Gold stars for two Forum Members

[Fred Oliver]

Recently I had a couple of good customer service experiences and want to share them with this Forum, particularly since both gentlemen are members and contributors here.

When I owned and ran a medical practice, my thought was, "If you have a concern or problem, let me know. If you are pleased or satisfied, tell your friends."

I bought three of Doug Thompson's turning tools (www.thompsonlathetools.com (http://www.thompsonlathetools.com)) and have been very, very pleased with them. Last weekend the 3/8 V-bowl gouge snapped off from a catch, and I was concerned that I'd broken a nice tool with some stupid novice error by overextending the projection off the tool rest. I emailed Doug with details of the event, and within four hours he sent this email:

Thank you for writing, I'll send another one out tomorrow. The overhang wasn't too much, nor was the diameter to rpms, I overhang the 3/8V farther than that in my turnings. I've tried to break the smaller tools, it does take a good sharp hit to break them. The steel must have had a weak spot to break before the rest. Do you see any void in the steel where it broke? I can't really test the piece that broke so there is no reason to return it. This is a first.

I got the replacement gouge and just placed an order for more of Doug's turning tools. (They cut really, really well and stay sharp a long, long time.)

I'm giving Doug a gold star for producing high-quality and competitively-priced tools and another gold star for excellent customer service and support.

Recently I ordered sanding pads and discs from Vince (www.vinceswoodnwonders.com (http://www.vinceswoodnwonders.com)) and found that the 150-grit 2" pads were separating from the adhesive backing. (No problems with the 3" discs, nor with any other grits.) I emailed Vince about this, and he called me within minutes to discuss the issue. He said that sometimes at the beginning or end of a sandpaper roll, there's not enough adhesive applied, and he asked me to return the defective discs so he can show them to his supplier. He has sent me replacement 150-grit discs and included some extra items to cover my costs for the return postage.

Vince gets a gold star for excellent customer service.

Fred

[Bernie Weishapl]

Yep I agree Fred. Both are first class people with excellent products and service after the sale.

[Doug Thompson]

Thanks Fred and Bernie.

This is a good example how tools can break without notice and a another reason to wear safety glasses. The discription of the break Fred gave was the texture across the break wasn't even which my best guess is there was a flaw in the steel at that cross section. Don't even say Doug's steel is flawed because it not, the manufacture of steel is not perfect in any plant and we need to remember this fact.

When this first started I thought 1 out of 1,000 would break, that's 1/10th of 1 percent. So far it's running at 1/30 of 1 percent, much better than expected but you still need to wear your safety glasses.

Thanks Fred for contacting me when this happened.