(Topic ID: 223382)

American pinball and Pinballstar make pinball great

By jrio101

5 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 454 posts
  • 143 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by PtownPin
  • Topic is favorited by 6 Pinsiders

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There are 454 posts in this topic. You are on page 10 of 10.
#451 5 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

You are missing the bigger picture.
No one would have ever known about the warranty length and how rigidly it is interpreted.
No one would have ever known about the repair advice given when you call for assistance.
No one would have ever known the warranty only applies to the first owner.
(sure you can say "well they could read the warranty", but what a company puts on paper, and what they actually do when you call for help - are two very different things)
Everyone has owned a few Stern or JJP games, so we have tons of data points and know what happens when we call for guidance.
AP is totally new, so 99% of Pinsiders have no experience with their tech help or warranty.
This thread is SUPER valuable to everyone on Pinside.

I agree that its valuable information. Whether it prevents myself or another buddy from buying a Houdini remains to be seen. That being said I think it be valuable if AP just admitted that they made a big mistake in how they handled this situation (maybe they did and I missed it). We all make mistakes, and in my mind this was a big mistake on their part. What they should have done is sent them a new board at a reduced price with the expectation that the owner returns the failed board that they can have repaired. Its pretty simple .. a board should never fail in three months....ever

#452 5 years ago
Quoted from PtownPin:

Its pretty simple .. a board should never fail in three months....ever

Not true. Boards can fail on day one, and have.
Not to bash Rottendog for example. Ive had many a board fail in the first hours, and months later. A few they covered, some several months later, they did not. Jim has, was, and is always helpful. He always had a good reason to either replace a board, or steer me towards who could fix it, or tell me how to fix it myself. Love Rottendog boards and have, and had maybe 40-50 at this point.
Another example, Have had Stern nod boards die in first week, also 12 months later. Every case is different. The Star wars flipper boards after almost a year were not covered and was instructed to buy new. The Batman66, 1 week old motor board was replaced with warranty.
In this case, to refresh memories at this point. OP was second owner had had installed mods., maybe incorrectly?
Yes, what a Great PR campaign American Pinball could of used in this case. But also as a new company, every second owner can't always be pleased.
American Pinball also spent several hours helping the OP diagnose and discover problem. Then offered the board at base cost for replacement.
Also, once again, more than half of the judgements here are from non owners and those that never even had a desire to buy game. Just came to add more logs on the fire.
I would by from American Pinball again as long as it's not Oktoberfest.
They have been nothing but cordial, informative, open with code and taking suggestions. Very helpful with my warrant, had a plastic break, and immediately sent me a replacement out priority mail. March purchase and they don't have to replace plastics either.
Much like Yelp and restaurants, sometimes you can't make every sandwich to someone's expectations.

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#453 5 years ago
Quoted from PtownPin:

I agree that its valuable information. Whether it prevents myself or another buddy from buying a Houdini remains to be seen.

You can still buy a Houdini (and I think you should), but now you go in with your eyes wide open.

Quoted from PtownPin:

Its pretty simple .. a board should never fail in three months....ever

Pinball boards sometimes break the same day you unbox the machine, that's just how it is.

I'd way rather have it break at the shop during break-in, than 2 weeks latter when I have to go fix it on location.

(You'd way rather your new cell phone break in the showroom of the phone-store, than after you have had it a few weeks)

-

What we need as pinball operators and owners is:

1. Good advice - Don't tell us we need a new $100 board if a .50 cent thru-hole part will fix it

2. Good schematics - We need to be able to follow the circuit flow to troubleshoot quickly.

#454 5 years ago
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:

Not true. Boards can fail on day one, and have.
Not to bash Rottendog for example. Ive had many a board fail in the first hours, and months later. A few they covered, some several months later, they did not. Jim has, was, and is always helpful. He always had a good reason to either replace a board, or steer me towards who could fix it, or tell me how to fix it myself. Love Rottendog boards and have, and had maybe 40-50 at this point.
Another example, Have had Stern nod boards die in first week, also 12 months later. Every case is different. The Star wars flipper boards after almost a year were not covered and was instructed to buy new. The Batman66, 1 week old motor board was replaced with warranty.
In this case, to refresh memories at this point. OP was second owner had had installed mods., maybe incorrectly?
Yes, what a Great PR campaign American Pinball could of used in this case. But also as a new company, every second owner can't always be pleased.
American Pinball also spent several hours helping the OP diagnose and discover problem. Then offered the board at base cost for replacement.
Also, once again, more than half of the judgements here are from non owners and those that never even had a desire to buy game. Just came to add more logs on the fire.
I would by from American Pinball again as long as it's not Oktoberfest.
They have been nothing but cordial, informative, open with code and taking suggestions. Very helpful with my warrant, had a plastic break, and immediately sent me a replacement out priority mail. March purchase and they don't have to replace plastics either.
Much like Yelp and restaurants, sometimes you can't make every sandwich to someone's expectations.

First of all I never said they don't fail...what I said was that they shouldn't fail within the first 3 months. The reason why this is such an issue is that these manufacturing companies have a sweat heart deal. They basically provide ZERO service when there is a warranty issue. Labor is what costs all the money, and providing parts is cheap. AP screwed up...my hope is they admit they made a big mistake and don't repeat it.

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