Beware Of Customer Service

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MolarMania

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AG has a great product. Well built.
AG leaves the service to their distributors (as most do). The problem is that those distributors in the US are inexperienced and now over worked. They can not handle the services required for their customers. To top it off, AG has their service portal C3 which does nearly zero since they hand it off to your inept distributor.
I would seriously consider a more hands on Co. when making a large investment. You will be paying down your debt as your machine waits for service or you need help.
They also resist adding equipment to your system not made by AG. They claim it's open, but you will need a Software engineer to help you. But don't expect them to help! You're on your own.
Need a button to go to your own scanner? Forget it. Now your gonna search data files with 15 numbers to figure who's who. Need to use your 3D printer?? Better search for those 15 Number data files somewhere in your C drive...
To sum it up, AG dropped the ball on their service partners. Please call existing customers of the distributor you would buy from before you buy.
I will keep you all informed as my experience continues.
 
CoolHandLuke

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ok, so we're on a bit of shaky ground here. AG is a sponsor. not a frequent flyer, sure, and there is a "user group" experience thread which you have already participated in, and admittedly found little help.

i'm leaving it visible, however i can't let this compound with more posts.

don't take this as me taking AG's "side" in your issue, only enforcing as best and fair as i can, that this situation while unjust and unhelpful for you is still just your side of the coin.

if Travis or JMN feel differently they will excersize their rights to move and unlock if/when AG can be contacted to help you resolve your scan issue.
 
Car 54

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Thank you, rightly corrected as it wasn't posted in a Sponsor thread, and was only someone expressing their experience with what they went through, and maybe helping others here in what to look out for or to consider.
 
Accutech

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@MolarMania, what issues are you having with your AG system? Who is your reseller / customer support?
I’m sure this info will be helpful to future customers.
 
Affinity

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Throwing money at DLN shouldnt be a PR shield. Thanks for opening this back up, if theyre inolved in this site they can defend themselves. Our industry needs to meet OUR needs if they want our money. AG has a great product, and they are really blowing up. Drs are going nuts for AG mills.. I think there is such a deficiency of good help out there because NOBODY knows what theyre doing! Were all figuring it out as we go, its uncharted territory for the manufacturer, the distributor, the tech, the sales rep. The D shaped holder is an example, they eventually made it right by adding 98mm , but NOT for all users. Delay, delay, delay until you go away.

I spend more time on my computer then at the bench anymore, thank God I was educated and had a small interest in computers, I couldnt imagine trying to use a mill without PC savvy. Ive been very fortunate to not have needed AG customer service in the 4 years Ive had my mill and Ive been pretty outspoken, maybe one of the only ones, to share my experiences with them.

Do we need them here as a $ponsor or as a resource? They better figure it out. Who is going step up to the plate to service their many many customers? By the way, Garland is a service center for AG mills now. Maybe a step in the right direction, but who do you trust to work on your $75k Austrian toy? Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
 
CoolHandLuke

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Do we need them here as a $ponsor or as a resource? They better figure it out.
if DLN decided it didnt care about its sponsors and let negativity spread what incentive is there for new sponsors? why would lets say ZirkonZahn decide to be a sponsor, after seeing AG get ripped apart in bad publicity irrespective of if it was deserved or not?

if DLN is to grow, more sponsors are needed.

airing dirty laundry helps nobody. you keep that between you and your party.
 
CatamountRob

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if DLN decided it didnt care about its sponsors and let negativity spread what incentive is there for new sponsors? why would lets say ZirkonZahn decide to be a sponsor, after seeing AG get ripped apart in bad publicity irrespective of if it was deserved or not?

if DLN is to grow, more sponsors are needed.

airing dirty laundry helps nobody. you keep that between you and your party.

Bull$hit. The sponsors are here because of the users, not the other way around. The sponsors have nothing to do with the greatness of this forum. Except Patrick. Patrick rocks.
 
CoolHandLuke

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thats what i said. the sponsors will come and equally will spurn as a direct consequence of the treatment of the users.

spreading rumors, false info, and dirty laundry is a great way to be sure the sponsors decide this isn't the platform they want to be part of.
 
CatamountRob

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Locked up threads and censorship, that’s what great forums are made of....
 
CoolHandLuke

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what have either of us censored? not a word. it was only locked until we could come to a consensus on the reason it should remain open.

i havent even censored myself by going back to delete my own post.

edited to add: i'm only advocating a modicum of self censorship for the future of DLN. the reason we don't have active sponsors beyond rc75 and brayks and patrick? your guess is as good as mine. but we need to do something to encourage more activity; what sponsor in their right mind wants to visit here JUST to clear the air over issues? more would want to come and do like Ron and make 25% off sales and drive customers to their site. thats good business.
 
CatamountRob

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what have either of us censored? not a word. it was only locked until we could come to a consensus on the reason it should remain open.

i havent even censored myself by going back to delete my own post.
Hello? Locking a thread and asking folks not to be honest about their experiances is censorship.
 
Affinity

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The fact is, they arent really a part of it. Like I said, does DLN want their money and ads or is this a NETWORK to share and learn?.. seems like a forum is maybe the only place for opinions and rebuttals. If I were the owner of AG, I want and need this information to make my company great! What they do with it is up to them. Good customer service is next to impossible to find, anywhere.

However, if you want results, you have to go directly to the source, bitching online feels good but wont get your problem solved. If youve exhausted every avenue and spoke on the phone and no one will help you, then people need to know about that. If they are a sponsor here, and there are issues, they should maybe take the foot off the gas pedal of selling people stuff, and start helping people who already bought.
 
Car 54

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I hope MolarMania is'nt being accused of airing dirty laundry? Let the Sponsor step up to the plate and defend themselves, or at least try to resolve it for others to see?
I'd hate to think they're (sponsor) so thin skinned that they would leave or not consider supporting on this site?
 
Affinity

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It was more than obvious in Chicago that even with what seemed like dozens of AG staff on hand, they were seriously understaffed and overwhelmed. Im a ceramill owner and I was left sitting on the couch and forgotten about after reaching out to my only contact at AG in their ballroom.
 
DentalTechTips

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Chicken and the egg paradox.

Users of the forum should feel free to air whatever "Dirty laundry" they want, and get support from other users as well as feedback from vendors/sponsors/companies

If the integrity of the forum is in question: users will just go elsewhere that they feel won't censor or lock their opinions

If a site has no users, say goodbye to any sponsorship opportunities anyways

If a site has no sponsors, the users won't have a platform to keep bantering back and forth.

So if sponsors are afraid to participate in a site where they may be criticised, funding might dry up.

-----------------opinion time-------------------

In my opinion, as a company, the opportunity to engage and communicate directly with your potential customers is excellent and not one to be passed up. For a company to just hightail and run at the first sight of trouble is unlikely. If anything, I'd take it as a learning experience as a way to see how your customer service and protocols can be better improved to meet your customer's evolving demands. If a customer is being unreasonable or making false claims, calling them out on it and defending yourself is something to be respected.

Forums, and the internet as a whole should be a beacon of free speech. We have so much sponsored dialogue, especially in our industry. A place like DLN needs to stay free and open. If that's not the case, and by all means, privately owned websites and their directors have every right to choose the direction of a site. But if the user base is displeased with the direction, you can bet that they'll go somewhere else.
 
CoolHandLuke

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I hope MolarMania is'nt being accused of airing dirty laundry? Let the Sponsor step up to the plate and defend themselves, or at least try to resolve it for others to see?
I'd hate to think they're (sponsor) are so thin skinned that they would leave or not consider supporting on this site?
sponsors leave when they don't see return on investment, its a substantial investment to make, to be a sponsor.

threads like this are one sure way to discourage future sponsors.

"defend yourself" against inflammatory and accusatory remarks should not be something that happens in public.

for all the bile we've spewed over Sirona they are still a sponsor, and havent defended themselves ever. theres no incentive for them because we arent hurting their business.

these kinds of threads if they were about Axsys, would be harmful to the active relationship we have with them. the fact that AG isn't here to defend themselves only serves to disincentivize AG from coming back. this thread is only receiving attention BECAUSE they arent here in the first place.
 
DentalTechTips

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sponsors leave when they don't see return on investment, its a substantial investment to make, to be a sponsor.

threads like this are one sure way to discourage future sponsors.

"defend yourself" against inflammatory and accusatory remarks should not be something that happens in public.

for all the bile we've spewed over Sirona they are still a sponsor, and havent defended themselves ever. theres no incentive for them because we arent hurting their business.

these kinds of threads if they were about Axsys, would be harmful to the active relationship we have with them. the fact that AG isn't here to defend themselves only serves to disincentivize AG from coming back. this thread is only receiving attention BECAUSE they arent here in the first place.

CoolHandLuke... it's kind of ironic that your display picture is Bender from Futurama. His most famous quote is:

"Fine! I'll start my own 'X'... With Blackjack, and Hookers!"

The 'X' in this case would be 'forum'
 
CoolHandLuke

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CoolHandLuke... it's kind of ironic that your display picture is Bender from Futurama. His most famous quote is:

"Fine! I'll start my own 'X'... With Blackjack, and Hookers!"

The 'X' in this case would be 'forum'
i used to be @PearlZ, a sponsor of the site.

the fact i'm not anymore, should tell you something about that.
 
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