John bought his new Epson printer just a few months ago. He’s now attempted to use it to print photos twice, and neither attempt was successful. He found tech support discouraging: they hung up on him twice, then referred him to another office. Then, mysteriously, he was unable to log in to his Epson.com account: the site told him that it didn’t exist. At this point, he’d rather be rid of the printer entirely.

I bought an Epson Artisan 837 all in one printer from Staples in late October 2012.

Today 1/3/13 I called Epson tech support when I was having a problem trying to print the second photograph I had ever printed. The first photo I printed a few weeks ago was smudged but I let it go assuming the picture quality may not have been high enough. Tonight the printer would not accept the photo paper I had ordered from the Epson web site and that said it worked in any printer but it jammed in my printer.

When I called Epson Tech Support I was a bit stressed but not at all abusive but the first guy I talked to hung up on me as did the second guy and the third and forth person both referred me to another number to call back tomorrow.

When I tried to access my account at epson.com where I had ordered paper and ink the error message said I had no account under that email address even though all tech support people I spoke to referenced that email and I had ordered paper and ink from it in the last two months.

When I told them I wanted to return the printer they said I had to go to Staples but Staples receipt explicitly says if you want to return the printer you have to contact the manufacturer.

I hate this printer, this company and their “tech support” and just want a refund of every penny I have spent on them.

Maybe the people at that number he’ll be calling today will be helpful and help John get his printer working. Maybe not. If we’ve learned anything here, it’s that you should try out every feature of a new gadget while you’re still in the return period with the retailer. Print a photo, scan a document, copy and fax: make sure everything is in working order before you’re stuck with it.

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