Lynn wrote:
> Contrary to the impression some of my "rants" would give, I didn't exactly
> "ride in here on a hay wagon." :-)
Sorry, didn't mean to imply that in my earlier posting.
> Some of my work experience was with
> mid-tech manufacturing/assembly, where the Chief Designer's view was that
> "Every assembly should be reversible." This, because your average
> field-user
> doesn't necessarily have the time to find a service center, and must do
> minor repairs themself to get back to work. So our company endeavored to
> provide an "exploded view/parts list" sheet with every unit we sold. This
> also doubled as a numbered "Assembly/Disassembly" guide, which would be
> supplemented further if the process was compex. Naturally, we warned that
> our "Limited Warranty" would not extend to user repairs, as part of a
> "Cover
> Your A**" disclaimer.
I guess this approach works for some products, but there comes a stage
when certain factors (non-exhaustive list eg size of product, safety or
certification, price-point ie it so cheap it's a throw-away product)
when the manufacturer doesn't want to go thru this. In your example,
it assumes some technical knowledge comensurate with the product, so
it will work. OTOH, how many home users would feel comfortable opening
their PC case, much less their scanner. You're not a typical home user,
you're in the upper 3sigma so you don't count :-)
You may have noticed that gone are the days of machined chassis lovingly
put-together by master craftsmen. All you get are stamped parts,
"engineering plastics" to replace metal, one-time sonic welding vs user
removable screws etc. Unfortunately, all these tend to make the parts
less field-repairable.
> I don't fault HP for not covering user-repairs, because they can't--and
> having only a 90-day Limited Warranty is probably smart business too, if
> you
> can get away with it. I *do* fault them for dodging the question
> altogether.
90 day warranty! Over here (Singapore) it's 1 year.
> If there *is* an available 'authorised service centre,' providing that
> information is something that shouldn't cost much more than the time and
> trouble. Offering to tell me 'where it is' for $2.50-a-minute is an insult
> to my buying power!
I have found that often the answer depends on their target market. For
consumer-products, companies tend to be coy (legal and support reasons,
I guess). I have found HP workstation division and Sun to be very
forthcoming, even faxing me extracts from the repair manuals, once you
can "talk turkey" with them.
I suspect your experience is a result of the cost pressures dumbing down
on the support levels. Sometimes, the poor chap behind the phone doesn't
even have a clue about the product and is reading off a checklist.
> A Customer is the most important part of any business--without them, you
> don't get a paycheck. A Happy Customer will come back, time and again, and
> buy more stuff--Unhappy Customers will tell their friends. So ISTM that
> the
> "In Your Face" philosophy of the current trend is a counterproductive
> tactic
> that will "downstream" with serious consequences. The drastic drop in
> stock
> prices may already be reflecting that (along with other things).
Agree with the part about customers - the customer pays your paycheck, your
boss just handles the admin stuff.
> Again, I thank Lawrence for his input,
you're welcome. I'm not defending HP's, or other computer mfgr's,
service practices. Just trying to provide an insight.....
>and I *did* in fact understand what
> he was saying, although his clarifications give it a better overview. But
> I
> *still* think a simple slotted or Phillips-head screw is a better
> design-answer for Consumer products than requiring specialized tools. I
> notice that the newer HP scanners are using them. :-)
Maybe they heard you? :-)
Cheers
Lawrence
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