Epson Printers and their Customer Service (they both fail)

[BigDaveDogg]

Wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the Technology forum, but after telling a couple fellow FinalGear members this story, it was recommended to post it up.

When I bought my D80 I also got a Epson photo printer. Tonight I decided to set it up...thinking installation would, of course, be a breeze; afterall it's a fuckin printer. So everything was going fine, printer is loaded with ink and ready to go...final step was to load the software. When you start, it is specifically noted not to connect the printer to the computer. Half way through, you connect it with a USB cable. That would be fine and all...if Epson would have included a USB cable with the fucking printer. I thought just my printer was lacking the cable, and I figured "alright...it happens." I called customer service and gave my name, info, etc, and learned EVERY printer Epson makes is sold/shipped without a USB cable. The conversation with the gentleman on the phone went like this (quotes are pretty accurate, filler is excluded):

Me: There is no USB cable included with my printer
Him: Let me check my database
Him: There is no USB cable included with this printer, or any Epson printer
Me: Why not?
Him: The ends of the cable could get damaged in shipping
Me: What? Have you never bought a product that was shipped with a USB cable before?
Him: Well it's on our website that the printer isn't included with a USB cable
Me: Why isn't it mentioned in the install instructions, so I could have bought one before I started setting up my printer and realized it was all a waste of time?
Him: Well another thing, David, is it decreases the cost of your printer
Me: I need this cable regardless to print, how does making me go to a third-party to buy it decrease the cost? It's a cable...I'm not too concerned with how much extra the printer could have cost with it included.
Me: It's like buying a car without fuckin tires

He went on to try to make it sound sensible, but at that point for me it was just laughable. I can't understand why they wouldn't include a USB cable with their printers, hopefully someone can make sense of it. Now I've got my printer half way set up and apparently that's how it'll sit until I buy a cable for it tomorrow. What a joke.

[starfox07]

"without fuckin tires" LMAO

Don't you love tech support.

[Crazyjeeper]

ROFL, classic.

+rep for the "without fuckin tires"

[PieceAschmidt]

lol dude that is fucking rediculous. the ends of the cable could get hurt during shipping? dont they worry about the fucking printer getting hurt in shipping to? why dont they put the USB cables inside the printer cause for some reason their printers are impervious to damage during shipping. apparently a 5 dollar cable isnt worth the risk of damaging. its like a dvd player with out AV cables .....fucking pointless....until the next day when you go out and buy them. epson must stand for Employs People to Suck On Nuts cause appaently thats all that goes on there. instead of someone saying "maybe we should ship everything needed in one box?" they just keep on suckin lol

[BlaRo]

Well to be fair, I've bought printers that required separate USB cables before, as well as camcorders that require separate Firewire cables (which is even more frustrating especially when it's crunch time on a French project that's due tomorrow, and you still have to shoot and edit the damn thing, but I digress). It must have been understandably fun to bitch at the customer service rep, but it's not like he can do anything about it. The company would have to conduct a cost analysis into obtaining a supplier for the cable and additional packaging that would make sure it reaches the customer undamaged, or something. (Am I right? This is why I'm not in marketing, or finance.)

Could you get past his Indian accent?

[BigDaveDogg]

Originally Posted by PieceAschmidt

epson must stand for Employs People to Suck On Nuts cause appaently thats all that goes on there. instead of someone saying "maybe we should ship everything needed in one box?" they just keep on suckin lol

Originally Posted by BlaRo

It must have been understandably fun to bitch at the customer service rep, but it's not like he can do anything about it. The company would have to conduct a cost analysis into obtaining a supplier for the cable and additional packaging that would make sure it reaches the customer undamaged, or something. (Am I right? This is why I'm not in marketing, or finance.)

Could you get past his Indian accent?

Yeah it was fun, and I understand he's in no position to make these types of decisions or anything, but he is a representative of the company, so let him know how I feel anyway. I don't know about the rest of the market, but I wouldn't be stressing over a couple dollars extra to just throw in the cable. Saves the hassle...you've gotta get it anyway. Oh, and I swear I had to ask "Pardon me?" at least 7 times.

[07 SS/SC]

Damn Dave thats like me trying to get my halo 3 disk replaced. What a joke!

[Full-Lock]

tell them to double wrap their usb cable more.

i had an epson..that shit was weak. threw it in the garbage...
got an HP now.

prints, so im happy. plus i got a FREE USB CABLE

[Crazyjeeper]

Originally Posted by Full-Lock

\plus i got a FREE USB CABLE

[LurkerPatrol]

Canons are apparently the best printers out there. My fam though has run through like 3 Epsons, with the latest one being the best. I have an Epson right now and I only use it for scanning and rarely printing documents. It takes forever to print anything and the quality is bleh.

If you ever buy a printer in the future, remember to save your USB cables in case they dont come with any.

In any case: Hats off and +rep to "without fucking tires" that shit's classic.

[Firecat]

It's like "batteries not included"...I hate that. If it's not on the box, then it's BS.

[Wizegui]

Almost all my printers have never come with cables. Really pisses me off since HP and all the other big players do the same thing.....

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I have never bought, of have seen purchased, a printer that included a USB cable. Nobody does it, get over it. What did you think tech support was going to do, magically change the whole industry?

Originally Posted by LurkerPatrol

Canons are apparently the best printers out there.

Uh, no. Epson rules the photo printer market for a good reason. I made the mistake of replacing my older Epson photo printer with a new Canon, never again.

[LurkerPatrol]

Originally Posted by BerserkerCatSplat

Uh, no. Epson rules the photo printer market for a good reason. I made the mistake of replacing my older Epson photo printer with a new Canon, never again.

Yeah I should have added "among reviewers" or something, because that's really where I see that name come up at the top. I love the epson we have at home in SD, its like multi-function and it prints fast and it has great color printing.

For me though, so long as I can get clear printouts of enzos and CCXs to put on my wall, I'm good

[BigDaveDogg]

Originally Posted by BerserkerCatSplat

I have never bought, of have seen purchased, a printer that included a USB cable. Nobody does it, get over it. What did you think tech support was going to do, magically change the whole industry?

I called thinking it was supposed to be included, as stated in the original post. I see no reason as to why it wouldn't be included. They might as well stop selling the power cord as well, those are universal too. They are essential to the use of the printer, they would be no more of an issue to pack than the power cord, and their expense (not sure what a company would get them/make them at cost is) could easily be adjusted in the price of the printer. Maybe you could enlighten us all as to why all the printers on the market don't include them?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally Posted by BigDaveDogg

I called thinking it was supposed to be included, as stated in the original post. I see no reason as to why it wouldn't be included. They might as well stop selling the power cord as well, those are universal too. They are essential to the use of the printer, they would be no more of an issue to pack than the power cord, and their expense (not sure what a company would get them/make them at cost is) could easily be adjusted in the price of the printer. Maybe you could enlighten us all as to why all the printers on the market don't include them?

So you made an incorrect assumption, and you were wrong. Suddenly, even though it's been this way for years, it's the company's fault. Even though nowhere on the package did it say it included a cable. Even though on the website, it doesn't say it comes with a cable. Even though if you'd asked at the time of purchase, you'd have found out it doesn't come with a cable. You then decided, once you found out that it was your fault, that you should take out your frustration on the tech support guy. Oh, good.

Take it as a lesson learned, and move on. Your D80 didn't come with a direct power cord, did it? Did you call Nikon and complain about that, too?

Epson's customer service didn't fail. The guy should get a gold star for putting up with people that call and bitch about how the printer industry functions.

[Gman333-X-ferrari]

Originally Posted by BigDaveDogg

Wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the Technology forum, but after telling a couple fellow FinalGear members this story, it was recommended to post it up.

When I bought my D80 I also got a Epson photo printer. Tonight I decided to set it up...thinking installation would, of course, be a breeze; afterall it's a fuckin printer. So everything was going fine, printer is loaded with ink and ready to go...final step was to load the software. When you start, it is specifically noted not to connect the printer to the computer. Half way through, you connect it with a USB cable. That would be fine and all...if Epson would have included a USB cable with the fucking printer. I thought just my printer was lacking the cable, and I figured "alright...it happens." I called customer service and gave my name, info, etc, and learned EVERY printer Epson makes is sold/shipped without a USB cable. The conversation with the gentleman on the phone went like this (quotes are pretty accurate, filler is excluded):

Me: There is no USB cable included with my printer
Him: Let me check my database
Him: There is no USB cable included with this printer, or any Epson printer
Me: Why not?
Him: The ends of the cable could get damaged in shipping
Me: What? Have you never bought a product that was shipped with a USB cable before?
Him: Well it's on our website that the printer isn't included with a USB cable
Me: Why isn't it mentioned in the install instructions, so I could have bought one before I started setting up my printer and realized it was all a waste of time?
Him: Well another thing, David, is it decreases the cost of your printer
Me: I need this cable regardless to print, how does making me go to a third-party to buy it decrease the cost? It's a cable...I'm not too concerned with how much extra the printer could have cost with it included.
Me: It's like buying a car without fuckin tires

He went on to try to make it sound sensible, but at that point for me it was just laughable. I can't understand why they wouldn't include a USB cable with their printers, hopefully someone can make sense of it. Now I've got my printer half way set up and apparently that's how it'll sit until I buy a cable for it tomorrow. What a joke.

Originally Posted by BerserkerCatSplat

So you made an incorrect assumption, and you were wrong. Suddenly, even though it's been this way for years, it's the company's fault. Even though nowhere on the package did it say it included a cable. Even though on the website, it doesn't say it comes with a cable. Even though if you'd asked at the time of purchase, you'd have found out it doesn't come with a cable. You then decided, once you found out that it was your fault, that you should take out your frustration on the tech support guy. Oh, good.

Take it as a lesson learned, and move on. Your D80 didn't come with a direct power cord, did it? Did you call Nikon and complain about that, too?

Epson's customer service didn't fail. The guy should get a gold star for putting up with people that call and bitch about how the printer industry functions.

Oooooo, burnzzz.....




Regarding the USB cable, yes for years manufacturers have been selling printers without them. (I remember when I got my Brother DCP-130C and it didn't come with a cable.) And for that very reason, it's quite easy to get one nowadays. Unless you're in EXTREME urgent need of a printer, it's not really that much of an inconvenience. In fact, you should have got it when you bought the printer.

There was no need to call up tech support and harass the poor guy on the other end.