From: flloyd@l1-a.West.Sun.COM (Fred Lloyd [Phoenix SE])
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: Manufactures service.
Date: 5 Jan 1993 22:38:48 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Phoenix, AZ
NNTP-Posting-Host: l1-a.west.sun.com

In article <14194@pogo.wv.tek.com> tcmaint@pogo.wv.tek.com
(TeleCom Maintenance) writes:

>Netters,
>	In the past people have made verious comments on Icom, Kenwood,
>and other manufacturer's service of their equipment. No one had much 
>experience with Yaesu so I thought I would let you know my latest exper-
>ience with them.

Well as many who know me can attest, I'm no Yaesu fan.  I used to be
in consumer electronics repair so thats the basis of my comments
that follow.

>On or about November 23 I sent the rig to Yaesu service center in
>Cerritos, Calif. Approximately Dec.8 I called Yaesu to find out what
>was what and they told me the rig had arrived but no technician had
>been assigned yet.  Dec.16 approx. I called again and it had been given
>to a technician but `wait a couple of days so the technician can
>identify the problem and give you an accurate quote'. No problem. Just
>seems to be taking a long time.

Well, you did send it out on Thanksgiving.  Would'a taken a day or
two extra to get there.  From the description it looks like their
shelf has about a two week backlog - not good but not unusual.  It's
not like they can hire additional people to fill unexpected demand.
I'm sure that at other times of the year the shelves are nearly empty.
You were probably unlucky to send it in when you did.  My conclusion:

Always call to get a time estimate before you send it.


>About Dec.21 Yaesu called and give me a quote of $283. I said that was
>too much and send the rig back too me and I would fix it myself. I then
>talked to the parts department and ordered the parts quoted to me at
>$71.83. The parts arrived with a price of $31.83, not $71.83 as quoted
>in the bill.  The next day I got a letter from Yaesu quoting $200.83
>for the price($71.83 parts) of repair. Did I misunderstand them? I
>don't know for sure but it seems to me they repeatedly said $283 over
>the phone when I talked to them.

Who's on first? I Dunno's on second, etc...  Either they mis-spoke or
you misunderstood.  It happens.


>Waiting for the rig to arrive. On Dec. 29 or 30 I called to see if the
>rig had been sent. Oh no here it is on my shelf waiting for me to make
>out the paper work!!!!!!! What, I told you on the 21st to send the rig
>back. Oh, yes but.... Will you send the rig back to me now. Yes, right
>away. COD? Yes. OK, now give me your superivisor. He is busy on the
>phone right now. Here is my number, have him call me. Two hours later I
>left the house since I wasn't going to wait on them. Never heard a word
>from them.

The supervisor was probably explaining to some other customer that
it's been a busy season, several people have taken vacations, some
needed extra time off, etc.  There's also been a lot of flu
sickness lately.  Heck, our company shuts down completely between
Christmas and new year.  I pity those poor bastards who only get
one day off.  Lighten up, they deserve a break once in a while.


>It is now January 5, 1993 and I am still waiting on Yaesu to
>get my rig back too me. You gather your own conclusion. Sent in
>on November 23. Not back yet on January 5.

Yes, it's been too long.  But consider the following sceneario:

There's been a lot of FT-1000's and 990's coming in lately, both for
repair and for factory recalls.  Factory recall service work pays
the best, since it's usually a flat rate and the procedures are
cut-and-dry.  Let's get to 'em boys!

Yes, not an excuse, but a possible reality.


>Oh, by the way. Judging from the two ICs, one varactor, one
>variable capacitor, one crystal and one relay I would say the
>technician didn't really know what part was bad and planned to shot gun
>the problem. Not completely with- out justification judging by the
>problem. When I work on it I figure starting with the two ICs and the
>varactor. I'll go from their although I probably will use my heat gun
>and cold sprey with a straw to isolate it better.

Yes their is some justification in a shotgun approach to arrive at a
quote.  First, you ask them for an estimate which takes them an
indeterminate amount of time - the guy may have spent hours on it.
In most cases the factory techs work from the service manuals just
like you and I do.  There are no handy factory made rig analyzers
which figure this stuff out, the technicians do it the old fashioned
way - they probe around and make experienced guesses.

If the tech was smart then he isolated the problem to a fundamental
block and stopped there, quoting the price of the most expensive
components in that area to cover his butt.  Later, he can adjust
the bill - downward if necessary - when the job is done.

In this case, however, you told them NO, the price is too high - send
it back.  Nevertheless, you then take the fruits of their diagnosis
and order the parts which they spent time and effort selecting.  Not
very fair if you ask me.  They'll do it, however, because you might
buy an FT-1000 someday, and because they'll catch hell from management
if they're not real polite to you.


>I really hate to give up on Yaesu because I have allways liked their
>tranceivers. Better than Kenwood or Icom but it is only an ergonomic
>personal thing with me. I allways found them more logical for my
>operation. SSB for what it is worth. And their receivers were allways
>hot. But now I will be looking at the other manufacturers more
>seriously. 

I wouldn't give up on them so quickly.  If you like their products then
buy them.  If you have to use their service a lot (and if they're any
good you shouldn't), then I'd agree that it's time to reconsider.



-- 
[ Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ                             Fred.Lloyd@West.Sun.COM ]
[ Sun Microsystems,           Southwest Area Solaris Transition Manager ]
[ Phoenix, AZ                                            (602) 275-4242 ]