Dear Mister Stanhope,

I add here (see attach file) the service report sheet from TSI. We can read, “the unit do not power on. The key pad was disconnected. There was no laser.”

I also add two other files. The first is the Wilner-Green “quotation for calibration” (was accepted by me), the second is the Wilner-Green “estimate for repair” (I did refused).

As you can read, on the first file, the “shipping” price was 90$, but in the second,  this price jump to 250$. As you know 250$ is a lot of money to ship a suitcase from Maine to Montreal,  and this was part of my decision to refuse the reparation, and ask you to ship back the module   “for a second opinion”

Finally you said:  TSI stop repair and calibration for the 8020 (you can read this higher in this file):

From: Brian Stanhope [mailto:bstanhope@nistlab.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 12:19 PM
To: 'clauded gmail'
Cc: Janet Greene (janet@wilner-greene.com)
Subject: RE: Estimate - Wilner-Greene Associates - Portacount

I believe this customer is Claude Daniel (we do not have many Montreal customers - only Mr. Daniel).   Please see below attachment for the email conversation  right up until I sent the unit back to him.   He did not seem displeased at all time.   I am unsure why Mr Daniel is unhappy now.  As you can see by the email, Mr.  Daniel was offered a host of options and he contacted me stating that he would like a second opinion, to which I agreed without fail.    When I tried to get TSI to service this equipment, I received the following response:

NOTE: PortaCount units built prior to January 1, 2006 can no longer be repaired. Repair on all instruments will be discontinued on December 31, 2015. Calibration is still available on all units. Please contact TSI at 1-800-874-2811 for options. Please do not ship alcohol supplies with returned units.

I believe TSI has since lowered the Jan 1, 2006 time-frame for  units dating back to Jan 1, 2004, but they have also declared that after Dec 31, 2015 ,  no calibration or service at all is available - only trade ins.   Not sure why TSI rolled the date back to 2004, but that is probably why. Daniel was able to get his unit repaired there.   Excellent news for him as these are very expensive units to replace.   Our offer to him was to pull the "guts" out of a working unit and keep his original serial number, or sell working unit insitu, or lease/rent a new unit, or get back his unit unrepaired.  As you can see Mr Daniel decided to take his unit back and we returned it - complete as received.   

 Again - I am completely unsure why Mr Daniel has taken to this website to complain nearly 6 months after his unit was returned, but if Mr Daniel will contact me directly I will do my best to solve any ongoing concerns he might have.   As far as we know unit has been repaired by the OEM and he should be a happy camper.

  I hate to say it, but this is the primary issue with the internet - unfounded stuff gets in  front millions without any verification. 

I have also attached an email (claude1.jpg, claude2.jpg) showing we extra accessories to Claude when he claimed they were not returned ,maybe customs misplaced them on inspection, but we still sent him at our cost).   Not sure why this web site does not upload  pdf files - hard to get pictures of emails!

From: Brian Stanhope [mailto:bstanhope@nistlab.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 12:19 PM
To: 'clauded gmail'
Cc: Janet Greene (janet@wilner-greene.com)
Subject: RE: Estimate - Wilner-Greene Associates - Portacount

 Hi Claude – I understand. 

I am happy to return it to you.  Please be aware that TSI no longer services the 8020 at all – no repair or calibration.     I am not sure you will be able to find another opinion.    These units are very expensive to maintain.   We certainly expect about 10 yers of trouble free operation on these when we sell new – your unit was manufactured in 2005. So at 11 years old is right about where we expect the laser to be too weak for proper FIT testing.

 Happy to help you in any way I can.

Best regards,

Brian

Brian Stanhope B.S.E.E.

NISTLab SAI / Wilner-Greene Engineering SVS.

3575 Maybank Highway, D-327

Johns Island, SC 29455

(((REDACTED))) - voice

(((REDACTED))) - cell

(((REDACTED))) - fax

bstanhope@nistlab.com

www.nistlab.com

From: clauded gmail [mailto:claudeddaniel@gmail.com] 

Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 11:36 AM
To: 'Brian Stanhope'
Subject: TR: Estimate - Wilner-Greene Associates - Portacount

 Hello, Brian

Copy of my email to Janet Greene

 De : clauded gmail [mailto:claudeddaniel@gmail.com] 

Envoyé : 21 juillet 2015 11:32
À : 'Janet Greene'
Objet : RE: Estimate - Wilner-Greene Associates - Portacount

 Hello,

 First sorry for my poor English, …. I speak most of the time only French

 It a big stock for me, I understand the module is far from new … but, it was only use in an average of 2 days by month…. and I must said,  I am was not very comfortable with the fact you did wait my request before informed me the module was dead…

 So I would like to ask you to send it back to give me the opportunity of a second evaluation,

 Claude Daniel

 De : Janet Greene [mailto:janet@wilner-greene.com] 

Envoyé : 21 juillet 2015 10:02
À : Claude Daniel
Objet : RE: Estimate - Wilner-Greene Associates - Portacount

Completely broken and requires replacement of the entire laser unit.

From: Claude Daniel [mailto:claudeddaniel@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 10:02 AM
To: Janet Greene
Subject: Re: Estimate - Wilner-Greene Associates - Portacount

I understand the laser...  is now  too weak to be calibrate, but is it still able reading particule (or completely broken now...)

 Claude

Envoyé de mon iPad

Le 2015-07-21 à 08:13, Janet Greene <janet@wilner-greene.com> a écrit :

Please see attached estimate EST_355694

Good Morning Claude –

I have information from our Principle Engineer regarding your Portacount: As you can see from the attached estimate the unit requires a new laser emitter/signal receiver module and condensing tube heater module.  We have a refurbished part in stock and can install that within the next week or so once we have your signed approval to proceed.  The part will carry a 90 day warranty on the repair. I have estimated shipping back to you but the total may be more or less than the estimate – you are of course responsible for getting it through customs and paying whatever additional duties and charges are incurred yourself. 

A second option would be for you to purchase a refurbished 8020 from us – we have two in stock, and the refurbished units have considerably less damaged cases than your unit – the cost for the refurbished unit will be $5000.00 plus shipping and we will keep your old unit for parts – although there are not many working parts in it. Our Warranty on one of the refurbished units will be 180 days.

A third option will be for you to lease a new 8030 unit from us. The cost of the lease is $600.00 per month for 24 months, charged monthly to your credit card, and at the end of 24 months the unit is yours to keep.  We cover all maintenance and calibrations during the initial 24 month lease program.  Naturally you will need to pay shipping and duty on the 24 month lease yourself in order for it to clear customs.

A fourth option will be for us to return the unit unrepaired to you. We will charge a $150.00 labor/evaluation fee, and the cost of shipping the carcass back to you.

Please let me know your wishes.  Whichever option you choose, please be certain that you have enough available credit on your credit card to cover each option –Please contact ME directly via e-mail to discuss these options janet@wilner-greene.com if I have not made myself clear. Again, if you wish us to proceed with the repair please sign the attached estimate authorization and e-mail it to ME.  We will charge your credit card once the repairs are completed but before it ships back to you – and once it has left our lab we have no control over the time it will take to clear customs and arrive at your location.

 Best Regards

JANET GREENE

janet@wilner-greene.com

WILNER-GREENE ASSOCIATES, INC

10 FOREST FALLS DRIVE

YARMOUTH, ME 04096

207-847-9223

800-634-4327

www.wilner-greene.com

Dear sir or Madame - I apologize if there has been some confusion or issue with our service.    I am unsure of what work order this complaint references as we successfully service thousands of FIT testers each year.    The model that this consumer references is indeed obsolete by the OEM, TSI.   In a case where repair is needed for a unit we do one of 4  things here at our lab;  1) make simple repairs then calibrate, 2) refer the repair to the original equipment manufacturer for repair and calibration, 3) replace the unit with modern or refurbished equipment, or 4)  return the unit to the customer for disposal(generally at no charge or a charge sufficient to cover return shipping).   If a TSI 8020, as mentioned in this complaint is deemed unfit for calibration and is not a simple repair that we can accomplish locally, we would contact the OEM for repair.   TSI has discontinued repair on the 8020 model as it is obsolete. Our company deals with TSI on hundreds of repairs each year that customers send to us but need to go to the OEM (we are definitely not shy about sending something to TSI – we have a long standing relationship with TSI sales and service and lean on them for support if there is any question to the status of equipment manufactured by TSI.).  We have provided used TSI 8020 units to customers with failed units in the past for $4000 or so USD.  This customer may have been confused that a $4000 estimate was for repair, when in fact we were offering a refurbished unit to replace the damaged one.    A new TSI 8030 unit would be in excess of $15000 in Canada, so we would offer this when a customer does not want to move into a new unit usually due to the high cost.   If the used unit is turned down, the customer’s old unit is returned or disposed of locally if they prefer.    One thing we NEVER do at our laboratory, and I am the engineer charge, is disassembling the laser assembly.  This module is not serviced under any circumstance as we are not equipped to safely service laser units.    With this in mind, I am perplexed by the consumer’s reference to a missing laser?     I am also perplexed by his comment that TSI repaired the obsolete unit, but the OEM may very well have determined that they would service this unit as a favor to this (obviously vocal) customer.  That is all speculation on my part, and if this customer did get the original unit repaired at the OEM I am very happy that they were able to keep this model in service.   We have been in business for more than 20 years and have well over 5000 active customers.  I have never fielded a complaint such as this, so am admittedly dumbfounded on the basis.   I would demand that this consumer provide some proof of these accusations or remove the complaint as it seems more likely it is unfounded or possibly fraudulent/hoax.    If this is merely some minor issue exacerbated by a language barrier, I am truly sorry for that and would welcome any chance to help clarify with the consumer.   In the end we are a mail order business – nearly 100% of our equipment is mailed in for service.  These old TSI units do break in transit as the plastic housings become brittle with age.   We do an extensive incoming and outgoing inspection to ensure that the customer knows what condition the unit is received in.   We do encounter a customer from time to time that is sure the unit “worked fine” when they sent it in.   I do not know if that is the case here – but even in those circumstances we do our very best to get the customer back up and running as economically as possible. 

 Thanks and my best regards,

Brian Stanhope B.S.E.E.

Dear sir or madame - I apologize if there has been some confusion or issue with service.    I am unsure of what work order this complaint references as we successfully service thousands of FIT testers each year.    The model that this consumer references is indeed obsolete by the OEM, TSI.   In a case where repair is needed for a unit we do one of 3 things here at our lab;  1) make simple repairs, 2) refer the repair to the original equipment manufacturer, 3) replace the unit with modern or refurbished equipment, or 4)  return the unit to the customer for disposal.   If a TSI 8020, as mentioned int this complaint is deemed unfirt for calibraiton and is not a simple repaire we can accomplish locally, we would contact the OEM for repair.   TSI has discontinued repair on the 8020 model as it is obsolete.   We have provided used TSI 8020 units to customers with failed units in the past for $4000 or so USD.   A new TSI 8030 unit would be in excess of $15000 in Canada, so we woudl offer this when a customer does not want to move into a new unit usually due to the high cost.   If the used unit is turned down, the customers old unit  is retuned or disposed of locally if they prefer.    One thing we never do at our laboratory, and I am the engineer ing charge, is disassmeble the laser assembly.  This module is not serviced under any circustance as we are not equipomed to safely service laser units.    So I am perplexed by the consumers refernce to a missing laser?     I am also perplexed by his comment that TSI repaired th unit, but the OEM may very well ahve determined that they would service this unit as a favor to this (obviuously vocal) customer.  That is all speculation on my part, and if this customer did get the original unit repaired a the OEM I am very happy they were able to keep this model in service.   We have been in busines fo grater than 20 years and hjave well over 5000 active customers.  I have never fielded a complaint such as this, so am admittedly dumbfounded on the basis.   I would demand that this consumer provide some proof of these accusations or remove the complaint as it seems more likley it is unfounded or fraudulent.   

Thanks and my best regards,

Brian Stanhope B.S.E.E.