Analytical Consumer Provides Valuable Buying Advice
For more than six years, Analytical Consumer has provided prospective
customers with priceless information on the pros and cons of analytical instrumentation
manufactured for use in scientific laboratories all over the world. The newsletter
conducts wide-ranging surveys of analytical equipment users to ascertain which instrument
vendors have the most satisfied customers and why. On-going information is gathered by
telephone, summarized and presented in the monthly newsletter. Analytical Consumer reports
what the end-users say and ranks the manufacturers on customer satisfaction. One lab
manager has characterized the newsletter's surveys as "a reality check for vendors
claims." This is an excellent forum to learn what companies won't tell the customer
including, but not limited to: 1) the real problems with a particular instrument, 2) what
to expect realistically from the vendor's support & service departments, and 3)
whether the newest advertised claim really works or whether it's a bunch of hype!
We have included below some excerpts from an article by Jo Rita Jordan entitled "The
Best Suppliers: A Five-Year Summary" which appeared in the August/September 1995
issue of the Analytical Consumer newsletter. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for most
of our readers to procure a copy of this article since a one year subscription will set
you back a sizable $260 (US dollars). Therefore, we have gleaned the information of most
interest to our audience and presented it herein.
Table 2 of the report summarizes those companies that satisfy their customers very well
(>80%) across all their product lines. From the top in descending order, they include:
Amray (SEM), TA Instruments (Thermal Analysis), KVB Analect (FTIR, NIR), Spectro (ICP,
robotics, Hg), Metrohm (Auto titrators), Philips (XRF, EM), Beckman (HPLC, pH, UV-VIS),
JEOL (SEM, TEM, NMR), Hach (UV-VIS, GC, pH), Leica (SEM), ASOMA (XRF), and Gow Mac (GC).
Table 4 of the article describes those vendors who only dominate a given technology and
satisfy users of only one instrument type. In ascending order, they include: Perkin-Elmer
(Hg analyzers), ASOMA* and TN Spectrace* [*tie] (XRF), Nicolet (GC-FTIR), Perkin-Elmer
(FIA), Dionex (Ion chromatography), TJA (ICP), Varian (NMR), Philips (TEM), Finnigan (Mass
Spectrometers), Hewlett-Packard (GC), Amray (SEM), and Shimadzu (UV-VIS). (If you
decide to buy one of the new Shimadzu UV-2401 or UV-2501 spectrophotometers, be sure to
inquire about that special "flexible" plastic sample compartment. It's not an
option.... it's STANDARD!)
Table 5 of the report lists product satisfaction factors. Noteworthy comments
include:
Hewlett-Packard Company
"many labs report routinely buying from HP without considering others"
"rugged, reliable instruments"
Finnigan Corporation
"quality and good service for quadrupoles"
Nicolet Instrument Corporation
"in a survey where only 36% of the users were completely satisfied,
Nicolet's 81% score is outstanding."
Thermo Jarrell Ash (TJA)
"reliability and ruggedness"
Varian Associates
"standard computer hardware, service and simple operation"
The report concludes that "users repeatedly invoke the magic qualities of good
service and support" and "reliable, dependable instruments." In all of the
surveys conducted, the term "workhorse" commands respect, praise and widespread
approval. It is highly recommended that you purchase a workhorse from a reputable vendor!
Expect Less Value and More Disappointment from Shimadzu
This page was last 
12/31/00