Grizzly Frustration

[Carroll Courtney]

If Griz sells machines for a living you would think that they would be better and keep supplies in stock.Heck they been around for awhile,computers are setup to let then know what is sold,whats on the floor and what needs to be order.True????But maybe the problem is not here but across the pond,I just can't see myself waiting that long when the I get the hots for a machine.If I pay for it,I don't want to wait to long.How long is to long?If a person goes through a Drive Through at your favorite fast food place"I's sorry Happy Meals are on back order"what do you do?Just saying

[Leo Graywacz]

I would. After my experiences with Grizzly Im not at all impressed. They did solve the problems over the course of months, but yea, it took a while and a lot of time on my part. Save up a bit more and look at a Hammer A3-31 12" jointer/planer combo if youre going to consider a combo.

I ordered a dovetail machine from them. It arrived on time and I picked it up at the FedEx station to get it to my shop a few days quicker.

It had a defective air cylinder. It was ground out of square and lifted the board when it clamped it down. I notified them and they sent me a refurbished one that arrived quickly and worked. I thought the service was pretty darn good. Plus they didn't ask for the defective one to be returned. So I have a spare (that needs repair) in case one of them breaks.

[Barry McFadden]

I ordered a dovetail machine from them. It arrived on time and I picked it up at the FedEx station to get it to my shop a few days quicker.

It had a defective air cylinder. It was ground out of square and lifted the board when it clamped it down. I notified them and they sent me a refurbished one that arrived quickly and worked. I thought the service was pretty darn good. Plus they didn't ask for the defective one to be returned. So I have a spare (that needs repair) in case one of them breaks.

So, you're happy with refurbished parts on a NEW machine???

[glenn bradley]

A "back order" posture is one that any business would like to avoid. There are all sorts of formulas and science behind avoiding this time/cash suck scenario but, retailers are alas, subject to that most fickle of beasts . . . the consumer. I think any thinking being realizes that Grizzly has nothing to do with a shipper damaging goods en route. Any supplier using a shipper to reach you is subject to the same risk.

That being said, having to wait for months for an Asian clone is a pisser. The forums are certainly rife with stories of folks waiting months for their Euro-machines but, that is part of the business model. If you happen to want one of something in stock you can have it right away be it Asian clone or Euro-mainstay. If you want something popular or feature specific, the wait is part of the package.

The G0490's, G0453's and G0454's are very popular for Grizzly and with good reason. This popularity and frequency of purchase certainly does make them more visible when issues occur. Rather than changing your direction after long consideration I would order what you want and try to find something to take up the time until they arrive. It is hard to wait but, at least you won't find yourself saying "I should have just bought what I originally wanted". Hang in there ;-)

[Keith Outten]

In 2008 when the economy took a nose dive almost every American business had plenty of inventory. When the brakes were slammed on money that was available companies were stuck with large inventories and very few orders. Everyone had to adjust including customers, getting used to long waiting periods after inventories were exhausted became the norm. Manufacturers also took a big hit with factories going flat out they were stuck with large numbers of products and no storage facilities to keep them.

Today its pretty standard for companies to keep minimum inventory levels and you can't blame them. End users now have to plan ahead and schedule more carefully than in the past. I have had to make major changes concerning availability of materials for my business and I currently keep a larger inventory than I ever did in the past because I have to these days. For several years we had a terrible time ordering pastics, the waiting list was very long and it really hurt our ability to respond to requests for quotes as the prices climbed at the same time availability declined. As small as my company is it was not uncommon for me to place an order and purchase a suppliers complete stock of certain items and still be short for the job I was working.

FWIW we lost every one of our advertisers here at SawMill Creek in 2008 in a matter of a few months. We were forced to change our advertising strategy in order to get the costs down and convince advertisers to return.

Plan ahead or get used to waiting, this is now the norm and its not going to change.

[Shiraz Balolia]

First, I can completely understand the frustration caused by back orders specially when one wants a new machine. Here are some things that are affecting the popular machines:

1) Jointers and planers - we have the lowest prices with very good quality and the end result is we sell more than probably all other companies combined in USA. Therein lies the rub. While it is easy for us to place orders (we forecast orders based on running demand), it is not easy for the factory to keep up with the manufacturing process.

2) The main factory making these for us actually quadrupled in size into a new facility, but that actually slowed things down for a few months. In the meantime orders keep piling up and the back orders keep increasing. Its one of those things where things get worse before they start getting better.

3) Last year the Chinese government decided to crack down heavily on casting factories (similar to an EPA thing). Numerous foundries were shut down due to environmental issues. This caused a shortage and delay from the factories that remained open. Affected many machines - not just the popular ones.

4) We hate this situation as we keep losing sales from customers who cannot wait and end up buying an alternate unit. We have hundreds of containers ordered, but can only get a fraction of that a month of planers and jointers. There is no shortage of us placing orders. Making machines properly is quite complex and requires many, many different parts and castings from different suppliers. The factory is adding new German made CNC machines as fast as they can, but one cannot just add a few CNC machines and expect shipments to double right away.

The bottom line is that we are on top of the situation from our end, have no shortage of the ability to purchase and hold inventory and hate back-orders as much if not more than customers. These are not excuses, just facts and we are sorry it is happening. By the way, some customers cancel their orders and then re-order at a later date. This is a mistake as they go to the back of the line once they cancel. We are shipping everything that comes in right away. One might say this it is a good problem to have, but it really isn't. The goal of Grizzly has always been to ship all orders received within 24 hours and we have built warehouses to accommodate the cubic requirements. We have almost a million square feet actively in use and it frustrates us to have some unhappy customers. This is absolutely not an issue of keeping just in time inventory - we do not do that.

Thank you for your business.

[glenn bradley]

I am always pleased to see that Shiraz takes the time to comment here. Nothing like getting it from the horses mouth.

[Jak Kelly]

When they first came out with their hybrid 10" cabinet table saw I ordered one ASAP. Only to be told it was on back-order for 3 months, then another 3 months, to which I then learned that their were numerous people who had been on back-order for almost a year. Sometimes companies probably have no idea as to how popular or what demand a product will have. Could be other factors involved as well. I know it is frustrating waiting for the something you REALLY wanted!! I wound up getting the left tilt G1023 machine instead. Hang in there and good luck!!

[J.R. Rutter]

3) Last year the Chinese government decided to crack down heavily on casting factories (similar to an EPA thing). Numerous foundries were shut down due to environmental issues. This caused a shortage and delay from the factories that remained open. Affected many machines - not just the popular ones.

This is unfortunate for supply in the short term, but welcome for the long term worker health and the health of China as a whole. Instead of ignoring the environmental cost of things like metals and batteries so that we can have cheap products in the west, these costs will become part of the product, just like they are for western made items.

[Leo Graywacz]

So, you're happy with refurbished parts on a NEW machine???

It works like new. It's just a clamp. I can't say 100% it's refurbished, it just didn't match perfectly what was on the machine. Looked to be an older style.

Yes, I'm happy enough. I'm not one of those people that have to have pretty tools. I make my living with the tools I buy and as long as they work, and work well, I'm a happy guy.

[Rod Sheridan]

This is unfortunate for supply in the short term, but welcome for the long term worker health and the health of China as a whole. Instead of ignoring the environmental cost of things like metals and batteries so that we can have cheap products in the west, these costs will become part of the product, just like they are for western made items.

Absolutely J.R.

It's a positive step...........Happy New Year..........Regards, Rod.

[Joe Jensen]

<p>

If your frustration is things being back ordered I guess I can understand that but if it&rsquo;s because there was shipping damage I&rsquo;m not sure how Grizzly can be held responsible for that at all. Also it sounds like your talking about a pretty big difference in what your wanting to do, going from hobbiest stuff, to dedicated machines to possibly foreign combo machines. Seems like a big commitment to make and a little more research needs to be done for you to be happy.

Lots of issues with shipping damage and all suppliers know product is handled roughly. It is possible to pack better and more securely. It&#39;s a matter of cost/benefit. How much more to spend on the crate to reduce damage versus how many machines will get damaged. If you ignore the customers upset factor it probably makes accounting sense to package cheaply. Here is how a 2005 Sawstop ICS was packed. My Felder was way more securely packed.</p>

[Keith Hankins]

I remember waiting a long time for my 1023slx TS only to have a big hole in the box just like you. I could peek in and see the damage. I refused and sent it back and it hurt so bad. Anyway called CS imediately, and sent them a picture and they sent a new one out the next day (i was lucky it was not in backorder), and it still took another two weeks to get there. Thankfully the next one was fine, and I used it for 10 years before selling it. It will all work out. I've had quite a bit of griz tools from TS, BS, Jointer, and Horizontal boring machine. All been fine tools.

[Simon MacGowen]

Thank you for your business.

Bonus point for facing the music.

Rob Lee of Lee Valley is an exemplary example who will handle customer concerns no matter how small or big it is.

Will more merchants -- big or small -- join the rank of these two gentlemen?

Simon

[Doug Landphair]

I did exactly what you did about 3 years ago. Sold my 13" Delta 55-580 planer and Ridgid 6' jointer. But I decided to go with Jet Equipment. Absolutely nothing against Grizzly (I have one of their band saws) but Jet was running a 10% off and they had the 15" planer and 8" jointer with the helical heads I was looking for. Another benefit is that their warehouse is located about 30 minutes from my house. If I need a part, it's just a short trip.

I've been very happy with both pieces of equipment. If you don't go with Grizzly consider Jet.