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APC Issues Statement In Response To Our Power Strip Teardown

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  • Power Supplies
  • Power
  • APC
  • Accessories
Last response: in News comments
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Anonymous
a b ) Power supply
September 22, 2014 10:39:19 AM

Last month we published an article in which we disassembled and photographed an APC power strip. The company has since responded to our post:

APC Issues Statement In Response To Our Power Strip Teardown : Read more

More about : apc issues statement response power strip teardown

September 22, 2014 11:06:53 AM

This is the reason I use nearly all APC brand products in my server lab and at home. They are good. I've never had a quality issue with any of their products. I use their racks and PDUs in my lab, and their UPSes in my home. I have several of their PDUs in my lab that date back over ten years, and they're still going strong. I like any company that takes criticism up front, makes no excuses, and works to make things better.
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September 22, 2014 11:32:12 AM

They just got a +1 in my book. Any company that take the time to provide a detailed letter to the public, offering it up to the forums, has integrity... and that's a rare quality in companies these days. Thank you, Colin Campbell, for being honest and forthright. Most of all, thank you for proving you have an active interest in your consumers; their thoughts, opinions, and loyalty.
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September 22, 2014 11:39:28 AM

That is a *very* impressive from Colin Campbell and APC! I have been using APC UPSs since the 1990s of various power and have never had an issue with any of them (other than the batteries eventually dying of course). Generally they are a little more expensive than the competition but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I am not comfortable connecting thousands of dollars of equipment to cheaper power backup and protection solutions. This response further gives me confidence to continue to purchase all of my home and small office UPS needs from APC.

Thank you Toms for the original review, and thank you Collin for your response!
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September 22, 2014 12:17:47 PM

I'm impressed that APC stepped up. I hope we see a future article where you tour the Andover lab (with pictures) :) 
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a b ) Power supply
September 22, 2014 12:23:05 PM

And that's the bottom line, cause APC said so!
No, seriously, these guys are awesome. In fact, I'm using APC right now.
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September 22, 2014 4:05:46 PM

What a surprisingly wonderful reply from Colin Campbell. Talk about doing his job right!
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September 22, 2014 5:39:46 PM

Give Colin Campbell a raise good sir! In fact, I might start a kickstarter project for that sole purpose.
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a b ) Power supply
September 22, 2014 5:49:10 PM

Looks like Colin had a pretty rough day having that bag handed to him! But I agree with others here, this is a good response and certainly helps the company save face a little bit after such a rough review. APC is one of the biggest brands in that business, and you don't get that way by having shoddy work all of the time. It would be very interesting to pick a new product off of a retail shelf and see if things have gotten better... surely anecdotal, but it would be very interesting.

Please take them up on the tour offer. I mean, it isn't exactly the LHC, but tours are always pretty interesting reads!
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September 22, 2014 6:33:04 PM

Now that is how you respond to quality control criticism.
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September 22, 2014 7:18:56 PM

CaedenV said:
It would be very interesting to pick a new product off of a retail shelf and see if things have gotten better... surely anecdotal, but it would be very interesting.

I am still waiting for that current-version power bar APC said they would be sending my way over a month ago - I still have no definitive date on that. I tried asking TrippLite, Belkin, Kensington and others if they were interested in sending units in but got no response from them either.

But I do have some sort of follow-up on its way as my next write-up - it is going to hit mostly below the $10 belt. I am currently waiting for a few more samples from NewEgg to continue shooting photographs and writing. Currently got 15 slides done but I expect to reach 30-35 by the time I am done.
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September 22, 2014 8:03:53 PM

Woah nice move APC... +1
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September 22, 2014 11:08:00 PM

the only part i don't like is the use of the word vintage. Don't put blame on some process being older. You've been in this game for decades that's not an excuse.
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September 22, 2014 11:31:57 PM

wow! this kind of answer and time to answer could (and can) weight the same as engineering quality of the products! Good PR APC! (and yes, both at home and work i am APC only client)
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a b ) Power supply
September 22, 2014 11:38:39 PM

professional, polite and honest. nice reply.
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September 23, 2014 12:10:56 AM

Of course here in Sri Lanka APC cost more but the quality rocks compared to other brands in Sri Lanka. Ofcourse APC may not have good sales figures as the cost is high. I am using APC otherthan the battery the UPS still working over 5 years compared to my energizer AA/AAA battery charger didn't even last for 2 years.
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September 23, 2014 1:38:32 AM

Daniel Sauvageau said:
In case people missed the story this response was about...
http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/661-power-stri...

While a tour of APC's facilities could be interesting, it is a little out of my way from Montreal so I am not sure I might not get an opportunity to pick Collin up on his offer.


Wow, didn't thought Tom's hired people from Montreal (or any other place than USA). Any position available?
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September 23, 2014 4:11:36 AM

APC sincerity only makes me happier to be their costumer.
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a c 127 ) Power supply
September 23, 2014 5:49:10 AM

Oooh. Schneider. I have some interesting stories regarding one of their ACBs...

But yeah, this is what I like to see from companies pulled up on QC issues. Don't deny everything.
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September 23, 2014 7:19:15 AM

We use APC for all our PDU's and UPS's :) 
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September 23, 2014 9:17:34 AM

Nice response and currently one of the few companies I trust with my power needs. Almost every strip in the house is APC and all backups are APC. Good to see a company take 10 minutes and own up and explain issues found.
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September 23, 2014 9:48:00 AM

I hate to be skeptical, but my opinion is that this is something APC HAD to do. As I see it, it is good marketing, and may help them maintain a foothold against the giants. One can only hope that their response represents true integrity.

Interestingly enough, they did call Tom's out with this comment - "As for exposing the center terminal, since the impedance of the circuit is maintained, the issue is one of RF ingress which in typical indoor situations, would have be quite substantial to cause interference." I've done lots of do-it-yourself things over the years including a Heathkit TV: exposing the center conductor is not unheard of, and my experience matches what APC states. Interference in such cases, is not significant. What would have been worse in analog days is a tin connector that tarnishes. My experience is that there was, again in analog days, interference caused in such situations.
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September 23, 2014 9:49:33 AM

glasssplinter said:
Good to see a company take 10 minutes and own up and explain issues found.

Since it was about a week between the time I received confirmation that APC would send a response and the time I actually received it, I would not be surprised if way more than 10 man-minutes were spent putting this response together - I know my request for comment passed between at least two other sets of hands before reaching Collin (Elizabeth from Schneider and Marise from Text100) and Collin likely asked a few APC/Schneider engineers for comments before putting his response together. After that, the response likely needed to be vetted by Schneider's legal department.

All-in-all, there probably were quite a few total man-hours worth of work behind that response.
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September 23, 2014 10:46:37 AM

Signed in to thumb up some comments! I didn't even read the APC review, but just reading this statement made me impressed at APC. I wish more companies were like this, actually reading user feedbacks.
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September 23, 2014 11:23:03 AM

APC stands up, confronts the criticism, and takes steps to show they're better than that. That's a winning attitude. They'll continue to succeed.

Gigabyte takes recent criticism of their product in a recent review and threatens to not participate in THG reviews again. That's a loser attitude. I guess we know who will be losing sales in the future.
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September 23, 2014 1:19:00 PM

I will say that I have owned tens of power surge suppression and backup products personally, as well as designed and installed systems that have included hundreds of them over my career. Having worked with a number of OEMs that white-label from other sources, as well as the brand name APC products, APC has earned my confidence through lower fault and replacement rates over the years.
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September 23, 2014 3:15:09 PM

Nice to see APC respond with a letter which addressed everything clean and clearly. I am also a user of their product and only had to contact them on one small issue, they sent out a replacement but the only issues was the item was out of stock at the time but they kept me up to date every week till the item shipped.
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September 24, 2014 12:57:03 AM

Dear Mr Cambell,

I thank you for your honesty and clarity in your response. I have always held APC products in high regard and was dismayed by the results of the teardown. However, you have demonstrated good judgement and restored my faith that a company like APC have the integrity, leadership and management qualities to address shortcomings when identified.

Thank you once again for sincerely addressing the legitimate concerns of your customers.
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September 24, 2014 11:37:23 AM

This is amazing. APC brand has earned my trust, now they also have my respect.
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September 25, 2014 6:01:23 AM

I will only buy APC now. That takes serious guts for a company to write a response in that level of detail and so candidly.
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September 26, 2014 7:07:26 AM

dude don't go to boston APC will mess you up.
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