Need help fixing my Bader III, Bader co wont help me

AcridSaint said:
.... that old "extremely cantankerous Bader 2" that Mike bought before many of our forum members were born just finish ground a kitchen knife in my shop today. ......
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HA! As if these arthritic danged bones weren't making me feel older than dirt already. LOL

I am glad that old beast continues to carry on! It has the scars to prove it was cantankerous, though, you can see. After I learned how to set it up right, put on that Howard Clark leaf spring, and a couple winds of tape on the idler, it was much better. Made a lot of knives on that machine.

I'm pretty happy it will see good use for many more years. Did you replace that cracked platen liner yet, Cap?
 
Hi Mike - I was planning to take it off today after I finished grinding, but I got that call about going to the range. I'll probably replace it this week, if you take a wrong step grinding on it the belt can catch the cracks :eek:

As for the tracking issues, yes the tape is the "accepted" solution for those that have them. I know a maker who had many problems with his tracking, however, and Bader was constantly working with him and sending parts to make it right. I also recall that Rob has changed the wheels from his early design because of similar problems. Like I say though, everyone has one or two unhappy customers.
 
Charlie, not saying I don't believe you, I do.

But it would be interesting to hear why Bader is not taking care of this problem.
 
Don Hanson III said:
Folks, let's not turn this into a Bader verses KMG thread. I have both and they're both good grinders.

With all due respect, we're only hearing one side of the story. Something very odd going on here! There's seems to be some missing parts to this puzzle.
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Finally, the voice of reason from someone who owns both machines and has been around a long time.

I've had Baders in my shop for 20+ years. The technical support from Bader has been excellent. The machines run, and run, and run..

I would not hesitate to recommend a Bader grinder, both for the quality of support and the quality of the machine.

Al P

www.polkowskiknives.com
 
C.Edmondson said:
Al I have a question for you, If you would have recieved a grinder in the circuimstances like I did do you think they would have fixed it or replaced it? or What do you think they would have done? I dont mean anything negative by this I am just wondering, Charlie
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Hi Charlie,

When my B3 arrived, it had a bent shaft on the idler wheel. There was also damage to the shipping box.

I had a new shaft and idler from Dan in 2 days. No questions asked.

Good luck to you.

Al P
 
I really think that Bader probably got this one back as freight damaged and was paid off on it. They thought that it would work okay as jury rigged, so sold it at a discount thinking they would make up for the hassle. The deal has gone bad and they don't know what to do, and knew they should never have sold it. It is a new problem for them and they (Dan) kick themselves and pray it will go away.
If you don't get satisfaction soon do what I told you in my first post. You need to give them a nudge.
Hopefully they will understand the value of making it right.
Good Luck.
Alden
 
OK folks,
I talked to Paul this morning. They are working on getting this taken care of. Dan is out of town at the moment, and they are waiting for an OK from him.

Sit tight and lets let them work it out with Mr. Edmondson.

Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
OK folks,
I talked to Paul this morning. They are working on getting this taken care of. Dan is out of town at the moment, and they are waiting for an OK from him.

Sit tight and lets let them work it out with Mr. Edmondson.

Stacy
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Stacy your such a asset to these forums , and always seem to be very level headed. I really appreciate your input to this place. It is just something I think needed to be said :thumbup: Glen
 
Maybe not my place but- It does seem fishy to me that they will not respond to the customer with the problem but as soon as a respected member of the knifemaking community steps in that things are being done. I know in my history that any time I have had something like this happen that the individuals involved started to make things right after, not before the intervention/ reminder of the problem (concerning knife companies, as well as my experience in materials handling- based on proof of dates etc. that have been forgotten to be removed/changed from invoices once the problem has been addressed and assured that the issue will not be dropped).

At least I feel that it is bad form, at worst it is dishonest.

(Not implying anything about you Stacy, as with the others it is appreciated when others help get results.)
 
Dan Johnson just called me from Hawaii, I could not have asked to speak to a nicer guy and he made it clear one way of the other the grinder would be fixed. I was offered a complete refund, a new motor, of trade towards a new grinder. It was complete first class service, I think the grinder was probally damaged in shipping and with busy schedules we coundnt find time to talk about it, but Mr Johnson found time to talk to me and what more could you ask for. If by anyway I offended any Bader grinder owners I apologize, I am positive this was just simple misunderstanding and Mr Johnson made it clear the he wanted to help me and I was important to him as a customer. I dont in anyway think anyone was trying to get anything over on me and I hope I didnt make any enemies during all this, He didnt only call me once he actually called me twice. He was also extremely nice on the phone and made me feel wondeful and again I apologize if I doubted baders customer service, I was witness to it first hand today. Thanks to everyone espically Dan for calling me from Hawaii. Dan also told me if I wanted a refund I was welcome to use the machine untill we met at tannehill so I would have something to use, Thats first class service in my book, Charlie:thumbup:
 
Hi Charlie, I'm glad you're getting it worked out with Bader. Let us know how you like it when you've got a properly running grinder.
 
Good endings always make me smile. :) Kudos to Mr. Johnson and the Baldor company. Glad everyone finally got on the same page here. Sounds like it really was just a case of miscommunication and busy schedules. What do you think you are going to do? Trade it in, refund it, or get it fixed?

Thanks to Stacy for making contact and getting the ball rolling as well. That's top notch in my book.

--nathan
 
i kinda thought it was a misunderstanding.. .. after the fella's on the forum recommended a bader to me... i feel ontop of the world when i get in the shop and see it waiting for work.... and the dudes i talked with on the phone from bader were very nice and customer oriented... i'm glad that worked out
 
I also thank Stacy for helping the situation, I am definitely going to either get a new one or just get this one fixed, i will keep my business with Bader, Dan treated me like a king, couldnt ask for nothing more,Charlie
 
Charlie,
Glad I could help, but it was the Bader family that took care of it.
Carrie called me back to let me know Dan was calling Charlie. The time difference was the only reason it wasn't done at 10AM EDT.

For the other forumites following this thread:
Please look at the dates on this thread. It was Thursday when Charlie talked to the Bader folks, last. They had to contact Dan in Hawaii. Now not much business gets done on Saturday and Sunday usually. By Monday afternoon, the problem was taken care of...... That is pretty fast customer service in my book.

The lessons to learn from this thread:
There will be hitches and mess-ups in life. Getting upset , getting disagreeable, or getting threatening won't help, and may hurt a satisfactory solution. If you find yourself in need of customer service form anyone. Try to stay calm. Try to be precise in stating the problem. And, try to understand the other point of view. Business owners don't want unhappy customers....and they don't want profit losses. Settling a customers problem often involves a compromise somewhere in the middle.

Stacy
 
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