Lee Valley customer experience

[Frank Pratt]

I've seen a few complaints about Lee Valley lately, mostly regarding product unavailability. I'd like to share my experience with them.


Two years ago I purchased a set of thick, medium and medium glues, and a bottle of solvent. The nozzle of the thick glue had clogged and had to be thrown away a while back. Then this week, the same happened with the thin glue. The issue is the design of the nozzle cap. On wednesday I sent an email to customer service and heard back from them today. They are sending me a new set and they included a link to the manufacturer so I could offer my suggestions to improve the nozzle.


I've never had anything but exceptional service from Lee Valley. Sometimes stuff doesn't show up as quickly as we want, or it arrives damaged. But I am convinced that the company does its level best to provide an excellent customer experience.

[Andrew More]

That's really amazing, since the only cap I've seen for CA glue that doesn't have problems is the Loctite gel. Even then the nozzle frequently gets clogged with hardened glue, just the nature of the product.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for passing that on. It doesnt surprise me at all. LV (still!) rocks in customer service.

[lowell holmes]

Rob Lee is a man of his word and is likely to full fill requests.

[Mike Kees]

Do not want to rain on the parade here but my last experience at a lee Valley store was not positive. My wife and I were in Calgary for a getaway/shopping trip in January. I of course wanted to go to Lee Valley's store. With the Covid protocol's in place had to wait in line outside at -10 for about 30 minutes to get in. Once inside there were only (I think) five people allowed in at a time. I love going to this store to walk around and browse/drool at all the amazing tools. I had about $300 of Christmas money in my pocket that I intended to purchase something with. I really like picking up and examining hand tools then trying them before I make my decisions. In normal times this is how things work at this store. I was approached by an employee who asked if I needed help. No just looking. Was told that I was not allowed to do that and needed to purchase what I wanted and get out. This really ticked me off and I did not react well. I have ordered a couple things online since and will continue to do so but it is going to be a while before I go back in that store again. I realize what everyone has been through the last couple of years but this experience really soured me on one of my favorite places to visit.

[Frank Pratt]

Do not want to rain on the parade here but my last experience at a lee Valley store was not positive. My wife and I were in Calgary for a getaway/shopping trip in January. I of course wanted to go to Lee Valley's store. With the Covid protocol's in place had to wait in line outside at -10 for about 30 minutes to get in. Once inside there were only (I think) five people allowed in at a time. I love going to this store to walk around and browse/drool at all the amazing tools. I had about $300 of Christmas money in my pocket that I intended to purchase something with. I really like picking up and examining hand tools then trying them before I make my decisions. In normal times this is how things work at this store. I was approached by an employee who asked if I needed help. No just looking. Was told that I was not allowed to do that and needed to purchase what I wanted and get out. This really ticked me off and I did not react well. I have ordered a couple things online since and will continue to do so but it is going to be a while before I go back in that store again. I realize what everyone has been through the last couple of years but this experience really soured me on one of my favorite places to visit.

It was an unfortunate situation, but your reaction to it was completely unwarranted and unfair. They had no choice but to move people through quickly & not let any unnecessary touching happens. That's how it has to be when there's a raging pandemic going on.

[JOEL MONGEON]

This is the exact kind of customer care that I have come to expect and appreciate from Lee Valley. They have and followed strict Covid protocols to keep their staff and customers safe while also keeping the doors open.

This really ticked me off and I did not react well.

I'm not sure what exactly "I did not react well" means, but maybe you owe the store and staff in question an apology for doing their job during difficult times?

[Frank Pratt]

That's really amazing, since the only cap I've seen for CA glue that doesn't have problems is the Loctite gel. Even then the nozzle frequently gets clogged with hardened glue, just the nature of the product.

I've used CA glue from MG Chemicals & never had a nozzle clog. The cap has a pin in it that seals the hole in the nozzle & keeps it free from clogging.

[Barry McFadden]

Do not want to rain on the parade here but my last experience at a lee Valley store was not positive. My wife and I were in Calgary for a getaway/shopping trip in January. I of course wanted to go to Lee Valley's store. With the Covid protocol's in place had to wait in line outside at -10 for about 30 minutes to get in. Once inside there were only (I think) five people allowed in at a time. I love going to this store to walk around and browse/drool at all the amazing tools. I had about $300 of Christmas money in my pocket that I intended to purchase something with. I really like picking up and examining hand tools then trying them before I make my decisions. In normal times this is how things work at this store. I was approached by an employee who asked if I needed help. No just looking. Was told that I was not allowed to do that and needed to purchase what I wanted and get out. This really ticked me off and I did not react well. I have ordered a couple things online since and will continue to do so but it is going to be a while before I go back in that store again. I realize what everyone has been through the last couple of years but this experience really soured me on one of my favorite places to visit.

You complain about the time you had to spend out in the cold waiting to get in. If everyone wanted to go in and "just look around" you might have been waiting an hour or more. It's sad to blame the company for COVID measures that have to be taken for the safety of everyone. Possibly wait until the measures to ease off before doing your "browsing".

[Jim Becker]

Please do not let this thread devolve into a COVID discussion as that topic is forbidden at SMC by the owners.

Jim
Forum Moderator

[Prashun Patel]

I don’t know that lv requires any defense of their customer service. It’s fine to post positive as well as negative experiences and let the reader conclude which to weight more. I suspect lv reads all criticisms in context and constructively.

In fact, dog piling on the negative experience posts may ironically turn some readers off and give the impression that the members here are biased towards a manufacturer. The only time a negative comment may be premature is if the store hasn’t been approached for remedy.