The following comments were posted on the LC message board in the Chromatography Forum at www.lcgcmag.com on 29 July 1999:

Subject: At Shimadzu, we certainly have our share of problems!

My name is John and I have the misfortune of working at Shimadzu Scientific Instruments in Columbia, MD. I have held this position for less than 10 years but I am thoroughly disgusted. I have tried to change jobs but it is hard to find employment with another analytical instrumentation vendor. The job market is tight. As a company, we have been berated on the internet for poor sales, service and support. I can't say anything about the field sales staff because I am not part of that organization. But most of the internet reports are accurate. Top management has informed all employees to keep quiet (a policy that has been in effect for over two years). We have even been threatened with dismissal if we go public. But I feel comfortable writing this. After all, we live in a country that cherishes free speech. I really don't care if Shimadzu does find out or fire me at this point.

I work with in-house product managers, the service department and the tech support personnel. We have product problems across the entire spectrum of products. I have seen untold numbers of software and hardware glitches and the sales staff keep pushing this stuff on to unsuspecting customers. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing at Shimadzu. It's really scary! We tell customers to try "xyz" when we don't know if "xyz" will really work. The emphasis is on not responding to calls while there is a noticeable lack of answers. Product managers don't seem to care and this is reflected in the service and support that this company gives to customers. If you think Shimadzu has the answers to your scientific needs, you should think again! They don't!

I have worked for two other companies and I have never seen such a mess. We get Japanese translated manuals to read and sometimes we don't even get that. The in-house Japanese product managers are clueless most of the time. Financially, the company is weak. There have been rumors of lay-offs. The new LC manufacturing facility in Oregon is producing more product than Shimadzu is selling. Employee morale is low. Employees talk incessantly about the Shimadzu Consumer Alerts homepage. And there is no end in sight! I will hang on for as long as I can but I do care. Many employees don't! If I were in a lab and Shimadzu came knocking on my door, I would close it to keep the pests out!

Finally, it is terribly disconcerting to learn that a Japanese company doing business in the US wants to limit what people say about our products. Shimadzu has played bully on the world wide web. If they see something that they don't like, they sue! I can't believe the money that this company spends censoring and chasing malcontents to have things their way. It should be spent on employee benefits which could boost morale around here. There are too many old farts in high placed positions within management for that to change anythime soon.

Believe what you read on the internet about Shimadzu. Rumors abound internally that Shimadzu cannot challenge the truthfulness of these reports lest they be accused of making false and misleading statements. That's why Shimadzu keeps quiet. There is a lot of truth to that LIE and DENY adage that you hear about regarding the other side of Shimadzu! They are also masters of deception!


Gotta go or I might be missed!

Anonymous Shimadzu employee

n.b. As we noted earlier this month, when you read messages like this, what else is there to add? No need to pile on after reading an insider's account like this. Do you think that all is well at Shimadzu? Is there a chance in hell that it will get better any time soon.... don't count on that happening in your lifetime!