I’d like to report a very postive experience with one of our Model Railroad electronics firms, Miller Engineering. They make those cool illuminated, animated signs - and other electroluminescent devices, including kits. I have a number of their products.
In our modular club, there is an individual who drinks Dr. Pepper like many of us drink water. (Turns out there is a large Dr. Pepper fan club.) I wanted to surprise him with a sign at the next show (several months ago now) with a Dr. Pepper sign flashing above a little greasy spoon I built. I ordered the sign, tested it, it worked just fine. In the process of making it easily ‘removable’, and making it fit into a space smaller than the device electronics itself, I pretty well mangled the sign electronics. It worked quite well anyway for that weekend show, but did develop some loose wires after the show - due mainly to my subjecting it to stress for which it was never designed.
For the upcoming weekend show (Oct 2-3), I ordered a replacement Miller “Dr. Pepper” sign, and early this week I unpacked and tested it. Dead. No operation, no lights. With only a very few days left, I did go a bit nonlinear, and wrote to Mr. Miller complaining about the sign. I had no idea that there would be a way to get a replacement in the two or three days left.
Surprise, surprise. Mr. Miller sent me TWO replacement signs, and they got here Thursday (yesterday), in plenty of time for the show. Needless to say, the one I opened works flawlessly, and I will not this time subject it to any “undue stress”. I apologized to Mr. Miller, and will probably send one of them back.
There are many excellent firms that work very hard to bring us high quality products, and provide excellent customer support. With all the online reports of problems, the positive side seems lost in the noise. I have to say that I have never seen any complaint about Miller Engineering.
Now I know why.
Dick Chaffer / Bozeman