Not really sure which forum to post this in so decided that this would be as good a place as any to post a rant.
When my dad passed I inherited a pretty expensive Leatherman Wave multi-tool. I know he never used it much as the blades were still very, very sharp and it looked fresh. When I got it I noticed that the body halves did not meet properly when folded. Leatherman honored the warrenty but I had to pay shipping to them and it took a good bit of time before I got it back. That was OK – no big deal.
Well it came back in worse shape than it was before they serviced it with the saw blade recessed so deep in the body that I have to use something flat to pry it out. The capper was that the body halves still don’t line up and the action seems loose – like someone clamped it in a vise and tried to strong arm it into shape.
I was pretty disappointed and wrote back to let them know they have a QA problem. Not interested in going through the return rigmarole again – just letting them know. So I get an e-mail saying they are willing to send a return postage envelope if I want to return it again. That’s OK but short of the mark in my eyes.
I received a Veritas dovetail saw as a gift in mid March. E-gads, the handle didn’t look like it was properly aligned and it was difficult to remove. I called Lee Valley and spoke to a woman who, while familiar with the saw, wanted to be sure we were on the same page so she WENT AND GOT ONE to look at while we discussed the issue. I said that I imagined the saw body was OK so maybe I just needed a replacement handle. She wasn’t too comfortable with that and couldn’t fine a separate part number for just the handle.
So the upshot is that Lee Valley sent me a replacement saw with instructions to pack the old one in that box and ship it back using the paid shipping label they provided.
Now that’s how it’s done!