Is Ryobi selling parts for their product or not?

[PeterM]

I called several times for a small part on a sawzall, and I can't get it. They tell me I have to wait..... Any idea what gives?

[Unisaw A100]

Do we win a prize if we can guess what answer they gave you when you asked them the same question?

I do love these rec.wood.clairvoyance questions. Please post more.

UA100

[Charlie Self]

UA100 notes:

I can guess: call Milkwaukee tools. They make the Sawzall. All the rest are reciprocating saws.

Charlie Self "Character is much easier kept than recovered." Thomas Paine

[PeterM]

This is the first time I got no answer here, is everybody not happy I bought these tools? Are they no good, what did I do wrong?.............Peter

[P©WÉ®T©©LMAN]

Peter asked this question but got no response...

I called several times for a small part on a sawzall, and I can't get it. They tell me I have to wait..... Any idea what gives?

What part are you after for what model?

[codepath]

Let me see if I can guess.

First, you called it a "sawzall". But the "sawzall" is only made by Milwaukee. It is their model name. Like "Durango" is made by Dodge, but the vehicle type would be SUV which many companies make. So, you either own a Ryobi brand reciprocating saw or a Milwaukee SawZall reciprocating saw. Your message (translated into the above analogy) was something like:

"I called Ford several times for a small part on a Durango, and I can't get it. They tell me I have to wait. Any idea what gives?"

I am sure that if you were trying to get a Dodge part from Ford that you really would have to wait. A very looooong time.

Second, you asked us to divine why Ryobi told you what they did. We do not know. You didn't give a model or part number (not that that would help) since we weren't on the phone with you at the time. We can only assume that you asked them and that they gave you some sort of response. I am sure that they didn't just hang up on you and hide under their desks when you ask them why.

And third, everyone in here gets a little friendly ribbing when they drop a turkey of a message like that.

Oh, BTW, in response to your original question: I don't know. If it were me, I would go to the source. Ask Ryobi or Milwaukee depending on which you have (hint: Ryobi is blue and Milwaukee is red).

Anyway, hope that helps.

codepath

[Neal]

I worked for a construction company last year and one of my responsibilities was repairing tools. I had no problem getting parts for Dewalt or Porter Cable but Ryobi parts were a real problem. Very few of the service centers carry any parts. I have three 18 volt drills here because I am still waiting for the replacement switches I ordered last June. Good luck.

Neal

[Eric Johnson]

I know as far as routers I was never able to obtain "factory accessories" like edge guides or guide bushes successfully even though the catalog showed them. But that was some time ago and I have become a P.C. convert long since.

Eric

[David Hall]

Ya'know to me that is a lot like saying you must call all band-aides "adhesive bandage strips" because only Band-Aide brand adhesive bandage strips can be called band-aides. I know that is correct, but I do and always will call all adhesive bandage strips band-aides. Although I don't own any reciprocating saws, if I saw one and was going to comment on it, I would call it a saws-all (or "sawzall") no matter what color it was. Of course i don't buy facial tissues either, I buy klenex - even if the box clearly says Puffs on it, I use q-tips no matter whose cotton swab it really is and I drink Cokes even though the can usually says Pepsi on it. I guess the company should be flattered since this usually means that at some point in time their product was the best of breed or at least had the lion's share of the market. :)

Yes and for the attorney wannabes out there, I do realize that the company must take efforts to protect the use of their trade name or risk losing it to the public domain. Johnson & Johnson can sue me over calling someone elses band-aide a band-aide if they so desire.

Dave Hall

[codepath]

Sorry. I really don't care what he calls it either. I also call them Q-Tips, Kleenex, and Band-Aids (but the Coke/Pepsi thing is where I draw the line, teehee).

I was merely trying to explain to the original poster why he was getting the responses that had been posted at the time that I replied myself in response to his "why am I getting no love" post. My response was rather tongue-in-cheek and I guess that didn't come across very well. Can't help it, smart-ass by nature.

I too own some Ryobis as I am new to WWing and have to start somewhere. I buy Ryobi (as well as other cheapie brands like B&D, Skil, Craftsman, etc) to get myself into the game without breaking the bank, knowing full well that, if need be, I will be replacing them later with good stuff. Also, as I am learning on them, if they last a decent while and I can get some good projects out of them, it is easier to justify to SWMBO that when they die that it is time to replace it with something better. But, I digress.

We gets what we pay for. They are cheap for a reason. If I were to pay 100 bucks for a CMS, I should not be surprised that when something goes wrong, I have trouble getting it fixed. Part of the reason it is so cheap in the first place (I imagine) is that their "service centers" maintain a low overhead by not having to store parts on hand (thus the wait). I mean, if I bought a Yugo 'cause it is cheap, exactly how loudly can I complain when it breaks down?

Generally, though, I have been lucky with their products. For instance, I have one of their (non-sliding, non-compound) miter saws that I have used to chop a house full of Pergo (and trim) plus an entire deck with no hesitation. It has also been dead-on accurate without adjusting right out of the box. Like I said, lucky.

As to his specific problem with Ryobi, well, his question was pretty vague.

"I talked to Ryobi and they said that I would have to wait for a part for my saw. Can anyone tell me why?"

Hard to say. Did they tell you why? Did you ask? If so, what was there reply? If not, why not? Did you ask for a manager? Which saw? Which part? Where are you (major city or Pig's Knuckle, Ark.)? Is it under warranty?

There are numerous bits of info that he could have offered and didn't. Then seemed irritated when his question wasn't answered directly.

Anyway, I don't see that anyone was hostile in anyway. Just having a little fun at his expense. No big whoop. Just take it on the chin and help folks here help him by giving more info.

Am I the only one here who has a brother? We give each other shit all the time and neither of us gets upset about it. We can tell the difference between someone being a smart-ass and someone getting in our face. If they are just being a smart-ass, fine, we laugh about it and give right back. No harm, no foul.

codepath

[Robert L. Witte]

I would not worry about the Sawzall/recip saw confusion. I have been in construction for 30 years, when ONLY Milwaukee made this type of saw. They were the first, and arguably the best. Hence, all saws that are made in this style that do the particular job of the original machine are called SAWZALLS by me and my crew, at least the ones that are out of high school.

It is like making a copy of something on a machine. Everyone knows that when you say "I need to Xerox that" that you are not going to hunt down a Xerox machine ignoring all others to make your copy. And seriously, do you know anyone that understands when you say "I need to Ricoh that" you intend to make a copy of something?

I am sure Ryobi knew what you were talking about, although everyone here that corrected your poor choice of words were technically correct.

But on to the problem. Go to Sears, see if they have a recip saw (for God's sake, not a Sawzall!) that is sold under their house brand Sears Crafstman label. In many cases these are essentially the indentical tools as the Ryobi branded tools. If you see the one you have there, write down the model number on the machine. Then it is a simple matter to go to the Sears website and look at the shematics for parts, or to go to a repair center and tell them what you need in a Sears part.

Robert

[P©WÉ®T©©LMAN]

Funny really....I had a Chevy S10 Durango 4X4 & was always being told...Durango??...I thought that was a Dodge!!.

[P©WÉ®T©©LMAN]

With Ryobi these days you have to know who to ask....accessories are supposed to be exclusively through Home Depot (but stocked ones are few & far between, also availability is only as good as your local HD salesman..'oh'dear'), Parts are through Authorized service centers like myself (here in Canada) the parts that are still available here in Canada are handled & purchased through a third party set up to solve past distribution problems, while I will not mention the companies name at this point I will say they do a damn good job supplying us with the parts providing they are still stocked. BUT.....their hands are tied as far as going to the trouble of finding parts not in their system (if they say the parts are obsolete that's the end of the story).

Anyone interested may ask me to find out if the parts they require are still available, however I need Model #, Serial # & a good description of the part (doodad & thingamabob don't help LOL) If the part required is made obvious I can give you a YES or NO final answer if the OEM part is still available or not. I never charge to find this out BUT, would love it if after the part is located & the price is reasonable....you consider buying it from me, or at least letting me know 'Thanks but no thanks'. I have all the parts break downs for every Ryobi over the years....soon to be a rare thing I imagine.

[Charlie Self]

Actually, it annoys the crap out of the company. It is a good way to lose a trademark, among other things. Kleenex and Sheetrock and Band-Aids and others spend a lot of money trying to keep the press from making their names generic, as do both Coke and Pepsi.

I think mostly what goes on is a letter of notification, with a polite request that you quit screwing up.

It really does help accuracy in both thought and location. You can enter "Sawzall" in a search engine and get only Milwaukee products. You can enter "reciprocating saw" or "recip saw" and get a few more brands and maybe find the information you need.

Charlie Self "To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was tautology." Mark Twain's Notebook

[David Hall]

SNIP

Aw C'mon...I put the obligatory smiley in my remarks. I didn't intend to come off as hostile or upset. Now I need to use one of those klenex's (damn - facial tissues) to dab my sensitive eyes. Again I insert a ;)

Dave Hall

[David Hall]

Snip

SNIP

Long ago and far away I used to manage a Pizza Hut - this was in the days before Pepsico bought out Pizza Hut. (Up the road from you in New Martinsville, WV, although I had worked in the Lakeview drive store in Parkersburg). It was serious company policy to train and enforce all waiters and waitresses to correct customers requesting a "Coke" by saying "We serve Pepsi products, would you like a Pepsi" or something to that effect. According to upper management in the manager training program, Coke actively filed lawsuits against restraurants that regularly failed to make this distinction. Coke was clearly the market leader at the time but was losing market share to Pepsi so I don't know if it was a trademark issue or if it was a marketing issue, but they clearly wanted you to have to inform your customer that you served the "inferior" Pepsi product. I don't know about other areas but most folks I grew up with routinely called all colas Cokes - and were damned lucky not to ask for a lemon lime coke when wanting a Sprite.

Dave Hall

[Charlie Self]

Dave Hall notes:

Yeah, the Lakeview one is still there. My bank (mine and thousands of others) is right across the street. I've never been in the local PP.

Yeah. That's where I always say, "Well, I'll have iced tea, then."

Ah, yes. Hell, I could probably have gotten sued for nicknaming my youngest "Twinkie."

Charlie Self "To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was tautology." Mark Twain's Notebook

[Doug Winterburn]

Nope, I'm not even gonna axe.

-Doug

[PeterM]

Bless you guys for the kind and generous answers. I will follow up with Jon, and if he can't get the part, I will go to Sears and try my luck there. All I'm missing is the part that holds the saw blade in place. I will dig out the machine and look up the part number and will see what happens then..... I appreciate you all very much........Peter

[P©WÉ®T©©LMAN]

Depending on the model I may just have the parts in stock.

Jon

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