January 1999


This month marks the second anniversary of the Shimadzu Consumer Alerts homepage since its debut two full years ago. Once again, it's an exciting time to describe some of our noteworthy accomplishments. It's also a time to look ahead (more on that later). In September of 1998, we received word that our awesome homepage was reviewed by a panel of medical professionals representing a prestigious online search engine. They awarded our website a "4 star rating" after concluding that the information contained herein is 100 percent accurate. We stand by a declaration that we made 2 years ago that the information on our homepage (opinions exempted) has been researched and found to be authentic. We did not make this stuff up. The misfits at Shimadzu continue to pencil this story.... we just tell you all about it!

During 1998, we continued to make great strides informing laboratory decision makers worldwide about "the other side of Shimadzu." This effort continues to be spearheaded by Mr. Terry L. Adams (Shimadzu Regional Manager) who wrote an explosive interoffice memorandum highlighting numerous problems in the field. And yes, our readers are amazed that someone of Mr. Adams stature would blatantly and willfully backstab so many co-workers in the Shimadzu family, but go figure.... he did! You have to wonder if he is related to Linda Tripp of Monica Lewinsky fame! We have asked Mr. Adams to provide us with some more of Shimadzu's shenanigans but he's been mum. We're offering Mr. Adams 1,000 Japanese yen if he forwards us some more corporate fodder by email.

We promised last year that we would initiate an aggressive campaign worldwide to disseminate factual information about Shimadzu and their egregious business practices. We will employ the same strategy again for the current year. Truthful information like that found on our homepage should be of continued concern to anyone considering the acquisition of new analytical instrumentation from Shimadzu. We beckon our supporters to use all known methods to disperse these truths including conventional (eg. snailmail, telephone, fax, email, word of mouth) and non-conventional means (ie. chat rooms, newsgroups, usenets, bulletin boards, search engine indexes, etc) to meet our objective of reaching all laboratory decision makers around the globe.

Our primary purpose has always been to communicate valuable consumer-oriented information to our readers.... and this is our pledge for 1999 and beyond! We do not knowingly publish false information on our website and anything that is published has been substantiated and/or verified independently (editorial notes and our opinions are points of view.... please don't loathe us when we tell it the way it is). We stated last year that no one from Shimadzu would admit openly and/or officially to the truths promulgated on our homepage. We also told you that Shimadzu would deny these facts or deflect your concerns as the work of disgruntled individual(s). Well this past Fall '98, they did just that in an official response to our perceived online attacks (more on that in a minute). We will reiterate our position that when an organization cannot be relied upon to police itself and disclose incontrovertible wrongdoing, it should be no great surprise that outside forces will undertake the mission and gladly proclaim this factual information to the four corners of the Earth.... we remain omnipotent and undaunted!

Shimadzu in keeping with the "we are the victim" theme commented publicly about our overwhelming presence on the internet. They characterized our website as being "negative" and "critical of Shimadzu, its subsidiaries, distributors and employees." Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black! Shimadzu noted that "occurrences like these prompt companies to re-evaluate their programs." Okay, so Shimadzu re-evaluated a few programs (maybe) but you can bet your bottom dollar that little or nothing has changed. And if anything did change, it will revert to its former decrepid state.... just give it some time! Shimadzu's quality and customer service programs are not the best in the industry (this is not even a close call). This corporation revels in serving up lies and denials.... how's that for customer interaction (Shimadzu style)?

The propaganda from Shimadzu continued "the management of SSI regrets that some individuals have regarded this web site's commentary as fact." Dear unscrupulous ones at Shimadzu, everything that we have represented as fact on our website is the absolute unadulterated truth and nothing but! Now we will throw down the gauntlet.... if Shimadzu provides incontrovertible/indisputable evidence by email which supports their contention that our homepage contains even one falsehood, then we will yank the story and issue a formal public apology on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC. Is Shimadzu up to the challenge or will they simply persist with their bold-faced lies and denials? Shimadzu also labelled our factual information "fraudulent" but they provided no proof whatsoever to support their feeble claims.... why is that? Could this be yet another deceitful attempt by Shimadzu to deflect the spotlight which is highlighting their abysmal name and bad reputation? Citizens around the world should regard all of the information on the Shimadzu Consumer Alerts homepage as truthful, verifiable and accurate! Just be wary of the mis-information being spewed by Shimadzu officials and figureheads alike!

Shimadzu concludes that they have "no litigation pending regarding this individual or his/her web sites." What they failed to mention is that they have no case period! Besides, it was only six months ago that they were chasing after the editor of Chromtalk (www.chromtalk.com) with a lawsuit because of viewpoints which appeared in that online forum. This is a litigious bunch who specialize in abridging/silencing one's right to free speech in the U.S. If Shimadzu can't stand the heat, then they should get the hell out of the kitchen and leave this country (and take those inferior product offerings with them.... all of them)! And to think (according to Shimadzu) that an ex-employee is responsible for all of Shimadzu's on-going woes. Have they ever made an olive-branch offering to meet with this spirited individual(s) in an effort to mitigate their mounting losses? So, anything and everything that goes wrong at Shimadzu will be blamed on this ex-employee.... paranoia must run strong in their gene pool!

If Shimadzu had their way, you would not have the benefit or knowledge of the information presented herein. Once again, Shimadzu and their legal counsel were busy on another front in 1998 claiming that Mr. Adams' embarrassing memo was privileged and confidential information. And once again, one of our internet server hosts was not buying Shimadzu's load of crap! Thanks to hosts like Tripod, Geocities and Angelfire, no corporate entity will ever monopolize the internet or its content - everyone can have an equal say! Corporations like Shimadzu will continue (no doubt) to retain cantankerous attorneys in a bold attempt to bludgeon, intimidate and scare off principled informants (including webmasters) when they don't like the message. Dear Shimadzu, you keep chasing bad decisions with good money! Meanwhile, we're not going anywhere anytime soon.... not now, not ever!!! Any one person, group or organization can construct and maintain a presence on the world wide web with virtual impunity - this insures that another balanced perspective is available for public view since we all know that there are at least 2 sides to every story.... life is damn good!

During the coming year, we will continue to unveil amazing new stories and periodic updates. In fact, we have a backlog of new ideas/stories to last thru the end of the millennium. And that doesn't include late-breaking news that will undoubtedly develop as the year unfolds. Our readers will have their collective breath taken away when they learn about some of the deceitful business practices which we continue to unearth at Shimadzu. We are very grateful to our network of contributors and sources who supply us with an influx of tips, ideas and story suggestions.... please keep the presses rolling! There are investigations that are still active and on-going. Therefore, we will not divulge the nature of these undertakings so as to compromise sources or jeopardize the possible outcomes.

Some day, some how and some way, maybe Shimadzu will stop trying to annihilate the messenger(s) in an attempt to discredit the genuine message(s) being communicated. We remain vigilant to continue our important work. Along with our complement of custodians, the Shimadzu Consumer Alerts homepage will not vanish from the internet any time soon. A word to the wise at Shimadzu.... sit back, strap yourself in securely, grit your teeth, paint a smile on your sullen face, hold tight and enjoy the ride because you have absolutely no control over the path you're being catapulted along - you do not have permission to get off yet (make damn sure that you check your pants when you finally get back up!). BTW: What's that smell?


n.b. Remember, quality at Shimadzu means getting passing grades (barely); it doesn't mean getting it right the first time!

n.b. As one of Shimadzu's competitors noted, "Great site.....that's all I've got to say. Keep up the good work. I know so many people that have been screwed by Shimadzu!"

n.b. It's been observed that if you throw enough shit-ma-zoo up on the wall.... some of it is bound to stick sooner or later. Meanwhile, the slinging will continue with glee!

n.b. Something to ponder: What do we have to gain by stating untruths and falsehoods.... absolutely nothing! Now what does Shimadzu have to gain by using treachery and deceit? Answer: YOUR business (which translates into dollars). Who has a bigger motivation to resort to the use of lies and denials.... us or them???

BTW: Please note that Shimadzu Corporation has never written us at any time to question the veracity of the information on our website at: http://www.bigfoot.com/~shimadzu-sux. It's something that they don't want to admit but our facts (and opinions) are all in order!