Dewalt Customer Service

[Jimbo]

Put my 9.6 volt battery on to charge and when I came back to it a couple of hours later, I found the battery and charger almost melted together. Called Dewalt and they told me to bring it to my local customer service location which I did today. There, they replaced my

97 charger and 2001 battery with brand new products without any quibble or discussion. I suppose I could have argued for more but I was quite happy to get everything sorted out without argument. Well done, Dewalt.

[DerbyDad03]

A few years ago I took two 4 year old 12V batteries to a Dewalt service center because they would only last a short time. I was constantly recharging them. They tested the charger and said it was fine. Even though the batteries were well out of warranty, they said "If you'll buy one, we'll give you another one." Seemed reasonable to me since they could have said "They're 4 years old - too bad."

I've since upgraded to their 18V system which I love even more.

Oh yeah...my wife was recently at a B&D outlet store and she was talking to the sales guy about a B&D belt sander they had on sale. When she mentioned that I love Dewalt tools and asked "Doesn't B&D own Dewalt?" the guy said that she shouldn't buy the B&D because the quality was so inferior. He didn't even carry Dewalt at the outlet store, but he was willing to give up the sale since he knew I wouldn't be happy. Now that's customer service!

[Leon]

A few years back DeWalt had a recall on their chargers for this problem.

[ROY!]

You brought them a damaged battery and charger. They replaced it with new. What is this 'more' you speak of?

[DerbyDad03]

- You brought them a damaged battery and charger.

- They replaced it with new.

- What is this 'more' you speak of?

Payment for emotional pain & suffering? Reimbursment for gas? Air freshener for the melted plastic smell?

[Leon]

The very least they could have done was contact him with a post card informing him of the recall, providing he registered his product with them.

99% of the time registration is encouraged by a manufacturer with the explanation that this will aid verification of warranty coverage and help to provide contact information in the event that there are future product safety issues.

I had a DeWalt drill during the recall period and after hearing of the recall looked into the issue. The DeWalt site listed which chargers and serial numbers that were affected by the "Fire Hazard".

I am thinking that if there was a fire hazard with some of their chargers that more should have been done to locate the faulty chargers.

[Jimbo]

-0700, Jimbo wrote:

I guess you don't understand the concept of excellent customer service :) Excellent customer service is where you are delighted by the response rather than just satisfied. In my case, I was satisfied (mainly because I didn't have to argue with them) and am now looking to be delighted.

On a side note, a number of people have asked me about the temperature of the melted charger/battery. While I didn't measure that, it was certainly hot enough for me to drop it (although that could have been due to surprise). However, this all happened in my workshop and a lot of expensive tools plus my car could have been involved in any fire that might have occured.

[Jimbo]

11:47:54 -0700, Jimbo wrote:

Ooops, I messed up the thread. This was in response to ROY!'s question "What is this 'more' you speak of?" Of course, I assume he meant to ask "What is this 'more' of which you speak?" :)

[ROY!]

11:47:54 -0700, Jimbo wrote:

Perhaps it's you who does not understand. They replaced the damaged parts. What more are you owed?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

We don't care about the phrasing as much as the answer to the question. What is the "more" you either spoke of, spoke to, or spoke about? You had broken parts, they gave you new parts. I don't see where they owe you anything "more" to speak of In a court of law, I believe the term is "they made you whole"

[Jimbo]

You are correct: in legal terms, they met their obligations. What they did not do was take the opportunity to make me a Dewalt fan for life. In marketing terms, they had the opportunity to make me an advocate for their brand, and they did not do so.

[Jimbo]

11:47:54 -0700, Jimbo wrote:

[Jimbo]

11:47:54 -0700, Jimbo wrote:

Not owed anything - which is why I praised their customer service.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

OK, but you still did not answer the question. What more should/could they have done? Pat you on the ass and tell you how handsome you are? Candlelight and wine? Free tools for life?

I'm missing something here.

[Lee Michaels]

I would of been satisfied with a cocktail and a lap dance myself. :)

[Jimbo]

Hmm ... I never thought of that :) What more? Well, they could have offered me a second battery at, say, a $20 discount. Or say, a discount offer on my next Dewalt purchase.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

With my luck, the lap dance would be Bubba coming from behind the counter.