Focus mence.' I envy Upjohn if they have that built into their system, because we do not. It sounds so beautiful. The statement must be definitive from a scientific and technical standpoint, meaning it must be prepared by the user. And, of course, it must also be acceptable to the vendor." Hodge pointed out that in the absence of a definitive statement of acceptance, vendors will routinely make partial shipments and then expect cash for the equipment delivered. "You won't have a completely usable installation," he complained, "and yet, without an acceptance statement in the contract, we're obligated to pay. There should be some statement that we will not pay for this instrument unless it is installed, checked out, and operating to our satisfaction, and that must be done up front. "I still contend," Hodge continued, "that some manufacturers intentionally provide untested equipment. And, under the terms of the warranty, if the instrument doesn't work properly we're obligated to return it to the firm's facility, at our expense, for them to reassemble it and check it out." Hodge feels that problems are espe-
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cially likely to arise when the purchasing department is bypassed in the early, crucial stages of the negotiating process. "Ideally," he said, "the purchasing department should be in-
return responsibility back to the vendor at the time of installation. In that instance, I think the vendor should retain responsibility from the factory, clear through delivery, installation, and checkout. At that point, ownership transfers and the warranty commences."
There should be some statement that we will not pay for this instrument unless it is checked out, installed, and operating to our satisfaction, and that must be done up front. -David Hodge
90-day warranties A new wrinkle in instrument sales, according to Hodge, is the 90-day warranty, with a surcharge for extended warranty privileges. "This bothers me no little bit," he said, "because this clearly indicates that the manufacturer has reservations about his ability to provide a piece of equipment that will last a reasonable period of time." But George Glenday, marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard's analytical instrument group, responded that many instrument company warranties are only intended to cover manufacturing defects and infant mortality. "We have found that most of the failures do occur in the first 90 days," said Glenday. "In fact, most of them occur in the first 60 days, so we put an extra 50% cushion on it." Amy defends the instrument vendors on this point. "The 90-day war-
volved with the transaction right from the opening minute." And he agreed with Olson that a vendor should retain responsibility for an instrument while it is being shipped. "In the case of an instrument that requires installation," said Hodge, "it's clearly silly for a buyer to accept ownership of the instrument at the shipping point [at the factory], be responsible for the instrument in transit, and then temporarily
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1488 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 57, NO. 14, DECEMBER 1985
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