Not that Rockler does not have it's share of quality products but they will soon begin selling Laguna products. We won't have to wait for a trade show or go to California to see the Laguna products. We can add Rockler to the list of options.
Laguna tools are really nice but their sales force should go back to selling used cars and penny stocks where they used to work. Maybe buying them via Rockler and paying their markup will actually be worth it.
(Read... not much respect for either)
That IS the conventional wisdom -- great products, shit for customer service.
No first-hand experience to know that it's true, but ... heard lots of similar stories.
BUT ... I heard another one, yesterday, that could ONLY mean that Laguna HAS been monitoring a few of the WW sites.
They reached out to a guy who had a REALLY crappy example of a dust collector. He lives not too far from their HQ. They were going to truck him a NEW one, FULLY ASSEMBLED, take the old one back, and ... in theory ... incorporate the improvements that HE suggested, into their products.
Time will tell.
If Rockler genuinely takes on -- and CAN improve -- the CS side, this might be a huge win for all concerned.
Wouldn't kick ... nearly ANY of their tools out of my shop.
I might be convinced to do some unspeakable things for one of their Bandsaws
It's been a number of years sine we've had a woodworking road show out at the Fairgrounds here in Syracuse but Laguna was at the next to last one and didn't show up at the last show. I was trying my best to buy a bandsaw at the show and their two sales guy's were both complete and totally arrogant asses - a real tag team. I doubt they made many sales at the show and they left me with the impression that Laguana could care less if they sold you a tool or not.
I purchased a Delta the following day from Woodworker's Warehouse when they were still in business. Smaller than what I wanted but it has worked for me reliably and done everything asked of it over the years.
From the sounds of the other posts, Laguana has not changed and I really doubt Rockler will influence their corporate persona or make their customer service any better. Yes, I do think Rockler will sell more Laguana tools than Laguana's own sales staff. Like Lee Valley, Rockler knows what it takes to make a sale and to keep you coming back by providing excellent customer service. Hopefully, you will be able to deal with Rockler for any service issues.
Bob S.
Strangly enough, through my 3~4 month buying process, Laguna did not leave me with that impression. They did not call me unless I wanted them to do so and they quoted me a sale price that was good untill I could see the saw at the coming show 2 months later. If the show price was less they would match. The show price was no where near the quoted price. I will say however the show sales guys were some what arrogant. The Minimax guys were a three ring circus. They were showing broken band saws and how strongly built they were. Not one was set up to do an actual demonstration. Minimax being based in Austin TX, close to Houston, I made an appointment to see a particular saw, called the day before to confirm and went to take a look. All they had to show was another broken saw..... I bought the Laguna. It was missing a ceramic guide and they promptly sent me a new one although the saw worked just fine with out the lower thruss guide.
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Laguna tools are really nice but their sales force should go back to selling used cars and penny stocks where they used to work. Maybe buying them via Rockler and paying their markup will actually be worth it.
(Read... not much respect for either)
I that was not my experience when dealing dirrect.
I watched just today, a guys report on one of their dust collectors and it was anything but good. Seems they have a QC issue, at least on their DC.
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