person able to cause return calls from CS manager and TS manager). I am about to try for a refund on my outstanding RMAs - wish me luck. --alen the Lisa slayer (leaning how to slay macs) ...alen%shappy.uucp@crash.cts.com (a mac+ uucp host - what a concept!!) ...alen@crash.cts.com
meldal@hawk.Stanford.EDU (Sigurd Meldal) (02/12/90)
After all the flak hitting Jasmine, I would like to relate a positive
experience.
The background: I bought a DD80 harddisk in -87, with the two year
extended warranty. Later that year I moved to Norway (in Europe). In
89 the drive died (after grumbling for a couple of weeks).
The service: I called (international mind you, not cheap) Jasmine. I
had no problems getting through, nor any problems getting an RMA. I
shipped the disk to them, they immediately shipped a new one to me (at
THEIR cost, using DHL I believe, international and expensive).
That disk is still spinning, and I am happy.
-- Sigurd Meldal
SDA.
Sigurd Meldal
Hard mail:
ERL 456 | Internet: meldal@anna.stanford.edu
Computer Systems Lab.|
Stanford University | BitNet: meldal%anna.stanford.edu@forsythe.bitnet
Stanford CA 94305 | Uucp: ...decwrl!glacier!shasta!anna!meldal
USA |
phone: +1 415 723 6027
fax: +1 415 725 7398ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley) (02/12/90)
In article <1445@crash.cts.com> alen@crash.cts.com (Alen Shapiro) writes:
. [LOTS of details about Jasmine's poor quality control, poor service, etc.]
.
. I am about to try for a refund on my [three] outstanding RMAs - wish me luck.
. --alen the Lisa slayer (leaning how to slay macs)
Good luck.
Where is Jasmine located? Perhaps a local Better Business Bureau would
be of help to you and others who have had difficulties getting Jasmine
to take your calls or call you back. Might be worth the effort to locate it.
-John
---
John O'Malley / Macintosh / Purdue University / (317)
ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu / Specialist / Computing Center / 494-1787etaw302@ut-emx.UUCP (Allen Wessels) (02/12/90)
A friend of mine ordered a Jasmine drive the second week of January and was told to expect delivery on Feb 2. On Feb 3 she called Jasmine and was told that there would be a delay of 5-6 weeks. Jasmine of course had already cashed the check. I have three or four Jasmine drives on the network I manage. I haven't had a problem with any of them. I know of several people who have had to wait for months to get a drive fixed by Jasmine. Our University computer store no longer carries Jasmine products because of Jasmine's poor reliability. Given the availability of less expensive drives, there doesn't seem to be any advantage to choosing a Jasmine product.
isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu ( ISR group account) (02/12/90)
having a bunch of jasmine drives, (140DD, 45DD, 45BP, 40BP, 80BP), I think that what can be said about Jasmine is that there stuff is great unless it fails. Then you are entering hell itself. Do not under any circumstances buy anything except a backpack from them. And the only reason you should consider a backpack is 'cause they're the only ones making them. I have had 6 drives fail, and only one of them get back in less than 2 months. One backpack failed after 4 months usage, was sent in, failed after 2 days, was sent in again. The first time is was in it took 3+ months, now it's been in since Dec 4. I repeat for everyone: speaking for myself as Mac consultant: DO NOT BUY JASMINE. speaking for my department: MANY OF US ARE HIGHLY DISSATISFIED WITH JASMINE'S SERVICE No Disclaimer. -- Mike Schechter, Computer Engineer,Institute Sensory Research, Syracuse Univ. InterNet: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu Bitnet: SENSORY@SUNRISE
abbott@dean.Berkeley.EDU (=Mark Abbott) (02/13/90)
In article <11238@thor.acc.stolaf.edu> sobiloff@agnes.stolaf.edu (Chrome Cboy) writes: >In article <1990Feb10.072808.11517@chinet.chi.il.us> henry@chinet.chi.il.us (Henry C. Schmitt) writes: >> My advice is to avoid Jasmine at all costs. If you're >>trying to get service or a refund from them: write the Better >>Business Bureau in SF, write MacUser, write your Congresscritter! >>In other words turn on as much heat as you can possibly manage or >>they'll just ignore you! Don't let them get away with this kind of >>crappy customer treatment. > >As one of the few remaining Jasmine apologists left (:-), I disagree. They had >some early problems with their products, and then they got screwed with their > -Blake Well, I sent back two megafloppies to be replaced as faulty media (they come with a lifetime warranty and supposedly any failed megafloppy will be replaced at no cost) in March 1989 and I STILL haven't gotten them back. I call them on a regular basis. I talk to the customer service people every few weeks and they tell me things like "Either I'll get it shipped or call you back", "I have to use someone else's computer to check those records-I'll call you back", etc. And nothing every happens. I'm a pretty patient sort so I haven't gone to the better business bureau yet but I've finally just about had it. If the current set of calls doesn't produce results then I'm definitely putting as much heat on them as I can. My advice is to avoid Jasmine no matter what. They may make reasonable products but if anything goes wrong you're hosed. Completely hosed. Mark abbott@dean.berkeley.edu
kenney@hsi.UUCP (Brian Kenney) (02/17/90)
I was SO close to buying an 80 Meg drive from Jasmine this week.
Thanks! I now know to stay clear of them. Anyone have any comments
on Nova drives from Microtech? I've heard some good things about them.
How's their service, etc?
Thanks in advance
Bri
Brian Kenney
USEnet: uunet!hsi!kenney
Internet: kenney@hsi.com
Bitnet: kenney_b@ctstateu