Santinelli charging for telephone technical support?

[Thumbs]

I was speaking with a fellow optician the other day and she told me that when she called Santinelli for some technical advise, they told her that they now charge for telephone support if the machine is no longer under the warranty. Just wondering if anybody else has experienced this.

[cocoisland58]

I was speaking with a fellow optician the other day and she told me that when she called Santinelli for some technical advise, they told her that they now charge for telephone support if the machine is no longer under the warranty. Just wondering if anybody else has experienced this.

Our machine just this week has decided to act up. Naturally since the warranty has recently run out and the boss decided not to trade it in. We have a guy coming in on Monday. As for the tech support. Assuming that when you call you are not routed to a foreign country, and assuming they have to pay their techs to answer your questions, why shouldn't they charge a fee?

[Johns]

Assuming that when you call you are not routed to a foreign country, and assuming they have to pay their techs to answer your questions, why shouldn't they charge a fee?

I agree.

I think it's only optician's that don't charge for their services.:hammer:
(They'll never learn...)

[jeffsoptical]

When you buy a new edger they should give free tech support for as long as you own the edger.

[Fancyglasses]

When you buy a new edger they should give free tech support for as long as you own the edger.

:finger:

Why would a company be expected to put techs on the phone with a person trying to solve an issue that is out of warranty and not get paid for it. We declined to pay for the service contract on my machine and understand the responsibility is mine if we have a problem.
They will still service the machine and send me parts if i pay for the service received.
Do you also offer to take back all glasses within 30 days for no reason! Please tell me what an acceptable policy to you is and when should a client share the financial responsbility?
Craig

[AdmiralKnight]

I fully agree. If you have a warranty on the machine, you shouldn't expect free service after it's up.

[HarryChiling]

This is disgusting as most of the reps tha sell the equipment will tout that the benefits to going with their company over the other guy is the phone support. No one is saying fly out and fix this bad boy for free, but on the phone tech support should be gratis. It is through VSI and through JA Optronics and a slew of other smaller mom and pop shops that sell equipment. One more reason not to buy from the big guys.

To clarify a little if the equipment is within a few years old this would be a good idea. After all how often is the equipment going to need service in a 5 year period, and if it does then they sold you a lemon so they should be at least giving you tech support on the thing. Call the equipmetn obselete in 7 years and then charge for it, but whiles it's still in it's prime it should be covered.

Check this link out I think it is very relevent here:
http://www.opticourier.com/1webmagaz...ying-edger.asp

[snowmonster]

I'll second the nod to VSI (www.patternless.com). They've given lifetime service and our Santinelli cost a lot less than through Santinelli direct to begin with.

[Audiyoda]

Soooo....Does your mechanic give you free technical advice over the phone? How about your HVAC tech? What about your doctor or dentist? What about Dell/Gateway/HP...will they give you free telephone support if your past warranty?

I agree with Johns - we're the only knuckleheads that don't seem to charge for our services (unless it's here on Optiboard - then we don't allow consumers to ask anything).

[cocoisland58]

Soooo....Does your mechanic give you free technical advice over the phone? How about your HVAC tech? What about your doctor or dentist? What about Dell/Gateway/HP...will they give you free telephone support if your past warranty?

I agree with Johns - we're the only knuckleheads that don't seem to charge for our services (unless it's here on Optiboard - then we don't allow consumers to ask anything).

Actually, yes. My mechanic, HVAC tech, doctor and dentist have given me free support via the phone. My daughter's boyfriend is a Geek Squad guy so that goes without saying. But I also support them in a way. But opticians give it away to those who shop elsewhere. Get this, last week I had a couple come in to "shop". After hearing my expert advice they left. An hour later I got a phone call from the husband who apologetically wanted to ask me a few more questions. I could actually hear the sounds of Walmart in the background. He's there buying but asking me what to buy. I couldn't believe it.

[gemstone]

Does not Gerber Coburn charge for certain support? I think it's a matter of cost.

[gemstone]

I'll second the nod to VSI (www.patternless.com). They've given lifetime service and our Santinelli cost a lot less than through Santinelli direct to begin with.

That is probably another reason Santinelli had to start charging.

[HarryChiling]

Soooo....Does your mechanic give you free technical advice over the phone? How about your HVAC tech? What about your doctor or dentist? What about Dell/Gateway/HP...will they give you free telephone support if your past warranty?

I agree with Johns - we're the only knuckleheads that don't seem to charge for our services (unless it's here on Optiboard - then we don't allow consumers to ask anything).

YES to all of the above includeing the doctor. I won't purchase the product without it. My HVAC tech is a good friend, my mechanic s a good friend, and computer support is done through me or friends I know and yes it's all free and if I need a computer I buy it through my buddy even though it's a bit more expensive, same with the HVAC and the mechanic.

I don't subscribe to the pay for a service that has traditionally been done for free, yes traditionally you have een able to call your equipment vendor and get over the phone support for free. It has only been in the near future that these companies haave started to charge for the service.

That's why I always mention that when buying and edger make sure you know what your getting and service should be a big part of the equation.

Also when their equipment engineers start wrapping wires in places that seem retarded or adding components that are destined to fail you think they don't have service in mind. If you keep buying equipment from those companies and act like it's all business they will just start designing parts to fail so they can get support dollars.

Now free phone support still doesn't mean squat if you don't have someone who's confident enough to open up the equipment and do small repairs. So it doesn't benefit everyone.

[snowmonster]

I'll crack open anything and try to fix it though. I'm just that stupid. :)

[Johns]

YES to all of the above includeing the doctor. I won't purchase the product without it. My HVAC tech is a good friend, my mechanic s a good friend, and computer support is done through me or friends I know and yes it's all free and if I need a computer I buy it through my buddy even though it's a bit more expensive, same with the HVAC and the mechanic.

Sounds like some folks need to find some friends that can fix Sanitnellis!:cheers:

[opticman]

I have a Briot Axcell for a bit over 5 years and even though the warranty is over, they will still give me a few minutes of their time when I call for tech support.
That is one of the reasons I WILL buy another Briot.

[obxeyeguy]

I'll crack open anything and try to fix it though. I'm just that stupid. :)

Not stupid at all. I too, will try anything once. Hell, its already broke, right? How much more am I going to hurt it? Even if the big boys don't charge, I will go back to VSI.

[HarryChiling]

I'll crack open anything and try to fix it though. I'm just that stupid. :)

Join the club. :cheers::hammer:

[Audiyoda]

YES to all of the above includeing the doctor. I won't purchase the product without it. My HVAC tech is a good friend, my mechanic s a good friend, and computer support is done through me or friends I know and yes it's all free and if I need a computer I buy it through my buddy even though it's a bit more expensive, same with the HVAC and the mechanic.

I don't subscribe to the pay for a service that has traditionally been done for free, yes traditionally you have een able to call your equipment vendor and get over the phone support for free. It has only been in the near future that these companies haave started to charge for the service.

That's why I always mention that when buying and edger make sure you know what your getting and service should be a big part of the equation.

Also when their equipment engineers start wrapping wires in places that seem retarded or adding components that are destined to fail you think they don't have service in mind. If you keep buying equipment from those companies and act like it's all business they will just start designing parts to fail so they can get support dollars.

Now free phone support still doesn't mean squat if you don't have someone who's confident enough to open up the equipment and do small repairs. So it doesn't benefit everyone.

Hardly fair at all - how many of us have friends that are in HVAC - how many of us have friends that are mechanics? And sure, you and I can diagnose and fix our own computers, but from what I've seen working on computers, most people need expert help - and that help does not come free.

Would you mind sending my the number to your MD - I have this nagging shoulder injury I'd like to deal with - my wife's pretty good at following directions, I'm sure she could repair it if she's being walked through the procedure. :hammer:

[ASenior]

I dont know what the GPM is on HVAC or an Apliance, but i do know that the Gross Profit Margin in eyewear and Automobiles are far from that of an edger.

Those of you who feel that edger companies should charge for a simple phone call with a question or even something that takes 10-20 mins to solve (and if its not solved they send someone out to fix for a fee) then think for a minute what you would need to profit from a pair of eyewear to answer the phone for lets say 5 years and lets say 10 calls per year per patient. 50 calls... what wold you need to profit from that one sale to cover your costs for that 50 calls?

Now I thought Santinelli was only charging for phone support on the LE7070, but if they are infact charging for support on anything thats out of warranty, then lets be honest about it, its to sell more extended service contracts or get people to upgrade. The 7070 is a great machine, slow but great work horse... it is very hard to get those 7070 clients to upgrade. I mean people will hold on to them for 8-10 years. I knew a Dr. in the mid-west who held on to their 8080 for 12 yrs. The big push is to get their clients to upgrade after the lease is up after 5 years.... how many Doc's or Opticians do you know who want to dive back into another lease payment after the 60th payment?

Service is everything in my book. Most of my clients call me on my cell before they call the help desk anyway (no help desk answers on Saturday or Sunday)

[DragonLensmanWV]

Join the club. :cheers::hammer:

Me three. But often I have to jerry-rig something that ends up being more reliable than the original.

[MarcE]

Would you mind sending my the number to your MD - I have this nagging shoulder injury I'd like to deal with - my wife's pretty good at following directions, I'm sure she could repair it if she's being walked through the procedure. :hammer:

Im not an MD, but I know what they will tell you. Take 800mg of ibuprofen 3x per day. lay off the lifting. If it doesn't feel better after a month, call and book an appointment. No charge for the advice:hammer:.

[Audiyoda]

Im not an MD, but I know what they will tell you. Take 800mg of ibuprofen 3x per day. lay off the lifting. If it doesn't feel better after a month, call and book an appointment. No charge for the advice:hammer:.

Ahhh...but there's the rub. Any smart MD (like any smart business) won't give out the freebie advice. I'm past warranty so I need to go in for an MRI just to make sure (truth is, it's an old rotator cuff injury - I'm just not sure if I tore it again). And just like many edgers, they're past warranty so no company should be giving out free how-to's on fixes.

[Jubilee]

You know, I find a lot of professionals seem to hate the "free advice" or the perception of people thinking they are grossly overcharging for a service.

My doc hates it when people baulk at the cost of a contact lens fitting. Especially if we are talking gas perm multifocals. He finds it insulting that people don't want to pay for his time and expertise.

Yet, he considers the new exam module of MVE to be a rip off, cause how much work could have gone to coding that bit of software. Basically he thinks the whol software industry is a joke cause all your paying for is a little CD.

When I countered with why does he charge so much for fittings when all it is a little pieces of plastic.. he seemed taken aback.

Just the same as most of us don't want to hand out advice for free, cause we should be compensated for our time and expertise, I have no issue with others wanting to do so as well.

When I made calls to various equipment manufacturers when I ran a lab, if I made a call, it was cause it was something serious, that I couldn't figure out on my own, and what documentation I had, previous fixes I used, etc did not help.

Paying someone to walk me through the fix or point me in the right direction in many cases is more cost efficient that sitting there and being "down"

Did I hate the bill? You betcha.

Did I benefit from the support? Yep

They still have to pay staff, typically seperate phone lines, training, reference materials, furnish them a place to work, etc.

Would you rather the costs of the edgers go up more? Or pay as you need it at some point down the road when the warranty goes out?

Cassandra

[Audiyoda]

My doc hates it when people baulk at the cost of a contact lens fitting. Especially if we are talking gas perm multifocals. He finds it insulting that people don't want to pay for his time and expertise.

Yet, he considers the new exam module of MVE to be a rip off, cause how much work could have gone to coding that bit of software. Basically he thinks the whol software industry is a joke cause all your paying for is a little CD.

When I countered with why does he charge so much for fittings when all it is a little pieces of plastic.. he seemed taken aback.

Either you work for the same doc I did - or they're related. :shiner: Oh wait...I generally believe that all ODs are related. :hammer: :D