Dominic
This sounds like a very uncooperative customer service department.
Typically a unit under warranty is replaced without trouble. Is there
an alternate vendor that will be more friendly. So far I have bought
two (actually three counting one at work) zip drives and one larger
backup system from Iomega but I am willing to change my habits if I
can't count on reasonable support; i.e. your credit card, advance
shipment, etc.....
Enjoy
Ray
Dominic Mitchell wrote:
>
> Dear Fellow Linux Users,
>
> This is to inform you that according to the discussion I have had
> with Iomega today regarding the warranty they provide for their
> product sold to Linux users. I was using successfully a Iomega
> Ditto easy3200 insider for close to two years. The drive failed
> last night. I was very frustrated to found out that since I could not
> test the drive under one of Microsoft operating system Iomega could
> not do anything about the warranty --- read they won't even consider
> my claim!
>
> Thus I advise any Linux users of Iomega products to manifest themselves
> to Iomega ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) that if this is the policy
> they want to adopt then the Linux community will have to consider
> products from a friendlier company.
>
> Linux users that are considering to buy a Iomega product should also
> contact Iomega and let them know that adopting such a policy is
> going to influence the sales in the Linux market.
>
> Here is a copy of the letter I have sent to Iomega
>
> To whom it concerns,
>
> I have been very deceived by the customer supports that Iomega
> provides to their customers. I have purchased two years ago a tape
> backup from Iomega, a Ditto easy3200 insider. Last night the drive
> failed, it is still under warranty as the warranty expires on July 27
> 1999.
>
> Calling Iomega I have been told that if I do not run a Microsoft
> Operating system, then Iomega cannot do nothing about the drive.
> Basically I need to be able to test the drive under Microsoft.
> Since I do not have Microsoft installed, then it is like having no
> warranty at all.
>
> Since the unit is (was) working under Linux, I find that Iomega has
> a very strange commercial policy. As it occurred to Iomega that
> Linux is the fastest growing operating system on the market now?
> Maybe those that decide the commercial policy of Iomega should get
> some number straight? Getting officials number of Linux users is a
> difficult task since the operating system, even though it can be
> purchased from many distributors (like Redhat, Caldera, Suse,
> Mandrake, etc. ), can simply be downloaded free of charge from ftp
> sites all over the world. A reasonable estimates would be in
> between 8 to 9 Million users and growing very rapidly.
>
> Many important companies have backed Linux recently:
>
> - IBM is building server with Linux running as the OS
> - Intel and Netscape have invested in a Linux distribution Redhat
> Software
> - Oracle as ported its database software to Linux.
> - Sybase
> - Informix
> - Dell is shipping computers with Linux preinstalled on it
> - Corel as ported Wordperfect 8 on Linux and should release their
> office suite for Linux this summer. Moreover they will be
> releasing their Linux distribution by next Fall.
> - Compaq (Digital)
> - Silicon Graphics
>
> I do not ask customer support from Iomega to have the drive working
> under that alternative Operating System (Linux). *Unfortunately*
> the Linux community has been doing a good job at this level. But
> the least we can expect from Iomega is that they recognize when
> their drives fail and this under any Operating System.
>
> What is shocking is that Iomega would not even consider an advance
> shipment, where you give them your credit card number and they ship
> you a replacement drive and you send them back your broken drive or
> any other form of customer support. By any such method they could
> then easily check that the drive is broken. This is what is totally
> unacceptable.
>
> I have no other choice but to spread the word around in the Linux
> community that:
>
> 1) if they have a current Iomega product running under Linux then
> they cannot count on their warranty
>
> 2) If they are considering to buy Iomega product to run on Linux
> then they should consider a competitor of Iomega who's
> commercial practices are more supportive of their favorite
> Operating System.
>
> Dominic Mitchell
>
> Deceived customer.
>
> --
> ==============================================================
> Dominic Mitchell Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Department of Economics mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Queen's University
> Kingston, Ontario
> Canada, K7L 3N6 Running Linux Redhat 5.2
> ==============================================================
