Very sad to admit, but I fully understand this.
You know, things work out as long as people use their brains. But NO, people ALWAYS have to piss out of the pot.
What happens:
- Employee brings home a cool 1GHz oscilloscope straight from the "garbage" bin
- Notices a small dent on the cover, calls Agilent for a warranty repair/substitution
- Wants a full set of probes, for free of course
- ...
- The company gains quickly bad reputation from Agilent, for so many warranty claims and free extra required.
Sorry, but: NO. No matter how valuable it can be, trash goes in the trash bin. Full stop.
This reminds me of my experience in the automotive business. Well known german brand, using ~100 vehicles for each project as test vehicles. Brand new cars, often with ALL extras to try them out. Many of them were used for a few hundred kilometers or so. Once upon a time, as an employee, you could buy those cars at the end of the project. The bargain was astonishing, you could get a €80,000 car for €20,000 or less, with maybe 3000 km on the clock.
What happened: people being people. Shortly before the end of the project, project members started ordering brand new engines to put in the cars, full brake sets, full interior reupholstery, free expensive extras and so on.
As soon as the company noticed the regular steep increase of project costs toward the end, they banned the benefit. ALL cars will be DESTROYED at the end of every project. Full stop.
Now, what to say: thanks people for being people.
