dth@reef.cis.ufl.edu (David Hightower) (03/23/91)
I would like to relate to you my experiences with Seiko Instruments recently. I am the owner of a Seiko CM-1445 14" monitor for my Macintosh IIci. When I purchased the monitor I was assured that it would work with my Apple 8-24 video card; I did not want to use the ci's built-in video with the commensurate slow-down. I get the monitor, plug it in, and lo and behold, it does NOT work with the video card; it does work with the built-in video, though. I call Seiko, and they inform me that the problem is due to Apple changing the video standards on their 8-24 and 8-24GC cards. If I mail the monitor back to them, they tell me, they will modify it free of charge so that it will work with the video card. All the newer Seiko monitors already have this modification. I use my Macintosh, among other things, to put out a weekly newsletter which MUST be out every week. I was concerned about the repair time, so I asked how long I would be without my monitor. They assured me that the repair would be a 48-hour turnaround ( the repair is simply changing some ROM routines) and I should have my monitor back 4 days after they receive it. Last week I finally had the chance to send the monitor in. I sent it on Monday, March 11, by UPS next day air. The next day I called UPS and they verified that it had been received and signed for at 10:42 AM (PST) on the 12th of March. I then called Seiko to confirm that they had received it. Seiko has a voice mail system, so after pressing a few buttons on my phone I finally would up at Tech support--to hear the message "extention 5580 is not available. At the tone..." I left a message asking that they contact me if they haven't received the monitor. Thursday, 14 March: I call Seiko again; again I get the recorded message. I leave another message. Friday, 15 March: I call Seiko again; again the message. This time, I press "0" to get to an operator. She routes me to another machine. I leave a message on this one, again asking them to check on the status of my monitor. Monday, 18 March: I call Seiko again; again I'm routed to 5580. I go to the operator, she routes me to the other machine. I go to the operator again, she routes me to yet ANOTHER machine. I leave a message on this machine; it is supposedly a supervisor's machine. Tuesday, 19 March. I call Seiko again; again I go through the the machine labyrinth. This time I ask the operator to get me ANYONE who happens to be working. I finally talk to a human; she is surprised that I have not been able to get through. She does some checking, and tells me that Seiko did not receive my monitor until 18 March. I call UPS back, and they give me the name of the person who signed for the monitor on 12 March. I call Seiko back, and they have "no idea" why it was received on the 12th and not started until the 18th. She informs me that the monitor is in burn-in and will be sent out on Wednesday, 20 March. Thursday, 21 March: I call Seiko to confirm that the monitor has been shipped; they inform me that it has not come out of burn-in and will be shipped Friday, 22 March. To "make up for the delay", they tell me, they will ship it second-day air (which they had told me they would do in the first place). Seiko does NOT have a toll-free number. I was paying for all these calls, being on hold, etc. All I wanted to know was if my monitor had been shipped yet or not. As a result of this, I have been required to use a local copy center's Macintoshes to put out this week's newsletter (late). There was no newsletter published last week. Grand total: 5 messages left on voicemail, none of which were returned until I finally was able to speak to a supervisor--then only 1 response, which was a lie. My point? None--just be prepared for empty promises and such when dealing with Seiko Instruments. Dave
arie@eecs.umich.edu (Arie Covrigaru) (03/23/91)
>>>>> On 22 Mar 91 16:51:34 GMT, dth@reef.cis.ufl.edu (David Hightower) said: | I would like to relate to you my experiences with Seiko Instruments recently. | I am the owner of a Seiko CM-1445 14" monitor for my Macintosh IIci. When | I purchased the monitor I was assured that it would work with my Apple | 8-24 video card; I did not want to use the ci's built-in video with the | commensurate slow-down. I get the monitor, plug it in, and lo and behold, | it does NOT work with the video card; it does work with the built-in video, | though. | I call Seiko, and they inform me that the problem is due to Apple changing | the video standards on their 8-24 and 8-24GC cards. If I mail the monitor | back to them, they tell me, they will modify it free of charge so that it | will work with the video card. All the newer Seiko monitors already have | this modification. [Stuff about bad experience deleted...] | As a result of this, I have been required to use a local copy center's | Macintoshes to put out this week's newsletter (late). There was no | newsletter published last week. | Grand total: 5 messages left on voicemail, none of which were returned | until I finally was able to speak to a supervisor--then only 1 response, | which was a lie. | My point? None--just be prepared for empty promises and such when dealing | with Seiko Instruments. | Dave I have to comment here about the fact that I had to do the same thing with my Seiko 14" color monitor and I had a completely different experience. I called Seiko, asked them about the fix and was told that it will take 4 days. They let me choose the way I wanted to ship the monitor and paid for it (I chose Federal Express). The monitor was back in my hands six days after I shipped it, including a weekend. No problems, no calls from me to them, no expenses. Actually, I was surprised by the excellent service. -- ============================================================================= Arie Covrigaru | University of Michigan AI Lab Phone: (313)763-1255 | Room 149, Advanced Technology Bldg. Internet: arie@eecs.umich.edu | 1101 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 =============================================================================