Jointech rant

[Bob Durgin]

I finally ordered a Jointech smartlift that I have been wanting for a while back in the beginning of Dec. Earnest said it would go out the following day. 2 weeks later no lift so I called (thurs)and was told they were waiting for parts from the anodizer, they would have the parts Monday. Another 2 weeks go by still no lift (now Jan). I call again and they tell me they are waiting for more parts. They tell me when they get the parts in they will send one right out to me "I should be at the top of the list" Jointech qoute
I finally received it Jan 28th and the digital read out did not work, so another phone call to Jointech. I talked to Earnest , and he told me to email Wixey (the manuf. of the digital scale) to see what he has to say about it. I email Wixey with no replies , so I called jointech again they said they would send me out another digital readout. 2 weeks go by and no readout called again, they told me they don't have any more and cannot order any from Wixey till the end of febuary ( Wixey is away) They tell me I'll have one sometime in March. That will be 4 months since ordering it and I still don't have what I was charged for! Very frustrated and unhappy about their customer service.

[Stephen Edwards]

I'd be upset, too. That's more like customer non-service!

[Bruce Page]

Ouch! I'd be ticked too.

[John Lucas]

It sounds to me like your Jointech system does not work...even if it only the Wixly dig part. I would have the charge card company reverse the charge. Get you rmoney back and make Jointech give suitabe answer. You can then pay when you are satisfied.

[Doug Shepard]

I'm on the same page as John.

[Don Bullock]

Bob, that's terrible. I agree with John as well. I've heard other stories about terrible CS from Jointech. It doesn't sound like they've cleaned up their act.

[Jeff Booth]

I agree with the other posters, that is a horrible story. I have been on the fence about a smart miter, but sounds like I should be looking at a Dubby instead.:confused:

[Bob Wingard]

That's about as stupid as having Chevrolet tell you to call Borg-Warner because you had a transmission failure on your brand-new car. Your beef isn't with Wixey .. .. it's with Jointech and they had better soon realize that if they expect to remain in business. This is no way to treat a customer .. .. .. they should have sent a replacement, or at the very least offered a full refund. I hope you'll keep us posted as to the results of this encounter.

[Bruce Benjamin]

I've said it before but I'll say it again, the Jointech Smart Miter was the most disappointing product, (of any category) that I've ever bought. but even worse than the product was the customer service that I received from several employees and especially the owner. I'll spare you all the story but if anyone wants a link to the long, detailed review PM me and I'll send you a link. I know there have been some happy Jointech customers but the OP's experience and mine show just how bad they can be.

Bruce

[Bob Durgin]

I would have the charge card company reverse the charge. Get you rmoney back and make Jointech give suitabe answer. You can then pay when you are satisfied.
That's what I plan on doing for now!

[Ryan Eldridge]

I had a similar problem trying to get a router plate out of them, I ordered back in November and was told it would ship within the week, then two weeks later I called and it was backordered until the second week of december, then when I called around X-mas time they told me sometime in January so then I canceled my order ...

I do not plan on using them again.

[Bob Durgin]

I had a similar problem trying to get a router plate out of them, I ordered back in November and was told it would ship within the week, then two weeks later I called and it was backordered until the second week of december, then when I called around X-mas time they told me sometime in January so then I canceled my order ...

I do not plan on using them again.
Yeh I don't think I'll be using them again. To bad it looks like they have some nice products.

[Glen Blanchard]

Well, I'm gonna buck the trend here. I have Jointech's router fence and positioner, digital router lift as well as their smart miter sled. I love all three. I also have had some outstanding customer service from them although it was prior to the unfortunate death of the owner.

That being said, this story is an example of some pretty bad CS!!

[Bob Durgin]

Yes I heard the original owner had past away also and his son inlaw is now running the buisness. I hope his customer service improves once he settles in, for the sake of future customers and the buisness.

[Bruce Benjamin]

Well, I'm gonna buck the trend here. I have Jointech's router fence and positioner, digital router lift as well as their smart miter sled. I love all three. I also have had some outstanding customer service from them although it was prior to the unfortunate death of the owner.

That being said, this story is an example of some pretty bad CS!!

Obviously Jointech has had some satisfied customers or they would've gone out of business long ago. The question is whether or not you're going to be one of the lucky ones or one of the unlucky ones. In my case, the problems that occurred indicated that there were some very serious problems with the company and especially the owner. The problems weren't just the occasional slip-up or, "Whoops" but rather they were they way they did business. It sounds like he's dead now so maybe things will change. On the other hand, if the previous owner taught his son in-law the ropes and they are still having the same problems with manufacturing then maybe the problems will continue. I have no intention of ever giving them a chance to screw me over again. I leave what's left of the Smart Miter sled hanging on the wall of my shop to remind me to do better research before buying from a company I've never done business before. It's the only tool that's needed to do that job. Complete garbage.

Bruce

[Jim McDonald]

Ordered mine in Jan. Got here, digitals didn't work...Jointech says call Wixey. Barry says I'll stand behind it 100%, but Jointech should handle it. Emailed them told them I wanted a new lift, didn't want to have to screw around replacing parts. Will send out another lift....get another email back...no parts, they are at the anodizers, and we don't have one assembled, will send you the parts or you can wait. By now, I'm pretty dissatisfied with the whole darn thing....send me the *******###%% parts. Two weeks later, still no parts. It might be a Smart lift, but I'm dumber than hell for buying it!!

[Brad Noble]

I agree with the other posters, that is a horrible story. I have been on the fence about a smart miter, but sounds like I should be looking at a Dubby instead.:confused:

Hey Jeff, for what it's worth, I vote for the 'Dubby'. I am on my second one and love it. My buddie has one of the first models he made and he still uses it almost every day. Sorry about the thread drift. Now back to your regular scheduled program .....

Brad

[Steven J Corpstein]

I've had very good luck with Jointech, except for the Phenolic top I purchased. It wasn't flat so I called them and they offered to replace it, no questions asked. I also own their large Cabinet Makers System and Smartlift and have had no problems with them at all in the one year I've been using the setup.

I HAVE had issues with the Wixey Angle Gauge AND the Wixey DRO on my Steel City planer. Everyone says Wixey's Customer service is great and I agree, but I would rather buy a good product and never have to rely on good Customer service. Just my $0.02 worth.

[glenn bradley]

I talked to Earnest , and he told me to email Wixey (the manuf. of the digital scale) to see what he has to say about it. At that point I would have contested the credit card payment and arranged for a return. For not much more money you can pick up a lift from a reputable company and add a DRO with a display that stands somewhere besides on the face of the table where it will eventually get scratched up(?).

I'd often been suspicious but didn't know for sure till now that Jointech must be run out of someone's garage. Are they building these things one at a time as orders come in? Sorry, maybe that's a little harsh but the suggestion that YOU call THEIR supplier for a resolution to THEIR problem kinda set me off. :confused:

UPDATE: I need to correct myself after reading some of the responses in this thread. This is yet another example of the value of forums like this. I was guilty of having a pre-judgment and made statements without all the facts. Unfortunately for a lot of businesses, the bulk of their customer base does this. We've all heard the clichés about keeping a customer being easier than getting one in the first place but they are true. One employee having a bad day answering the phone at Earnest's shop and the domino effect moves almost too fast to catch. Thanks to all who tossed in their 2 cents and I hope Jointech can hold it together.

[Bob Durgin]

I got a phone call from Earnest at Jointech tonight. He was unaware of everything going on with my order and the customer service I received. He is personaly taking care of this problem, sending me out the parts asap and talking to his employees about customer service. Earnest seems genuine about making his customers happy and the future of his company. I hope things do turn around. It is a shame that a takes a post on the internet for a company to become aware of its poor customer service.

[Don Bullock]

...Earnest seems genuine about making his customers happy and the future of his company. I hope things do turn around. It is a shame that a takes a post on the internet for a company to become aware of its poor customer service.

If he doesn't take it more seriously than he already has he won't have a company to worry about. No, posts like this shouldn't be needed at all. I hope it all works out, but you should get something in return for the time delay.

[Alan Trout]

I try to stay out of these threads. However being that I own many of their products and live in the same city that they call home and having dealt with Ernest and many other of their employee's I can say for sure that Ernest is a nice guy that will take care of you. He had a pretty monumental task of moving the entire company because the building that the company resided in was sold and had to move the entire operation. No it is not ran out of a garage and they do much of their production work in house. With that big of a task I am sure stuff has got screw up in the past 6 moths.

My lift has been flawless but mine is an older unit that had the DRO made by a different manufacture. You will enjoy it like no other lift on the market once it is repaired. I could not live without mine because of its capability. It is funny I have never really had bad customer service from anyone or it could be when something does not sound right I dig deeper and tend to put footprints on top of some heads.

Hope it all works out well for you

Good Luck

Alan

[Joe Spear]

I've had a SmartMiter for four years. For me it is an excellent product. It was a little tricky to set the miter bars parallel to the saw blade, but it has stayed accurate on the two successive saws I have used it on. I didn't need any customer service, though, except for ordering, because nothing was wrong with the thing.

[Bruce Benjamin]

I got a phone call from Earnest at Jointech tonight. He was unaware of everything going on with my order and the customer service I received. He is personaly taking care of this problem, sending me out the parts asap and talking to his employees about customer service. Earnest seems genuine about making his customers happy and the future of his company. I hope things do turn around. It is a shame that a takes a post on the internet for a company to become aware of its poor customer service.

My experience with Earnest was when I first bought the Smart Miter. I called Jointech on the phone with some questions and spoke to him. He answered my questions and then told me that I could get a better deal if I bought everything off of their Ebay store. I went to the store he suggested and did save a few bucks.

Later, (much later) when I started to set up and use the Smart Miter I called and talked to the owner. He asked me where I bought it and I told him I bought it from their Ebay store. He told me they, (Jointech) don't have and never have had an Ebay store. I insisted and even emailed him all of the Ebay sales info. He replied that apparently Earnest has his own store on the side. Hmmm...Interesting. When I complained that Earnest implied that I was buying from the Jointech Ebay store he agreed to honor any warranty problems.

Well, as it turned out he never really had any intention of honoring any warranty but that long story is available if you PM me. I'll send anyone who wants one a link to the review. I just wonder how the conversation between the owner and Earnest went after he heard about what he was doing. It sure didn't sound like the owner was very happy about it, especially considering that I bought from Earnest's Ebay store only because I called the Jointech phone number.

Bruce

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I wanted to get a price on an item from their website but it was down. I also tried to call them (210-377-1288) and I got a recording that this was a nonworking number. Have they gone under?

Orlando

[jason lambert]

Rumers this weekend where that they are not doing well and management is lacking. Not sure if they are going under or not but I was going to get some of there lifts I like the scale and I am rethinking it. To bad looked like a really good product.

[Glen Blanchard]

I wanted to get a price on an item from their website but it was down. I also tried to call them (210-377-1288) and I got a recording that this was a nonworking number. Have they gone under?

Orlando

http://www.jointech.com/

(800) 619-1288

[Jim McDonald]

Received the replacement DRO yesterday. This one works. Hope I got it sealed in well, guess time will tell .

[Bob Durgin]

Received the replacement DRO yesterday. This one works. Hope I got it sealed in well, guess time will tell .
I should have mine tomorrow (have the tracking #). I hope all works out.

[Will Blick]

This is the value of these forums..... thanks for sharing these stories, I too was considering some Jointech product, but not after these stories. I can relate to problems in the manufacturing business.....but the fact you have to call constantly, before and after you recvd the product is very poor CS IMO. As mentioned previously, I am sure there is some satisfied customers, as their products must be good....but its when you have a problem...and how the company deals with it....is whats important.

I agree with others, I would send it back ASAP and demand a refund. One would think, that with the internet so fast to spread horror stories, companies would be wary of this and do whatever it takes to satisfy customers...but I guess some just don't get it....

[Glen Blanchard]

I should have mine tomorrow (have the tracking #). I hope all works out.


Hey Bob - What's the status of things?

[Bob Durgin]

Hey Bob - What's the status of things?
I got the new one from Jointech. All seems well.