Forums › Laser Treatment Tips and Techniques › Soft Tissue Procedures › Warranty
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ELLIOT ROGOFFSpectatorAfter the initial one year marriage does everbody have their warranty renewed again. And if you all do what price is placed on this luxury from our laser people. Friend received a letter in the mail for a 񙞤 renewal warranty for his Diode and Er-Co2. Is this really true or I am to look elsewhere for service?
SwpmnSpectatorElliot:
Your friend’s letter is not at all surprising. When presented with the need and fees for extended service contracts on dental lasers it can be quite a shock if one didn’t think to ask at the time of purchase. When I started in 2001 I didn’t ask and they didn’t tell. Can be frustrating for the dentist to be making big monthly payments and then be asked to ante up an additional 񘷠(or in your friend’s case 񙞤) for only one year coverage on units which are fairly new.
One approach is to wait and see what happens. My general observations over the past 3.5 years are that diodes are relatively simple machines with a low risk of breakdown issues. Diodes are small and a defective unit could probably be shipped back to the manufacturer for repair. On the other hand erbiums are complicated machines with moderate breakdown risk and can be extremely expensive to repair. Because of their size and issues with transportation they are generally only repaired via a highly trained technician being deployed to your office($$$$$$). I know nothing regarding maintenance issues with carbon dioxide lasers.
Ask your manufacturer about the company policy. In some cases they might allow you to purchase the one year service contract when something actually goes wrong. This would cover the current need and any other repair issues for one year. Be sure to ask specifically what is covered and read the fine print in the contract. In past years, some extended service contracts were written which excluded a critical and very expensive component of the laser.
Best wishes,
Al
Robert Gregg DDSSpectatorElliot,
Okay, I admit it. I ignored your post the first time I viewed it.
Mostly because I needed to think about it as I hate to give trivial info or advice. Then I forget to back and answer as my challenges build up in my day.
Waranties are a touchy issue with companies. It tends to strain the relationship if the customer feels the price is excessive, especially if they pay several thousand dollars and have no need for service or repair.
I personally think the amount you referenced is excessive. Especially since there is no provision in these warranties (except for MDT) to offer something of value like fibers or handpieces if there is no need for warranty service or repairs.
Warranties can be negotiable, if the company wants a good relationship with their customer.
I would ask, “If I pay you 񙞤 for warranty service and I don’t need it, will you provide some amount of product or maybe calibration service up to 50% of what I paid so my money isn’t just applied to nothing for my benefit? And put that in writing?”
I think that is fair to both company and customer. But until Millennium Dental Technologies, a company I co-founded, there has never been such a warranty consideration or program in the dental laser industry.
Alternative to that, there are outfits that will fix and repair lasers. May are as expensive on a one-time basis as the factory warranty price.
Then there are guys like Aric Sven who will come out and fix your laser for a very reasonably fee–if he is familiar with your device. He is also willing to learn about a new device.
Hope that helps a bit.
Bob
SwpmnSpectatorWho is Aric Sven and how may one get in touch with him?
Al
dkimmelSpectatorGood question Allen?
kellyjblodgettdmdSpectatorElliot – I think I paid something like that for my renewal. It’s a lot easier to write the check than to try to fix the laser! Besides, if you’re not making at least this much per month additionally using your laser, then it probably wasn’t a great investment to begin with.
My two cents (and that’s all it’s worth)
Kelly
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