Need Tech near Chicago?

[MJ]

Looking for tech close to Chicago. Never had to make a service call yet. Amaya XTS.

[Five Point Emb]

I'll toss out my tech's name to you. He is only tech I have used on my Amaya and EMT-10T. And he's closer to you in Chicago than me outside Toledo.

Rick Lambert, Midwest Embroidery Repair, in Valparaiso, IN. His phone is 219-364-0590 and email is [email protected].

Good luck
Darlene
Five Point Emb
Perrysburg, OH

[Steve]

There is a list of all techs here http://www.melco-service.com/fscrm/M...ct_Technicians

[MJ]

Yes, thanks, I looked at that list and the only one that somewhat close to me is in Indiana, which according to google maps is 3 hours away!
So I was just wondering if anyone knew someone closer to Chicago.

[Rod or Sharon]

MJ,

Gee, if I only had to go 3 hrs to get to a tech call, I would consider that to be not only close, but very close. Most of my calls are in excess of 7 hrs one way. Some are in the 4 to 5 hr range , but not many.

Melco has lost a lot of their 3rd party techs because of various reasons. Policy changes concerning the way warranty calls are handled, is one. The downturn in the economy is another. The machines are getting better and need less in the way of tech visits and there just isn't enough work to support a person or family to make it worthwhile, considering the liability insurance Melco requires us to carry, etc. there are lots of other reasons, but I ramble.....

I am a 44 year veteran of the Union Pacific Railroad and retired so I fall into a different catagory. I do it to suplement the retirement income and to have something else to do instead of the proverbial honey-do's kind of thing....

So 3 hours...that's just around the block.....

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Ted II]

I think Allen is in Chicago unless he's not doing it anymore.815-793-1589 is the last number I had. If he's not available then I strongly suggest Ben in Indiana.

[MJ]

Oh, OK, wow! Thanks for the info, Rod. I didn't realize that traveling far was the norm for a tech call! Do they charge for mileage or just for the actual repair?

What do you mean by:

"Policy changes concerning the way warranty calls are handled" ?

[Rod or Sharon]

MJ,

If you are calling Melco for a service call and are covered under warranty then you would think....done deal....not so. In years past Melco has become much more consious and serious to only applying the warranty to "defective" parts on the machine and software.

The warranty does not apply to anything that smells of operator error. Melco will and does have complete control over any decisions regarding warranty situations.

Warranties used to be a flat 2 years running and covered just about everything on the machine. Today, they have the 5 year limited warranty, that is, I think they still have it. The first 90 days covers everything including travel expenses or used to anyway. It may have changed. They also apply various forms and terms of Extended warranty contracts on machines that have expired under the original warranty contracts.

Melco does charge, based on distance zones, a travel fee to the customer, even tho the machine is under warranty and if the service call finds the cause of the problem(s) is obvious operator error and not "defective" parts, Melco, at their discretion, may charge the full service call back to the customer.

Lastly, Melco has become more aggressive in trying to have the customer repair their own machine(s) to save the customer the travel fee. Of course, this sometimes leads to a machine being more messed up than it started out, simply because of an individuals lack of proper training about the technical aspects of the machine and its timing issues.

Warranties change all the time. The only way to know what is in effect is to call and ask about your indivdual conditions.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Steve]

Yet Melco mentions nothing about the warranty on the machine on their website. I would think that would be a good selling point is advertising a 5 year warranty. Nice marketing!

[MJ]

Thanks so much, Rod, you are a wealth of information. I will call Melco tomorrow. I really have not even used the machine that much yet, and can't possibly see how I might have caused it. I thought since I first got it that it seemed "extra" fussy -- I would so often have to rethread the needle, thinking that it was a thread break, but it must have been just not enough thread being fed out of the bobbin to catch the top thread that was causing it the whole time! Hopefully this is the case.

[Rod or Sharon]

Steve,

A 5 year warranty it is not.....a 5 year "limited" warranty it is, or was, haven't looked lately. A limited warranty is a whole nuther animal.....

Rod