🚀 go-pugleaf

I am posting this for a co-worker, please reply or post to me.


I'd like to inform you of a very frustrating experience in trying to deal with
the warranty department of Everex, one of the supposedly respectable
brands of equipment.  The following three letters will give the details of
the interactions I had with a nonresponsive, noncaring company.  What isn't
said is that all of the contacts ended with the company representative
dropping the ball and not following through with their stated actions.  If
you're thinking about buying any of the Everex or Abaton products, look this
over carefully.  If you've had any similar experience, please reply.



EVER for EXcellence
48431 Milmont Drive
Fremont, CA 94538

Re: Your Return Authorization Number 31485-E, your customer code LAR036


Dear sirs:

What's in a name?  EVEREX, and the slogan behind it, are a commendable
policy to claim, and a tough one to live up to.  To always uphold a standard
of excellence requires knowledge, wisdom, resources, and the continuing
commitment to perform at your best.  I'd like to suggest some areas needing
your attention, on a management level.



Last November, I received a Abaton Propoint trackball from a mail order
supplier, Telemart, of Phoenix, AZ.  I wasn't able to try it out until
December 12, when my Mac II finally arrived.  You can probably imagine my
disappointment when the cursor froze on the monitor during the first
evening of operation.  When I took the Mac II back to my dealer for repair, it
needed a new logic board: the dealer replaced it under warranty; they would
not check out my trackball, since it was purchased elsewhere.  



On December 14 (after seeing proper operation at the dealer's), I hooked
everything up and tried it again.  This time, the cursor was frozen from the
start; later inspection at the dealer revealed the new logic board was
damaged.  Actual damage was likely a $1 fuse, soldered in place (!) which,
according to Apple policy, is not field replaceable.  Apple would not cover
the replacement expenses under warranty, as they felt the damage was not
caused by their equipment.  Due to the fact that my dealer did not have a
second spare board and delivery was ordered over the holidays, the second
repair was not made until a new spare was received from Apple, on January
16.  My cost for the repair was $237.  Using only the Apple mouse, operation
after repair was normal.



In the meantime, I had telephoned your service number on December 17, 19,
and 29, attempting to get a return authorization number so that I could get
the trackball checked out.  Your 8 am-5 pm hours on your "hot line" and lack
of a toll-free number make it difficult to communicate.  It's tough to have
to call from work; when the phone was answered by a recording, and I got
put on hold for what seemed to be an inordinate period of time (at
California's high business hour rates), I lost what little respect I had for
the name, "EVEREX".  I finally did make contact (after sending a letter),
received a RA number from Ramona on the 29th, and shipped the unit back
(complete with letter, box, and paperwork) on December 30.  

I received a replacement trackball on January 31, with no report of what
you found.  Worse yet, the replacement trackball was shipped without its
original box or paperwork; it looks suspicously like someone else's reject. 
When I got around to trying it out on February 1, my fears were confirmed:
after only 10-15 minutes of operation, the cursor started "sliding" down
the page in jerks.  I tried to quit the application and shut down, but could
not adequately control the cursor.  The switch on the back of the Mac II
would not shut the unit down, and I pulled the plug to power down so that I
could remove the trackball.  Upon restart with the mouse, operation was
back to normal and has been since. 

I do not want to keep the trackball: I demand a refund of my cost of $85.  I
would be happy to ship it back, along with copies of whatever
documentation you need to confirm the facts.  I also would like for you to
consider reimbursing me for my costs of replacing the logic board.  I feel
that I have been patient with your system, and you have not performed.  I
have access to Usernet, and would like to point out that your name is on the
line.
Sincerely, 
Larry K. Jones



EVER for EXcellence	March 20, 1989
48431 Milmont Drive 
Fremont, CA 94538

Re: Your Return Authorization Number 31485-E, your customer code LAR036,
my letter to you of 4 February, 1989 (attached)

Dear sirs:
It has been six weeks since I sent the referenced letter to you, and I have
not received any word that you have received it.  Assuming that you did not
receive it, I am enclosing an additional copy and will delay any action in
small claims court for two weeks while awaiting your response.  Judging
from past experience, I believe that you probably have received my letter
and are ignoring it, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.



EVER for EXcellence?  You've got to be kidding; I've yet to see any evidence
of interest from you in your product's performance or your customers'
satisfaction.
Sincerely,
Larry K. Jones



Office of the Attorney General
Public Inquiry Unit                                                        
PO Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550               	17 July 1989                     
                     	



Subject:  Complaint of treatment by Everex Systems, Inc., regarding their
Abatron Propoint trackball (computer curser control)

Dear sirs:

The attached letters from last February and March will give you background
information on my complaint.  Instead of pursuing any small claims action, I
again tried telephone contact in early April, talking with Mosella Harris,
the assistant manager of customer service, and Ramona Coletta, of
technical support.  Ms. Harris informed me that since I had not purchased
the trackball directly from Everex, they could not reimburse me for the
purchase.  Telemart, the dealer I purchased it from, has a policy of no
warranty service.  EverexUs warranty service (for products purchased from
a dealer) is limited to replacement, which was very poorly done, in my case. 
I was placed in a Catch 22 situation, being sent (apparently) someone
elseUs reject, which nearly caused a repeat of the logic board failure.   



Ms. Coletta does not appear to be interested in solving the technical
problem; she has not asked the basic questions of what models of keyboard
and monitor were being used, and admitted that no tests were made of the
unit I sent back.  To me, this is not a valid warranty response, but is a
fraudulent practice.

Can you give me any hope for satisfaction?  Short of that, I would at least
like to inform the rest of the world of the dangers of purchasing Everex
products.  To that end, these three letters are being published on "Usernet",
a nationwide electronic mail network of commercial and collegiate
computer users. 

Thank you for considering my case.



+-------+    Greg Hiscott            gophers = gophers - 7; +-------+ 
|+-----+|    gjh@ligo.caltech.edu                           |+-----+|
||[===]||    Phone:(818)356-2974                            ||[===]||
|+-----+|    USPS:Caltech, 102-33, Pasadena, CA 91125       |+-----+|
+-------+    FAX:(818)304-9834                              +-------+