My Love Affair With Epson Is Over.....

Since I got my first computer, I've always had an Epson Printer to go along with it. For many years I've sworn by them so when I found a great deal on the CX5400 at BJ's about a year and a half ago I was thrilled. Little did I know that was the beginning of the end.

The CX5400 was a great printer, scanner, copier when I first got it home. Installation was a breeze and I was thrilled with the output both from copying and printing. It was everything I expected from an Epson. Then, about 9 months after I got it, the paper feeder started to jamb up a bit. I thought to myself, ok, than can happen, not a big deal. I called Epson, they shipped out a new one and I sent them the one that wasn't working. Then after about 14 months of using the replacement one, I had to change the ink cartridges again. You use ink, you replace ink, pretty typical of all printers and I've changed the ink on this one several times with no problems. Well this time there was a problem. I started printing again and the output looked strange. So I ran a print head cleaning routine and a printer alignment. That's when I noticed that the magenta ink wasn't printing. Hmmmm, maybe a bad ink cartridge......so I put a brand new one in. Nothing. So I figured I'd do a little research. Turns out that this particular Epson Printer is known for this. Many people have encountered this SAME EXACT PROBLEM. We aren't talking about a "similar problem" or a "problem sorta like that but". We are talking, exactly the same thing. Case after case of the same thing happening. The only difference is when it happens. Most are 14 to 18 months after purchase which of course puts it two to six months AFTER the warranty is up. So, just like everyone else (I'm sure they all went through something similar to this) I called Epson Tech Support. I gave them the serial number and the product number and then was told "I'm sorry, that isn't under warranty." I explained that I've done research and this is a known flaw in this printer. She acknowledged that she had heard that, but still wouldn't help me. So I asked for a supervisor. They weren't much help either. They refused to let me talk to anyone higher up than the supervisor explaining that I would get the same answer regardless. Of that one fact I have NO DOUBT. It was the one truthful thing I heard during my entire conversation with Epson. They'd be willing to help me, but it was gonna cost. They weren't the nicest people to talk to either. I'd rather talk to some outsourced Indian who was polite than these Epson people again. Anyway, after asking one last time if they were gonna help me with this problem and having them tell me NO again, in no uncertain terms, I told them thanks a lot, so much for standing behind your product and so much for customer loyalty and then I told them that I would do my best to make sure nobody ever bought Epson again and that I was done with em. Funny thing about that is that she seemed genuinely confused about why I would feel that way. They put out an inferior product (a piece of crap printer) and then don't stand behind their product and then they are surprised when the customer isn't happy? At least car manufacturers realize there is a problem after a certain amount of similar occurrences and complaints and then do a recall. I wonder if anyone ever thought about a class action suit? Anything to teach them a lesson. I have done my part though, and whenever I'm in a Best Buy, Comp USA or similar store, if I happened to walk by the printer aisle and see somebody looking at an Epson, I feel obligated to share my experience and do. I've seen several customers move over to HP and Cannon after telling them my story. If you are interested you can read the reviews for it over at Amazon.com.

On a brighter note, I recently purchased a Canon MP830 and I can't say enough good things about this one. I absolutely love it. Let’s just hope that it's still printing 14 months from now.