new bib le

[studley67]

That is really poor, you would have to think that quality control is so important for this type of product - I mean it is half the price of a new small car after all, and there is no way you expect that to have any issues as you drive away.

This is the sort of thing that potentially has big negative impact on a business and if I were them I would be doing everything in my power to get any issues fixed ASAP.

agreed 100%.and thanks nick.

[Caveoftreasures]

Ok. I thought u were pulling my leg.  Which dealer did u buy it from.  

Were u offered the precheck Damo ? Was the machine taken out of the box and was the machine checked over by the seller for you ?

Hope its sorted quickly etc.  

[Strangeways]

Damien - That's disappointing to hear. I'd suggest calling the Stern Dealer you bought it from and reporting it DOA.

Unfortunately this is proof the games were rushed out of the factory before being properly tested. I don't think anyone bothers with the "Supplier Pre Check" for three reasons ;

1 - They have paid for the NIB "experience"
2 - Game might be damaged at Dealers (accidental)
3 - The owners reporting issues are home users. Pre Check or "burn in" was done before operators sited them.

Each owner with a problem should politely contact the dealer they bought it from as this data is collated to Stern and they then release bulletins if the fault was a issue on the production line or a part is fatigued too early in it lifetime. Stern can't simulate 100 games on each NIB game, but they need to know if there is a trend with faults occurring. What we should also remember is THIS title was always going to be a big seller into the home market. These faults would have been picked up by operators and reported. So they would be losing income with the machines off site. Reporting the issues immediately is the best course of action.

[Olivia_jason]

heres the thing the dealer who sold you it is obligated to replace the machine or warrent it. now buyer precheck is bs, they cant use that as a way to get out of warrenty. it is against the law. and if they dont comply report them to consumer trading.
at the end of the day if you arent happy with a product you got from Jbhifi then you put that product back in the box and you go back to jbhifi and you tell them this product is garbage and you want a new one, you dont ring the company that makes the product, no you send it back to the guy you bought it from and they deal with it.
this isnt a secondhand item that you have taken a gamble on and expected it to be perfect, its a brand new item, the only way stern will learn is by sending it back to the dealer, and letting him get pissed off at stern because he has 10 machine that have been returned because they are shit.

[Boots]

If the machine is less that a week old the dealer must replace the machine - no questions asked.
That is how the law has been for the last 20 years and applies to every electical appliance bought in Australia.
Of course if you agree they can repair it, but who would do that if you had the option of them just bringing out a new one.

[Caveoftreasures]

The warranty is offered for a reason. Just get it fixed quickly Damo under the warranty. It might be a five minute fix.

Everyone buys these products knowing they come with a warranty. You just cant dump it back at the dealer and demand your money, it doesnt work this way. You have to give the dealer every fair and reasonable opportunity to provide factory warranty and fix the item. 

[Olivia_jason]

The warranty is offered for a reason. Just get it fixed quickly Damo under the warranty. It might be a five minute fix.

Everyone buys these products knowing they come with a warranty. You just cant dump it back at the dealer and demand your money, it doesnt work this way. You have to give the dealer every fair and reasonable opportunity to provide factory warranty and fix the item.  

thats fair enough, but you cant say to stern the playfield is shit and their response after allot of hassle being they send a new playfield and thats not fitted??? seems a failure from the dealer there, they havent lived up to the obligation of warranty with that machine esp not fitting it and asking the buyer to pay for postage? recon that sounds like good warenty? at the end of the day being a distributor means you have to warranty the items you sell, even if its  shit product that keeps coming back to you and costing you money to fix, the dealer still sold this item. it seems lucky for the dealer in that case of the playfield the person was happy to just get a playfield in the post.
the dealer should be talking to stern very strongly and telling them to lift their game.
How many of these machines did stern send to Aus?? id say a large amount of these machines came here, it would be in their best interest to work with dealers and have a proper warranty structure wouldn't it???

[Caveoftreasures]

I think some people just ask for a spare playfield versus having it fitted. Hence the dealer was fine for that warranty claim probably.

I reckon less than 160 to 200 games in total have come to Australia. (all acdc models)

[pinnies4me]

I reckon less than 160 to 200 games in total have come to Australia. (all acdc models)

That terrible - look how high a percentage we are seeing with problems just on this forum, and I bet only a tiny percentage of the buyers are on here. That is an amazingly poor level of quality control. I am really quite staggered.

[Caveoftreasures]

If its half a dozen machines (apx that number require warranty) out of say 200 so far. That is apx 2 percent. Wouldnt around 2 to 5 percent fall within any industry's warranty/fail guidelines ?

By the time the rest of the 200 machines are unpacked (half have been done so far) its still probably going to be less than 5 percent. Isnt that normal ?

[Boots]

The warranty is offered for a reason. Just get it fixed quickly Damo under the warranty. It might be a five minute fix.

Everyone buys these products knowing they come with a warranty. You just cant dump it back at the dealer and demand your money, it doesnt work this way. You have to give the dealer every fair and reasonable opportunity to provide factory warranty and fix the item. 

Why would you put up with endless back and forth with fix ups only to be sick of your new purchase before you have even played it.
That is exactly why the laws are there so that the buyer is not disadvantaged.
You don't have to demand your money, you can demand a replacement with a new item, it's the buyers choice.
Who here has bought something, had it fixed under warranty and got stuck with a "lemon", that you sell off just to get rid of it.

[pinnies4me]

If its half a dozen machines (apx that number require warranty) out of say 200 so far. That is apx 2 percent. Wouldnt around 2 to 5 percent fall within any industry's warranty/fail guidelines ?

By the time the rest of the 200 machines are unpacked (half have been done so far) its still probably going to be less than 5 percent. Isnt that normal ?

Mate, if I worked to a 5% fail rate I'd be sued out of existence in a week, I'm sure you don't have a 5% failure with the electronic equipment you install?

I appreciate your enthusiasm for Stern but you've got to face the facts on this one, they have done a poor job of it. In the end if they come good under warranty, that will be good but they have sullied their rep in the process.

I feel for the local distributors who are genuine middle men in this and getting stuck with a lot off bad press.

[piesrule]

The warranty is offered for a reason. Just get it fixed quickly Damo under the warranty. It might be a five minute fix.

Everyone buys these products knowing they come with a warranty. You just cant dump it back at the dealer and demand your money, it doesnt work this way. You have to give the dealer every fair and reasonable opportunity to provide factory warranty and fix the item. 

Why would you put up with endless back and forth with fix ups only to be sick of your new purchase before you have even played it.
That is exactly why the laws are there so that the buyer is not disadvantaged.
You don't have to demand your money, you can demand a replacement with a new item, it's the buyers choice.
Who here has bought something, had it fixed under warranty and got stuck with a "lemon", that you sell off just to get rid of it.

[piesrule]

The warranty is offered for a reason. Just get it fixed quickly Damo under the warranty. It might be a five minute fix.

Everyone buys these products knowing they come with a warranty. You just cant dump it back at the dealer and demand your money, it doesnt work this way. You have to give the dealer every fair and reasonable opportunity to provide factory warranty and fix the item. 

What happens when its a numbered edition?
Why would you put up with endless back and forth with fix ups only to be sick of your new purchase before you have even played it.
That is exactly why the laws are there so that the buyer is not disadvantaged.
You don't have to demand your money, you can demand a replacement with a new item, it's the buyers choice.
Who here has bought something, had it fixed under warranty and got stuck with a "lemon", that you sell off just to get rid of it.

[Caveoftreasures]

The fail rate for Bosch (the stuff I install/sell) is listed as being around 1 to 2 percent maximum. Any electronic manufacturing industry usually operates around 3 percent if its a quality product.

I think the prechecks would have saved alot of this if they were done. If they were offered etc.

I know its easy for people to want to execute Stern for warranty hassles etc, but its just as easy to be realistic and understand all this is normal for any industry if we are honest. Cars, motorbikes, whitegoods, anything and everything, even brand new Jumbo Jet aircraft have warranty and fail rates.
Can Stern do better, ofcourse, and i am sure they are working towards it.

None of us like it, but welcome to technology (or lack thereof) and to having humans help stuff it all up.
Things can only get better, but the perfect pinball machine will never happen, until Terminator 3 robots take over the planet.lol