Some of you may remember from some previous post…that I have a Steel City Bench top Mortiser. I love this tool and it works GREAT. About four months ago, Woodcraft had the Steel City on sale….so I decided to buy on for my dad for fathers day…weeks went buy and no mortiser…a few more weeks and still no mortiser. Finally I received a e-mail from Woodcraft saying that Steel City had missed “Three” shipping dates and did not know “When or even IF they would ever receive the bench top mortiser” (Even to this date, their web site shows the steel city…but says it is out of stock and not available for back order).
Woodcraft then sent me a e-mail offering me a choice of ether a refund OR a replacement with a “Delta” bench top mortiser….time was ticking and fathers day was aproaching…so I took the Delta. In a conversation with my father..he stated again how much he liked my steel city and would like to have one for a project he had coming up and wanted to know if he could borrow mine…..SOoooo I cleaned up mine and gave him mine, I explained what had happened and that I had bought him the same one and everything that had happened since. He of course said he would be happy with the Delta and for me to keep my Steel City…to which I insisted he keep it.
About a week later the new delta showed up…the box looked great, no dent’s,rips etc..and as normal…I was to busy to open it up and put it together at the moment, (This has become a VERY bad habit on my part lately that I tend to stop doing !!) Fast forward to this past week, I was working on a clients project…and needed to make some mortise and tenon joints…so I set the Delta on a work bench to assemble it…I open the box, take out the first accessorys…then take out the first large piece of Styrofoam and guess what ???
You guessed it..BROKEN…
So I went in the house…called Woodcraft..thinking to myself “There is no way they are going to believe this thing has been setting in my shop for three weeks and I just now found it broke” And that I was out $269.00.
I called them, told them what had happened…they paused for a minute and said…”You need to talk to Mrs.XXXX because she is the one who handled the mess up the first time” I told her the same story…”No problem” she said….”Let me call you back in a few Min’s. to see what we can do” Since they are no longer carrying the Steel City OR the Delta that they shipped me…She called back and offered me a three choices…1) a refund 2) wait three weeks for the new model delta they are going to start carrying or 3) My choice of a upgrade since I have been trying to get a mortiser from them since April and have had nothing but problems….So…monday they are shipping me a brand new Powermatic Benchtop Mortiser, Model PM701, AND I get to keep the bits they gave me with the Delta. As the title says…my day went from “Oh Crap” to “Oh Boy” in a matter of minutes !!!! It should be here next week and once it is up and running and I have given it a good work out…I will do a review over it.
-- Don S.E. OK
14 comments so far
a1Jim
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15523 posts in 455 days
posted 127 days ago
Hey Don
Oh Boy what a nice upgrade. Just a suggestion OPEN the box when you get it LOL.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
Don K.
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1095 posts in 204 days
posted 127 days ago
No kidding Jim….It will be opened while the delivery man is here. This is “Twice” in the last few weeks that I got a piece of equipment in…did not check and found something wrong with them (Lost parts on my Grizzly Bandsaw…this one broken)...It WILL NOT happen again !!! Lucky for me both companys have GREAT customer service and took care of the problems with no questions.
-- Don S.E. OK
PineInTheAsh
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186 posts in 146 days
posted 127 days ago
Ah, bottom line is, everyday is an “Oh Boy!”
Don K.
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1095 posts in 204 days
posted 127 days ago
Wiser words were never spoken PineInTheAsh !!
-- Don S.E. OK
TopamaxSurvivor
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2809 posts in 553 days
posted 127 days ago
Guerss I’ll have to start opening boxes when they arrive too ;-)) Lucky break that time !!
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
DeputyDawg
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42 posts in 843 days
posted 127 days ago
Guess I need to find a Woodcraft outlet here in Missouri. Great story about CUSTOMER SERVICE
-- DeputyDawg
Don K.
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1095 posts in 204 days
posted 127 days ago
DeputyDawg, the closest Woodcraft to me is almost a two hour drive…and while I go there every time I am in Tulsa or Oklahoma City…99% of my shopping with them is on line. VERY friendly and helpful people. Example…..when the Steel city mortiser fell through and they offered me the Delta…I asked if it came with the four bits like the Steel City…the customer service lady said “I am not really sure….but I will make sure you get a set”...when I opened up the Delta box and took out all of the accessorys….come to find out it Did come with a set of bits.
When I told them of the broken mortiser and everything was set up for the new PowerMatic…I asked what about the Delta..they said they would send FedEx by to pick it up…I did not even have to take it to a FedEx store…I then told her about the bits and the “Extra” Bits… and asked her if I should send them back also….she said “Keep all of them”. So not only did I get a better machine at a savings of over $200…but two sets of bits for free (Total of 8 in all)
-- Don S.E. OK
cabinetmaster
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7973 posts in 436 days
posted 127 days ago
Great for you Don. Doesn’t sound like it could have gotten any better.
-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps
Don K.
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1095 posts in 204 days
posted 127 days ago
cabinetmaster
Agreed….while it has been kind of a pain doing with out one since I gave my dad my steel city….but as they say “Patience is a virtue”.... I am really looking forward to trying out the new one. Almost every review I have read over it says it is a great mortiser.
-- Don S.E. OK
PurpLev
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2675 posts in 526 days
posted 127 days ago
sooo.. where can I order a broken Delta from? lol
congrats- the PM seems like a solid machine. hope you can put up a good review of it once you get it.
and also touche to woodcraft for standing up and delivering good customer service…
-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.
davidroberts
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224 posts in 363 days
posted 127 days ago
i think you deserve the – you suck award – of the day. just kidding (not really hehe). hey congrats man. great story and better ending. the forum needed a story like that about now. if i can just get my envy under control…
-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."
Don K.
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1095 posts in 204 days
posted 127 days ago
PurpLev agreed….I was praising their customer service when they said they would give me a delta the first time….But now I am really impressed.
David...lol…thanks man
-- Don S.E. OK
Mark D.
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116 posts in 646 days
posted 123 days ago
Now that’s the kind of customer service that earns repeat customers! Gotta love a company that stands by the products they sell AND the manner in which they sell/distribute them. Let us know how the new model fares, and if you’re looking for a place to hock that junk mortiser you’ve got sitting there, send me a PM :-) What part is broken exactly?
-- Looking for free wood working plans? Visit us at www.AwlFreePlans.com
Don K.
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1095 posts in 204 days
posted 123 days ago
Mark,
If you look at the picture…you can see the neck is broken were it rides up and down the rack and pinion.
And I agree with the remark about customer service…I have always had the best experience with woodcrafts customer service. As long as they treat me like this…they will always have much of my business.
-- Don S.E. OK