The following comments were posted in the Rate-A-Vendor forum at www.chemicalanalysis.com on 29 June 1999:

Subject: Bad products/service from Shimadzu

"I work for a Japanese company that bought the exact same equipment as what they had in Japan. This included a Shimadzu AA. This instrument has a dedicated PC and is used only once per month. Well, the hard drive on the computer crashed within days of the expiration of the 1 year warranty. When I received no help or response from my local rep, I posted a scathing message on their American corporate web site. Then someone from Maryland contacted me and had my problem fixed for free. I have had numerous problems with this instrument that I have never seen in a Perkin-Elmer AA and I agree about the translated manuals. They are basically non-informative. We have gone thru 3-4 sales reps since the instrument was purchased and they never return calls. As long as it's up to me, I will never buy a Shimadzu instrument!"

n.b. Well, when you read messages like this, what else is there to add? But you know us, we'll pile on at this point! Shimadzu's share of the AA market is minuscule! Quarter after quarter, the corporate sales quota for this product is rarely, if ever, exceeded! And how about the inferior quality of a Shimadzu product that needs service work within days of the warranty expiring? How typical is this? Do you want one in your lab?

n.b. Please take note that this Shimadzu customer reported "no help or response from the local rep" and that "they never return calls." How about that FREE technical support advertised by Shimadzu.... we've said it before: You'll get what you pay for and probably not even that! If you paid nothing, you will get nothing from Shimadzu except a headache! And then the Shimadzu user commented that "I have had numerous problems with this [Shimadzu AA] instrument." Finally, he/she characterized the Shimadzu translated manuals as "basically non-informative." What else do you need to hear???

n.b. And what's up with 3-4 different sales reps in the space of about 12 months? Is it really that BAD at Shimadzu? With this kind of attrition rate, it sounds like the sales reps are leaving in droves after completing the initial indoctrination program at Shimadzu. Think about it though, after previewing the inferior Shimadzu products that you would be peddling to prospective customers, you'd probably quit pronto too!

n.b. If you have a Shimadzu instrument in need of service work (and just about all Shimadzu products qualify), consider posting a scathing report of your experiences with Shimadzu on the internet. All Shimadzu customers have had their moments! Harsh criticisms will prod Shimadzu into action (as evidenced by the gratis service work given above). Don't leave out any of the details. If the sales, service or tech support sucked.... say so! You could end up with some "free" Shimadzu service work! You'll also be setting yourself up for some more disappointment (Shimadzu style) down the road!

n.b. If you need a place to go public about your "bad" experiences with Shimadzu, consider the following avenues: Tech Talk at www.chromtalk.com, St. Louis Chromatography Discussion Open Forum at www.stlcdg.org, LC & GC Chromatography Forum Discussion Group at www.lcgcmag.com, Biotech Rumor Mill at www.biofind.com, Minnesota Chromatography Forum Discussion at www.minnchrom.org, LabAlliance Online Chromatography Discussion Group at www.laballiance.com and the sci.chem, sci.chem.analytical and sci.techniques.spectroscopy newsgroups at www.deja.com. Remember, you can always forward your comments to us at shimadzu-sux@bigfoot.com and we will gladly publish them uncensored! Is our right to free speech great or what?