Re: filmscanners: Minolta has poor warranty service

[Arthur Entlich <artistic@ampsc.com>]

Hi Berry,

Just to keep things straight, where are you located, and where did the 
scanner go?

A ROM-IC is probably an EPROM or similar chip which has the firmware in 
it. They have probably done an upgrade due to bugs in an earlier version.

Under the circumstances, I would demand three to four things from Minolta.

1) A new scanner (not a refurb either, a factory new one)

2) Cross shipment or pre-shipment of the new one

3) Their Fed-ex or Puralator number so you can have the old one returned 
to them at their expense.

4) And just for fun, a refund of the $16 shipping and an apology.

If you are in the US, there are lemon laws in most states on a variety 
of items (not only cars).  They have some limitations on how many times 
a company can "fix" a bad unit before they have to either refund your 
money or supply a brand new one.

Lastly, many people are having good success with this scanner, but they 
do seem to have a higher than acceptable failure rate.  Minolta needs to 
live up to their responsibility in this matter.

Art

Art

Berry Ives wrote:

> Here is a follow-up on Minolta's warranty service quality:  it sucks.
> 
> My scanner developed a problem after 20 or 30 scans, when it began leaving a
> cyan toned line across the long dimension of the image.  It appeared that
> the CCD had a few pixels fail or maybe some crud on them.  A couple people
> on this list suggested that I try putting the scanner on its side; tapping
> it; blowing some dust off into it (with care).  I did those things and
> nothing changed.  I called Minolta and got somebody right away, no problem,
> and they said to send it in and it would be covered.  So far, so good.
> 
> I sent the scanner back to them at a cost of $15.35 for shipping and
> insurance on 4/6/01.  I sent them not only a description of the problem, but
> a print that showed the problem clearly, with an arrow pointing to the cyan
> line.  It could not have been more obvious.
> 
> I received it back from them on 4/18/01, and although it took 12 days to get
> it back, I was thrilled.  They indicated that they exchanged the ROM-IC
> (whatever that is) and checked the scan functions, and that they did
> "repair, clean & adjust to factory specifications."
> 
> I tested the scanner and it is exactly the same as it was when I sent it to
> them.  Obviously, they never tested the scanner after making whatever
> adjustments they might have made, since they would have seen the problem.
> To be absolutely sure, I rechecked a couple negatives with a loupe, and
> there was no problem with my negatives.
> 
> Shame on you Minolta!
> 
> -Berry