It Pays To Complain

[triplefreak]

You may recall I just bought a new Grizzly midi-lathe. Well, I called them the other day to complain about the workmanship on the finish of this lathe. The tool rest bar looked like it was cast in rocks because it was so bumpy & gritty. The tool rest base had runny paint all over it. It looks like it was run under a curtain of paint, not sprayed. I mean major runs, not something minor.

So, the guy I talked to put it in as a warranty issue, meaning it didn't cost me a cent. They sent me a new tool rest bar, and 2 -1/2 pint cans of "Grizzly Green" paint so I can have a buddy of mine refinish the base.
I'll have plenty of paint left over for touch ups as well.
And, I have an original length tool rest bar if I ever sell this toy.

They even paid for UPS shipping too.

Sometimes, it pays to complain. ;D

[sawduster]

Grizzly's customer service has a reputation of being quite good. The owner of the company hangs out over at Woodnet and has been known to intercede when a customer had an issue, even if the customer had not bothered to contact their customer service. Griz is a company that understands customer service and the internet and they know that posts like the one you just made create more sales to people who may be on the fence as far as buying from them.

[dburkhart]

thats good to know about grizzly i have not dropped the hammer on a new bandsaw yet

[triplefreak]

I looked at a lot of lathes before I bought this one. I was planning on buying one from PSI, but the reviews on that particular lathe were less than stellar. Lots of complaints about workmanship, breakage, etc.
So, I hunted around (within my meager budget) & decided to go with the Grizzly G0624 . I remembered how they bent over backwards to help me when I rebuilt my big Grizzly lathe. (G0462)
So, it was a no-brainer as to whom to buy from.
Granted, it's not a super duper lathe, but it's all I could afford, and the rest of it seems rock solid so far.
One day, maybe I'll look at those VS indexing lathes, but this will do all I need it to do for now.

[sachbvn]

Every company will have flawed merchandise leave their doors.... I'm ok with that, what makes a great company is how they respond when that happens!

Glad it worked out for you, doesn't matter hoe much you spent on the lathe, you shouldn't have to settle for something that doesn't measure to their normal standard.


Zac

[Ruffnek]

Grizzly has excellent customer service. Shiraz Balolia (the owner) also monitors SMC and will intervene personally if that's what it takes to satisfactorily settle a CS issue.

I posted a rant once at SMC when the trunnion broke on my Griz TS. The part was back ordered so I reverted to using my Griz band saw while waiting on it. Then, the tires went out on the BS and guess what? they were back ordered, too...literally waiting on a slow boat from China.

I posted my rant and the next morning I got a phone call about 10:00 a.m. It was the CS manager with Grizzly wanting to know what I needed and when I wanted it. They pulled the part I needed off an existing new saw and shipped it to me along with a set of bandsaw tires overnight mail.

The next day, I edited my rant to let everyone know that Grizzly had certainly resolved all the issues. Shiraz sent me a PM thanking me for the post revision. I think he is a classy guy.

[sachbvn]

Good story Cody!

Zac

[Joe Lyddon]

Yes, I agree... they DO have excellent customer service.

It never hurts to call the Company when something goes wrong...