High Standards--Am I being too picky?

J

John Frankl

Joined
Oct 16, 2001
Messages
1,917
Hello All,

I want some advice regarding standards for purchasing new equipment. I just bought a disc grinder w/o motor from a well-known distributor. It cost $285 for just the disc and stand. It is expensive compared to the other options out there, but I wanted a precision machine that would last. Anyway, I received it yesterday and the disk has three tiny nicks on the outer edge. They probably won't effect my work but they are visible (the grinder is anodized blue aluminum and the nicks show bare metal) and can be felt easily when running my finger over them. To me this is neither a "new" disk, nor does it meet the standards for a piece of equipment at that price. Should I send it back and ask for a truly new disc?

To complicate things, I also bought my motor from them. I just got 220 installed yesterday and when I fired up the motor it gave off a clicking sound. This is the same motor for the Hardcore grinder, so many of you will know just how smooth and quiet it SHOULD be. Anyway, when I called them, they gave me numbers for authorized Baldor repair centers in my area. Well, to my thinking, new motors don't get repaired, they get replaced! When I told them that, I got some weird tones of voice, etc. They said they would replace it but I had to cover shipping back to them (they are covering shipping the new motor out to me). When I suggested they cover both, they said they were a distributor, not a manufacturer and that I had to deal with Baldor in that case, etc. I am glad to have the motor replaced but paying more money and waiting more time to set up shot are bothering me.

Finally, the owner is away till 8/13 so I am dealing with a manager/employee. Should I bring all this up again with the owner when he returns?

As a knifemaker, I cannot imagine sending out a knife without checking it for "dings" and "clicks" first! Then, if one did get by me, I cannot imagine not apologizing profusely and doing everything in my power to right the situation. Shouldn't the producers of high-end knife making equipment be held to the same standards?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts,

John
 
No John, you are not being picky. You are the customer and the products you buy should be as advertised. You may have to eat the shipping though (by rights you shouldent have too). I go though the same stuff on occasion and I am accused of nit picking. I work with customers and if something is not right I have to make it that way even if I feel the customer is wrong. What I have done in the past is email the President of the company (be specific, list all order numbers and product codes etc.) and the vice and whomever you spoke to on the phone. If that doesnt bring you satisfaction bring the problem to their potencial customer base if possible and tell them that is what you are going to do. I know it sounds like your being a d**k but you paid your hard earned money on a product and invested faith that what you were going to receive was going to be 100% quality. You are the customer "Bottom Line".
 
As far as the "clicking noises go, my Baldor 332B buffer has done that since new(1983). It is a little irritating, but does not affect performance.
My disc edges got nicked up the first time I glued 9x11" sheets to them and trimmed them with a knife.
But I agree, if you are unhappy with the items sent, get them replaced.
In todays business world, many, but not all companies, are not holding employees responsible for their actions.
As to freight, they should issue a pickup order for the carrier, you should not even have to fill out a shipping label. But this is a new day, or so it seems.:confused:
 
John I don't think you're being picky. For that kind of money I would expect perfection - that's what they seem to think they're selling. Insist on it.

If some employee started getting a funny voice with me I'd stop right there until I could talk with the owner, and make absolutely sure he/she understood how utterly inappropriate such behavior is, and how easy it is to lose customer loyalty. It's much more costly to retrieve a burned customer base than to maintain one. Any manager worth his salt knows this instinctively, and he's not paying attention if he has service employees with any other attitude.

If you don't get satisfaction, please save me the trouble of doing business with them, let me know who it is. I've been looking for a disk machine too but sure wouldn't take a chance on this outfit if they don't take care of you. You may tell them I said so.

Dave
 
Thanks for these quick replies. I feel the same.

As for the owner, one of the problems is he's away until 8/13. I have always had better luck with him, but I need to get my shop up and running now. Of course, I will speak to him personally when he returns.

Keep'em coming,

John
 
John,

Yes! High end knifemaking equipment should meet the expectations of the customers.

Without a doubt, the equipment in question is of very high quality. Baldor produces premium equip as well as the shop that made the disk grinder. I doubt that they released sub-standard parts.

Without knowing for sure...the click may be from the fan on the motor hitting the shroud. The shroud may have been bent from rough handling during distribution and shipping. There is really no way for your supplier to know unless they opened the box and checked prior to shipping it to you.....then maybe it happened on the way to you.

Regardless though, you are the un-proud owner of less than acceptable products. It is my feeling that in this close-knit knifemaking industry, a supplier would be cutting thier own throat if they left the headaches for the customer to figure out. My thinking is if the customer associates headaches with my service or products regardless of the reason...then they will go elsewhere...and even worse...talk!

I'm confident that if the owner knew the details...things would be different. With the owner away for a few weeks, the manager may be shorthanded and temporarily struggling to keep the fires out on his own. I wouldn't write this supplier off yet.....I'd like to think that you are simply a victim of some coincidental circumstances.

As an owner myself....I want to know all the details about any problems associated with my products and services. Give him a chance and talk to the owner.

There's an ol' saying:

"you screwed me once, shame on you. You screwed me twice, shame on me."

I doubt that there will be any screwing in this case.

Good luck,
Rob
 
If you didn't feel really good about their response, just send it ALL back and get a full refund. You paid for new and got damaged. Being unhappy isn't the point- you just didn't get what you paid for.

Post the name of the company to save the rest of us a bad experience.

Cash is a language they WILL understand.

Then deal with a more responsible retailer.

I work hard for my money and insist that the place I spend it also earn it.

I have bought several things from Rob Frink [he posted earlier in this thread] and every item was received in perfect condition. Even more important, in my mind, is that every item included a note to please let him know when it arrived, and if I was happy with my purchase. Just routine great service. Very little of that around now, but it is still out there.

Sometimes you learn more about a company when things go wrong.

Dave
 
When you pay for new, you should get new, period.
Regarding the Baldor motor, I just went through the "dealers in my area" procedure to have a 1 1/2 hp variable speed motor repaired under warranty. Baldor in Ft. Smith was very good on their end, but locally, and regionally was something of a challenge. It was just over a month before I got my motor back, in no small part because of the left hand and right hand not being in sync. The speed control card was what needed replacing, and once they had a new one it was done almost overnight. The rest was waiting time. Good luck.
 
I agree with Dave!
I let an outfit walk all over me on a $950 purchase and have regretted it ever since.
Send the stuff back, it should have come with a return shipping label so they'll have to eat the cost. Tell them the stuff doesn't meet your expectations and you want a full refund.

Oh yeah, get Rob Frink to build you a disc grinder. He knows how to treat his customers right and does top notch work!
 
Hi,
Robert probably nailed it. My Baldor motor for my disk sander clicked when I got it. It was a trivial task to remove the back cover and tap out the dent that caused the fan to make the noise. It was certainly less trouble than repacking it to ship back, regardless of whose fault it is.
If you got it pre-wired with the controller as I did, the damage occured between the folks who wired it and you. IE: Mr. shipping company. Mine was shipped in the origional factory box with the plywood inserts. They dented it anyway.
It took me about 15 minutes to go from oh sh*& to a smooth running machine.
Enjoy...Ken
 
Hi John,
I have the same motor as you do and I not only experieced the exact same problem as you did, with the clicking noise which by the way in my case was the fan hitting the cover, easy repair but why should I have had to repair something brand new. The shipping container was in excellent shape so it didnt happen during shipping. But that was the least of the problems I have had with the Baldor Hardcore motor. I have had mine in the shop 5 times in the last 3 years. Baldor makes good stuff but either this model is junk or I just got a lemon. Each time Baldor repaired it under warranty but each time I was down a week to two. I will never buy another 1 or 1 1/2 horse again. I will go with something much larger. My advice return it while you have the option.
Lonnie
 
Hmmm, what's the model number of this motor. Are we all talking about a Baldor DC variable speed 1 1/2 hp? I bought mine almost three years ago (three year warranty fortunately) as a bolt on replacement for my Burr King 960. It worked fine until it just up and quit. It only got intermittent hobby use, and I never abused it or lugged it down. If this motor has a "congenital" defect, Baldor should know about it. If I were a maker earning a living with this motor, there's no way I could afford to be down four weeks, a back-up would be a must. I believe mine's a p1198.
 
Thanks to everyone.

Lonnie, I had the same problem. It did sound like the fan and my box was also in good condition. Well, I sent it back but asked for a new one. If this one is not absolutely perfect, I will send it back and ask for a full refund. At first I like the idea of a self contained unit, but now, as I play with the trimpots on my Leeson speedmaster, I wonder if I wouldn't rather be able to adjust, etc. Also, like a combination TV/VCR, if one part breaks, the whole thing goes in for service.

Is yours 110V? I have heard from others of inherent problems with the 1.5 HP and 110V combination. This all seems so strange--aren't many people happily using Hardcore grinders? Anyway, mine is 220V. What have your problems been? And what is the warrantee period? Finally, how were you treated by the people who sold you the motor?

Thanks,

John
 
Sorry for taking so long to get back to everyone. My motor
is indeed a Baldor 1 1/2 self contained 110 vari-speed that is used on the Hardcore grinder. This model does have a 3 year warranty and
that has been the only good thing I can say about it. At
least my warranty station has been really good to me and I am
very fortunate that they are only 20 miles away. I may be deploying mine as a anchor in the not to distante future.
Lonnie
 
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