What problem did you need to solve?
I have been an ISCO customer since around 2009 and have now owned two different CombiFlash systems.
The first system had a motherboard crash that led to us needing a replacement. When we didn’t have the money, our sales Rep, Rob Ivy came to visit and helped us get it working again with old spare parts. While this fix didn’t last for a long time, it allowed us to limp along for some time before I got funding for a new instrument.
When it was time to write a new grant proposal to find funding to purchase a new CombiFlash, I called Rob to get a quote. Rob was fantastic in answering all my questions before the purchase, sending me timely quotes when I needed to have them for grant proposals, and helping me configure a system that best met my needs. But the service has just gotten better since I made that purchase. Rob personally came by to set up the system (arriving within a couple days of the delivery of the instrument). Not only did he set it up, but he did some training for my students and me. Rarely do I get this level of service for instruments around this price point.
Then, months later we experienced a problem when a loading cartridge was accidentally put on without a filter sending Celite into the system and clogging it up. Again, Rob came out on a moment’s notice and spent time unclogging the system and saving us thousands in repair costs. I am so grateful for Rob’s attention to his customers
How was the problem addressed?
Rob has always been highly responsive, incredibly personable, and never pushy as a salesperson. He has helped me on numerous occasions get our system running smoothly and helping make purification of compounds easier in an undergraduate setting. Large companies like Teledyne ISCO don’t need to cater to small schools like ours, but yet you still do and I am happy to sing your praises because of it. I can honestly say that due to Rob’s service I will continue to support ISCO products over the competition. In fact, I briefly looked at other systems prior to purchasing our current Combiflash, and even less expensive systems were less attractive to me because I did not know if I would get the same level of service.
How did you find working with Teledyne ISCO?
Amazing.
How have you benefited from the process?
In addition to having a purification system that saves us time and solvent, I’ve also learned about better chromatography from interacting with Rob and his directing me to ISCO technical notes and resources. Your book Effective Organic Compound Purification Handbook: Guidelines and Tactics for Flash Chromatography is something I regularly recommend to my undergraduate students who are experiencing difficulty in separations.
What would you say if you were recommending us to another company?
ISCO products are great, ISCO service is better. I’ve looked at other systems and despite lower costs, I don’t see the same level of quality.
As an added note, I’m also thankful that as you release new instruments, you keep new designs backwards compatible with older systems (things like loading cartridges, tube trays, etc that work on my new system and the old one). As a result, when we got a new one, we had increased capability without needing to spend more money. Thank you ISCO!
