An email from a recent addition to the growing SeqGen family of customers reminded me of a topic near and dear to my heart – third party service providers! I wish I had a nickel for every time I have responded to this question list or similar renditions of it. If you’ve been lucky enough to receive “the list”, I would like to take a moment to address many people’s concerns.
1. Are your service staff certified by the instrument manufacturer to work on Life Technologies instruments, including the high-powered lasers used in Life Technologies instruments?
All individuals hired by SeqGen as engineers possess a Masters degree in Engineering or Biology. When hired, engineering candidates undergo a rigorous and intensive 6-month probationary training program, followed by six months of apprenticeship. When they are released for independent fieldwork, engineers are certified by SeqGen and we do provide those certifications to you upon request prior to your first service visit. Since we are in direct competition with Life Technology, they do not certify our engineers, nor will they provide any documentation saying that we are certified. As a comparison, the only thing I can liken it to, would be Honda certifying Toyota engineers. We are two independent companies, each with our own proprietary training programs.
2. Are your service staff equipped with calibration tools certified and tested by the instrument manufacturer? Are your staff also equipped with the manufacturer’s certified diagnostic software and tools to perform temperature calibrations, mechanical and optical alignments, and to diagnose electronic problems?
Yes – we utilize all the necessary calibration tools and software. These were originally purchased directly from Applied Biosystems.
3. Do you have local field service staff, application staff, and technical support staff?
Yes we do have all the above-mentioned support staff. This is available to you through our 877 toll free number or by emailing service@seqgen.com for immediate dispatch scheduling.
4. If you are unable to repair my instrument, will you replace it?
Yes – When you are under Platinum Service contract coverage with SeqGen, in the event your machine is not repairable for any reason, it will be replaced.
5. Do you have all the factory-certified supplies and service spares needed to support my instruments?
Yes – our warehouse in Torrance, CA maintains a full inventory of parts to support your machine. These are OEM parts or parts that were purchased from the very same vendor the OEM uses.
6. Can you guarantee that my contract price is all inclusive and that there will be no caps on labor, parts, and travel?
Absolutely. With Platinum service from SeqGen, your contract expenditure will be the only time you experience any kind of cost outlay annually.
7. Do you offer access to the Life Technologies Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics Center, part of Life Technologies’ real-time monitoring system that proactively alerts Life Technologies engineers who can help diagnose and resolve my instrument problems remotely over the phone?
We offer remote monitoring that allows us to log in to your machine and in many cases repair problems while you are on the phone. If you don’t have time to wait on the phone, we will repair the problem while you conduct other work or even leave the office!
8. Do you cover computer and software repairs, including the reimaging/reinstalling of software and data transfer, at no additional cost?
When you have a Platinum Service contract – yes we do. We can also do this for you on a time and materials basis.
If you have received this list or one similar – send it over and make my day. We’d be more than happy to respond!
