BioDirect Do you really know what they are selling you? taunton, Massachusetts

I am disturbed by this post about out business practices because it is libelous and designed solely to harm, not to inform. I am currently employed by Biodirect as a Service Engineer. I came here from Molecular Devices, Arcturus Bioscience, TekCel, and Quantum Corporation where I worked as a Field Service Engineer for over 13 years. I work in-house and in the field on all the various instruments that we sell. I am personally offended by what was said because it questions my own integrity and professionalism not just the companys. If the above statements were factual and designed to help to improve our business then we would take action to do so, however, I find no validity in these claims, so action would be impossible to implement. In the following few paragraphs I will try to address these statements one at a time as to correct these false assertions.

This is a company that brags about its environmental consciousness.

Yes we do brag about environmental consciousness because we are proud of the nature of our business and how we run it. We follow a Be Green, Save Green policy at Biodirect. A key part of our business is an environmentally friendly approach to selling laboratory equipment. By its very nature, refurbishing and selling used equipment is an act of recycling on a large scale. We rebuild components when possible but replace them if specified. In either case, the unit is fully functional and thoroughly tested.

They have no adequate waste management in place often

This statement is a mystery to me. We are OSHA compliant and have various procedures in place to deal with waste of all kinds. We recycle all materials that can be recycled and dispose of all others based on OSHA guidelines. We really dont have a problem with waste management simply because we dont accumulate much waste to manage. For example, we use glycol to test chillers, and change oil in compressors, but those are not difficult to dispose of safely. Most of our testing is done with distilled water. All equipment that comes in gets decontaminated prior to us even starting to work on it. I cant really answer this statement fully because I dont really understand what was meant by it.

They brag about their ability to refurbish everything, and tout the fact that they use only original manufacturers parts - all of this is stated in their sales quote. They in fact often do not use original manufacturers parts - in most cases they don't even use new parts.  In many cases, despite the stamp of "NEW!" on the quote next to an item the part is what was already in place or is a part that was taken off of another piece of equipment in the warehouse.

We dont use manufacturers parts every time; that is the truth. If there are components specified in the sales order that need to be Manufacturers parts, then we buy them new, as quoted. In other cases, why buy a certain part from a manufacturer when we can buy the identical part from the same source that the manufacturer buys it from? We are in the business of delivering to the customer what was promised, does the source of the parts really matter if the parts are identical in every way? Sourcing parts is one of the ways we can afford to sell our equipment at such competitive prices. Granted, if the parts are available only from the manufacturer then we buy them with no hesitation. Some parts always need to be new, like tubing, bottles, bulbs, bearings, and other parts that are subject to wear or contamination; these parts are purchased new as specified in the quote. We also sell equipment as Like New. That is obviously not the same as New, but these parts are either rebuilt or taken from another unit that we have in stock. Unlike our competitors, we have a large inventory to work with, so it only makes sense to take from one to fix the other. All instruments are vigorously tested and must pass Quality Controls before they can be shipped to the customer.

They lie to the customers about the availability of equipment, what is on hand, and when it will be ready.  Make promises to the customer, both verbal and written, that knowingly cannot keep.

We always quote lead times as accurately as we can. Unfortunately, like equipment manufacturers and our competitors, we are dependent on suppliers and their own parts availability. Some parts are harder to get than others. The irony of this situation is that most of the longer lead times we encounter are from the equipment manufactures; so we can often save time and money if we source another supplier for the identical parts. If specific parts are only available from the manufacturer then we have no choice but to wait. When we sell a piece of equipment, the condition of the equipment is known prior to sale. Sometimes we encounter a problem that we did not expect, so we then have to order the part. These cases are the exception, not the rule. I personally have had to deal with manufacturers having to have it shipped from Europe, or suppliers cant ship anything because they are doing inventory this week. If this happens then we inform the customer and offer alternatives or options so that their needs are still met.

As for the availability of equipment, we have a very large inventory of instruments so most things are available right away. If a customer wants something that we dont have on hand, but we know is easily available, we can still offer it with confidence. We have several reliable suppliers and cooperative arrangements with other similar companies. This allows us to make our company a one stop shopping experience for our customers. If you need it, we can get it. All such instruments are subjected to all the same Quality Control procedures as all the other instruments we sell. We are a service business first of all. Getting the things you need at a price you can be happy with is our business model. Our service rates are more than competitive and our equipment prices are always well below the manufactures prices.

I hope that if anyone does read the above post, that they wont just take the word of one individual whom, for whatever reason, feels the need to attack us. Keep in mind that this post could have come from a competitor or a disgruntled employee. We are a small and growing company with a product that almost sells itself. We have no need for unethical practices in order to succeed. If you question the way we do business or the word of a present employee is not enough, then we have many references that are readily available on our website. Our President/Founder is constantly conducting tours of our facility so customers can audit our operations and processes in person. Anyone is welcome to come and visit us to see for themselves. I was even impressed enough with Biodirect to seek employment here.