Welch Allyn

It’s odd to review on Unilocal a business I’ve never visited in person nor even been in the town where it resides, but here’s a case of mail-​order (and a number of other things) done exactly right. Welch Allyn is a designer and maker of medical instruments for human and veterinary practices. That is, they make things like otoscopes and ophthalmoscopes for doctors. Their design – for instruments to be used in medicine – is amazingly cutting-​edge and brand-​unique, to the point I’ve shown instruments and catalogs to graphic designer friends and their minds are blown that a company making (to most folks) mundane professional instruments has a design aethestic up there with BMW and Tiffany’s.
Yet that is not even why I am writing this review. See, I dropped my Welch Allyn Professional PenLite. .. this is a pocket flashlight, probably the cheapest thing Welch Allyn’s even made and still about $ 50 at that. I dropped it and despite its sturdy brass construction, it broke: the lamp portion broke right off and wouldn’t screw back on. So I called Welch Allyn up in Skaneateles, New York and told the lady on the phone what happened – that I dropped it – and asked, can I just buy a new lamp head without getting a whole new penlite, please?
Her response? «What is your address there?». So I told her. .. and they FedEx’d a brand new penlite overnight to me! Did you good people catch all this? I DROPPED THE PRODUCT AND BROKE IT, ALL MY FAULT, AND THEY REPLACED IT – OVERNIGHT – AT THEIR EXPENSE.
I called them again to thank them and the person who spoke with me that time cited their warranty: «The Welch Allyn Warranty: Welch Allyn will repair or replace, free of charge, any parts of its own manufacture proven to be defective through causes other than misuse, neglect, damage in shipment, or normal wear.»
Then she said, «you know, some doctors have told me that dropping stuff is part of ‘normal wear’ in their jobs, but still…». Wow. Just wow.