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Gerber Service is really upsetting me.
- Thread starter WrapSpot
- Start date
SightLine
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Dunno man. I think emotional posts like this are rarely taken seriously. I can say without hesitation that your expeirence is yours and yours alone. It is unique to you. Not the tens of thousands of very satisfied Gerber customer. Most also realize that those who do have a problem with something tend to be the most vocal. I'd wager there is some severe communication breakdown happening between your dealer, Gerber, and yourself with some probably finger pointing from each at the other. I seriously doubt Gerber would be sabotaging owners of their machines. Although if it is a machine under warranty, then there should not be any "my repair efforts". There shoudl only be authorized service repairs. "Self" repair efforts on a machine under warranty can often void any sort of warranty.
I know I recently came across a Gerber Edge that had obviously been sitting unused for a few years, some of which was outdoors in the rain and all. I dug 3 different dirt dobber bee hives out of it including one way inside on top of the main board. Cleaned it all up and the Gerber runs like a champ. It's a tank. Not many machines coudl suffer through that and still work perfectly fine.
I know I recently came across a Gerber Edge that had obviously been sitting unused for a few years, some of which was outdoors in the rain and all. I dug 3 different dirt dobber bee hives out of it including one way inside on top of the main board. Cleaned it all up and the Gerber runs like a champ. It's a tank. Not many machines coudl suffer through that and still work perfectly fine.
CanuckSigns
Active Member
good to see your tin foil hat is securely fastened on your head
ChicagoGraphics
New Member
My 4b is still working to this day, I never had any problems with Gerber service. Sounds like an isolated incedent.
J Hill Designs
New Member
rofl
ChicagoGraphics
New Member
It's probably human error anyway's
You are correct. I'm emotional because without a working printer we are unable to provide product (for days) and I'm getting a lot of negative feedback from my customers. We are under a lot of pressure to keep our printer running to pay our bills and more importantly keep our customers happy.
Gerber charges $200 per hour for service (well worth it in my opinion..the techs are very knowledgeable)
Gerber charges $800 for tech travel to our location (travel is 2 hours each way, not worth it in my opinion)
It takes at least a day for them to respond to a service call...then it is at the end of the day by email, not by phone.
I guess I would change my position to don't buy a Gerber without a service agreement and make sure it comes with an ironclad guaranteed response time.
While I have had lots of problems, the thing that set me off today is that after days of going back and forth, all they can say is let's change out parts till we fix the problem. Yesterday they shipped the parts "2 day air" instead of overnight (as instructed). My concern is that these parts will not work and I am yet another day behind schedule because they did not use the correct shipping method.
If everyone is saying such good things about Gerber, then maybe our experience is unique. Before working with them, I thought owning a Gerber product would be fantastic.
In fairness, I have had two good service experiences (out of 6 or 7) in the past 9 months of owning this printer. In fairness, it is also a cool product that can make you money when it is running.
But by comparison I have had my other printer for 2 years and have not needed service 6 times (yet, knock on wood).
I won't buy another Gerber product, but that is my emotional response based on my very real experience. More importantly, I do not recommend a company building a business model around Gerber. There are too many other options in the market and I have to believe at least one of them is better.
Gerber charges $200 per hour for service (well worth it in my opinion..the techs are very knowledgeable)
Gerber charges $800 for tech travel to our location (travel is 2 hours each way, not worth it in my opinion)
It takes at least a day for them to respond to a service call...then it is at the end of the day by email, not by phone.
I guess I would change my position to don't buy a Gerber without a service agreement and make sure it comes with an ironclad guaranteed response time.
While I have had lots of problems, the thing that set me off today is that after days of going back and forth, all they can say is let's change out parts till we fix the problem. Yesterday they shipped the parts "2 day air" instead of overnight (as instructed). My concern is that these parts will not work and I am yet another day behind schedule because they did not use the correct shipping method.
If everyone is saying such good things about Gerber, then maybe our experience is unique. Before working with them, I thought owning a Gerber product would be fantastic.
In fairness, I have had two good service experiences (out of 6 or 7) in the past 9 months of owning this printer. In fairness, it is also a cool product that can make you money when it is running.
But by comparison I have had my other printer for 2 years and have not needed service 6 times (yet, knock on wood).
I won't buy another Gerber product, but that is my emotional response based on my very real experience. More importantly, I do not recommend a company building a business model around Gerber. There are too many other options in the market and I have to believe at least one of them is better.
J Hill Designs
New Member
is it a gerber edge? what are your other options besides summa then?
Techman
New Member
Lets see here.
There are only about 33 gerber users here that are very knowledgeable about their machines. There are dozons more that have a working knowledge..
Some are good enough to service their own machines. I think it would be a better choice to outline the problem where one of those knowledgeable users could point you in the right direction at the very least.
And just maybe point out the exact fix..
There are only about 33 gerber users here that are very knowledgeable about their machines. There are dozons more that have a working knowledge..
Some are good enough to service their own machines. I think it would be a better choice to outline the problem where one of those knowledgeable users could point you in the right direction at the very least.
And just maybe point out the exact fix..
that's partially fair, but the blame may still be properly directed at Gerber.
What I take from your post is that I should start a thread with a detailed explanation of what the problem is and what we have done to correct it and see if anyone else has some input. I give the folks on this board a lot of credit for being resourceful and helpful.
Typestries
New Member
In defense of gerber-My 15 year old sabre is going strong, showing signs of needing lead screws, and it runs A LOT.
My 17 year old plotter and edge, also going strong.
Full disclosure, we did just have a discourse with gerber about the current software and sabre curve processing as well as the lead screws. We haven't needed to call them in years, but clearly something major has changed there. The attitude and indifference my coworker received was amazing.
My 17 year old plotter and edge, also going strong.
Full disclosure, we did just have a discourse with gerber about the current software and sabre curve processing as well as the lead screws. We haven't needed to call them in years, but clearly something major has changed there. The attitude and indifference my coworker received was amazing.
I love my Gerber Solara Ion X when it runs. My beef is with Gerber Service.
I used to work for this company that was bought out by a Private Equity Firm. Gerber Service is acting just like that...like they were bought out by a greedy parent company that does not want to spend the time or money on good support.
ProWraps
New Member
Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
Just to be clear, Gerber discontinued all flatbed printers 14 months ago in April 2011. Here's a link to a discussion of that event. So the used Solara you purchased 9 months ago was already on it's way to being unsupported.
Gerber Scientific Products was acquired 11 months ago by Vector Capital. Here's a link to an article about that.
Gerber Scientific Products was acquired 11 months ago by Vector Capital. Here's a link to an article about that.
After reading the buyout press release I bet the tooling is already on its way to a company in China. Parts will get cheaper and ink will be around forever. The Chinese Cat UV. If I had a great product (which I think the Solara is) that I just could not make money on, I would be open to selling the technology to someone who wants to run with it. Can they get KM512 heads cheaper in China?
LOL...from pessimist to optimist.
TheSnowman
New Member
Love my Gerber! It's 18 years old and still going! The Packard Bell that powers it is still firing too!