Really amazingly bad service.

[Rick Fisher]

I am absolutely amazed..lol.

Back in November, I ordered a table insert and a mobility cart for an MM24. I actually have an SCMI SC-600 but it is just an MM-24.

The first parts order took 6 weeks. It was because I spec'ed and SCMI SC-600.

So I emailed again in January, it had been 6 weeks. Xmas was busy..

I heard nothing back.

Emailed from work, next day, got a receipt saying the email was read.. waited ... nada..

Around Feb 1. I decided to call. She said she remembered me and if I gave her a few days?? She would call me back..

Nada..

So around Feb 15, I emailed, got a receipt.. .. but.. nada..

Called again and was told she would call me right back..

Nada...

So I emailed Toronto.. Richard, the boss.. Got the email receipt...

nada..

Called again on March 2nd, and was told quite clearly that my parts where not in and she would call me when they would arrive.. the tone was .. stop calling me..

I appologized and commented that it had been 5 months??

So I wait...

[Tom Henderson2]

That is pretty amazing.

I'm not sure what an MM24 is, or what a SCMI SC-600 is.

This almost sounds like the company or distributor is going broke... is there an alternate supplier?

Good luck...

-TH

[Rick Fisher]

Oh.. my bad..

The company is SCMI- Mini Max. .. Far from broke.

Some of the highest quality machinery made, which is good because I can think of no other reason to buy it.

The one thing SCMI has done for me is made me love Felder.

So I owe them that much..

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Well Rick, you're suprisingly calm cool and collected sounding. Not sure I would be...

Do you know if it's the same distributor on both sides of the border?

[William OConnell]

I have had nothing but good service from MM here in the US. Are you n Canada? Here in the US I'm actually able to talk to the guy in the warehouse while he physically walks down my parts. They're that efficient with parts here. I even buy my Lennox blades from them at a great price. I'm thinking its a distriutor problem your having. I get my stuff from Mini Max within a week, from bushings to guides to inserts, whatever. Hell, call Minimax Usa its toll free. I bet you have better luck

[Rick Fisher]

I called Mini-Max USA. I begged them to sell me the parts. They said I have to deal with Canada.

So I sent a really kind email to the head of the company in Toronto..
The guy who never got back to me either.

Mini-Max USA will not budge. Say they cannot ship to Canada.

****

I actually own a door shop. We have Norfield machinery in it. The Band-Saw is at my house, for hobby use..

Imagine a tool in the shop down for 5 months.. due to a simple part.

I still use the saw, but only for large work. I dont want a homemade table insert. What I would really like is to be able to move it. Its really heavy without the mobility kit.

I am calm becasue people respond better to calm. No other reason.

**********

One day.. when I have the space, I will buy a Felder 700. I will take a picture of it and send it to SCMI.. With another kind note.. You never regret being kind.

[Bob Luciano]

Have someone here order it and forward it north to you

[Doug Shepard]

Rick
The parts problem sucks but are you really sure you want their mobility kit anyway? You can so much better and from what I recall when the US site used to have the mob kit priced separately, for about the same (or maybe even less) money. Put some Zambus or Great Lakes casters on that thing and quit waiting for MM's cheesy mobility kit.

[Larry Edgerton]

Rick, sorry that you are having these issues. I have a really good relationship with the company I bought my SCMI/MiniMax stuff from, and I would be glad to buy the stuff for you here and have it shipped to you there.
Let me know if I can be of service.......

Larry

[Rick Lizek]

As a Service Tech who actually worked for a dealer that sold and serviced Delta, Minimax and others it's not uncommon to find some stuff takes longer to get. Considering how many tools and the changes made over the years from a manufacturer it's amazing they do as well as they do. If one only buys a random part over the years it's not fair to judge a whole company over one incident. I buy on a regular basis from many companies and have a pretty good success rate overal with fast turnover. Just yesterday I orderd some replacements parts for a Minimax 25" Sandya widebelt and there were some changes in 1990 but they had both options in stock and I should see the parts mid next week with regular UPS Shipping. Stuff happens. I know a company that had to buy a seat to ship a part from Germany for an edge bander and it was under warranty. When one is involved in the repair business you learn how to deal with these issues. It happens and it's not fair to dismiss the whole company as useless because of an occasional part issue. Try dealing with parts from companies that are out of business. From extensive experience with this I can fix a planer from an out of business company faster with fabrication than a company still in business. I often do the fabrication route on existing company parts to keep it going.

A mobile base is an accessory and a BS throat plate can easily be fabricated and often better than a stock part. If it was an item that prevented the saw from being used you can bet I could get it running pretty quick.

[Chuck Wintle]

I called Mini-Max USA. I begged them to sell me the parts. They said I have to deal with Canada.

So I sent a really kind email to the head of the company in Toronto..
The guy who never got back to me either.

Mini-Max USA will not budge. Say they cannot ship to Canada.

****

I actually own a door shop. We have Norfield machinery in it. The Band-Saw is at my house, for hobby use..

**********

One day.. when I have the space, I will buy a Felder 700. I will take a picture of it and send it to SCMI.. With another kind note.. You never regret being kind.

Rick,
Can you get some one in the US to order the parts from the US distributor and then relay them to you in BC? There really is no excuse for such bad service. :confused: At this point I would try to find any way possible not to deal with them.

[Dave Sweeney]

Canadians must have exceptionally good manners because for the life of me I can't figure out why you apologized to her! :D

[Chuck Wintle]

Canadians must have exceptionally good manners because for the life of me I can't figure out why you apologized to her! :D

It's wouldn't say the manners of canadians are better than those of americans neighbors as I have met many well mannered americans and many ill-mannered canadians. I will say that americans are more direct and do not tolerate bad service the way canadians seem to. there is no point in getting angry with obtuse women on the phone as it does nothing. :D

[Bob Slater]

Canadians must have exceptionally good manners because for the life of me I can't figure out why you apologized to her! :D

There is a saying: "How do you get a bunch of rowdy Canadians out of a bar at closing time? A: You ask them to leave.

BTW, is this place that carries MM also a dealer of tools? If yes, what is the company called?

[Bob Wingard]

As a Service Tech who actually worked for a dealer that sold and serviced Delta, Minimax and others it's not uncommon to find some stuff takes longer to get. Considering how many tools and the changes made over the years from a manufacturer it's amazing they do as well as they do. If one only buys a random part over the years it's not fair to judge a whole company over one incident. I buy on a regular basis from many companies and have a pretty good success rate overal with fast turnover. Just yesterday I orderd some replacements parts for a Minimax 25" Sandya widebelt and there were some changes in 1990 but they had both options in stock and I should see the parts mid next week with regular UPS Shipping. Stuff happens. I know a company that had to buy a seat to ship a part from Germany for an edge bander and it was under warranty. When one is involved in the repair business you learn how to deal with these issues. It happens and it's not fair to dismiss the whole company as useless because of an occasional part issue. Try dealing with parts from companies that are out of business. From extensive experience with this I can fix a planer from an out of business company faster with fabrication than a company still in business. I often do the fabrication route on existing company parts to keep it going.

A mobile base is an accessory and a BS throat plate can easily be fabricated and often better than a stock part. If it was an item that prevented the saw from being used you can bet I could get it running pretty quick.

It is certainly fair and accurate to judge a company .. any company based on personal experience with them. You have your opinion of them based on your experience .. he has his .. no difference. How many times have you decided not to return to a restaurant based on poor service on your first visit ??

You NEVER get a second chance to make a good first impression !!

[Gary Herrmann]

Rick, you can try www.greatlakescasters.com - I used to have the mobility kit for my MM16. I like the casters I got from them much better. Don't have any suggestions for a throat insert though - sorry.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Just for the record...I ordered some parts for my MM-16 from Mini-MaxUSA and experienced nothing but good service. They do have IIRC a $30 minimum order but that is not unusual as a lot of companies have that kind of requirement.

It sounds like the problem is with the Canadian distributor.

There are a number of Customs headaches involved in selling and shipping stuff from one country to another.

There could also be some real legal issues if the Canadian distributor has a written contract as the sole Canadian distributor for SCMI which is the parent company of Mini-Max USA. Thus, Mini-Max USA could have some good legal reasons to not sell and ship to Canada.

Good luck Rick!

[Chuck Wintle]

Just for the record...I ordered some parts for my MM-16 from Mini-MaxUSA and experienced nothing but good service. They do have IIRC a $30 minimum order but that is not unusual as a lot of companies have that kind of requirement.

It sounds like the problem is with the Canadian distributor.

There are a number of Customs headaches involved in selling and shipping stuff from one country to another.

There could also be some real legal issues if the Canadian distributor has a written contract as the sole Canadian distributor for SCMI which is the parent company of Mini-Max USA. Thus, Mini-Max USA could have some good legal reasons to not sell and ship to Canada.

Good luck Rick!
Ken,
for sure there are legal issues involved with one not allowed to step on the others turf but what happened to free trade in this case? :confused:

[Greg Pavlov]

........ If one only buys a random part over the years it's not fair to judge a whole company over one incident...... .An "incident" that goes on for 5 months and includes a number of attempts to sort things out? And it is a "random" part for a pretty expensive piece of machinery, no?

[Rod Sheridan]

Ken,
for sure there are legal issues involved with one not allowed to step on the others turf but what happened to free trade in this case? :confused:

Free trade applies to countries, not companies. Countries cannot errect trade barriers, or subsidise industries to make them competitive with foreign industries.

Companies are well within their legal rights to set up distributors that have exclusive territory for their products.

Another issue is regulatory approval, a Canadian machine may have a CSA approval, which isn't valid in the USA, and a UL approval isn't valid in Canada unless it's a CUL approval.

Companies have to be very careful about that sort of thing.

When I purchased a Hammer HC-308 feeder, it didn't have a Canadian approval sticker on it. When I phoned to ask about it, it was "Don't use it, don't even plug it in".

Felder supplied a replacement immediately, that was approved for use in Canada.

Same with their machinery, my Hammer A3-31 isn't the same electrically as the US model, it requires modifications to be sold in Canada.

Now, the parts that the OP ordered wouldn't have had those sort of issues, it's just poor parts availability and/or poor service.

Regards, Rod.

[Chuck Wintle]

Free trade applies to countries, not companies. Countries cannot errect trade barriers, or subsidise industries to make them competitive with foreign industries.

Now, the parts that the OP ordered wouldn't have had those sort of issues, it's just poor parts availability and/or poor service.

Regards, Rod.
Yes I am well aware of how free trade works and applies to countries. It was just a tongue-in-cheek comment on my part. :D
And of course there is no excuse for poor service on anyone's part. :)

[dan lemkin]

Minimax canada and minimax usa are two different entities... I tried to buy a FS30 from CA because it was on sale for a ridiculous price... maybe still is... It was like $3600 canadian, which is still less in USD.

I called a few distributers who said, sorry eh... can't do it, eh... So the trade barrier policy goes both ways...

They must have gotten a good deal from italy, as US counterparts said they couldn't come close to the price.

just checked--- still on sale
http://www.minimaxcanada.com/

[Brad Shipton]

Bob S: Euro Tech Services distributes MM in Canada.

Rick
This sure has me thinking not to buy from them. A company I work for has been waiting for some small parts for their edgebander for about 6mos (it sits idle). I have had great luck with Felder, but I have had to wait for "The next Container" and that can be a month, two....

Sounds like the USA counterpart sells enough machines that they can stock quite a few parts. Maybe someone can buy the bits you need down there and ship them to you?

I bet the MM license prevents the USA outlet from selling to Canada. They would jeopardize their right to sell MM if caught. The European co's seem to some control issues. I asked Hafele Canada if I could have some parts shipped by a different carrier than normal. I was told that it could take 3mo to get such a request approved back in Germany. Yikes.

Brad

[Rick Fisher]

Brad.. You nailed it. :)

I dont want to sling crap here. Mini Max USA has great service. A buddy let me logon to partspronto to snoop around when I was making my parts list. Mini-Max USA has almost everything in stock.

The problem for me is that I cannot deal with Mini-Max USA. Its simply a trading area issue. Canada has a different supplier and this has zero reflection on SCMI or Mini-Max USA.

I just find it amazing..

There is an principle in business... great service, quality product, great price.

Pick and offer 2 and you will be succesfull. Try to offer all three, or only one, and you will fail. These folks should be selling cheap tools ..

************************************************** ************************************************** *******
This is my second attempt at parts from this company. The first episode took 6 weeks. It was for a foot pedal and plastic knob.. They where in stock at SCMI USA.

I told the lady a joke.. When your buying the tools .. the sales guy says.. "they are from Italy".. :) :) :) Then.. when you need parts.. the parts guys says sarcasticly.. "they are from Italy" . :( :( :(

She didnt think it was funny.

[Brad Shipton]

I recall you got the shaft not long ago with your slider too. Its amazing that the parent company cannot reckognize that the trading area in Canada is far smaller than USA, so its not practical for Canada to stock parts. A smart move on the parent company could be to allow the US branch to sell/trade parts to Canada. I am no genious, but Zee boat from Italy to Canada, she move ohh so slow:) The other problem is the boat dont start rolling with an order until the container is full.

Maybe a bill for your lost time/profit would make her appreciate the reality? :)

By the way, have you ever dealt with Titan Equip in Van? Mike W. is pretty good with his customer service. They sell Casolin, Biesse (a wee bit $$), and many others.

Good luck.
Brad

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks for the tip on Titan.. Never heard of them. We have a Felder store in Nanaimo now. I have bought one tool from them, they are great to deal with.

I will be in Van. on Wednsday.. if I have time, I will drop by Titan.

The Bandsaw is just at my house, I use it for hobby work. So its not a lost profit thing.. I just have a home made table insert and a bandsaw that weighs as much as a small car, that I cant move. :)

[Jim Becker]

Rick, perhaps you should consider getting a "US base of operations" to buy the parts you need "down here" for the equipment you have and cross ship to you. That way you'd get what you need and be able to cut ties with the vendor who has been less than helpful. I've seen many folks with relatives or friends just south of the border do this. The fellow who recently bought my Forrest dado set has such an arrangement for small purchases.

[William Addison]

I keep reading posts where people praise MM service, my experience has been that they are a joke although I've only called them a couple of times since I bought my MM16 about a year ago.

Example; I read on SMC recently that depressing the stop pedal is suposed to turn the motor off. I tried it and sure enough, it didn't work. I peered through the wheel openings and saw what could be a microswitch mounted on a bracket with an oval slot in it. I tried to loosen it and twisted a pretty good allen wrench. I called tech support and spoke with a very nice moron who didn't even know as much as I do. It was "Well yeah I think there's a switch in there but I don't really know how it works and I think it turns the motor off" like what else would it do? I finally asked him if he was really in tech support and he allowed that he was but suggested I call back and talk to Michael-when he comes in. Of course neither the alleged manual or the pitiful parts schematic were any help so I'll probably just leave it alone, at least the saw works and well.

As to the mobility kit, I'll give mine to anyone who'll pay postage on it, just PM me.

[J.R. Rutter]

I would be happy to get parts for you if you want. I'm just over the southern border in Ferndale, WA so shipping would not be too bad...

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The one thing SCMI has done for me is made me love Felder.
So I owe them that much..

HA HA HA

Oh well.

[Dennis Thornton]

Rick,
MiniMax HQ has brought this up with the Canada branch. Have they contacted you to get you the items you need?

[Chris Padilla]

I would be happy to get parts for you if you want. I'm just over the southern border in Ferndale, WA so shipping would not be too bad...

I was about to suggest exactly what J.R. just suggested although I'm a bit further down the Pacific Coast. :)

All my dealings with Minimax-USA have been just fine.

PM either one of us if we can help you.