Grizzly? Beware!

[Roy Boyden]

After having dealt with Grizzly several times and being more or less satisfied with their products, which include an 8" jointer, brad nailer, drill press mortise attachment, and other smaller items, I was astounded to get the following response to my complaint about the quality and usefulness of their Woodstock 5 gallon dust collection separator. This thing sells for $19.95 plus shipping & tax for a total of $27.61. It is nothing more than 50 cents or so worth of injection molded plastic, and will not fit Shopvac hoses, although it is advertised and shown in their catalog attached to a Shopvac. When I complained about this via email, I got the following response:

I apologize for the circumstances surrounding your current order. Our return policy states that customers may return items within the first

30-days for a refund or exchange as long as they are new, unused, resalable condition and in the original package. All returns are subject to inspection. You will be responsible for the shipping back and you are subject to our 10% restocking fee. We do not reimburse original shipping charges. If you would like to return your item please contact us so we can issue a Return Authorization number. Please email to advise and include a copy of this email with your reply. If we may be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us. You are a valued customer and we look forward to serving your future woodworking and metal working needs. Sincerely, Lori Customer Service Grizzly Industrial, Inc. EN#648

I told them to keep the money, it is so important to them. Sheesh!

[SawEyes]

SNIP

Thei return policy is fairly standard, however, if the item was sold under the assumption that it does fit shopvacs as their advert showed, then that same policy should not apply. They should waive the return shipping fee and restock fee and refund your money in this case.

-- Regards,

Dean Bielanowski Editor, Online Tool Reviews

5 Reviews:

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[ConRes]

I would suggest calling them on the phone in lieu of an email. You're much better to let someone hear a voice - it will typically work much better. I've personally never had any problems with returning items to Grizzly or any other manufacturer.

[Anonymous]

I blew up their catalog description/picture of this item and it does, indeed appear to be hooked up to a shop vac. The 2 1/2" hoses are inserted into the holes in the plastic lid, just as they do on the larger unit available from many dealers. Are you sure your vac is equipped with standard size hoses, and that you are inserting them as shown in the photo ?? ?? Not really doubting your observation regarding the material value/cost comparison, but if it works as advertised, you have no beef with respect to that complaint. I have the larger unit attached to my dust collector, and I bought it back when they were easily twice the price .. .. sure, it's cheesy .. but IT WORKS !! !! !!

If it is as it appears > After having dealt with Grizzly several times and being more or less

If you can read this .. thank a teacher .. If you are reading it in English .. thank a soldier too !!

[Bay Area Dave]

sounds like extenuating circumstances. I'd hash this over with them on the phone in a polite but determined way. Explain the misleading catalog info to them. Ask for a sales supervisor/manager or customer service manager if you aren't satisfied with their initial response.

And you can always vote with your dollars in the future! :)

dave

Roy Boyden wrote:

[Larry Jaques]

On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 03:28:22 GMT, "ConRes" brought forth from the murky depths:

And don't call when mad. Call when you can control yourself. The guy/gal on the other end of the phone is not at fault, so don't ream them. Write the details of the order down and include your feelings about the problem and have it in front of you when you call so they get all the details right. Do remember to let them know you're a multiple repeat customer. It does make a difference, unfortunately.

Chances are good that you'll talk them into accepting the return and refunding all your money.

---=====--- After all else fails, read the instructions. ---=====--- Website Design and Update

[mel]

there are two different separator kits sold by Grizzly. One is the model G6102 designed for a shopvac and clearly states so... the other is the model G3376 which is designed for a dust collector with 4" ports. I personally own 3 different shopvacs each with their own different hose size. The smaller units are typically 1-1/4", the larger 2-1/4". The stainless contractor model is 1-1/2". That being said it's difficult to agree that the product has been misrepresented.

[Just Dave]

When you call them (calmly) ask to speak to a supervisor and politly (killing them with kindness) tell them the issue. 95% of the time Grizzly will refund in full.

I speak from experence....

Dave

[John Crea]

If you used a credit card, contact the credit card company and contest the charges based on the fact that the advertising was misleading and what you ordered and what they shipped were NOT in essense the same thing.

But call Grizzly first and talk with someone abou this first, and make the point that the photo in the advertisement was misleading if not fraudulent

John

[Young_carpenter]

usually the contest has to be over $100

[Roy Boyden]

Just to follow up on this........ I found some connectors ($15) that, with some modifications to the separator, made the thing work. It involved cutting the inlet and outlet holes larger. It works fine now at a total cost of almost $50, not counting all the running around I had to do. You would think though, that Grizzly would have at least tried to help me find a way to make it work. All they would tell me was that I would have to pay return shipping plus 10% restocking charge. Live and learn. Roy