Delta Band Saw - Shipping Damage

[William Hutchinson]

I've lurked here over the years and many thanks to the members whom passed along great knowledge and information. Recently I moved to Athens, TN. My tools are in storage while the shop is being wired, insulated and sheet rocked. When finished, this will become the base of operations for the renovation of a 104 year old farm house.

This is my first post with a happy ending; I hope. The purpose of posting is to tell others the positive side of good company service, when things go wrong. And other than buying stuff, I don't have any affiliation with this business.

I read the saga of the damaged General 14" jointer with great interest, since I have a Delta Band Saw in transit. Amazon's recent deal on the saw was too good to let pass. I've ordered most of my tools online without any shipping problems. However, when the saw arrived with a torn plastic bag sitting loose on a pallet, I had a bad feeling.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/BanSawPallet.jpg

Taking the advice from the "General Jointer Damage" post, I had my camera ready and examined the saw and contents of the boxes. When I asked the driver why the saw was shipped unbolted on the pallet he said, the saw was received laying down on a crushed pallet. His company uprighted the saw and placed it on the pallet you see pictured above.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/UpperDoorDamage.jpg

It seems the 400 pound saw had fallen damaging the upper door. These doors are heavy gauge steel and it would have taken extreme force to cause that dent.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/wlhutch/Blandguard.jpg

Further examination revealed the upper blade guide/guard mechanism was knocked out of alignment causing contact with the wheel.

After making extensive notes on the shipping papers and photographing the damage, I contacted Amazon customer service by phone. Christina was helpful, in her broken English, gathering the required information. She said I should be contacted by a representative in one day.

I thought this was the beginning of a long frustrating tale of woe.

Later that day, I received this email from Bert G:

I'm very sorry to hear that the bandsaw was damaged. Unfortunately,
from the message we received, it was not clear if the whole saw needs
to be replaced, or if you just need some parts. I tried to call you,
but there was no answer.

Please write back and let us know if we should send a new saw, or if
you prefer replacement parts. If requesting parts, please include
the serial number of your saw, and the part numbers needed.

I email back stating the damage and requested a new saw.

To make a short story long, Amazon is shipping a new saw and will pick up the damaged one. I received an email with the tracking information the next day. Bert G was sorry for the inconvenience and said this would be done without any additional cost.

I should have the new saw on July 2 and the damaged one returned the same day.

Obviously I'm pleased with Amazon's method of problem resolution. I assume the details of sorting out fault will be done without my involvement or hassle. Thanks to Christina and Bert G.

[Brian Weick]

Nice saw by the way- I am looking into getting a Steel city band saw- well see. You think that they would be more careful with this type of equipment- it has to be costing someone - possibly the freight carrier - some extra expenditures.
I am glad that you have this resolved with such ease- there was a post on here about a General jointer that came to the guys house severely damaged and he has had nothing but problems in getting his situation resolved - no one wanted to take responsibility for the damage. I don't know the final outcome ,but I hope he had some resolution with the Jointer.
Brian

[Scot wolf]

I'm very sorry to hear that the bandsaw was damaged. Unfortunately,
from the message we received, it was not clear if the whole saw needs
to be replaced, or if you just need some parts. I tried to call you,
but there was no answer.

"Please write back and let us know if we should send a new saw, or if
you prefer replacement parts. If requesting parts, please include
the serial number of your saw, and the part numbers needed.

I email back stating the damage and requested a new saw.

To make a short story long, Amazon is shipping a new saw and will pick up the damaged one. I received an email with the tracking information the next day. Bert G was sorry for the inconvenience and said this would be done without any additional cost."

Now this is what should happen. Notice, no questions asked except what do want us to do for you to make it right.:D

[John Shuk]

it seems that half of the people recieving a bandsaw from a freight hauler (including myself) reject the first one due to just this sort of damage. I bought a Laguna a few years ago and sent it back for a new one. The second one they sent was shipped on it's spine instead of being crated upright. I'm pretty sure the shipper eats this. Maybe the bandsaw companies sell more units by shipping them this way first?

[Phil Thien]

I'm pretty sure the shipper eats this. Maybe the bandsaw companies sell more units by shipping them this way first?

:)

Yeah, I'll bet they ship the ones that don't pass QC first, get the freight company to pay for them, the ship the goods ones next!

[Morton Heller]

The shippers are careless. I bought a small Delta at a local Lowes and had to return it myself. The motor housing was dented in so the motor sounded like Chitty-chitty bang bang when I turned it on.

I looked at a larger Delta at the same store, and the box looked like someone went after it with a sledge.

I wound up getting a Jet at anothe local store - Menards.

I would have liked to get a bandsaw with a larger motor - but didn't want to have to deal with the shipping company. At least Amazon backs their merchandise.

I wonder about Amazon though. I recently bought some tools from them, and the sander I got did not have a warranty card and the drive belt was way too tight.

[Bob Feeser]

Obviously I'm pleased with Amazon's method of problem resolution. I assume the details of sorting out fault will be done without my involvement or hassle. Thanks to Christina and Bert G.

I bought a ton of tools from Amazon, and their customer service was nothing short of extraordinary, especially when it comes to returns for damage. They don't even hassle you to file a claim with the carrier, They take care of all of that for you.

I will tell you a story about the Makita 12" compound slider I bought from Amazon. It arrived using UPS. After getting so many damaged packages through UPS, I finally coined a new phrase. Do you know what UPS stands for" Unbelievably Pulverized Shipments" :)
Anyhow, Makita should do a better job in the box design, because the top of the saw is very vulnerable to stacking damage. Mine came through with the saw being forced down into the table, chipping teeth and cracking part of the cast housing that holds the stop adjuster. I called Amazon, they do have an 800 number available through 800 information. They said no problem, we will send you a replacement, 2nd day air, and if you ship the damaged one back to us, at no cost to you, using the shipping label we provide, and we receive it within 30 days we will not even charge your card for the replacement. So I had 2 saws at the same time. Handy if the other one needs a minor part blemish, and swap.
As it turned out, UPS squashed another one, so Amazon said, sorry after 2, all we can do is give you a complete refund, OR, we can supply you with replacement parts that were damaged, and give you a 10% discount on the tool. So I asked them since the blade was damaged, slightly, as in a slight bend, would they send me the replacement blade, (in addition to the free one that they were giving away as a special bonus at the time) and they said sure. They didn't even need the bent parts. I got the new blade, a new blade retaining washer set, and Makita shipped me the bonus blade as part of their special as well. Since the bent blade was sitting there, and it was not bent, radically bad, or had some teeth broken off, like the one in the first shipment, I decided to straighten it out. Its tough to get something like that perfect, but I used it, and measured the results, and it was giving me perfect cuts, so now I have both new blades that were promised in their special, plus a straightened one. That is something considering Makita blades for the 12" slider are a high quality, 100 dollar a pop blade. They produce glass smooth, and I mean glass smooth results. I didn't feel bad getting a replacement for the damaged blade, because when you buy a precision saw like this one, you don't want to be putting on a restraightened wobbly blade. The teeth of the blade, actually scored the receiving area below it, so this is not a make it up, take advantage situation. Amazon knows from my records of buying over 300 items from them, that I barely ever make a return, so they gave me incredible service, without doubting my motivations.
I guess you can tell that Amazon gets most of my tool buying business. So I can't help but agree with you.

[glenn bradley]

:)

Yeah, I'll bet they ship the ones that don't pass QC first, get the freight company to pay for them, the ship the goods ones next!

And the conspiracy-theory engine revs up :D .

[John Shuk]

And the conspiracy-theory engine revs up :D .

I don't necessarily believe that they do it on purpose. However, haven't bandsaws been around for a long time now? Wouldn't you think that horizontal shipping would be the given standard?