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Battle with a Grizzly

7K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  Everett1 
#1 ·
G0453

Good Afternoon. I come to you looking for some advice on where to go from here. Let me break down my recent purchase of a Grizzly G0453 15" Planer.
June 6th - Called Grizzly sales to get a few questions answered prior to purchasing. Sales associate was very knowledgeable about the product and answered all questions I had. Specifically one of the questions I asked was about how the delivery driver would deliver my planer. I do not have a fork truck or tractor so I was instructed to order the optional lift gate service. A few moments later I purchased the Grizzly G0453 15" Planer online with lift gate service.
June 8th - Emailed Grizzly customer support as I had no yet received an order confirmation or tracking number. Later that day customer support responded with a tracking number for NewPenn being the delivery company. I immediately went to newpenn.com to check and expected delivery was June 13th.
June 13th around 4pm- called NewPenn to ask where my product was. They had no record of my tracking number. I could however find it online. So the customer service rep for NewPenn asked me a few more questions and found out that they had transferred the package to YRC for delivery. Immediately called YRC and they had no record of ever receiving shipment. They searched everyway they had possible and still could not find my package. Immediately called Grizzly and asked them what was going on. Grizzly rep said "I'm sorry for the delay in your delivery please let me forward this on to my shipping department and they will get back to you in a business day or two."
June 15th - Called Grizzly to inquire for an update on shipping info my package. Grizzly rep stated "Well sir it looks like here we emailed NewPenn on June 13th and have not heard a response from them. Let me see if I can get more info for you and will have someone call you back immediately." Later that night I receive a call from Grizzly stating that the package is with YRC and they will be delivering the package on June 17th. At this point I am extremely frustrated with the fact that delivery would take 9 full business days to arrive and Grizzly stated that it would only take 3-5 business days. However, I was relieved that I would be getting my planer.
June 16th afternoon - Have a voicemail on my phone from Land Air Express saying that they have a package to deliver. Called them back and arranged delivery for Friday afternoon June 17th. In case you were wondering, yes this was my planer. How in the world did it end up with Land Air Express when YRC supposedly had the package? I called Grizzly to notify them that Land Air Express had my planer and that they were expected to drop of the planer Friday afternoon on June 17th.
June 17th - Stayed home from work to sign documents on freight delivery. 6pm still no call/show from Land Air Express. Called Grizzly to let them know that Land Air Express never showed up and that I took a vacation day at work to sit around waiting for an item that never showed up. They said that they would try to get in touch with Land Air Express and get back to me. Surprisingly just a few minutes later a Grizzly rep called said they talked to someone at the Land Air express terminal and it was on the truck for Monday delivery.

June 20th - Once again took a vacation day hoping that the planer would arrive. 5:15pm get a call from Land Air Express delivery driver. Delivery driver - "Are you home? How do you expect to get this off the truck" Me - "Well I was hoping you would get it onto the ground with the lift gate service I ordered and then I would take it from there. Delivery driver - "Well this truck does not have a lift gate I will have to catch you tomorrow on the delivery." To make a long story short my planer was on a truck without a lift gate and would need to be delivered on June 21st. Made arrangements with delivery driver to accept delivery from 3-5pm tomorrow.
June 21st - Was able to get to work for a few hours today and then head home to meet delivery driver. He showed up at 5:00 and everything looked good. The plywood shipping container was not damaged at all. Signed shipping documents that everything looked good. After scarfing down supper due to my excitement I went into the garage and began taking plywood shipping container apart. Once I got the cover off I noticed that the bottom floor cabinet where the casters are located was bent in. After close inspection it did not look to appear to be shipping damage it looked like it was bent when securing to pallet. When the planer was placed on the pallet it was too close to one side and it appears that the worker or machine dented the cabinet when installing the angle bracket to secure the planer to the pallet. Since it was secured on both sides of the cabinet if it was shipping damage wouldn't you think one side would be bent and the other side would be bowed out as if it slid?
June 22nd - Wrote and email first thing this morning to Grizzly customer services explaining how frustrated I was about the 15 day almost 12 full business day shipping and that I had a part damaged when I opened the box.
June 23rd- Still no response to email, decided I would wait one more day before calling.
June 24th - Get a call from Grizzly customer services saying that they received my email and they would get back to me within a few business days. I tried to get information like would I get a refund or would the new part be sent, but the rep was not authorized to let me know any of that information.

So, this is where I am at. I am frustrated with Grizzly. I currently have a Table saw, Jointer, 12inch planer, shaper, and a dust collector all from Grizzly. I am a loyal customer. But I feel like I am getting bent over a desk on this one. I realize that the shipping issues are not all Grizzly fault but I feel like they need to step up and refund my shipping charges and send me a new cabinet base for my planer. I have yet to setup the planer and use it because I am waiting to see what Grizzly wants me to do. What would you guys do in this scenario? Am I going overboard expecting a full refund in shipping and a new base? Comments/suggestions?
 
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#2 ·
At this point I wouldn't be talking to Customer Service Rep, ask for the manager in charge of customer service and go up the line from there. I also have been a loyal Grizzly customer and have read repeatedly what good customer service they have although I've never had to use it. I had a similar shipping nightmare though, guess that's not their strong point. Good Luck!
 
#3 ·
Wow. Sorry to hear about all your trouble. I have several grizzly products but had some difficulty with the delivery of my jointer (not as bad as yours though!) and when it comes time to get a new dust collector I may pay extra to get one locally to avoid the Grizzly shipping hassles.

I have had to make a few warranty claims on small items - a cracked water tray on my grizzly wet grinder, a tool table top with water damage on arrival, and a cracked drawer side on my workbench - and they were all dealt with very quickly and cheerfully (free replacement, free shipping). However, the replacement drawer side that they sent me was the wrong size and a different type of wood so I ended up just repairing the original one instead.

You are definitely not overboard in wanting a new base and free shipping on it. I don't know if they will budge on the shipping costs already incurred, but it's worth a shot. And I agree with flfordguy - customer service reps will only get you so far in the script. You need to talk to the people in power.
 
#4 ·
I agree with others. I would ask to speak to a manager in customer service. I would also ask them to look up your records and how much business you provided to them. You have been an excellent customer and if they want to keep you, they need to step up to the plate. If they tell you they are not responsible for the shipping, they are copping out. The shipping company is their agent. They ship thousands of items per year, and they do have some leverage. They are not a Walmart, but then they are not just an individual like you or me.

Good luck.
 
#6 ·
Call Grizzly and tell them you are rescinding the charge, since you never took possesion of it. Maybe they will offer to ship you out another one. If you did order it online, your credit card issuer protects you from fraudulent charges online.
 
#7 ·
Your post was well written and your situation appears to be well documented. I appreciate your restraint to avoid venting, but still feel your pain. I had a situation with a Grizzly jointer that took some work to clear up. Details aside, they seemed dedicated to fixing the problem, but here's some of what I learned in the process.

The company is owned by Shiraz Balolia, who seems to take himself and the company very seriously. He seems like the kind of CEO you would see on Undercover Boss. I don't know if it is real or show, but I did discover that he was actually posting responses to customers on another forum. I think it was Woodworkingtalk.com or maybe Sawmill Creek. Now whether it was actually him or an employee posting in his name, who knows? Still I thought it was impressive that he would interact or authorize interaction with customers. Some of the posts were complaints like yours so it wasn't just a PR or feel good thing. My guess is he monitors these forums and probably LJs as a way to keep tabs on his company. And if the boss is watching so must some of his employees. And they must have some real woodworkers there and everyone who's anyone in woodworking tunes in to LJs so they can't miss items like yours. Still and all, it is hard to imagine how anybody could allow things like this to go on.

As an avid hobbyist a good part of my pleasure is researching, acquiring, and using good tools. Like most people I have to work and save in order to do so. In fact, as I tell family and friends, since I use after-tax dollars to pay for these things I have to earn about $1.40 or so for ever dollar I spend so things cost much more than the price tag indicates. This is something all companies should keep in mind.

The good news, if there is good news, is that you have successfully shared your story with 28,000 of your closest friends. And, while I have no real advice nor words of wisdom, I sincerely hope they wake the hell up and take care of you.
 
#8 ·
newTim you are correct the owner of Grizzle is on Sawmill Creek very often and handles a LOT of the issues he becomes aware of himself personally. I would suggest Whitetail that you post a copy of your post over there as well and I am sure you will be happily surprised with your outcome. Just my $.02 from other posts I have read in regards to this topic.

Troy B
 
#11 ·
Re lift gate service, a word of advice. I nearly learned the hard way that if you do purchase lift gate service through them for the initial delivery, Grizzly will then pay for the lift gate service(s) when they deliver your replacement machine and pick up the defective one. Say it costs $150 for the initial service, but you didn't purchase it as part of your order. When Griz sends you a new machine you then have to pay the additional $150, and when they pick up the defective machine it costs you another $150. In my case the FedEx guy just wheeled the machine into my garage so I didn't have to buy it in the first place. However, I'm glad I did because Grizzly said they wouldn't pay for the return service if I had not bought it from them with the first order. And what if the replacement machine needs replacement? That would be $150×4?

Don't get me wrong. I like Grizzly. Their products are, IMO, very good and getting better. And when and if they can get their customer service together and do a better job on the original manufacturer's QC, they could dominate the market. Perhaps given their huge volume of sales they already do. With all the American manufacturers moving overseas this market is ripe for the taking. Would you pay extra for a well designed machine if you didn't have to worry about quality or service? I just do not believe that any of the others are really that much better.
 
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