Lee Valley Customer Service

[Aaron Hall]

So I ordered the router plane/fence combo from LV as a Christmas gift for my Dad and it arrived yesterday. I took it out of the box to lap the blades so it would be ready to go when Dad opened it (honest, that's the only reason I opened the box,,,:D ) It was then that I found they neglected to send me the fence that went with it.
I called customer service this morning and within five minutes of being on the phone with the gentleman (should've gotten his name) there was a fence on the way to me. After the problem was addressed to my satisfaction I didn't get the "Ok, you're good, now NEXT IN LINE PLEASE." type attitude. The gentleman disussed workworking, turning, and the mad holiday shopping season coming up. When I got off the phone it was almost like I had been speaking with a friend of mine. No kidding I almost said, "I'll talk to you later." Lee Valley will definately be seeing more of my money as not only thier tools are first rate, but also their customer service is really something other companies should attempt to emulate. Thanks for reading.
~Aaron "Can't wait for Santa to bring me the LV plow plane" Hall

[Bill Arnold]

I've bought a few things from LV over the past few years based on posts such as this and other recommendations. To date, I had issues with two different items a couple of years apart. Each time, I sent them an email describing the problem to which they responded in short order. Both issues were resolved completely with minimal correspondence. They get my business anytime they have a product I'm seeking. :)

[Philip Rodriquez]

They are a great company. A few years back, I ordered their medium shoulder plane. Unfortunately, the adjustment screw got bent during shipping (due to their packaging). When I called LV, I was only asking for a replacement screw and the lady insisted on sending me a new plane, which they did.

[Michael Schwartz]

Lee valley sent me the wrong item once and after sending them an email I got a response within 10 minutes saying they had shipped the correct item to replace it.

I have on a few other occasions sent email inquiries about the status of an order and they respond back within 5-10 minutes. I really can't think of any other companies that respond to your emails so fast.

Props to Woodcraft too, while it took them longer (email response within 24 hours) and a day or two to work out the details, they shipped a replacement for a defective item overnight with saturday delivery. I would have gladly waited for 3 day shipping, but I am sure the cost of the overnight shipping was more than the item. I got an email that friday announcing the item had shipped but never looked at it and I was shocked to come home on a saturday and have it on the door step, when normally it would probably arive the following tuesday or wednesday.

[Lewis Cobb]

Aaron -
If you ever get up here to Canada, you have to visit one of Lee Valley's retail outlets. Your comment about the chat on the phone is pretty much the same when you visit a store. The last time I was in one of their stores, I noticed that a lot of the employees are older woodworking hobbiests. I am convinced they all retired from whereever, and probably hung around in the place so much they ended up on the payroll ! It's pretty hilarious, as I have regularly talked to some of them for long periods of time about various aspects of woodworking and I come away feeling like I paid a visit to a family member like an uncle that has been woodworking his whole life.

Cheers,
Lewis

[Ken Shoemaker]

I've read several post such as this over that last few years. While I have not yet ordered from them YET, i see it happening very soon.

No one has time to straighten out a companies customer service issues. And I personally like doing business with companies that have already got it right.

Thanks for your thoughts..... Ken

[Glen Gunderson]

Aaron -
If you ever get up here to Canada, you have to visit one of Lee Valley's retail outlets. Your comment about the chat on the phone is pretty much the same when you visit a store. The last time I was in one of their stores, I noticed that a lot of the employees are older woodworking hobbiests. I am convinced they all retired from whereever, and probably hung around in the place so much they ended up on the payroll ! It's pretty hilarious, as I have regularly talked to some of them for long periods of time about various aspects of woodworking and I come away feeling like I paid a visit to a family member like an uncle that has been woodworking his whole life.

Cheers,
Lewis

That's been my experience as well. I was really amazed when I walked into a Lee Valley retail location a few days after it had first opened and saw how organized the store was and how knowledgeable the staff were, it was like they'd been there for years.

[Frank Martin]

If Lee Valley sold <insert any product>, I would buy from them. I have never dealth with a company of their size with such consistently excellent customer service along with reasonable prices. I regularly give Lee Valley as an example to my wife and friends who are not in woodworking/gardening to illustrate there are indeed some companies that are very well operated/managed with employees who actually care about their customers and the company.

I actually had only several interactions with the customer service folks over the years, and only one of them was about something that did not go right, others were just me asking questions, etc. I was blown away with both the quick response and their attitude of trying to solve the issue, rather than "Oh, I need to transfer you to X deparment/manager". They are clearly empowered to make decisions on the spot and execute it wonderfully.

Clearly Rob Lee and his employees understand the long term value of their customers. I am sure there are many others, but personally I know I will still order from Lee Valley 20-30 or more years later when I need something and they sell it.

[Peter Quinn]

My experiences with LV have all been quite positive and similar to yours Aaron. At this pont I almost wouldn't even consider buying anything I want that they sell from anybody else.

[Michael Dromey]

I have never had any issues with things that I have bought, but it has always arrived very fast. I also think they have a great company.

[paul cottingham]

I once bought a book from LV and was pleased with the price and the quality of my purchase. 3 weeks later, I get a letter from them, stating that I had been overcharged by about $2.50 and there was a cheque enclosed for the overage. I doubt I would EVER have known the difference. Good customer service indeed.

[Mike Henderson]

I've always had good experiences with Lee Valley. Great company to do business with.

Mike

[Bill Geyer]

Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen have the finest customer service departments I have ever had the pleasure to deal with.
Quality companies selling high quality products and standing behind them - who can ask for anything more?
You are so right to say that they feel like friends in the business.

[John Harden]

I've ordered a great many things form them and am a big fan of their hand planes. Excellent design and engineering in my opinion. They took already proven designs and simply made them better.

Perhaps the thing I like about them the most is the quality of their products, particularly the Veritas line they design themselves. Its nice to see such high quality products coming out of North America. I don't care one wit where my stuff is made, only that it be of very high quality. For me, LV meets this requirement.

Good to hear of your positive experience. I've never had a problem with any of my orders but its nice to know that they'd take care of it quickly.

I'll be buying a few things for my stocking this Christmas!!!

Regards,

John

[Edward Harp]

Silly place for a first post, but what the heck.

I've used them quite a bit in the last few years and have always been very happy with them. I just ordered my fifth plane from them this week.

[Callan Campbell]

I can only add great things about Lee Valley. I've bought items from them for years now. Recently, this summer when I was finally getting my hand tool assortment together after way too much neglect, I received two refund checks from them in the mail. It turns out they had a price reduction on two tools that I had bought from them during the past 2 months or so. I had to stare at the checks and the simple but polite letters that arrived with the checks to finally realize the level of customer service that I was holding in my hands. I guess we've all accepted the "dumbing down" of typical company operations over the years, and forget what quality and attention to detail look and feel like as a retail customer. WOW, I'll never stop shopping their company for life.