Anyone have a good experience with Black & Decker lately

Ross Herbert posted for all of us....

You will note that this same company has bought Milwaukee Tools. Can't wait to see what they do to them...

Which is why, I mentioned what the nature of the repairs were - I may have unintentionally caused the first mishap (freewheeling motor which did not drive the blade) by occasionally using the mower to mulch small amounts of brush (very small - generally less than 1/2 inch brush).

The second time it failed only the brushes needed replacing. If I knew it was not under warranty I would have tried to troubleshoot better and probably have discovered it myself. Assuming it was under warranty I did not bother to troubleshoot at all. Two years for a set of brushes on a mower is not really that bad. Incidentally, before I bought this mower I shared a B&D electric mower with a friend for about 5 years. It did two yards of less than 5000 sq ft for that length of time and is still in use at my friends home (now going on eight years). Over that time, the deadman switch became a bit iffy (had to pull it way past the natural stop to get the mower to run). The same service center diagnosed this problem when I took my new mower in and sold me a $10 part for the repair of the old mower). I had a generally trouble free eight years and avoided breathing gas fumes which alone is worth it to me. I seriously doubt anybody with a gas mower could have a more trouble free experience.

Based on my experience I really believe at least their corded electric mower is a good product (for smaller yards) and hope my second one continues to perform as well as the first.

The service center I went to was a DeWalt service center and they were nothing but ultra professional - did not ask me to produce a receipt, verified warranty status based on serial number, gave me a courtesy discount on other stuff, threw in a new blade on the mower. All these steps engender customer loyalty - they acknowledge the product should not have failed and make small gestures in recognition of this. So despite the torrent of negative press I am quite happy to defend Black and Decker on at least this product and their after sales service as it relates to this product.

Yes but the price reflects this. If a Panasonic or Makita drill cost $150- $200 + and a B&D costs half to a third or a fourth as much it is silly to expect a premium product. If people shelled out equivalent dollars their complaints would be more credible.

Roland

Ditto. My B&D coffepot's heating plate rotted out after 9 months or so, and the little valve thing on the basket that allows you to get a cup while it's brewing leaked like a sieve after 2 months.

On 12/6/2004 11:51 AM US(ET), JW took fingers to keys, and typed the following:

My B&D coffee maker's LCD readout became very dim and couldn't be read. I called B&D and they told me to cut off the power cord as close to the machine as possible and send it to them. I did, and they sent me a new coffee maker. I saved the old pot and other parts for spares.

I tried calling them, and the rep stated that if it still was functioning there was nothing they could do. I told him that it was the last B&D anything I'd ever buy. Like he cared...

On 12/7/2004 9:52 AM US(ET), JW took fingers to keys, and typed the following:

My B&D was bought just after B&D bought out the GE line of small appliances. It had replaced a similar GE coffee maker and the only difference between the two was the B&D label. Perhaps they still had the GE mindset at the time.

Should have called back the next day and said it was completely broken, likely they'd never even check.

Growing up, everything my dad ever bought made by black&decker broke way too early. He swore he never bought b&d again and hasn't Makita is his preference.

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My B&D battery operated drill worked for about an hour then it went to the trash bin which is about as good as Sear's Craftsman drills.

With that said, B&D foldable table (Workmate) is extremely useful and couldn't go without one on a jobsite, the old professional 10" chop saw is pretty good and could take a lot of abuse and it would be hard to find a better circular saw than the worm drive B&D.

Black and Decker went down the toilet when DeWalt bought them out.

According to the corporate history Black and Decker bought DeWalt in

See:

Clearly the B&D tool line is a low end line and should be compared to other low end lines like Ryobi, Harbor Freight etc. etc. People comparing B&D performance to DeWalt, Milwaukee, Porter Cable etc. makes no sense. It is like paying for a Toyota Tercel and expecting a Lexus.

Black and Decker itself makes this distinction on its home page where it refers to the B&D line as a consumer line and the DeWalt line as a "high-peformance" line.

They state:

"The Power Tools and Accessories segment manufactures and markets consumer power tools, accessories, electric lawn and garden tools, and electric cleaning and lighting products under the Black & Decker brand, and high-performance power tools, accessories, industrial equipment, laser products and air compressors under the DEWALT brand."

See the section on business segments at:

"Joe Doe" wrote

Nobody's comparing anything. 3 out of the 4 B&D small power tools I have bought in the past 5 years worked for less than 3 months each under normal conditions. I don't think it's too much to ask that a product actually WORK THE WAY IT WAS ADVERTISED!???

This is just B&D's way of saying "we told you so" and trying to prevent unhappy consumers returning the products when they fail. Lazy or passive people won't take the time to return a $30 item if it has worked for 2-3 months. They figure, "hey, I did get 2-3 month out of it, so that's OK."

I have had good experiences with B & D products. They are certainly not commercial grade tools, but they seem to be at least a little better than the typical consumer crap otherwise available, mostly. It varies with the item. I just look at the options and try to pick the best one. If it appears to be B & D, then so be it. Thus far I have found them to be acceptable consumer grade products.

Leonard

"Leonard Caillouet" wrote

A good motto for them!!

No kidding! I thought GE still made them.

On 12/29/2004 11:18 PM US(ET), Fred took fingers to keys, and typed the following:

B&D bought GE's small appliance division, not the large appliance division. The small appliances are probably still made in the former GE plants with former GE workers.

...which are probably all in China.

jak