Official Luthiers Forum!

Well with some of the recent posts on here, it would seem that it is hard to find a good supplier...

I've received a bad top from LMI (they offered to replace or discount), I've received a couple of flimsy tools and defective bone from StewMac (they took a return with no questions asked), I've received a bad reamer from Grizzly (they replaced immediately), my binding router attachment from KMG wouldn't fit my router (he walked me through a mod and gave me a discount), I had a small issue with a mold I bough from Blues Creek (he immediately sent out a replacement).

Maybe I am just picky, but there is good news: Every single issue I have had with any defective items has been fixed quickly and fairly by the seller. So let me say that LMI, StewMac, KMG, Grizzly, Blues Creek, and the one or two smaller shops I buy from have all been amazing and they deserve a big THANK YOU from most of us for making what we do possible.

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

I think we are very lucky in the customer service stakes - being relatively new to the game I have only had a couple of orders with StewMac and Bob the Zoot man (simply superb) and in all cases the service has been exemplary.

BUt I dont think anyone should be too harsh on someone being dissatisfied. I read that post and the guy was rightly annoyed at what he thought was a poor deal, and wanted to share the experience and find out if this was the norm or the exception. I dont think any supplier out there would ever intentionally sent out duff stuff, but it DOES happen now and then and its how they deal with it that is important, soike most I would bet that Allied are equally mortified that a customer is not happy and as usual do all they can to put it right... but surely its also important to share bad experience as well as good as its what drives teh best possible customer service that these suppliers are renowned for?

I am the author of the "Frozen Bearings" thing. My intention was not to punish the supplier, LMI, for which I can only say good things. If I gave that impression, I ask the Administrator to remove the topic. Sorry.

I've bought stuff from most of the OLF spnosors. Any problems I had were small a quickly resolved.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I have bought from all of the suppliers listed in the first post and NEVER had a problem to complain about. If there would have been a problem I'm sure it would have been taken care ASAP

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

I agree - every OLF sponsor that I have ever done business with has been first rate to deal with and in the very fine products that they provide. If you search the archives you will see that there was a time when OLFers thanked sponsors and expressions of appreciation for our sponsors was not an uncommon thing.

Gotta say, I agree with all of these posts. It IS a good thing to hear when someone has an issue, but it is best to WAIT and see what the company did to fix it and post that as well.

No one is perfect all the time and mistakes happen...even to the best companies. I am a professional computer geek and see this ALL the time! It is how they fix the issue and provide your customer service that makes or breaks the deal.

Just my USD-2 cents worth.

-Matthew

I should also mention that most every issue I have had was corrected and the store went above and beyond by offering me a discount on my future purchases.

Not pointing fingers at any other posters here, but the glass is usually half full in my world and I think the hard work on the part of our sponsors and suppliers shouldn't go unnoticed.

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

I placed an order with Oregon Wild Wood late in the evening of the 30th of Nov.
I failed to ask for the "free shipping" which was ending in a few hours.
The vendor caught my error, and credited my card with the amount of the shipping
How's that for some Good News?

Ray

If it was 'free shipping', then why did you have to ask?
This is my idea of 'deceptive marketing' ,not great service, though I do give the vendor credit for catching the problem.

This is like Amazon, where you have to 'pick' SuperSaverShipping once your order size qualifies. Every customer who 'forgets' is a few more dollars in the till.

John

Matthew- sounds good, though you seem to have a bit of a run of bad luck.
How much time on the phone/email did it take to get a satisfactory resolution? Did any vendor offer to reimburse you for your lost time?
Did all the vendors in question cover the shipping charges (BOTH directions if a return was required) ? This is a big problem, especially on international transactions.
I've run into the situation where a vendor 'offered to deal' with a problem by saying: "Sure, no problem. Just ship back the defective item and we'll send you another one (and you can pay the brokerage fees and taxes again). "

Usually it's cheaper/simpler to just mod the item or throw it in the garbage.

I hear the 'nobody's perfect' argument quite a lot from folks defending suppliers. I wonder how many suppliers take the same attitude about a bounced check, or an item ordered by mistake?

Another neat twist I've noticed in a recent transaction-I returned an (unused) item (in person) to a well-known tool supplier, since (when I finally got around to using the item) I'd realized that I had the wrong size. Needed to exchange the item for a smaller size. " No problem, say they. We will look it up on the computer and credit you with what you paid for it, since there's been a price increase since you bought it. Then we will charge you the current price for the replacement item, and return your unused item to the shelf to resell at the increased price." Every dollar counts.

Cheers
John

Well... why should the supplier pay for your error of purchasing the wrong size item? They gave you your purchase price back which is customary, however why should they honor that price on a different item (the one you intended) seeing as it wasn't their fault you got the wrong size to begin with? Prices change, just the nature of consumerism. Now, had the price gone down, you wouldn't have had an issue would you

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

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Geez... don't start an argument on this thread!

Grizzly and Blues Creek replaced the items outright with no shipping charge or return, StewMac wanted the original top but covered shipping and replaced the bad bone and had me keep the defective stuff. LMI offered to send me a replacement top with a return shipping label but I decided to keep the top and get a discount on my next purchase. I was satisfied with every single purchase. Every issue was resolved with a 2 minute email or phone call.

These guys do a great job. We all really do make mistakes and as long as they are corrected in the long run, I have no problem. If I was building for a living things may be different, but I would probably be buying enough stock to cover some of down time from the bad apples.

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

Great! That's the service we all deserve.
BTW, I've had good experiences with all those vendors (never had to complain or return anything to them.)

John

only thing i have had to send back was a rosette routing jig that's sole was not true. sent it back no questions asked and replaced promptly, i can't remember if i even had to pay shipping or if they paid it.

Rod-
I admit that some suppliers charge a 'restocking' fee on returns, so this was not a big deal: it amounted to $3 (on a $20 item). And, the vendor in question has given me good service for years.
I don't quite understand your 'arithmetic', though.
How would the vendor be 'paying for my error' if he had simply charged me the difference between the current price of the returned item and the current price of the one I wanted? Remember, this was NewOldStock for which the vendor had paid a lower wholesale price than the current price. So, basically, he got back a (never opened, identical in every way to current) item which he can now sell at the increased current price. So his 'margin' on the returned item is increased.

If the item had been unsuitable for immediate resale (damaged, not current stock item, etc.), or if I had just wanted a cash refund, the situation would be completely different. In fact, I think that is how they have set up their software to handle returns-first a cash credit, then cash refund or apply to a new purchase. It is probably quite standard practice.

I was not unhappy, and didn't even mention the issue to the folks in the store.

As for prices dropping.... well, I'm waiting for that to happen! It may happen sometimes- just never to me!

Cheers
John

Don't hold your breath!

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

My daughter, Basia, got on the Honor Roll. Yay!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia