The following email was received by us on 8 October 1998. As one can see, it was sent to Shimadzu but they've been busy sweeping things under the rug! How many other notes similar to this have made their way to Shimadzu?

To: Shimadzu Marketing Group
From: National Institutes of Health

I have been contemplating the acquisition of a FTIR spectrophotometer for some time now. On Monday, I had Nicolet in my lab to demonstrate their product offering. I was very impressed. On Tuesday, I received one of those product decks from American Laboratory (I think) and included was one of your cards describing Shimadzu's FTIR. The card read 100% satisfaction guaranteed. It sounded to good to believe. I called the Nicolet salesman who commented that maybe I should check out the website at http://members.tripod.com/~alerts. I didn't have time to access the site that day but I spoke with another colleague about Nicolet's demo and your card deck ad for Shimadzu's FTIR. Immediately, he commented about some info on our internal server referencing Consumer Alerts for Shimadzu & Kratos customers. This was the second time I heard about this homepage in less than 24 hours. At this point, the curiousity killed the cat and I had to access this site. After reading briefly thru about five different pages, I decided that Shimadzu was not for me. Now mind you there was another 3 dozen other pages at this site that I didn't even read. I did look for info about the pitfalls of the Shimadzu FTIR, but I didn't find it. If it wasn't there, it's probably only a matter of time until it does appear. I just have to wonder how Shimadzu has managed to upset so many customers. If you disappointed before, you'll probably disappoint again. Hence my decision to buy Nicolet. Being an independent researcher here at the NIH, I have an eye for sorting truth from fiction (my job depends upon that). I would manage to say that you'll have a hard time unloading your instruments on this campus. I wouldn't go out of my way to disparage Shimadzu but if someone asked, I now know where to direct them!


Sincerely,

NIH fellow
Building 49

n.b. NIH is regarded by many as the pre-eminent research institution in the world. If researchers conclude that Shimadzu will disappoint again because they've disappointed before, then why would you/should you take a chance and buy from Shimadzu? Take advantage of this 20/20 hindsight and STAY AWAY from Shimadzu!

n.b. Shimadzu's FTIR is a new product offering from Shimadzu. We'd bet dollars to doughnuts that it's full of bugs.... lots of them! That's why they are offering that "no risk" guarantee. Don't be suckered! Why would you want this problem in your lab?

n.b. Do you have time to play with Shimadzu's new FTIR? They will tempt you with a 100% satisfaction guarantee but we'll bet you'll play hell getting your money back! They will bury some clause or nuance in their sales contract to prevent a complete refund!

n.b. How come Shimadzu is not offering a 100% satisfaction guarantee on ALL their products? Is it something unique about their FTIR that's troublesome or are all their products full of BUGS? In this case, believe in the former and the latter points of view!

n.b. Speaking of guarantees - Shimadzu relishes in suing customers. If you decide to take Shimadzu up on their limited 100% satisfaction guarantee, don't be surprised if they sue you for whatever just for the hell of it!

n.b. Shimadzu has been sweeping a lot of Shit-ma-zoo under the rug. Why haven't they noticed the growing stinking heap in the middle of the floor that all their customers have been tripping over.... it's known as complete denial! Do you want to be tripped up with Shimadzu's inferior product offerings?