Grizzly CS Kudos

[Dave Clermont]

Wanted to post my experience with Grizzly support tonight...

During the process of setting up my new jointer G0604x I ran into an issue which I had posted about earlier where the cutterhead was off about .006 from front to back. Spoke with Grizzly like a week ago they told me that there could be a shim under the cutterhead mount - and there was, I removed it and it corrected the issue.

Well I finally got around to dialing it all in last night and actually using it. No vibration great running machine but I noticed some streaking running the length of the board. I figured that when I was attempting to get it dialed in before I removed the shim the knives had hit the inside of the outfeed table and knicked them, I currently don't have a way to sharpen them, but figured I would call support to see if they could offer any advise as to how I could correct the issue or if I could purchase a new set of knives. To my surprise the tech I was working with (Vince) offered to send me out a complete set of brand new knives free of charge! I was shocked as I thought I would end up purchasing another set and get the knicked up ones sharpened and always have a spare. He also told me that i could move the damaged knive to the left a 1/16 of an inch and turn the cutterhead 180 degrees and shift that knive to the right by a 1/16 and that would correct the issue till my new ones arrived. he also explained that since the shim was not needed and was installed by the factory that they should be covered under warranty.

I realize it's just a set of knives but he could have easily said I damaged them and I would have to purchase a new a new set or shift them over (which was more of what I was calling to for). Service like this will keep me a Grizzly customer that's for sure! Great service thanks again Vince and Grizzly!!:D

[Cliff Holmes]

Look out, here come the Grizzly-bashers :eek:

Seriously, your story is way more common than the other kind. Even when it's their fault, Grizzly's CS is by far more courteous, helpful, and prompt than almost any others.

[Roger Bullock]

An open mind, good attitude, and willingness to communicate in a professional manner can and sounds like in your case, equate to a positive experience with acceptable results.
A closed mind, poor attitude, and an unwillingness to be professional can and will get you less than favorable results most of the time.
When you ask for help, help will be given. When you make demands, results can vary.
Others could learn from your approach.

[Mike Cruz]

Roger, you couldn't be more right. I have had CS people from various companies bend over backwards for me because I didn't yell at them, I was curtious, even though I was frustrated, I knew it wasn't THAT person's fault (and told them so). I have even had CS people do MORE than what I wanted because I was NICE, and they were having a bad day because everyone else that called in was yelling at them and in a crappy mood. MY attitude picked THEM up, and they rewarded me with their appreciation by bending the rules and doing whatever they could to help me because in actuality, I helped them.

It's amazing that more people don't realize this and still stick to the "I deserve" and "You have to do this for me" attitude.

Does it ALWAYS work, no. But, when it doesn't, I leave the conversation knowing that they really couldn't do anything.

Dave, glad to hear you had a great experience.

Grizzly comes through again...

[Dave Clermont]

I hope it doesn't cause a bashing thread. That certainly isn't my intention.

So many times you hear about the negative dealings with company "abc" or "xyz" it's not very often that people take the time to post about a good experience with any company, so I thought I would. :D

[Stephen Edwards]

I agree with all of the above posts. Grizzly has great CS and it certainly helps to get an issue resolved if we're courteous. Think about the old adage....treat others as you wish to be treated. A little bit of courtesy can go a long ways.

The two companies that I've dealt with quite a bit with great CS are Grizzly and Rockler. So, even with the few minor issues that I've had with products purchased from both of those companies, I shall continue to be a loyal customer because I receive the level of CS that one has the right to expect.

I also don't abuse good CS. An example: In 2008 I purchased a set of brad point bits from Grizzly. A couple of the bits weren't used in my shop until a year had passed. When I finally got around to using them I found that two bits out of the set weren't true, they had wobble. Though the bits had never been used I should have taken the time to check them all before the warranty period had passed. It was my responsibility to do that and my own fault that I didn't. So, I didn't call and ask for replacements.

We should first approach CS issues with courtesy and common sense, IMHO.

[Jim O'Dell]

An open mind, good attitude, and willingness to communicate in a professional manner can and sounds like in your case, equate to a positive experience with acceptable results.
A closed mind, poor attitude, and an unwillingness to be professional can and will get you less than favorable results most of the time.
When you ask for help, help will be given. When you make demands, results can vary.
Others could learn from your approach.

Roger, you hit that nail on the head....with a sledge hammer!!! Your words are so so true.
As I have mentioned in my threads on purchasing the Grizzly G0691, I had minor issues with 3 items. One I explained what was wrong, but that I thought I could correct it. The second item I said I'd be willing to try another one, but that the nature of the item, the laminated extension table, I didn't see how it would make it undamaged, and offered a swap if it would work for them. They agreed with me, and I think it came out a win/win situation for both of us. The most serious of the 3 was the CI extension table, and I explained that I was afraid the problem was a casting issue, and could create further problems later on. They replaced it, no questions asked. The replacement top surface is perfect! The paint around the edge, not so much. :p I wrote back and thanked them for the replacements and asked if they had the formula for the green paint so I could get some mixed up to repaint the problem area. If not, it would be mounted in a place it wouldn't show, I'd just use some primer. They're sending out a half pint of touch up paint!

Thanks for starting a thread about Grizzly's good CS. I had a long (longer than this :rolleyes:) reply to the other thread that got "poofed" while I was composing my post that stated what has been said in this thread. And I started to do a thread myself on praising the people with Grizzly CS that I have spoken to, but decided to PM Shiraz with it instead and ask him to tell his managers and have them tell the employees that they did a great job, and I really appreciated it. I hope there is a way that that will happen. And I hope if it does, it makes their day. Jim.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Kudos to Grizzly!

I think there are several things to be taken away from this thread.

I have worked in the CS business for 34 years. I can tell you what inspires me to go that little extra distance. My company gives me a little latitude as to how the customer's situation will be handled.

If a customer treats me with respect. If they are reasonable. If they realize that often I may not have the authority to make the "Huge" concession they would like but.... if they give me time, I can work it through the system and sell their resulution to someone who has the authority to okay it. Then they may stand a chance of receiving their solution.

Folks who are outrageously emotional, who are arrogant,aggresive and generally being jerks.......well they get exactly what the standard contract states...nothing more...nothing less..

We had a customer with a problem AND we had met all of our contractual requirements. I recently spent over a year making the necessary measurements, gathering the data and selling a solution for a customer to management within my company. In the end it cost my company over $25,000. We knew when I was selling this to management that we would probably lose the service contracts with this customer at the end of 2009 and we did. We did it anyway. It was the right thing to do.

I wouldn't have spent that much effort in getting this accomplished if the customer treated me with no respect.

I wouldn't have made the effort if the customer had brought the problem to the public on a website like this without giving us a chance to resolve the issue first.

[Ray Phillips]

I am a satisfied Grizzly customer and I also have had great response from CS, however I have had to use their CS on everything I have purchased from Grizzly. The damages have been as major as a broken motor mount to just a dent and scratch on a door cover, however Grizzly has taken care of my complaint in a very professional way. The last purchase I made was the 20" drill press and it arrived with damage to pulley cover which Grizzly replaced very quickly. I feel that Grizzly has a problem with their packaging. The drill press weighed 331 lbs and the styrofoam surrounding the sides of the cardboard box was no thicker than 1/2 inch. That machine was probably damaged in transit from China. I don't know how the trucking companies can haul that kind of machine without causing damage. It appears the trucking companies gets most of the blame. It appears that if Grizzly pakaged the product better over seas they may reduce their damge claims significantly.

[Mike Cruz]

What is likely is that it would cost more to have what the tool really needs...2" styrofoam insulation because of the increased package size... than what it costs to be nice and replace what is damaged. So, what happens is that we pay less for the initial product, but have to call in with what, if anything, got damaged for replacement. And it costs Grizzly less, too. So, it comes down to what Americans want...lowest possible cost, with good CS. Believe it or not, most of us would choose that scenario over paying an extra $200 for properly packaged...

[Stephen Edwards]

What is likely is that it would cost more to have what the tool really needs...2" styrofoam insulation because of the increased package size... than what it costs to be nice and replace what is damaged. So, what happens is that we pay less for the initial product, but have to call in with what, if anything, got damaged for replacement. And it costs Grizzly less, too. So, it comes down to what Americans want...lowest possible cost, with good CS. Believe it or not, most of us would choose that scenario over paying an extra $200 for properly packaged...

I think you've nailed it!

[Shawn Christ]

I had some damage to my G1023SL table saw and a defective part for the mobile base which I ordered in early December. Grizzly went above and beyond to replace the parts and remedy the situation. I was extremely pleased with their service and will not hesitate to order from them again.