Iomega, Class Act or Class Action?:
A Continuing Study Into
How Iomega Treats
Its Customers and Employees

My own comments are usually enclosed in [brackets like these].

Play "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," if you like! :))
(In MSIE you may need to hit the MSIE Stop button to kill it.)

From: tj.martin@mail.utexas.edu
Date: Sun, 03 Nov 1996 21:22:32 -0600
To: s@TheRiver.com
Subject: iomega runaround
X-URL: http://personal.riverusers.com/~s/action.htm

 
Dr. Thomas J. Martin
tj.martin@mail.utexas.edu

November 3, 1996

Customer Satisfaction Group
Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy
UTAH 84067

Dear Sirs,

 

Sincerely


Thomas J. Martin, Ph.D.

cc:	Office of the Attorney General, State of Utah
	Better Business Bureau 

Wayne,

Sorry you are having so much trouble. As you can tell, you are not the only one.

I suggest that you complain directly to the Utah Office of the Attorney General, whose address is at my Web site.

Steve

..... At 05:36 PM 12/7/96 -0800, you wrote:

>I too am having problems with IOMEGA with a Ditto 800 drive!! IT WONT WORK!! I paid there support fee and they couldnt get it to work on my computer so they said too bad. Now i have a new drive and it doesnt work. I sent the letter enclosed now 3 times and no answer!!!!!!

Wayne

-----

October 26, 1996

Wayne D. Painter
24742 Bashian Drive
Novi, MI 48375

To: Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah 84067

Customer Service:

Dear Sir/Madam 

I purchased a Ditto Easy 800 external tape backup a couple of months ago for my Pentium 133 Computer. It worked fine and I was pleased to have a new backup. Last week when I tried to do a compare on my computer the tape backup wouldn't work and all I got was a not reading tape. I tried everything I could to get it to work only with frustration. I called your tech support and spent 1 1/2 hours with your tech only to find out he also couldn't make it work. He gave me a code number of #34655 and told me to call back another night to get a better tech to solve my problem.

He also suggested taking the drive back to Circuit City and exchange it as it might be defective. I did this only to find it still didn't work. I called your support back and got a new tech and he tried only to no avail. He then gave me to a third tech and he tried and then said it had to be the software and it wasn't compatible with Win 95 and he would fax me instructions on how to download updated software.

I'M STILL WAITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What kind of Bull Shit is this. [I am all for free speech and plain talk. However, I suggest that people cool their rhetoric as much as possible, when writing such letters as this one. God knows, I have not always been successful at that, myself! Even so, it is probably good for Iomega to learn just how angry their lack of support can make their customers ... the very people upon whom Iomega's future should depend the most. --SL, 8Dec96] The box claims Window 95 compatible. Do you false advertise?? Right now I have a drive that doesn't work. A second drive that doesn't work. You have my $14.95 charged on my Visa and my hours of time wasted.

First off I want my $14.95 refunded on my visa. Second I want my $149.95 plus 6% tax refunded to me and as a business man TIME IS MONEY and lord knows vie spent enough time trying to get this drive working. I AM VERY UNHAPPY that you misled me it was Windows 95 compatible and I intend to write the trade commission, better business bureau, all computer trade magazines and anyone else I can think of.

I intend to purchase a drive that works.

Your Computer GURU called me and gave me an incompatible story and basically told me to hire someone to fix it. His name was Jaramy and his number was 801-778-5772.

I JUST WANT MY MONEY BACK vie gone through enough grief with this junk back up drive and now want to buy a good one that works.

 
Respectfully yours, 


Wayne D. Painter
[Phone number withheld as a courtesy.  --SL, 4 Feb 1997]

Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 23:06:29 -0500 (EST) 
To: Steve Langford <s@theriver.com>
From: [Anonymous -- SL, 28 Jan 1998]
Subject: Re: iomega hate mail

 
 January 2, 1997


Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah 84067-9977:

Dear Iomega, 

As you know if you read the newsgroups or browse the world-wide web, Iomega is developing quite a reputation as one of the hardest companies in the industry to deal with. (If you don't know, you might start with http://personal.riverusers.com/~s/related.htm.) I have made my own contributions to that discussion and will continue to do so unless you send me my rebate and merchandise soon. I doubt at this point that I will ever be able to speak enthisiastically about Iomega, but then at least I will not have occasion to add to the clamor against Iomega. What you really need to do, however, is to set up adequate technical and customer support for your customers, who have paid hundreds of dollars for merchandise that rarely works as promised without far more effort than the instructions suggest. Most people like their Zip drives once they get them working, but no one likes to struggle through misleading instructions with no technical support and then pay $50 per drive more than they expected.

I will not make this letter very much longer because from what I have seen so far of Iomega, I will not be surprised if my letter goes unanswered. However, I would like to know if it is true (as Iomega apparently told one computer repair shop) that Zip disks need to be reformatted every 2-3 months in order to remain reliable? (See http://personal.riverusers.com/~s/action.htm for details -- internet sources are not to be trusted implicitly, but then I have found that Iomega isn't either, so I feel it is important to check this out.)

Although this has begun to feel like shouting at the wind, let me ask one more time for the rebates and merchandise I was promised. I have described my experience with Iomega in general terms in the newsgroups; if I ever receive what I am due, I promise that I will let people know that Iomega does at least occasionally honor some of its obligations.

Thank you.
 
 Sincerely,


[Anonymous -- SL, 28 Jan 1998] 

Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 09:16:48 +0000 From: Sam Dawson <samd@cruzio.com> To: s@TheRiver.com Subject: More Iomega complaint mail X-URL: http://personal.riverusers.com/~s/action.htm (Here is my Iomega complaint letter):

[I THINK that this letter was sent to Iomega, so I am putting it here. --SL, 31 Jan 1997]

 
January 29, 1997
[Address and phone number withheld by request.  --SL, 31 Jan 1997]
sheridan@ecst.csuchico.edu

Dear Staff: 

Circuit City Operations Manager, Jeffery Wilkendorf even refused to provide Iomegas telephone number until I started to loose my temper. Of the three Iomega telephone numbers, two had useless recordings with no access to live operator. The third number has been busy, 24 hours per day for the last several days.

Both Iomega and Circuit City have proven to be unreliable to the point of dishonesty. I have wasted over 10 hours simply trying to get a simple exchange or refund. As a computer instructor at Butte College, I am throughly disgusted with this level of customer service.

Sincerely,


Rick Sheridan

I hope that I gather correctly that this letter went to iomega corporation. I wonder if a copy went also to Circuit City and to any watchdog agencies/authorities as well.

Sometimes, losing one's temper seems to be the only way to get anybody's attention. Too bad that only the squeaky wheels get greased, these days, I think. Our society needs more routine preventative maintenance.

Thank you for sharing this horror story. I hope that your life soon improves. Please feel free to point people from iomega and Circuit City toward this Web page, and please keep me posted of how this turns out.

From: kayakers@iconn.net
X-Sender: kayakers@mailhost.iconn.net
Date: Sat, 01 Feb 1997 11:39:57 -0500
To: Steve Langford <s@theriver.com>
Subject: Re: Iomega Rip-off

Hey Steve!

Kim Edwards, President
Iomega Corporation
1821 W. Iomega Way
Roy, UT  84067-9977

On September 28, 1996, I purchased the Zip drive. I was assured by the order clerk at Damark that I was eligible for the $50 rebate offered in the ad, having purchased it by the cutoff date of September 30.

After receiving the drive, some days later, I noticed that there was no rebate coupon included in the box. I called Damark and was told by a customer service representative (Tammy) that I would have to contact Iomega to get the coupon; that they did not have any to give me. I was given an 800 number to call. After trying daily to reach this number and only getting busy signals or being put on hold, I decided it would be quicker to write to Iomega and get the coupon. This I did on October 21.

Receiving NO RESPONSE to my letter, I then was able to unearth an 888 number for Iomega. I called this number and was told by Vanetta that she was sorry. I was no longer eligible for the rebate because I neglected to respond with the required elements by October 31! This cutoff date was not printed in the advertisment that enticed me to buy the Zip drive in the first place. How could I be expected to comply with a rule of which I had no knowledge? Vanetta suggested that I write a letter to Iomega explaining the situation, as they might make an exception if they knew that I had no way of responding by the cutoff date. This I did. I enclosed copies of all the documentation required to claim the rebate and said that I would send the originals when I had a valid coupon with which to claim it. Again, NO RESPONSE from Iomega.

Beginning to get frustrated, I then sought out an email address to write to in hopes of finding a person who would at least answer me. Twice I emailed Iomega, also with the same result: NO RESPONSE.

Today (1/29/97) I made one more attempt to resolve my problem by calling Customer Service. Lindsey told me that it was useless for me to proceed with trying to claim this rebate because no more checks were being cut for it. I told her the story of how I was unable to claim my rebate due to the lack of response from Iomega, but she was unsympathetic. She said it was Damark's responsibility to provide the rebate coupon and that Iomega provided them. That isn't what Damark told me. I asked for the name of her supervisor, but got no answer. Finally I asked for the name of the president of the company and I am writing to you, Sir, to try to get this resolved once and for all.

It seems to me that there is a communication problem between Iomega and Damark, but I should not be put in the middle of it. I purchased the product in good faith and was entitled to the rebate promised. What happened to me was the result of inefficiency on the part of Iomega not to respond to my early inquiries and not to have an easier way for customers to comply with the terms of the rebate offer. I am counting on you to make good on your company's offer. I would be more than pleased to send the originals of my documentation if I would receive assurance that the rebate would be forthcoming once I part with my proof of purchase.

I would appreciate a response from Iomega to put an end to this foolishness and before I need to investigate what further action I can take as a consumer.

 
Sincerely,
Karen L. Hart
[Address withheld as a courtesy.  --SL, 1 Feb 1997]
kayakers@iconn.net 
 

   


[The following two letters were received on 3 Feb 1997.  --SL, 4 Feb 1997]:

				[Reading, PA, address
				 withheld as a courtesy]
				 February 3, 1997



Dear Iomega,
 

			Sincerely,


			Terry Stokes
		      [Phone number withheld as a courtesy]



encl. 

*** END   OF FIRST  LETTER ***

*** START OF SECOND LETTER ***

			[Reading, PA, address
			 withheld as a courtesy]
			 February 3, 1997

Dear Iomega,

I called the store again and spoke with one of the sales guys. I asked him if anyone else had this problem? He advised me no not to his knowledge. Well I thought I must be a real DUNCE because it would not work for me! Then that night at about 2 am I was going back over your trouble shooting page on the web one more time when I came across this obscure mention that if this or that fails to work check to see if you have a switch on the back of the zip, if not you have a parallel Port Zip. AH HA! THAT was it, I don't have to kill myself in the morning! The store sent me home with a Parallel Port Zip and A SCSI card and nothing I would have done would have made it work. How was I to know?

I called the store several times, they knew what they sold me, and they never said it would not work. The next day I took it back to the store told them this story, they apologized and gave me the correct Zip Drive. I flew home and in minutes I was up and running. I thought of the days I spent trying to make the first one work. I will tell you that the drive is worth it along with your back up program I downloaded. It has been months now and I love it!

My other concern is I have one bad disk. Yes, one out of ten. I called the store again and they said they would exchange it but I would have to bring back the ten pack. Give me a break! I have STUFF on the others I said. The sales guy then told me to call Iomega they would send me a new one. All I could think of was being on hold again and running my phone bill up enough to buy a Jaz Drive. So I am writing you with the whole story. All I want is my rebate, a replacement disk and to live happily ever after with my computer and my Zip Drive.

PLEASE GET BACK TO ME!  

			Thank You


			Terry Stokes
		      [Phone number withheld as a courtesy]

[Hi, Terry! :))

I am not sure why you have sent me two different letters to iomega that were written on the same day, and I am not sure that you have sent either yet, but here they are. Maybe you can take a moment to tell me what is going on, in those regards.

Thank you for taking the time to write to iomega and for sharing your work with me and readers of this site! --SL, 4 Feb 1997]

Date: Tue, 04 Feb 1997 13:29:40 -0800
From: "cook,es" <escook@valinet.com>
Reply-To: escook@valinet.com
Organization: esc assoc
To: support@iomega.com
CC: escook@valinet.com, s@TheRiver.com
Subject: Support ....

Gentlemen:

An impression ... 

-NOT- at all a good impression that you left me with. I'd take this as an indication of your intentions in future. :-(

Fix it ... leave it ... your choice. Its my money, however, that " supports " you folk. :-)

OBTW: you should note a previous Email of mine.

Thank you for your time.

 
-- 

๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗
US Mail = Ed Cook, [Home address removed as a courtesy, --SL, 20 Feb 1997.] 
	   Deerfield, Ma., 01342, USA
Email   = "mailto:escook@valinet.com"   
๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗๗

[The following transcription of the above letter is for the benefit of the visually impaired. Please see

February 4, 1997

Customer Satisfaction Group
Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, UTAH 84067
Fax: 801.778.3190

Re: Iomega rebate offer

Dear persons:

In December I contacted your customer service line. I was told by Jesse at your customer service line that you needed my UBC from the box, which I am sent to you on December 11.

After not hearing anything for 7 months, I am growing frustrated. Please inform me as to the status of my rebate.

Sincerely,

Dallas Burtraw
[Home address and phone number removed as a courtesy.  --SL, 20 Feb 1997]
burtraw@rff. org


CC:
Beth E. Kearsley
Complaint Analyst
Consumer Rights
Office of the Attorney General
State of Utah
160 East 300 South
Box 140872
Salt Lake City
Utah 84114-0872
FAX: 801.366.0315

Stephen A. Langford, Ph.D.
9140 N. Shadow Mt. Dr.
Oro Valley, Greater TUCSON
Arizona AZ 85737 U.S.A.

Memo

To:	Attn!  Nancy
From:	Peter J. Kadish 
Subject:	Iomega Technical Support Complaint
Date:	February 3, 1997

Dear Iomega:

I just had to give you some consumer feedback. I would appreciate a reply, but after my previous experiences with calling your telephone support, I don't expect it. Please surprise me!

First... I love my Jazz Drive (When it's working properly!) I think that the Jazz Drive is one of the slickest computer innovations since WordPerfect and Windows '95.

However... Your telephone technical support.... Well, reminds me of Microsoft's. I worked as a full-time Tech-Support for both WordPerfect Corp., and then for Novell after they took over WP. I have seen Customer Technical Support at it's best and at it's worst. I don't think anyone expects absolutely free tech support anymore, but if corporations are going to be charging for it, the support and service ought to be quality and efficient.

This situation began Wednesday Jan. 8th. Initially I tried every last resort before deciding to call Iomega's support lines. That afternoon I reinstalled Win `95 and consequently needed to reconfigure some of my hardware and software. After spending all day trying to get my Jazz Drive to be recognized by my system, with no luck, and having downloaded from Iomega's Web Site, all the Tools, Drivers, etc., I decided that my only hope was to spend $19.95 and call Iomega's Tech. Support number at 1-900-988-4747.

I connected with the computerized answering machine at approx. 4:35 PM. MST, and was informed that there would be a charge of $19,95. and that my wait for an operator might be as long as 15 minutes. I figured that it was worth the sacrifice and so I waited on a musical hold until 5:30 PM when the music stopped and was then cut-off a moment later.

I then promptly phoned Iomega at 1-801-778-1000, and explained my situation to a woman who informed me that your phones for tech-support are often routed to Colorado, and that at 5:30 PM, they regularly dump everyone in their telephone banks so that they can go home on time. I was told that this is an increasing problem and a common complaint. (Please see the attached download from C/Net's web Site. I was not even aware of others having experienced this problem until today when I visited C/Net's site.) I was told that I could contact Iomega at the main office at 1-801-778-1000 Ex.#1810 during regular business hours and explain my problem and that they would probably help me without charge.

When I worked as a support tech, those who were on a closing shift were on strict orders to empty the phone banks and help those customers to the best of their ability, resolve their problem, before they could go off phones. This would only seem fair to those who had been on hold and had already been committed to paying support fees.

So far I have spent $600.00 for my external Jazz Drive, and another $400.00 on additional Jazz Disks. I may not be a big business or spend big bucks, but I feel that Iomega could and should treat their customer's with more respect. Apparently my experience with Iomega has not been isolated or unique.

On Monday Jan 13th, I made contact with Jeremy Barraza who told me he was "Level II" Tech. Support. I explained that I had recently re-installed Windows `95 on my system and that I needed to reconfigure my settings so that my Jazz Drive would be recognized. He had me check and confirm some settings and then requested that I "Pull out my SCSI Card and change the jumper settings to the off position. He then had me change the switch on the back of my External Jazz Drive to the "o" position. I mentioned to Mr. Barraza, that my Jazz Drive had been working perfectly prior to having reinstalled Win`95. I explained that I had made no hardware changes and was not sure why he was having me change the hardware settings. He replied that "It was pretty common for Iomega's techs, to make hardware adjustments." For the next two weeks, I tried and tried to get my system to recognize my Jazz Drive. Finally, after consulting with others who are more knowledgeable about hardware than myself, I discovered that Mr Barraza's suggestions to make the hardware changes, did nothing other an manually turn off my computer's ability to recognize my Jazz Drive. Is this not basic knowledge for a Tech.II support pe

Attached are copies of my E-Mail communications with Mr. Barraza. I think I adequately stressed how important it was for my to resolve this problem as soon as possible, and that I would make myself available to him whenever he could continue to resolve this problem (Which he compounded). I gave him my telephone number. I took an afternoon off from work because he had set an appointment to call me and work it out on Tuesday Jan 14th. I made a number of long- distance telephone calls to Iomega attempting to speak with Mr. Barraza, because he was not answering my E-Mails. The E-Mail copies of our communications, are only the ones he answered.

As of today, I had never received so much as a follow-up E-Mail or telephone call to see if my problem was ever resolved. This is the kind of treatment that makes customers feel that they don't matter. Why wouldn't a rising company such as Iomega be more concerned about customer satisfaction?

In conclusion... Am I going to be billed $19.95 for spending 55 minutes on hold listening to music? If so, why? Otherwise, how do I go about making sure that I am not unfairly billed on my telephone bill.

I really would appreciate a reply to this. And I hope you will make those in charge, aware of this problem. Iomega makes too good a product to have it's reputation tarnished by inferior technical support.

* Note *

I'm typically not one to write consumer complaint letters. I have better ways to spend my time, than to whine and complain about the way a company does business. If I don't like a product or don't like the company's way of doing business, I simply stop supporting the company and do my best to spread the word a ngst my friends and business associates. I'm hoping that someone at Iomega will care enough to answer this complaint.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Kadish
[address and phone number withheld as a courtesy.  --SL, 20 Feb 1997]
Pete Kadish
Alpine / Highland
Police Dept.
20 North Main St.
Alpine, Ut 84004

pjk@fiber.net
http://www.fiber.net/users/pjk

Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 08:40:05 -0500
From: "Jeffrey P. LaPlante" <jpl6332@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
Subject: Iomega Service
To: support@iomega.com
Cc: roysrus@vivanet.com, drn8937@ritvax.isc.rit.edu,
        "Philip C. LaPlante" <pclap@worldnet.att.net>, s@TheRiver.com
Reply-to: jpl6332@ritvax.isc.rit.edu

To: Kim Edwards 
Iomega Corp.
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah
84067

When the system finds the Iomega drive letter it loops back into Windows reboot. I tried to fix this myself for about six weeks off and on. But my college studies prohibited using to much time.

Finally I gave up and I called Iomega and told them that I had no money and could not afford the $15.00 phone bill. A very nice lady told me that she could not help me. But if I didn't get a good answer they would refund my money.(1-801-778-1000 ext 1810 Trish)

Well I was naive and I called. The first time the phone system hung up on me.(1-888-446-6342) There went $15.00 I called again and a Technician came on after about 10 minutes wait. He could not fix the problem, he advised me that he had never heard of it before. Then he gave me a case number 189955. Then he promptly hung up on me without saying so.

Not even Adios or Aviento.

I tried to call back to the nice lady but to no avail. After two hours of mucking around on the phone I had nothing but cauliflower ear. Why don't I have an answer to my problem? I am a poor college student and am raising a family I need the $30.00 more than you. I also have about $500.00 of worthless DOS software. Maybe you could use that as well.

 

Jeffrey P. LaPlante
Information Technology Student
Rochester Institute of Technology
353 Mosley Rd.
Rochester,NY
14616
email:jpl6332@rit.edu
phone:716-865-0443

Your poignant story understandable sarcasm may well fall on deaf ears at iomega, but you will be read here by a great many people -- some of them potential iomega customers -- you can be assured.

I suggest that when anybody calls any phone number and is disconnected before business takes place, one should immediately call his or her long-distance provider to request credit -- whatever may have caused the disconnection. It is the long-distance provider's business to make your business possible. If you are disconnected, you are due full credit, IMHO, from the phone company. Even if some time has passed since you had the problem, even if you have an unpaid bill in hand, you should be able to call your long-distance provider, make your case, and get credit.

Please let me know whether or not you ever get any satisfaction from iomega on all this, Jeffrey. Thank you for sharing your story. --SL, 22 Feb 1997]

Iomega Corporation
P. O.  Box 4900
Fenton, MO 63099


January 28, 1997

To Whom it May Concern;

		

	Thank you in advance for your alacrity in this matter


	[mona coots; real name withheld as a courtesy. --SL, 2 Mar 1997]


P.S.  Did you know that  with windows 95, you can compress a zip disk and
store nearly 200MB!  That's enough space to hold the names, addresses and
other important data of quite a few disgruntled refund deprived Iomega zip
drive owners.  I'm certain that I am not the only one since I'm usually the
last to know anything. 
Return to March 1997 Correspondence
  

*************************************************************
REGISTERED LETTER

March 4, 1997


Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah 84067
USA

Dear Sir or Madam:

Re: WHERE IS MY FREE STUFF?

On October 3, 1996, I purchased an External Iomega Ditto 2GB tape drive,
S/N "removed", Model IO2000-PX .   I sent in the registration card
immediately and was to receive some "Free Stuff", which in my case was a
CARRYING CASE  FOR  THE DRIVE.     I read the instructions carefully and
supplied everything necessary to be eligible for the "Free Stuff".   See
the attached proof of purchase.

I have not received anything yet.   I have called and sent repeated
Email to every address on your WWW site, even your web-master.   The
only thing I have received back were automated messages, although some
did assure me that "all messages are read".

Today I called 1-800-818-9728 and was told by Laura that there is no
record of my registration.  She also said that the Carrying Case Is  No
Longer Available and that the only premium available is a piece of
software.  That software is USELESS TO ME and was not what was promised
in the deal I accepted when I purchased the drive.

This is very disappointing since one of the main reasons that I bought
the drive is because I planned  to transport it regularly.  The carrying
case is the only premium I am interested in.    I think I have been
quite patient considering that it has been five months and you have not
responded to my requests.   I would like the carrying case NOW and an
Email message confirming that I will be receiving  it ASAP.

Laura at the above number took down my registration information again. 
She said that my postal code (zip code) is invalid and she could not
enter it in the system.  My postal code is  P3P 1G3 and that is correct
although your system would not accept it.  It is a valid postal code
although it is a NEW code created about a year ago or so.  Perhaps your
registration system refused my original registration because it is not
up to date and did not recognize my new postal code.    

What I Would Like:

1) 	The promised CARRYING CASE sent to me immediately.

2)	If you cannot supply the carrying case, I would consider accepting
an extra 2 GB Pre- Formatted Tape as an alternative.

3)	You to Email me at vevans@cyberbeach.net within 10 days of your 
receiving this letter to confirm what you are willing to do to satisfy me.


If I have not received Email confirmation of your intentions by March
25, 1997, I will forced to take stronger actions as are legally
available.

I have read the many News Group postings about your company's failure to
pay rebates and supply premiums and think this these actions are very
poor business policy.    I like your products very much and it is a
shame that you haven't been treating your you customers with the respect
they deserve.

I suggest you do the following:

1)	Put an email address on you WWW site where the messages are 	
actually read and dealt with. 

2)	Advertise and make a public offer to satisfy all your customers Who
can prove that they were eligible but did not receive the rebate or
premium they applied for. 
 
3)	Honor your commitments

4)	On future models, put a power cord to the power supply.  You have a
fine product.  Why ruin it by having a power supply 	"brick" that must
be attached to the power bar?   

I will greatly appreciate hearing from you by E-mail by March 25, 1997.
Sincerely,



Vic Evans
4649 Serenna Drive
HANMER, Ontario P3P 1G3
CANADA

Telephone: (705) 969-5416
Fax: (705) 969-5416 (call first)
Email: vevans@cyberbeach.net

**** The above letter was sent to IOMEGA registered mail ****


 

Return to March 1997 Correspondence
 



[FAX]	Mar-23-97 10:38A 	John S. Fletcher		P.01

						John S. Fletcher
						[Home address 
						and phone numbers 
						deleted as a courtesy.
						--SL, 23 March 1997]
						E-mail jfletc6238@aol.com
				FAX#1-801-778-3175

March 9, 1997

Mr. Kim B. Edwards
President
Iomega Inc.
1821 W. Iomega Way
Roy, UT 84067

Dear Mr. Edwards:
					RE:	Model# v1000s
						SN# w15g3403fw

It delights ms to no end to see your shoddy customer services practices exposed an the Internet.

I've been in the computer business probably longer that Roy UT., has been a town and I've never 
 never  seen anyone survive treating their customers the way you do.  In fact I've never experienced any
company  in this business who has such abominable tech support practices.


I purchased one of your Jazz drives in November, 1996. In December, I sent a Fax to your company.  
My removable disk would not eject from the drive.  After a number of frustrating attempts to reach your
tech support people I finally resorted to paying for the support.   I couldn't believe you would charge me
$20.00 tar a first time support request end for a product less than 90 days old.  Anyway the upshot of  the
call was that I ended up prying the disk out the drive under the tutelage of your support people. I was
then told I had inserted he disk improperly. That's BS and we both know it.   The sticking has 
subsequently happened on numerous occasions and rather then get "gouged" again I simply pry the 
reluctant disk from me drive.

 
The next Issue, which prompts this letter is that for some strange reason if a disk is left fully inserted  in  the drive it will start up on its own and apparently begin accessing the disk.  When it happens all the files are erased.   It's as if some type of a random disk format gremlin exists.  Again, I faxed your support people outlining the errant formatting issue and also pointing out that because of  the release problem I think I have a faulty unit.  Absolutely no response.


I'm not calling your paid support line again, and unless I receive a satisfactory response and or 
replacement I will file this letter with he Attorney General's for both Utah end Washington and he BBB 
in each state.


 Sincerely,

           [Signature] 

John S. Fletcher

cc: Stephen Langford
         1-520ท297-0448




 


Return to March 1997 Correspondence

  


X-Sender: dmanking@uit.net
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 11:11:10 -0600
To: s@theriver.com
From: "D. Manking" <dmanking@uit.net>
Subject: tech help?

Here is a e-mail that I just sent [to] iomega (ilovezip@iomega.com) The
store where I purchased refunded my account. Live in Lee's Summit MO.


Dear Iomega Corp. I just purchased a product
of yours, an internal 3200 tape backup with accelerator card. I an running
Win 95 on a Compaq Presario computer. Could not get win 95 to find the
drive. Tried several solutions to fix the problems from your web tech
support page to no avail. Then I made several attempt to reach your paid
tech support with no success. I received messages Like this one "that
everyone was very busy and my call would be answered in approximately 12
minutes" after waiting over one HOUR I hung up in frustration.
Then I took it back from where I had purchased it and told them ,could not
get any tech help to make it work and that I have found out later that a
lot of other people are having the same problems. I will personally not
purchase any Iomega product and will convey my message to other
acquaintance.


David Manking



 


Return to March 1997 Correspondence

  



[Received 24 March 1997 from Michael Clark --SL, 24 Mar 1997]:


Like a lot of other people, I purchased a Zip Drive (and disks)
under their rebate program last summer, only to wait months with no
check in sight.  After learning that they underestimated the popularity
of the program and were severely backloged for a while, I called their
phone number provided to help people with the rebate backlog
(1-800-697-8833) and after a long series of automated voice messages
reached an actual human being.   Unfortunately, it appears that in the
backlog, my rebate information was lost as I was not "in the system." 
Despite having kept photocopies of all the associated documents (since I
feared something like this might happen) and offering to provide them, I
was told that they would not honor their rebate claim under any
conditions because I was "not in the system."  Given the known problems
with the rebate program, I expected a bit more flexibility.  Apparently,
Iomega is far more interested in making claims to sell their products
than honoring those promises.  For those about to buy an Iomega
product... caveat emptor.


Michael Clark

Iowa City, IA



 

Return to March 1997 Correspondence

 


Subject: 
        Zip
  Date: 
        Thu, 20 Mar 1997 09:16:54 -0800
  From: 
        Belinda Loyd <belinda@missconet.com>
    To: 
        support@iomega.com


Howdy There Iomega,

Subject: 
           Zip: Time for Human intervention :Re: Zip -Reply
      Date: 
           Thu, 20 Mar 1997 09:28:32 -0800
      From: 
           Belinda Loyd <belinda@missconet.com>
        To: 
           SUPPORT <info@IOMEGA.COM>
References: 
           1


I have tried anything that looked useful from you website.

Subject: 
           2076
      Date: 
           Thu, 20 Mar 1997 10:56:00 -0800
      From: 
           Belinda Loyd <belinda@missconet.com>
        To: 
           SUPPORT <info@IOMEGA.COM>
References: 
           1

; The answer to all of these
ubject: [sic. --SL, 25 Mar 1997]
        Zip: Time for Human intervention :Re: Zip -Reply -Reply
  Date: 
        Thu, 20 Mar 1997 08:27:26 -0700
  From: 
        SUPPORT <info@IOMEGA.COM>
    To: 
        belinda@missconet.com

Return to March 1997 Correspondence

Mort
[Last name and street address withheld as a courtesy. --SL, 30 Mar 1997]
Los Angeles, Ca. 90068

January 17, 1997

Mr. Kim B. Edwards, President
IOMEGA Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah 84067

Dear Mr. Edwards:

It is indeed most regrettable when a company (IOMEGA) promotes and sells a 'user installed' product but fails to provide support. Based on my unfortunate experience, your company is one where user support is nearly non existent. After three failed attempts for help through your:

a. EMail, b. Interactive Voice and c. Automated FAX.,

I decided to write to you. Despite public claims of poor mail service, this letter to you through the US Mail may possibly be the best approach for getting answers. Hopefully, you have the authority and arrange for some support - if there is any(?). Briefly, here is the sad and unacceptable history of events.

1. Starting on Dec 30, 1996 I sent E mail to your Technical Support and very promptly I received a letter and coded response which I was unable to de-cipher. There was no indication as to what is required to decode the stuff. Secondly, your company's unreasonable response ASSUMES that even if I knew what is required, I have the necessary tools to do so. I sent a second E mail, requesting an 'un-coded' response. I received the same coded garble. I made my 'third time is a charm' attempt. It was charming indeed - I received the same trash. Clearly no human within your organization has looked at my requests. Do you have 'intelligent' computers that can think? Obviously no one at IOMEGA cares to provide helpful response nor support. I fully understand that sending a plain English document may take a bit longer, but, everyone will be able to read it.

2. I called your interactive voice only to find it busy. After several attempts I finally got through only to be placed on hold. I did not like the idea of wasting more time waiting for help, compared to the time it requires to purchase the product. Or spending more on telephone calls than the price of the product. After a few minutes I hung up! After all it was not certain that someone will ever help!

3. On Jan. 17, 1997 I attempted to send a FAX. The MACHINE VOICE advised me that if I am not familiar with your automated FAX and need help, to 'PRESS 2'. I did! Your automated FAX promptly disconnected me. In other words, since I am unfamiliar with your FAX help for new users, I am excluded from the system. This a convenient way to avoid assisting your customers.

Clearly, my three failed attempts are firm evidence that your product support is lousy at best and non existent at worst. Most likely your claim of support exist only as a printed statement on the back of the Installation Guide. As a coincidence, a recent letter in one of the computer magazines someone complained about your non responsive $50 REBATE PROGRAM. IOMEGA'S response was that a third party handles the rebates and it is their fault. NOT SO! IOMEGA offered the rebate and it is IOMEGA'S ultimate responsibility for prompt results and refunds! A clear pattern of SELL THE PRODUCT AND IGNORE THE CUSTOMER seems to be emerging! I certainly hope that my rebate will be prompt!

Now that you are familiar with my situation and frustration, you must admit that IOMEGA'S support practice policies are lousy! It seems that real support does not exists at IOMEGA! My request for help relates to the following:

	Your Product:  	ZIP 100 PARALLEL PORT,   S/N:  LMEG42C3XC

	My Computers:	a.   Pentium, 100 MHz, 32 MEG RAM, WINDOWS 95

			b.   486, 50 MHz, 20 MEG RAM, WINDOWS 3.11

1. Is it possible to make a safety BACKUP copy of the entire ZIP TOOLS disk (both formats)? Using the COPY MACHINE - SINGLE DRIVE COPY method, will all the files be copied correctly, including the Mac format? Are there means to do so and verify that the copy is identical to the original? Is it possible to make a single format backup copy, PC or MAC. I did so (PC) but am unsure if is useable.

2. I want to add high speed parallel ports(No. 2) cards to my computers for the specific ZIP drive use. Is it possible during the initial installation to assign the ZIP drive to communicate with the No. 2 parallel port and ignore the original (No.1) parallel port. I want to leave parallel port 1 as is for LPT1 printer and security plug. If this is not possible during installation, can the setup be modified later to accomplish the task? Can this be done with GUEST?

3. I was told that during installation, when the ZIP drive encounters a CD drive, the process re-assigns a new drive letter to the CD and places the ZIP in front (WIN 95). If indeed this is the case, how can it be prevented during the initial installation? If the CD has a reassigned letter, this will require extensive effort for configuration changes. The answer to this question is extremely critical - to me and most likely to many other users!

4. I want to use the ZIP drive to transfer files between both computers. The Pentium - 100 with WINDOWS 95 and 486 with WINDOWS 3.11. Therefore, the questions apply to both, WIN 95 and WIN 3.11.

I like and want to use the ZIP 100. But, your support policies certainly make it very difficult.

(Original letter had my work phone, fax etc. omited here)
Thank you for your help.

Mort [Last name withheld as a courtesy. --SL, 30 Mar 1997]

Return to March 1997 Correspondence

Mort

[Last name and address withheld as a courtesy. --SL, 30 Mar 1997]

February 22, 1997

Mr./Madam Kim Edwards, President
IOMEGA Corp.
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah 84067
Dear Mr./Madam Edwards:

On January 17, 1997, I wrote to you and complained about IOMEGA'S disgraceful product support. Your assistance starts and ends in printed form on the back of the installation guide.

On Feb. 4, 1997, your Barbara Brown sent me a totally unacceptable E-Mail response. This possibly resulting from my letter to you? Her response was nonsense and lacked any substance. Her word "...you have been misinformed" is classic craftiness. The misinformation was provided by IOMEGA! On February 7 and February 14 and again on February 18 I sent Ms. Brown e-mail to which she has not responded! In my communication to her, I was very specific about my position on this whole issue of phantom support by your company. I asked that she mail to me your CATALOG OF DOCUMENTS. I did not receive it yet. I indicated that I am fully prepared to widely publicize this irresponsible and deceptive action on the part of IOMEGA. In addition, I asked that you be informed of my communication to her. None of this had any effect on her actions - totally non responsive.

In my Feb. 18, '97 E-Mail I informed Ms. Brown, that Feb. 21 is the deadline by which I expect proper response or I will contact you once more. Clearly, she did not respond.

I have paper copies of all the communication from the start of this unfortunate situation with IOMEGA Corp.

Enclosed please find a copy of my draft letter which I intend to post on the Internet, mail to computer magazines, distribute to computer clubs, forward to talk show hosts, etc. I am sure that you will find the contents interesting and alarming. Every detail in the draft letter is backed by fact! It appears that total lack of customer support and neglect is a 'CULTURE' and Standard Operating Practice at IOMEGA!

I will wait till the end of February 1997 for your prompt response. I would like to receive an English version of the three coded letters you e-mailed.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. My Jan. 17, 1997 letter includes all phone numbers and my e-mail address.

Sincerely,

Mort Arditti

Encl.: Draft letter

Copies:
Cory Maloy, Public Relations Manager,
Ms. Barbara Brown, Customer Service Rep.

Return to March 1997 Correspondence

From: MARDITTI
To: kedwards@iomega.com
Subject: IOMEGA and MAIL FRAUD
X-Status: New
X-Mailer: Juno 1.15

You may get tired of my writing to you, but, do not expect me to stop. Your company appears to be one of the most DISHONEST there is. I have sent you several letters and e-mails. You did not respond. the issues are:1. My ZIP100 parallel displaced my CD ROM. Your tech support refuses to provide me with corrective information unless I pay $14.99. This is IOMEGA'S screw up and I will not pay!!2. About 8-10 weeks ago I mailed my registration for my ZIP100 to IOMEGA. Your company offered a free gift for sending the registration. I selected the carrying case. To date it has not arrived. I wrote several letters to IOMEGA, still no case.Today, I was given a WEB SITE related to the various forms of fraud and dishonesty being perpetrated by IOMEGA. It was interesting! It appears that I am not the only victim. However, the good news (for me) is that there have been many complains submitted the Utah Attorney General for potential Mail Fraud by IOMEGA. How sweet it is. You have earned it!!!I intend to add some fuel to the fire. However, I will forward my Mail Fraud Complaint to the Attorney General, the US postal service and the stock exchange where IOMEGA is listed.IOMEGA needs to be treated like a first class SWINDLER - which it is!!!This IOMEGA WEB SITE is great!!! I will forward to them all my experiences with the crooks at IOMEGA and post copies of all my letters to IOMEGA. Also, I will request that my friends with similar experiences related to IOMEGA do likewise.Your response is welcome. Unless you intend to be honest, truthful and commit to correct IOMEGA'S fraudulent practice, do not bother.Mort Arditti

Return to March 1997 Correspondence

April 8, 1997

Kimberly Diamond, Supv.
Iomega Corp.
P.O. Box 4900
Fenton, MO 63099

Dear Kimberly,

Enclosed is what remains of my $50.00 rebate request. It seems when you asked for the "original" UPC code, I did not realize that there may be more than one bar code on the Iomega box. So I sent in an "original" bar code as requested, and yes it came off the Iomega box. Now I am told it needed to be cut out of the box itself. So, since I no longer have the box, I am not going to get my rebate.

I will share my experience with my computer list. I own one list and am on a few others. My list alone has 250 members. I think others may not appreciate Iomega's stance that even though the wording for the UPC code is not clear, so what, you are not going to honor the rebate. I would have gladly looked for a second bar code that needed to be cut from the box if the wording would have reflected that.

Thank you for being so unforgiving.

Sincerely,

Susan E. Jenulis

Return to April 1997 Correspondence

To IOMEGA
I Am very disatified with your jazz drive's and zipp drive's both ofwich have failed while under normal use by my corperation and were replaced several times each our use was for backup and were used aprox. 1 time A week and all failed within 30 days of use. you are the most difficult company to reach that i have ever delt with in my life. AS FOR ME AND MY CORP. WE WILL NOT BUY ANY OF YOUR PRODUCTS AGAIN,AND I WILL NOT EVEN RECOMEND YOUR EQUIPMENT TO MY COMPETITOR'S I AM NOT THAT MEAN OF A PERSON TO INFLICT THAT MUCH ON ANYONE.
--

Scott M Langston
Corp.V.P
L & W COMMUNICATIONS
slangston@prodigy.net
aka: "WIGG"

Return to April 1997 Correspondence

Memo

To:	Iomega Customer / Technical Support
Attn!  Peggy Nelson
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Ut 84067

From:	Peter J. Kadish
420 East 900 North
Orem, Ut 84097
(801) 222-9390 

Subject:	Iomega Technical Support Complaint
Date:	February 3, 1997 /  May 1, 1997



Dear Iomega:

I just had to give you some consumer feedback. I would appreciate a reply, but after my previous experiences with calling your telephone support, I don't expect it. This is my second letter to you. Please surprise me!

First... I love my Jazz Drive (When it's working properly!) I think that the Jazz Drive is one of the slickest computer innovations since WordPerfect and Windows '95.

However... Your telephone technical support...., is well beyond question, the most unconcerned and apathetic I have ever had the experience to deal with throughout the computer industry. I worked as a full-time Tech-Support for both WordPerfect Corp., and then for Novell after they took over WP. I have seen Customer Technical Support at it's best and at it's worst. I don't think anyone expects absolutely free tech support anymore, but if corporations are going to be charging for it, the support and service ought to be quality and efficient.

This situation began Wednesday Jan. 8th. Initially I tried every last resort before deciding to call Iomega's support lines. That afternoon I reinstalled Win '95 and consequently needed to reconfigure some of my hardware and software. After spending all day trying to get my Jazz Drive to be recognized by my system, with no luck, and having downloaded from Iomega's Web Site, all the Tools, Drivers, etc., I decided that my only hope was to spend $19.95 and call Iomega's Tech. Support number at 1-900-988-4747.

I connected with the computerized answering machine at approx. 4:35 PM. MST, and was informed that there would be a charge of $19.95, and that my wait for an operator might be as long as 15 minutes. I figured that it was worth the sacrifice and so I waited on a musical hold until 5:30 PM when the music stopped and I was then cut-off a moment later.

I then promptly phoned Iomega at 1-801-778-1000, and explained my situation to a woman who informed me that your phones for tech-support are often routed to Colorado, and that at 5:30 PM, they regularly dump everyone in their telephone banks so that they can go home on time. I was told that this is an increasing problem and a common complaint.

(Please see the attached download from C/Net's web Site. I was not even aware of others having experienced this problem until today when I visited C/Net's site.) I was told that I could contact Iomega at the main office at 1-801-778-1000 Ex.#1810 during regular business hours and explain my problem and that they would probably help me without charge.

When I worked as a support tech, those who were on a closing shift were on strict orders to empty the phone banks and help those customers to the best of their ability, resolve their problem, before they could go off phones. This would only seem fair to those who had been on hold and had already been committed to paying support fees.

So far I have spent $600.00 for my external Jazz Drive, and another $400.00 on additional Jazz Disks. I may not be a big business or spend big bucks, but I feel that Iomega could and should treat their customer's with more respect. Apparently my experience with Iomega has not been isolated or unique.

On Monday Jan 13th, I made contact with Jeremy Barraza who told me he was "Level II" Tech. Support. I explained that I had recently re-installed Windows '95 on my system and that I needed to reconfigure my settings so that my Jazz Drive would be recognized. He had me check and confirm some settings and then requested that I "Pull out my SCSI Card and change the jumper settings to the off position. He then had me change the switch on the back of my External Jazz Drive to the "o" position. I mentioned to Mr. Barraza, that my Jazz Drive had been working perfectly prior to having reinstalled Win'95. I explained that I had made no hardware changes and was not sure why he was having me change the hardware settings. He replied that "It was pretty common for Iomega's techs, to make hardware adjustments." For the next two weeks, I tried and tried to get my system to recognize my Jazz Drive. Finally, after consulting with others who are more knowledgeable about hardware than myself, I discovered that Mr Barraza's suggestions to make the hardware changes, did nothing other than manually turn off my computer's ability to recognize my Jazz Drive. Is this not basic knowledge for a Tech.II support person?

Attached (with my first letter to Nancy Brown's attention, at Iomega) were copies of my E-Mail communications with Mr. Barraza. I think I adequately stressed how important it was for my to resolve this problem as soon as possible, and that I would make myself available to him whenever he could continue to resolve this problem (Which he compounded).

I gave him my telephone number. I took an afternoon off from work because he had set an appointment to call me and work it out on Tuesday Jan 14th. I made a number of long-distance telephone calls to Iomega attempting to speak with Mr. Barraza, because he was not answering my E-Mails. The E-Mail copies of our communications, are only the ones he answered.

As of today, I had never received so much as a follow-up E-Mail or telephone call to see if my problem was ever resolved. This is the kind of treatment that makes customers feel that they don't matter. Why wouldn't a rising company such as Iomega be more concerned about customer satisfaction?

In conclusion... Am I going to be billed $19.95 for spending 55 minutes on hold listening to music? If so, why? Otherwise, how do I go about making sure that I am not unfairly billed on my telephone bill.

May 1, 1997 - I WAS billed for the call which was never answered. Attached is a photo copy of the bill from MCI. I was informed by (Escalated Customer Support Representative) Peggy Nelson, that if I sent her a photo-copy of my MCI bill, that she would send me reimbursement for $19.95. Here it is!

I would appreciate a reply to this. I also hope you will make those in charge, aware of this problem. Iomega makes too good a product to have it's reputation tarnished by inferior technical support.

* Note *

I'm typically not one to write consumer complaint letters. I have better ways to spend my time, than to whine and complain about the way a company does business. If I don't like a product or don't like the company's way of doing business, I simply stop supporting the company and do my best to spread the word amongst my friends and business associates. I'm hoping that someone at Iomega will care enough to answer this complaint.

This letter was originally sent to Nancy Brown at Iomega Support. I never heard a word from her or anyone else. This is my second attempt to get some sort of feedback regarding this complaint, and to get reimbursement for an unfairly billed phone call. Once again, I hope for a reply.

Also.... It might be worth Iomega's time to have some of your employees, and or executives take a look at the following web site located at:

http://personal.riverusers.com/~s/action.htm

This site should give Iomega some insight into the problems it's customer's are experiencing.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Kadish
420 East 900 North
Orem, Ut 84097
801-222-9390

cc:

Kim B. Edwards CEO
Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah
84067

Beth E. Kearsley
Complaint Analyst - Consumer Rights
Office of the Attorney General State of Utah
160 East 300 South
Box 140872
Salt Lake City
Utah 84114-0872 

Better Business Bureau
1588 South Main St.
Salt Lake City, UT  84115

Return to May 1997 Correspondence

April 23, 1997

ATTN: Mr. Jesse Curroz, Manager					This letter is faxed
RE: Zip Triple Your Stuff Offer					TO: 1-800-818-9731
P.O.Box 4900
Fenton, MO 63099 

Dear Sir/Madam: RE: Mail In Certificate, $50.00 Rebate and Carrying Case present.

I am writing this letter after several phone calls to your customer service prior to March 25, 97 and weekly thereafter. I have spoken with your customer service reps Jennifer, Sharon, Andrew and yourself since March 25, 97 and I have got replies varying from "we don't have your info in our database" to "we have not received your Mail-in rebate form" and lately "our database is not working" or similar statements. Here is a brief information about what I mailed you.

I sent the Mail-In Certificate including the original Serial Number printed on the zip drive's box (copies enclosed) around last mid-December 1996. I also mailed in a Registration Form in which there was mention of a gift for filling and mailing the survey/Registration form. I checked off the Carrying Case gift for my new Zip Drive. Further more, I followed up, by calling your customer service and sending E-mails with absolutely no results. The answer I got last March 25 from your customer rep. Jennifer, was, that iomega has not received my Mail-In Certificate Form yet!!! To my astonishment every time I call and give only my phone number you bring up, in your computer, all my personal information, THE INFORMATION THAT WAS MAILED TO YOU.

I understood that the rebate and the Carrying Case will be sent to the customers in about 6 to 8 weeks. It is already over 4 (four) months since I have mailed the forms to you. So, do I not deserve a little explanation, after several phone calls and sending E-mails for another three times, that WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM?

I do not know what is your intention, but I will tell you what is mine. I am planning to return your Zip Drive merchandise and also go public about this unsatisfying service I got from iomega customer service. I will wait for two weeks, starting today April 23, 1997, after mailing this letter to you. In the absence of a communication from you, indicating the date of sending the rebate cheque, I will send the copies of all my correspondence with you to the Better Bureau Business and other Consumer Affairs agencies. In addition I will also go on the Internet News Groups to publicly share my experience dealing with you.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

 


			Jamal Nasrabadi, GIS Consultant
			GeoGrafix Consulting

Return to May 1997 Correspondence

					May 6, 1997

[Home address withheld as a courtesy.]

Mr. Kim Edwards
Iomega Corporation
1821 West Iomega Way
Roy, Utah 84067

Dear Mr. Edwards:

I am writing to you to let you know (in case you don't know this which I doubt) that there is a huge scam going on regarding the so-called rebates on the Iomega Zip Drive. I purchased two drives in December. One was for my personal use and one was for my laboratory at the University of Iowa where I am a professor of microbiology. I carefully filled out all the required forms, cut out the UPC boxes, etc. and sent two letters to the address in Fenton, Mo. Of course, I did this in good faith. I did copy the forms and receipts but didn't copy the UPC label.. And I know I cut it out because I saw the boxes later with the UPCs neatly cut out. Also I clearly remember putting the labels in the letters. Last month I called several times and complained that I had not yet gotten the rebates. I talked to some rather nasty people who gave me the story that I did not include the labels. I thought I had finally convinced one of your people at Iomega that I indeed did do it. She said to wait and I would get my rebates.

Today I got a letter from your friendly folks at Fenton telling me that I didn't include everything and that I should now send in the UPC labels to get my rebate. Of course you know that this is a Catch 22 since they are already cut out of the box, I have no record or replacement for them, and I KNOW that I sent them in. I consider this sort of scam tantamount to fraud and I am going to send a copy of this letter to my congressman, Congressman Leach. I will also send a copy to Beth Keasley at the Attorney General's office in Utah. Maybe if enough people complain something will be done about it. Also I plan to inform the University of Iowa Weeg Computer Center (which, by the way, handles and sells lots of your drives) as well as Iowa Book and Supply of Iowa City who also handles a lot of your drives. I am also sending a copy to Steve Langford to put on his Web site. I also will tell everyone I know (students, faculty, friends at national meetings, etc.) who has thoughts of buying your drives that you have run a scam rebate operation. Multiply me by thousands and you can get an idea of the public relations fiasco this will cause for your company.

By the way the serial number on my drive at home is RABG24W3UG and at work is RABG2512AY. It's a pretty good idea for a drive but I certainly would avoid buying products from your company in the future.

					Sincerely yours,


					C. Martin Stoltzfus

CC.  Congressman Leach
        Beth E. Keasley, Office of Attorney General, State of Utah
        University of Iowa Information Technology Services-Computer
Equipment Sales
        Iowa Book and Supply Company
        Steve Langford, "Boycott Iomega" Web Page


C. Martin Stoltzfus
Department of Microbiology
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242

Phone: 319-335-7793
Fax: 319-335-9006
marty-stoltzfus@uiowa.edu

Return to May 1997 Correspondence

Date: Fri, 23 May 1997 00:13:58 +0000
To: ercet@Iomega.com
From: "Guy D. Smith" 
Subject: Your [My?] Stuff?
Cc: Steve Langford 

Mr. Briscoe, (or whomever); 

Finally, and at long last, I have indeed received what I guess passes for, "Your [My?] Stuff". Admittedly it is with but one exception that I wipe my hands of any dealings with Iomega Corporation. And by your invitation I presume to think that this parting shot will go any farther than the trash basket nearest the terminal that it arrives at, if indeed it even gets read or printed.

After nine months in the dark, with nothing but inept phone representatives to entertain me, I have yet another surreptitious profferance in a feeble attempt at substance. I have a representation of a Zip drive which, much to my surprise, has functioned to the best of my hopes since the day that I first plugged it in. I have twelve Zip disks which, knock on wood, have and will keep my data intact for some time to come. I have two disk caddies which have made the management of my disks a bit less of a chore. I have a carrying case which will indeed make short work of packing my drive around; albeit the case which I bought to do the job while I waited on Iomega is a far better thought-out and executed product. And I have a CD-ROM with an out-dated version of some demo software that I can download and/or order off of the web free of charge and have in my hand in a few minutes or days.

If I have anything to be grateful for, it is that the Zip drive and disks have lasted long enough for me to set aside the funds to replace them with. Since I have no confidence that they will last very much longer. And if they do malfunction there is no company to turn to with any difficulties that might arise.

I would object strenuously to any cheap little school-kids business and marketing slop that you might care to use to make me think that I have in anywise benefitted from some big deal. Nothing in this world is worth the disappointment that I have known in my dealings with Iomega Corporation.

Insincerely yours,

____________

Gy..
mailto: gy@mcn.net

 
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 10:14:15 +0000
To: EXECUTIVE RESPONSE TEAM <ERCET@IOMEGA.COM>
From: "Guy D. Smith" <gy@mcn.net>
Subject: Re: demo software
Cc: <IOMEGAERT@aol.com>, 
      <help@nowsoft.com>, 
      <info@nowsoft.com>,
      <marcom@nowsoft.com>, 
      "Steve Langford" <s@theriver.com>,
      <alnatoli@pop.pipeline.com>


To Whom It May Concern;

------------------------------------------------------------ 
 

Please forgive this intrusion. I am mentally handicapped and learning
curves for me may seem inordinately steep to you.

------------------------------------------------------------ 
 
 

	After what is now almost a year, I am still seeking the end of the
tunnel after having fallen for the "Hold Everything" promotion put
forth by Iomega Corporation. Fortunately there remains but one issue
to be resolved. The matter of what I was led to believe would be,
"Free Software", (i.e.,.; Now Up-to-Date/Contact). To-date I have
received a repackaged version of the demo CD, of which I already have
a genuine Now Software copy. 
 

	My attempts at resolving this matter with Iomega Corporation have
resulted in little more than inept and inane responses alluding to
some as yet unrealized, 'Quality Service'. The last of these
profferings I have included below. And where I did pick-up on the
vague allusion to some, "setup" to be gone into. Nothing that I have
tried to-date has resulted in anything more than a demo installation.
This inference may well have been proposed by one not familiar with
any other platform but that of Wintel. I am familiar with Wintel and
several other platforms and have yet to find anything that will
fulfill the allegations of Iomega Corporation. 
 

------------------------------  
 
 

At 4:41 PM -0400 5/27/97, IOMEGAERT@aol.com wrote:

€ [
€ [ The "demo" software that you received can be used as just a demo
€or you can
€ [ go into setup and they will give you instructions on how to
install the
€ [ software.  If you have any problems please feel free to call us.
The number
€ [ is 801-778-1000.  You can ask for ext 1890.
€ [
€ [ Thank You,
€ [ Terri
€ [ Executive Response Team
€ [

------------------------------ 
 
 

	I have already spent far too much money just servicing these
matters to invest in any more of Iomega's schemes, least of all
untold time running-up my phone-bill. I live on a fixed income and
have found it difficult enough to set aside the funds that I will
need to replace my Iomega purchases with those of a reputable company.
 

------------------------------------------------------------

My system particulars are:

Power Macintosh 7200/75 PPC, (601 CPU)
Apple Macintosh Operating System v7.5.3 rev 2
32MB actual RAM/ 96MB w/ Ram Doubler 2
540MB & 1.2GB Internal Hard Drives.

------------------------------------------------------------ 
 
 

I hope that this will be no great imposition on your time or
resources. I am in no hurry and would try my best to clarify any
vagueries. 
 

Thank you for your attention to my concerns. 
 

____________
 

Gy..

 
 

Return to July 1997 correspondence 


    
 


    
 
From: "David V. Zawacki" <dzawacki@kraken.mvnet.wnec.edu>
To: <reginfo@iomega.com>
Cc: <s@TheRiver.com>
Subject: IOMega Promotion
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 1997 13:22:01 -0400
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal

Dear Sir/Madam, 

It sounds to me like a contradiction of terms. "Thank you for purchasing
and registering your IOMega product.", and in order to show our
appreciation, we will not be sending you the free carrying case that you
rightfully requested. 


It has been quite a while since I have seen a company become so successful
in such a small amount of time. I really love my zip drive for its backup
capabilities, and its overall flexibility. However, at the time of
purchase, one of the selling points was that you would receive a $50.00
rebate AND a free IOMega carrying case. The rebate process was rather slow,
but you did send me the rebate as promised, and I thank you for that. I
also sent in my registration card which entitled me to a free carrying
case. This card was submitted to you well before the promotional deadline,
however you are now claiming that the promotion has expired. I understand
that the promotion has expired, however as a new company that is hoping to
establish its product and its reputation for taking care if its customers,
you should rightfully send these promotional items to the customers that
have complied with the terms of your offer. 
 

I have seen an abundance of material on the Internet, which tells me that I
am not in a minority of unhappy IOMega customers. I thank you for the time
that you are giving to this matter, and I hope that will take better care
of your customers in the future. 
 

Sincerely, 
 

Dave Z 
______________________________________________________________________

David V. Zawacki			http://www.wnec.edu/~dzawacki
School of Engineering			Home: (413) 783-5465
Western New England College		Fax: (413) 796-2116
				
"I'm an Idealist. I don't know where I am going, but I'm on my way."
______________________________________________________________________
  


Return to July 1997 correspondence



    
 
Iomega Corporation
P.O. Box 758
Brea, CA 92822
June 3, 1997
 

Attention Zip Drive Product Manager: 
 

This is a letter to express my disappointment in the Iomega Zip Drive.
I am a graphic designer, and needing an effective and efficient method of
data transportation, I purchased a Zip Drive on April 16, 1996, at a retail
price of $299.00 ($340.86 after taxes). 
 

I was pleased with the ease of use, portability, and expandability that the
Zip Drive offered, until May 14 of this year, when it simply stopped
working. My reseller called technical support immediately, but as he did not
have the serial number, when he followed up I was urged to telephone
technical support myself. Once I spoke to technical support, I was reminded
that since one year had passed, my warranty had expired. As my Zip Drive is
no longer under warranty, I was informed that an option would be to send the
drive to Iomega, or to an Iomega service facility, for a cost of $150.00 to
have a technician look at the drive. 
 

With the cost of a courier, insurance, and the fee to have a technician
examine the drive, certainly a more cost effective option would be for me to
purchase a new drive entirely, as the retail price has fallen to $198.00
(pre-tax). This is where my disappointment stems. Only one month after my
warranty has expired, suddenly the product is no longer in working order.
This lack of quality has left me extremely dissatisfied, and I am
disappointed that with such a close time period after the expiration of my
warranty, that your company would not offer the customer service to examine
the drive. Now I am left with a drive that is virtually disposable, and no
means to transport my large graphic files.  
 

I have had conversations with other graphic designers, and have also heard
that in addition to the Zip Drives, other products from your company, such
as the Jaz Drive, have been not performing to industry standards. This
word-of-mouth sharing of disappointment is damaging the reputation of Iomega
for sure. Currently I am viewing other data transfer options available, and
it will take much convincing to purchase another Iomega product. 
I challenge you to stand behind your products, and to convince myself and my
peers why we should consider Iomega products in the future. I look forward
to your response. 


Sincerely, 
 

Andrew von Rosen 
 
_ _ _ 
 

Andrew von Rosen Creative 

[Phone numbers omitted as a courtesy.  --SL, 27 July 1997] 


Return to July 1997 correspondence



 

TO IOMEGA  


I will NEVER purchase another Iomega product.  Whenever possible, I will
actively discourage others from doing so as well.  Your Zip product
sucks.  The technical support sucks.  (The web page is a joke.)  
 

It is obvious, based on my own experience and the wealth of complaints
posted to the web, Iomega has no conscience nor morality.  The day I see
that your company has folded I will be an extremely happy consumer. 
However, that celebration will be tinged with regret for the
rank-and-file employees who worked for the company and consumers who
believed in your promises. 
 

Given my experience with Iomega, I can only conclude that you are
mendacious, greedy, insensitive, and duplicitous people.  And,
undoubtedly as you read yet another rant about your product and service,
are laughing all the way to the bank (via your status cars, no doubt). 
Well, one can always hope that "what goes around comes around" and you
all will someday wish you'd been more honest and caring in your
actions.  It may be a while, but given the build-up of consumer
communication/activism, eventually, Iomega's name will be synonymous
with "snake oil salesmen." 
 
---------------------------------------------------------------

Letter to which Iomega has not bothered to respond.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

rma #[omitted by request --SL, 23 August 1997]


[To:  Scott Thomas, Director of Consumer Relations]


Dear Mr. Thomas,
 

Had I confidence in Iomega's commitment to customer satisfaction, I
would not write this letter, because Iomega does not support the
concepts of appropriate customer satisfaction, this letter may even be a
futile attempt to appeal to your sense of fairness. 
 

Specifically, it is difficult to politely expound on my intense
dissatisfaction at buying a defective Zip drive only to find out from
the beginning problems that additional fees were required to get initial
assistance in determining that the drive was indeed defective*.  Once
that fact was established, I was told a replacement had been sent.  It
was dismaying to find out that the fine print resulted in my receiving a
"refurbished" drive.  I buy a brand new zip drive.  It is defective and
I end up with a less-than-brand-new drive yet paying the price for a new
drive.  Some folks may buy used cars, or re-tread tires.  I do not
believe in buying used items, especially when I'm paying full market
price.  It's akin to marrying a woman claiming to be a virgin, only to
find out she'd been around the block.  If Iomega thinks this is so fair,
then why does this information appear in such teensy tiny print?  


Let me appeal to your empathetic ability... can you put yourself in my
position?  If you bought a new washing machine, and it was defective,
would you appreciate being bamboozled with a replacement that was
"refurbished"?  Honestly? 
 

When a company exhibits a tendency to shortchange its customers, though
superficially it explains in terms of self-protection, the customer
becomes wholly disinclined to loyalty to that brand.  Since I have read
some history of your company and realize Iomega has had some
difficulties, the sort of actions I encountered belie a lack of product
confidence and a willingness to shift the responsibility for recouping
financial loss onto the customer. 
 

So, the questions are:  Is Iomega willing to send me a new drive (I will
happily return the refurbished item)?  Does Iomega value customers who
believe in the brand name and thus are repeat customers?  Or is my
letter a waste of your time and my effort?  Otherwise, the expressions
of regret in your letter are meaningless.  This becomes not just
regrettable on a personal level, but will, over time, cost Iomega the
product presence it needs in order to survive in the war of technology
products, because someone else will indeed come along and give a product
with service that will erode your customer base. 
 

Sincerely, 
 

[Name deleted by request. --SL, 23 August 1997] 
 

*for a first time user with minimal computer knowledge (which I can only
presume is a demographic segment that should prevail as a significant
portion of your sales base) some dispensation of the $14.95 during the
set-up should be allowed. 


Return to August 1997 correspondence



    
 

Dear Ms. [sic. --SL, 26 August 1997]  Edwards,
 

I wasn't so surprised when I came across a website today that recommends
everyone boycott Iomega.  I thought you should know that I've been very
unsatisfied with your company. 
 

I contacted Tech support, because my Jaz drive suddenly stopped working
properly, and was told that the warranty has expired by 3 months, so I
would either have to buy a new one, or pay $200 to get it repaired.
$200 is an awful lot to pay to get the thing repaired, especially since
it is defective and I did not cause the problem.  But a 90 day warranty
on the repair is really what stopped me from going ahead with it.  With
only a one year warranty for the new product and 90 days on the repair,
it seems to me you don't have much confidence in the longevity of your
product!!! 
 

The other complain I have against your company is after paying over $500
for the Jaz drive when it first came out (with only a one year warranty,
which is lousy by any standard), you want to make me pay for technical
support? No thanks! This was the reason I returned the Ditto drive I
bought.  It was difficult to install and I was trying to get tech
support to help me, but of course they refused without the $20 fee! So,
I called HP and asked them if they would help me install the drive for
free if I had problems, and when I found out they not only will help me
install the drive, I get FREE technical support!  You guessed it, I ran
right back to the store and returned your product!  Not even the lure of
the $50 rebate could get in my way. 
 

Just thought you should know nobody else needs to convince me to boycott
your product, because your company is doing such a great job of it! 
 

Weilin Cheng 
 
 

Return to August 1997 correspondence


   

     

     

 
 Your letter could go here!   
  
  
 
RETURN to Home Page



NAMES, ADDRESSES, & LINKS; PEOPLE AND GROUPS TO WHOM 


YOU CAN WRITE
 
 


Perhaps the comment I need to make most often, when I read letters from people complaining about Iomega, is that it does no good for us to complain to each other.  Please write to those in positions of authority, about such matters. 


   



 EMAIL  I HAVE RECEIVED 


 MY RESPONSES TO EMAIL RECEIVED 


 LETTERS OTHERS HAVE SENT TO 

UTAH'S OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 


 RETURN TO HOME PAGE 
 

   


 By the way, you might like to visit 

"Seatbelts 
for School Buses" 


Thank you for your interest! 


Sincerely, Steve Langford

©Stephen A. Langford, Oro Valley, Arizona, 28 January 1998.  


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  


This document may be freely transmitted in its entirety, 
so long as no monies are earned during the transaction/s.  
Permission is required for any and all other 
pertinent circumstances.


 

 (Metering for this page begun 4 November 1996.)