Autonerdz forums

It's not unusual for techs who purchased a PicoScope from another vendor to contact us about subscribing to our famous support and training system for PicoScope automotive but this time was a little different.

Sometimes, it just that they want more than they are getting even though the vendor they were working with was making an honest effort to support the customer.  No one else can offer the level of support we do partly because we don't try to support a bunch of different stuff.  PicoScope automotive support is what we do.  

Other times they just can't get support because the vendor is just unresponsive or doesn't understand the product.

Then there is this quote taken directly from a company web site:

"customers with products older than one year will be charged for technical support per incident."

I purposely left out the US company name.

Hey, not a bad idea.  Sell the customer something that requires training and support and then charge them for it.  Gee, wish I had thought of that  

Here at Autonerdz we are just stoopid when it comes to conventional business strategy.  When you give us your support by purchasing a PicoScope kit from us, we don't ask you for more money to provide you with training and support.  You support us, we support you.  Simple.

We wanted to shame the rest of the industry into doing the same but we have not made too much progress in that endeavor.  So....be careful out there and be sure you know what you are getting for your money.

Here at Autonerdz we will still talk to you AFTER we have your money.  Weird huh    

What a shame, Tom. That is why we tell people to do their homework first. Scan tool supprt is another tool that falls into this catagory.

I wonder how many of those that purchase the (insert country here) "knock-offs" after the purchase that get support.

Sure did get a good deal on it though, right? 

Hi Keith,

Allow me to expand on the homework study. Like you said, many distributors claim to provide support and then don't after the sale. So how do you know if it is true or not? Simple. Just read what the end users say. After all, they will be the true judge of it.

Here is an example:

http://www.autonerdz.com/picousers.htm

There you have it. The end users have declared the validity of the support.   

I agree Tom, and it is truly sad.

I know you have several posters at the training center of similar provoking thoughts, is this one of them? For some reason I don't remember that one.

I live close to Pico HQ here in England.  I could have bought via a UK distributor or i could have ordered direct from Pico and even driven to pick the kit up and been back for lunch, but i ordered from Autonerdz.  Why ?  Well apart from the lovely extras in the kit   where else can you access this kind of support ?  And it isn't just how to work the tool, its how to use it effectively.

Or to put it another way...if you want to learn how to use an oven read the instructions, but it won't make you a chef  ............

Dave F

Tom Roberts wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2009 at 7:52am:


Hi Tom

Yes that would be good for the industry for sure, but high quality support and continual training will usually be compromised in a traditional sales package.  In my opinion this is because the tool makers ( understandably ) don't make a living 'using' their products, and there is only so much you can do with product testing and customer feedback.  That is why the best support and training is by those who use the equipment they sell.  The key word here is 'depth'.   Its a full circle.  Thats the difference for me.

Dave F