Well, they should sack some of their useless staff and get their costs under control. Amazon and Barnes & Noble can give reasonable shipping costs so what exactly is Jet's problem?
I suspect the original belt is made by Gates. Give them a call and find a distributor that does not gouge on price and shipping.
Barry Lennox
That's all right, we all miss stuff. But the $10 was just an example. If the company cost is $15 or $20 they shouldn't be charging more for handling unless they don't care about good will.
You're going to get a nosebleed if you go up much higher on your horse. What did Robin Lee do to warrant so much defense from you? I did learn, and I didn't pay. When I do pay, it will be a reasonable price. Whether my money goes to Lee Valley or somewhere else is yet to be determined.
Somehow people here seem insulted when you have anything less than worship for Lee Valley Tools. I don't get it.
I did RTFM, and let me quote: "Everything cleans with just water so the needles and syringe are reusable indefinitely." I also used hot water, and blew it out when I was done using it. Just common sense. When it didn't work I attempted to unclog it with piece of steel wire. Then I stopped. Why should I waste my time trying to unclog a low value piece of tubing? It's quite possible the one I got had a defect, but Lee Valley sure wasn't willing to give me another try at it unless I covered every penny of their cost. Instead, I go to my junk box, fish out a syringe, use that. My loss.
The point is, that glue is expensive, and every word of advertising and instruction leads me to believe I'm not going to have any kind of trouble. No warnings, troubleshooting steps, or anything to lower my expectations even the slightest. Everything else I have bought at Lee Valley has been pretty good, and I was willing to pay much more for my high expectations. I'm less willing next time.
Yah right.
- Owen -
Unquestionably Confused wrote in news:HcV3e.14603$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com:
The service department at the dealer where I had purchased my last pickup truck had earned my disdain in a couple of ways, but the daytime running lamps, which needed frequent replacement, were no longer available from the aftermarket parts house. When I stopped by the dealer, reluctantly, to buy some, the parts guy pulled up my computer record, went to the back, and came back with a double handful of the replacement bulbs. Didn't want to bother with any paperwork. I just _may_ buy another truck there some day.
Patriarch
Huge difference. Amazon, B&N are in the mail order business. Jet is not, and does not want to be. They want to sell through distributors. Order the part from your local dealer.
What makes you think they have useless staff?
When did Jet establish a dealer network..? Just curious...the only Jet tool I own ( My Tablesaw) was ordered direct from them in 1989 or
90... AT the time I had never seen any Jet equiptment in any of the local dealers that I visited...Bob Griffiths
On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 16:25:48 -0400, the inscrutable "Owen Lawrence" spake:
Know that from experience, do you? :^)
Rob's a great guy and I've talked with him via both rec.woodworking and email. He and his company are friendly, full of integrity, and truly care about their customers. Their customer service is legendary. If you don't believe that, Google the Wreck for it.
Most of us have had only positive experiences with the company.
Had you complained, they would have offered to cover your cost to ship the product back and refunded all of your money. You obviously weren't that angry about it. I'm surprised that they didn't offer to send another syringe top for you, though. When Rob sees this thread (he tracks the Wreck) he might have some more input on it. I recall having seen a valid gripe here change their company policy for the better. (How often do you hear something like that happening in today's business environment?)
That is unfortunate.
?--------------------------------------------------------------- Never put off 'til tomorrow |
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I'm not sure when that all came about. More than 9 years ago though. My local Jet dealer went in to business about 9 years ago and the big stuff was strictly Jet. IIRC the Jet web site indicates that you cannot buy equipment direct and that you should contact a local dealer.
Woodcraft, Amazon, Coastal Tools all carry Jet. I'm sure others do also.
Why would we need more? Press harder!
Barry
I have had _mostly_ positive experiences.
No, I wasn't angry about it; it's too small a thing to get worked up about. (I apologize for coming across that way.) I was just trying to provide a counter example to one of the previous poster's implicit assertion that Lee Valley Tools does everything right. I live in Ottawa and do my shopping there in person; I did take the effort to drop in and ask for another syringe tip but I got nowhere. Even if the guy had told me that they're expected to clog after one or two uses (why else do they sell replacement tips?) I might be more charitable. Maybe we were all having a bad day, I dunno.
- Owen -
Those are arbitrary labels, and there is no huge difference.
Amazon, B&N are NOT in the mail order business (maybe the Post Office is) They are in the business of offering something a customer wants in exchange for a fair price, just as Jet is (or should be)
Most enlightened companies understand their real role is to offer whatever it takes to satisfy, and perhaps delight, customers and keep them coming back. They may well "want" to deal through distributors. I do *not* want to, and prefer to deal direct. My view is as valid as theirs. OTOH, if they don't want customers, then fine, get rid of them all, that will solve their annoying spares problems.
They don't seem to get the point above, in my experience, and that of the OP.
The great thing about captialism in America is that the business gets to decide what distribution channels it wants to use.
So did you buy your car directly from GM or did Henry Ford come to your house to help you pick a color? Yes, it gripes me to pay the destination charge on a car that I could easily pick up at the factory myself. Oh, them sumbitches need some enlightening.
My view is as valid as
It may be your view, but it probably won't change things very much. You do get to vote with your dollars though, and can buy whatever brand you want from whatever sources it is available. For maximum efficiency, some choose to set up for direct sales, others do not as they typicaly don't have the volume of sales to justify the cost of doing so.
My company has a minimum of $300 for stock items. Much more for special runs, usually about $100 with no setup charge. While it is not a consumer oriented business, it is not profitable do do less so we don't. We won't ship UPS or mail because it takes to much time and cost to much to pack the stuff for it. OUr choice. We lost two customemers when we implemented that.
You can have an opinion. Useless to you, but not tot he distributors they serve well. Ed
I did not make an implicit assertion that lee valley was perfect. Unless I missed someone else post , and that was their post. I only asked what robin lee would do. The whole darn thing comes down to a company believing too much in the old saying, THERE IS A SUCKER BORN EVERY DAY. I think companies like shop fox should have something made up to replace the items that wear out often. I have no idea how long a belt should last on whatever kind of unit that was purchased. (lathe ? ) Just like the poster about the shear pins for his snow blower. Maybe I have the wrong mind set. But I feel I DID THE COMPANY a favor by shopping with them. They did not do me the favor. As a customer WE pay the company employees salary and the company just signs the check. We don't buy they don't work. But you can be sure at least someone will be selling because they can see the big picture. Guess ole forrest gump was right. Doing business with shop fox and a box of chocolates.
Actually, they are in the mail order business, or more precisely the online order business if you want to split hairs about ordering via the Internet not being "mail order". By that token Sears isn't in the mail order business and Sears _invented_ the mail order business. But perhaps you're too young to be familiar with "mail order" that actually uses the mail.
As far as Amazon goes, Amazon doesn't keep any stock, they pass the order through to whoever does have the stock, just like many other online resellers. Usually with Amazon it goes to Ingram, the major wholesaler of books in the US, who then drop-ships to the customer. So they're using a different business model from either Sears or Jet.
The real issue seems to be that Jet hasn't figured out that the manner in which they provide spart parts is part of their marketing effort and they should do so in a manner that makes the customer feel that he wants to buy more stuff from Jet. Many folks buy from Sears because Sears has parts for
30 year old tools and appliances available on their Web site, orderable with minimal effort and at a reasonable price.
============================================= Sheeze Ed.... Was Amazon even in business 15 years ago...?
When I want to get up close and personal with a machine I do make the
1 1/2 drive to Visit my "local" Woodcraft... But that is now ..Then was in the late 80's...BTW...Major reason for this reply was not to comment on your reply to my question.....but was to let you know that I normally will read your comments in ANY Newsgroup... and I can not say that about many individuals..
Bob Griffiths
I have purchased a few Pontiacs from one of the GM Zone offices in the past BEFORE they stopped the practice.. Was a nightmare however to register the 1st Car however... The State DMV was unsure how to handle the " Certificate of Origin" That GMAC handed me.. it was a learning experience to say the least....
I also purchased one of my Corvettes with Museum (Factory Delivery) not only did I pay normal destination charges as if I picked it up from the local dealer but I also plunked down 500 bucks ( extra for the privilege top pick it up myself...).. It was worth it however since I followed the car thru its final production and was allowed to be the 1st to start it up and drive it off the assembly line myself...
Bob Griffiths
It's the same in most of the world, and the great thing about democracy is that I get to decide where to spend my dollars.
Have done neither. I get them from other folk, then do them up.
OK you win, I'm sure Jet's processes and systems will run a lot more efficiently and economically without those annoying customers demanding this and that. I'll oblige.
Actually, there is little to separate most of the biggies on price and performance, so here's an opportunity for one company to really differentiate itself from the pack. Offer same-day dispatch, minor parts for free, and others at a modest cost without gouging on shipping. If the tools are as reliable as they claim, it will hardly cost them, and their customers will be delighted. Otherwise the sour taste continues.
Fair enough, your company, keep working on losing customers.
Sounds like me and my opinion are worthless to JET, fair enough. In the next 6 months, I'll be picking up a bit of equipment, so after-sales service and policy will be considered.
Barry Lennox
Whatever semantics or labels you use, they are still in the business of business, ie: offering something a customer wants in exchange for a fair price. That is a fundamental.
Too young? Hardly! I see in my 1902 Sears catalogue Stanley planes are priced from 9c to 37c.
Exactly, so what's hard about copying the best bits of some others' "business model" ? IF they cared about customers, they could do it. That they choose not to, is their business, but illustrates how they see customers. or ex-customers to be more correct.
Barry Lennox
So you're 120 years old?
There's nothing "hard" about it, but you can't think of everything at once.
Try starting a business and see how many things _you_ don't do right.
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