Grizzly quality control and Customer Service... GRRRR!!!

[Frank Trinkle]

I was getting ready to do a full gloat here in the next day or two thinking that my garage-based shop would be completely set up. That ain't gonna happen for at least a week now... thanks to unusually bad quality control and response from Grizzly.

To start, I have a new G0490 8" Jointer which I received about a month ago that was the ONLY machine from them that didn't have issues one way or the other.

Smaller issue for my Grizzly DC delivered at the same time that had the wrong size plastic collection bag with it. They replaced it within a couple of days.

Having had good experience with them on these purchases, I ordered additional machinery that arrived three days ago, including a G0514X2 Bandsaw; a full-sized downdraft table; and a Steelex ST1005 Mortising machine with stand. All but one had problems:

1. The H2935 Vacuum Sanding Table (Downdraft Table) was perfect and works very well (and very quietly). No problems.

2. The Steelex ST1005 Mortising Machine came in two packages. The first, with the machine itself, was BADLY damaged in shipping. The crate had almost completely come apart. However, upon inspection of the machine itself, there appears to be no damage at all. The second cardboard box contained the cabinet stand unit and the box appeared undamaged on delivery. HOWEVER... once I took the stand out, the welds at all four corners of the face had completely cracked, and the door no longer swings due to the pins coming out of the casing. I called Grizzly who wanted pictures of both the damaged crate and the cabinet, and told me I would be called the next day. That didn't happen. I called back two days later, and they said they were working the issue??? They don't seem to understand that the cabinet is in box 2 of 2 and that's all I need. Since the Steelex is not of their manufacture, they don't have a part number, and they seem completely confused by how to replace the cabinet.
It is now three days since I called them, and I got an email this AM that still sais they are "working" the issue. Grrrrr!!!

3. I was totally excited about receiveing the G0514X2 Bandsaw. The crate was intact and undamaged, and I drooled over looking at it for a couple of days while I made room in my garage for its final setting. Today I uncrated it and moved it into the garage, expecting to have it purring by the end of the day. That AIN'T gonna happen! Upon inspection of the machine after uncrating, I discovered that the unit was shipped without the 6' power cord, either attached or included! (I know I have to provide the 220V Plug... but not the cord!) This clearly is the quintesential definition of extremely poor post-assembly quality control inspections. (And this from an ISO 9001 factory???) That was bad enough, but when I called Grizzly Tech Support, the rep had a hard time believing that the cord wasn't there. Once convinced, he told me that they would send out a power cord via UPS Ground, and that I should receive it within 3-5 WORKING days. I hit the roof! I asked why they wouldn't send it out express, and he stated that this was a simple warranty repair. I hit the roof again, and said it was NOT a repair, it was a brand new machine that was not assembled properly and that they had a responsibility to expedite whatever was necessary to give me a working machine. He got annoyed, but went to his manager who finally agreed to send it 2nd Day Air. So I still won't get it until Monday (four days from now). Other companies would have Overnighted something like that when they were CLEARLY at fault.

One last Grrrrr!: Yesterday, I ordered some Mortising Chisels and a Shop Fox Mobile Base (the one that WILL fit the 514) from Grizzly. At no time during the ordering process were any of the items shown as out of stock. Nonethless, last evening I got an email from Grizzly that stated that the Mobile Stand is backordered and won't be available until the middle of April. Grrrr! This SHOULD have been shown as out of stock on their website during ordering.

All this is very disappointing from a company that normally has a very high customer service and quality rating. I sincerely hope that they are not in the process of joining other companies that were once extraordinarily good at CS and TS, but who are now falling by the wayside and not caring properly for their customers or insuring that quality control is a top priority.

Grrrrrr!:mad::mad:

[george wilson]

I THINK we had to provide our own cord and plug for the SawStop saw at Williamsburg. Can't recall fully,as we got a company electrician to wire it up. Pretty sure there was no cord.

[Frank Trinkle]

Grizzly said there was supposed to be a 6' cord already wired to the unit.

Grizzly typically requires that you provide the plug, but all their machines include the power cord.

[Craig D Peltier]

I love there machines but there shipping needs to be fixed. I know they ship thousands of machines buit this shouldnt happen as often as it does. Unfortunately with todays internet people always have the bad to report and dont say when they got a good shipment. I guess its not worth telling cause so many own the same machine and it would be just a boring post.

The shorting you of a cord in the factory is unacceptable and they should of delivered that overnight. For him not believing it and needing convincing , what did he think you were a cord hoarder? Or didint know where the cord came out of the machine. Im glad bellingham is close for me cause I dont trust there shipping.They should knock %5 off or something if you pickup? Or a free blade or something.

[Irwin Fletcher]

One thing about Grizzly is that they always seem to make things right in the end, but it sure seems like they take the long way to get there sometimes.

[Frank Trinkle]

Well... one good thing about Grizzly is that after a shipment, I always have a bunch of sacrificial scrap wood!! Saves the hassle of scrounging construction sites! :D

[Dan Zemcik]

Im not all that impressed either with Grizzly lately. I ordered a G0634 on December 22, was told later it was out of stock, would be January 21st, Then I get a phone call that it would ship on Jan 15, never get a phone call from the shipping company, so I contact Grizly again. Was told it never did ship and it would be March 21. Contacted Grizzly on Monday to checkup on the status, now its April 17th. If Jet only made a sprial head on their 12" combo machine I'd be done with Grizzly!

[Gregory Stahl]

My G0514x2 bandsaw did not come with a cord either. I got one well over a year ago, and I think others reported them not coming with cords as well, so I wasn't concerned.

A quick trip to the local hardware store, and I have much higher quality cord than what would have came with the saw anyway for little money, and the cord is about 25' now. If it is going to be mobile, might as well make it reach an outlet without an extension cord.

Best, Greg

[Bob Luciano]

I constantly read these reports about Grizzly. Yet everyone that has this problem seems surprised when it happens to them. I rent to people first thing I check is their history if it is problematic I am pretty certain it won't change just for me. Sorry to hear of your problem I hope it gets taken care of.

[Scott T Smith]

I recently purchased several Grizzly machines, and had mixed experiences with the cords.

The 5hp tablesaw included a cord, as did the 16" planer/jointer and the 1 hp drill press. Both the edge and combination sanders included cords (one 240, the other 120). The grinder and polisher both had cords attached. Both power feeders included cords.

The 5hp shaper and 17" bandsaw did not have cords. Neither did the 16" horizontal resaw, but at 30hp it's more of a "hard wire" machine anyway.

Overall I was very pleased with my buying experience, and the lack of a couple of cords was not a concern for me. There were a few things back ordered, but probably less than 1% of the order and they were delivered timely shortly afterward.

[Peter Quinn]

The way I see it with Grizzly the customer IS the QA/QC department. Sure as heck isn't happening in Tiawan or stateside either. You would think they would open the crates on the higher end machines and make sure the tools work and are complete. If they can't find you a mortiser cabinet, perhaps they can find you a return invoice and a new machine? That said, I have ordered three items from Grizzly (molder, power feeder, motor), had not a single serious issue, got what I paid for and am generally satisfied with the quality at the price I paid.

Sorry to hear about defects and crate damage, on the cord issue, glad you didn't order a Powermatic or you would be REAL angry, because as I recall most of their big machines come with a magnetic starter but NO cord and no plug. Honestly, for the $1.10 per foot the cord costs i would not have wasted my time or anger on the phone, but would simply have picked up the wire when I got the plug and had that thing running immediately. Given some of the posts I have read about bad Griz machines is seems you got off easy!

[Paul Johnstone]

The way I see it with Grizzly the customer IS the QA/QC department. Sure as heck isn't happening in Tiawan or stateside either. You would think they would open the crates on the higher end machines and make sure the tools work and are complete.

That's all part of the Grizzly experience though. Sure, you save some money when you buy Grizz, but those costs have to be squeezed out somewhere. I don't have any Grizz stuff anymore.. I think it's well worth the extra cost to buy local so if something bad does happen, you can exchange local instead of doing the Grizzly dance.

Let me put it this way, if Griz offered a service where they'd open the crate and test the machine before shipping for an additional $50-70, how many people would pay that fee? I really doubt even 10% of their consumers would pay that, because their niche is largely people buying on a perceived price/performance advantage.

[Burt Alcantara]

My 514X2 did not have a cord. But, I didn't know it was supposed to have one. I had come cord lying around and made one up to fit the spot where the saw would reside. No issues with overhand, too short, extensions. Perfect fit.

BTW, you may experience a no-power situation on occasion. If that happens, stomp on the foot switch a few times. Sometimes, dust gets between the contact and prevents the switch from resetting. I love this saw!

I've never had nothing less then stellar performance from Grizzly.

Burt

[Phil Thien]

I think I'd be thrilled if I ordered that much stuff from any vendor and had only an incorrect bag, a missing cord, and a broken stand (they probably need to get approval from the manufacturer to break another set and send one out).

[Frank Trinkle]

I got a call yesterday that the stand for my mortising machine was being replaced and had already shipped. Additionally, they gave me an RA number for the return of the broken one and stated that UPS would have shipping documents with them when they delivered my new stand.

Then... today I got a call from "Jason" who advised me that they had found a G7415 Mobile Stand in their Missouri wharehouse and it was shipped today (Originally told it would be mid-April).

He also stated that the manual is WRONG on the G0514X2, and that it does NOT include the power cord. He admitted that this has caused a lot of consternation from new 514 owners, and that they should have fixed the problem in their manual and website long ago.

SO.... All is well with Grizzly and I'm back to being satisfied, though not without some angst at the mistakes, and lack of immediate attention.

Grizzly will remain a consideration for future purchases!:)

[David Dalzell]

I just recieved a Grizzly G0514X last week. It came without a power cord. I didn't think anything abbout, I assumed this was normal. I bought some 12ga wire, the correct type plug, wired it up, and everything is fine. I am planing to buy the Grizzly jointer/planer combo soon and expect to supply the cord myself.

[Cary Falk]

I can't remember if my 513x2 had a cord or not. I usually add a longer cord along with a plug. I find a 6' cord too short for my arangements.

[Peter Scoma]

I guess im lucky to have a showroom nearby (2 hrs) and dont expect to ever have any heavy machines sent to me. Maybe the experiences of SMC members are skewed but it seems like there has been alot of damage lately.

or maybe the + experiences are reported less??


PS

[Ben Cadotte]

I think it may be more a sign of the bad economy! Factories are trying to save money by doing more with less people. Trucking companies are trying to do more with less people.

Factories my have layed off some inspectors. Or only closely inspect every 10th mahcine instead of every other machine.

Trucking companies are trying to meet the same schedule with less dock workers. So they drive the fork lifts faster. More accidents in the sorting area. They don't tie things down in the truck thare are tall, so they fall down. They drive into the trucks faster so things being loaded hit into each other.

Even the manufacturer tries to save with shipping something on softwood pallets instead of the more expensive hardwood pallets. Or less packaging foam / materials. Cheaper grade of cardboard.

Bad times come with bad decesions!

[Bob Luciano]

Lately even the plus stories involved calling customer service for a piece here and there or a trip the hardware store.

[Mike Heidrick]

I had to provide a cord and plug on my sawstop, Delta 12" jointer, Delta 20" planer, and I believe Scott, the previous owner of my MM20, also provided a cord and plug for the MM20. I believe most industrial quality machies do that because many of these machines are hardwired at their install location.

My Delta 5hp cyclone did not come with even a motor starter. I added a whole LVC setup, switch, remote and relay, and the cords and plug to it. Part of the responsibility of owning industrial machines or maybe the convienece of matching it to your shop'd environment.

Be happy you have a great enough machine to be able to add your own plug and cord too.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I bought their 513x2 band saw about 1 1/2 yrs ago . Nice fast shipping to the freight shipper then it's up to me to get it where I live. They wouldn't ship to an island. Which is understandable. They put it in the shop I uncrated it & both doors were pushed in so the nut on the top wheel made a large dent in the door. Called them had the two doors in about a week. That was great. It took over a year to get all the labeling that went on the doors. Kept sending me the wrong ones. It's a nice machine works well except for tracking on the 1/4" blade. Tracks almost to the edge of the wheels with tension. Other than that it's ok. Would I buy another Grizzly product, I doubt it.:)

[Neal Clayton]

I just recieved a Grizzly G0514X last week. It came without a power cord. I didn't think anything abbout, I assumed this was normal. I bought some 12ga wire, the correct type plug, wired it up, and everything is fine. I am planing to buy the Grizzly jointer/planer combo soon and expect to supply the cord myself.

my 8" jointer came with a cord already wired to the switch.

just had to supply the plug.

seems to be the case with all of their jointers from other threads i've read.

[Vic Damone]

Frank (or anybody), I'm very interested in the Woodstock/Steelex mortiser, which, by the way, is also being sold by Laguna Tools. Is there any warrantee on this non Grizzly brand machine or on any of the equipment they sell? After reading some of the responses from Grizzly customers I'm getting the idea that Grizzly will make it right, 'eventually'.

I can live with reasonable situations a retailer faces when shipping is involved. It's this unreliable communication that's questionable. I learned long ago that the telephone is the most economical path to customer satisfaction regardless of your actual performance.

[Cary Falk]

[quote=Vic Damone;1087602]Frank (or anybody), I'm very interested in the Woodstock/Steelex mortiser, which, by the way, is also being sold by Laguna Tools. Is there any warrantee on this non Grizzly brand machine or on any of the equipment they sell? After reading some of the responses from Grizzly customers I'm getting the idea that Grizzly will make it right, 'eventually'.
quote]


From the manual:

"Woodstock International, Inc. warrants all STEELEX® machinery to be free of defects from workmanship and
materials for a period of two years from the date of original purchase by the original owner. This warranty does
not apply to defects due directly or indirectly to misuse, abuse, negligence or accidents, lack of maintenance, or
reimbursement of third party expenses incurred."


If Grizzly ships and there is damage I would think they would make it right just like if it were a Grizzly machine.

[Bill Blackburn]

Always hate to hear these stories. My neighbor's brand spanking fresh and new PM 2000 was delivered Thursday. He stopped by last night mad as a hornet - some shipping damage to the crate, large gouge in the back of the saw caused maybe by a forklift? but the crate was okay on that part he said.
What really ticked him off was the table top - it was all messed up when he cleaned it up. If I had not seen it I would not believe it - the thing has a 1/16th to 1/8" cut right into the casting. Then the wing looks like it was not finished either.
This thing should never have left the plant - it is embarassing to see anyone shipping out this stuff. I'd have blown a gasket

[Frank Trinkle]

Frank (or anybody), I'm very interested in the Woodstock/Steelex mortiser, which, by the way, is also being sold by Laguna Tools.

Wow... I just realized that Laguna's "Platinum" Mortising Machine IS the Steelex!

Funny... I looked at it before and got the Steelex for the price at Grizzly because they looked like they had similar features. Didn't realize they were IDENTICAL features!

LOL:D

[Keith Outten]

This thread has run its course and serves no further purpose. It's a dead horse that has been beat to death.