# Poor quality and even worse costomer service



## sawblade1 (Feb 11, 2010)

Just ordered parts from Delta for my Spindle sander 15 Min on the phone to the tech guy and the parts are in shipment right now  this is why all of my tools are Delta,Dewalt, or Porter Cable


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## samiam (Sep 22, 2010)

I do agree with what you are saying Sawblade but there were specific reasons that I wanted the 16" planer/jointer with the helical blades. A peice of equipment not offered by many. Next time it will be a unit like a Felder or Hammer that has a better reputation


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

3 weeks to deliver machine - sounds reasonable as it's imported. I wouldn't worry about the plug, and since you replaced it anyways, I wouldn't worry about it.

fence and pullies - that's an issue for customer support indeed.

no response to the email… ok, but have you called them? I only email if I have a general question that does not require immediate reaction, but if I have a technical issue that needs response - I always call in.

yet again a complaint against Laguna from a 1st time poster - no offense, It's just interesting that all those complaints are from 1st time posters. as if people register to LJ.com just to complain about this 1 company 

Cheers, 
hope you can get this resolved soon. for $5K machine, I would expect some prompt responses - but you'd have to show initiation and call them in.


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## samiam (Sep 22, 2010)

PurpLev

I'm sorry it didn't indicate in my post that my contact with Laguna was first by phone. My first contact was a call and an email describing the issue followed by another email that Laguna asked for with pictures of the issue.

You are also right I should have registered with this forum a long time ago. I read portions of these blogs daily and have for a long time but I do tend to be "off the radar" when it comes to posting anything. Practically takes an act of God but in this case I wanted to let everyone know what has been going on so they can avoid the same problems I have had. The thing that really sucks about this whole thing is that i own a Laguna bandsaw and if someone would have asked me what I thought about that company before now i wouls say it was great. But I never had to deal with there customer service on the bandsaw either.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

that does shed more light on the story. I wasn't trying to come off negative - just was my observation. I do agree they should answer email in general, but I also notice that phone and a live person on the other side gets things done quicker - in general.

for what it's worth, All these reviews keep on painting a rather similar picture - Laguna is a 1 tool company - a Bandsaw company.


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## Chip (Mar 13, 2007)

I thought Laguna was a very good brand. This certainly doesn't sound that way. Please keep us posted on how this fiasco plays out.

You may want to mention to them that you are posting this on a woodworking board with more then 20,000 members. Even tell them the site so they can check it out. If they want to stay in business, that may get their attention.


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## denovich (Sep 2, 2010)

If you paid by credit card, I would look into dispute that charge ASAP. You need to get the process started in X number of days (where X is probably 30 days after purchase, depends on the card.) Disputing the charge gives you a lot of leverage… Soon as the money is theirs for good you are left with a very weak hand to play.


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## MarioF (Feb 6, 2009)

Samiam…... send it back and buy a Hammer


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## thiel (May 21, 2009)

I called Laguna to ask about a product I'd like to buy-and I told them I was ready to purchase. I was promised a spec sheet and manual via email that very morning.

That was three days ago.

Not going to call back. Haven't heard a single good thing about them.


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## dfdye (Jan 31, 2010)

Ouch. I keep waiting to hear from someone having a GOOD experience with Laguna, but it doesn't ever seem to come. Sorry to hear of your woes, and good luck getting them resolved.


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## ocwoodworker (Mar 5, 2010)

I bought a 14 SUV band saw and used my own trucking to get it home (rented a lift gate truck and drove it myself). It fell off the back lift gate as I was lowering it to the ground  (DARN JERKY HYDRAULICS!!!). After I consoled myself on my wife's shoulder, I called Laguna and they told me to send photo's of the parts broken. I did and they promptly called back with the parts needed to repair. Since I live locally, I drove down and they scavenged the parts off the other machines to get me up and going. To me, they went through hoops they didn't have to. My hat is off to Laguna for their service.


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

With all the negative reviews and nightmares, I still see folks getting ripped off by Laguna. I am amazed that the company stays in business? Yet seeing folks still buying from them is probably the answer. I always ask the ones that have the service nightmares…was it worth the cheaper price?

The companies I buy from are the ones that have good service and the best quality machines….Service is very important…because after you buy the machine…you need attention…and definitely do not want your equipment sitting in the background collecting dust when you need it…certainly not for a miniscule part.

I recommend folks read the reviews about a tool and the company prior to purchase. There are too many nightmares reported on Laguna for my comfort level…and knowing about some of them first hand from very good friends….I will not buy from them until I start seeing rave reviews about their quality and their service….

The other thing that is puzzling is the LJ's still has their add…stating free shipping in June? What is with that?


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## Abbott (May 10, 2009)

Haven't heard a single good thing about them.

The same here. I don't think I would purchase a machine from them.


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## REK (Aug 30, 2009)

Laguna, seems to have a bad customer service relationship. This is the 3rd LJ's post I have seen in relation to
Laguna, not stepping up to the plate to make things right. You might want to print up this post and Fed Ex 
it with a letter to the CEO of Laguna, and let us know if they are a company we would want to do business with.
Hopefully, you'll be able to work out your problems with them.


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## Albert (Jul 28, 2008)

Yea, but they have very pretty pictures in the magazines.


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## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

Sorry to hear of your bad experience!

There are a few of us within a short drive of each other that have various Laguna tools and have no issues.

I have a 16HD bandsaw and a tilting head mortise machine. Both work fine, and when there was a delay in sending the mortise machine, they compensated me nicely.

No complaints here either, so that's two of us on this thread that have their equipment and will say good things about the company.

Now you can't say you haven't heard* anything* good…


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## dfdye (Jan 31, 2010)

Touche! Now I have heard exactly two good reports of Laguna customer service! 

I have heard some good things about the quality and performance of Laguna's products, but with other options out there for what I need, I would be much more likely to go with a Rikon, Powermatic, or even a Grizzly than a Laguna, just because I am not really sure whether I would be getting "Awesome Laguna" or "Pitiful Laguna." My take is this: if you are going to charge a premium and identify yourself as a premium brand, your customer service should be premium, not just the quality of the materials that you put into your machines. The inconsistency is what bugs me as much as anything else.


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## woodmagician (Oct 30, 2010)

I have been in the remodeling/construction field both as an owner (20) and an employee of two very high end custom shops(10) years. What I see over and over is that the fault for these situations is really with the individual. It's impossible for a manufacturer to market a product that makes every one happy. It's the individuals responsibility to research what he is looking for by asking around and finding someone who uses what he thinks he wants in a similar fashion and finding out how it performs. People won't do that. People decide they need something and they need it NOW. For ten years of my business I had a VERY good reputation and a 4-6 month back log. Many potential customers went somewhere else many calling me various names in the process. You know what I DONT CARE! What I cared about were the ones who WANTED to do business with me…the ones who were happy with me…I wanted to keep them happy AS LONG AS I COULD AFFORD TO. Work aka business aka a job is after all about making money…not necessarily about making friends. Friends always want something for nothing. It's the individual who does not research…can't make up his mind or worse yet thinks he know everything who isn't worth working with. In closing I have known great carpenters who could cut anything with a $30 Craftsman saw and other "carpenters" who couldn't do the job with $5000 in tools. I am also constantly involved in projects that don't finish on time because the "builder" order things when he needs them…not ahead of time so they are ready. If you wait until you need something to order it all too often you settle for what is available instead of what you want. Again it's about the individual.


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## samiam (Sep 22, 2010)

Woodmagician

So tell me this. If you buy a car and it breaks down on the way home while it is still under warranty I assume that you don't take it back to the dealer and get it fixed because obviously it is you fault for not researching it well enough to know it is going to break. Correct?

Lets face it, there is only so much research a person can do and having a buddy that has that exact piece of equipment so you can compare note is just unrealistic. At some point you have to be able to put some stock in the fact that a reputable business is going to put out a product that can do what is expected of it under normal conditions. 
First a fence that isn't even close to parallel or square is not acceptable for any jointer. Second a motor that can't run for more than 10 minutes without throwning a belt is not acceptable for any piece of power equipment. Third a slot morticer that is mounted on a piece of sheet metal that flexes while in use is practically useless.

It is important to note that I am not asking that this unit to be able to do something wild and crazy. Just the simplist of tasks that we would all want our jointer/planer/morticer to do. Can you explain to me when I have read through all of the litature that they have to offer which make claims that they are capable of performing these tasks, that it is my fault that they don't and even worse make no attempt to recify the situation. Surely you as a "high end contratctor" would feel some responsibility if you put a toilet in the middle of the livingroom to remove it and place it correctly in the bathroom as anyone with half a brain would expect and not ingore your clients request to do something about the crapper in the living room. That's all I'm asking is that someone take care of the crapper I have in my shop.


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## elrond3737 (Jan 27, 2011)

I have had good Laguna service… hmmm


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## gentlewoodworker (May 13, 2011)

I first bought a Laguna 18" bandsaw more than 15 years ago. I recommended it to a friend and Laguna was supposed to send me some money if my friend bought the saw. Never saw a dime. Then, as I tried resawing 12" wide 8/4 eastern curly maple, the saw would come to a complete stop. I used new bands and it still did this. I was not inexperienced in the use of bandsaws at the time. I took a closer look at the saw and noticed that the motor was a 3475 rpm motor and the drive pully was very, very tiny. Ergo, the force of the motor was having a difficult time driving the saw and one of the reasons was that 3475 motors are much cheaper for the same HP as 1740 motors. Save money….. I switched to a link belt, hoping it would transmit the power better than the v-belt supplied with the saw and found that the drive pulley ( think it was between 1" and 2" in diameter) was slipping so much that it was getting hotter than the melting point of the link belt and kept burning right through them. While talking with Laguna reps, I found them to be demeaning of my comments and I finally put an awful review on their website and gave up. A few years ago, I decided to get another 18" bandsaw and looked everywhere. The Grizzly had a much better drive system but otherwise was not nearly as good as the Laguna and I bought another 18"HD saw from them. This saw is fine.
I'm ready for a 16" jointer and began looking all over for one. The commercial grade jointers were just too much for my shop and this 16" combo machine from Laguna looked great. I looked over the photos, in detail, and read all the way through the manual and was a bit fearful about some construction details and, especially, the way the fence was mounted and constructed. I read this review and I've backed out of my deal with Laguna and I'm looking for another, relatively small 16" jointer, if I can find one that doesn't break the bank.


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## RaymondAbel (Jun 19, 2011)

allo
I must say that I have many Laguna tools that I bought because of their top quality.
Yes, I got somes problems (DOA) & Laguna & my vendor (www.elitetools.ca) took care of them, all of them.

I' am (2011-10-26) waiting to get the jointer & I am sure I will be 100% satisfy for many years.

Ray


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## samiam (Sep 22, 2010)

Good Luck Raymond


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## RaymondAbel (Jun 19, 2011)

so far so good:, see for yourself:
cyclone
Planer 20

I have planned to do a "out of the box video" My kids like to do liitle videos. I will add English commentarys too
Ray


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

I have a Laguna bandit edgebander, it works, but felder is the wait I would have preferred to go. Laguna is a second-rate nice.


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## IndoBob (Feb 19, 2016)

I bought the Laguna 16" Jointer/Planer Combo and have had nothing but problems with it. Worse yet, while I am an American, it was bought for one of my shops in Indonesia and by the time I got it here and paid for shipping and import duty (really high in Indo) the d*** thing cost me well over $8,000! 
Problems, you bet:
1) Worst issue is that the planer does not feed reliably - even after spending many hours attempting to "adjust" the tension on the infeed & outfeed rollers it still takes two people to plane a board - one pushing and the other pulling - pretty lousy for what is billed by Laguna as their "Premier/Platinum" combo Jointer-Planer. If, the planer bed has just been steel-wooled (with very fine s/w) AND a liberal coast of silicone or similar friction reducing spray has just been used on the bed AND the machine is in a good mood, it MIGHT actually plane 1 entire board without jamming (and, not badly gouging the board as cutter spins on otherwise regularly stuck stock). Worse on hardwoods but lousy on virtually all woods, all thicknesses of wood, all depths of cut, etc. Bad part about this issue is that the rollers and the cutter (I have the expensive Helical Cutting Head) are out of level and, as the all 3 (infeed, outfeed and cutter) sit on machined surfaces without any adjustment of their height possible, the out-of-true machining of the seats, buggers the entire feeding/cutting process. Yes… you can adjust the springs (of the infeed/outfeed rollers only) which determine the tension applied to the rollers (i.e. how much upward pressure it takes before the roller moves up - off its machined seat. However, this does not change their seating position - which is where they sit when properly functioning. And… adjusting the spring tension on the rollers is a lost cause - trust me, I know this after spending more than 8 hours carefully and slowly adjusting each spring in small increments - from no pressure to max pressure (a time-consuming process as the machine has to be partially disassembled and reassembled for each adjustment). And after all that trial and error - no change in feed reliability! What else? 
2. Dust collection is passable for jointer but almost completely useless when planing (and I have Laguna's 2 HP cylone collector less than 6 feet from this machine - with a straight run of large diameter dust pipe)! Have to vacuum after each few passes.
3. In order to accommodate both jointing and planning, the dust hood is hinged and has to be flipped over when switching between planing and jointing. BUT… you have to lower the planer to almost 7 inches (of planer height/opening, about 100 turns of the wheel - I counted em) EACH TIME - before you can switch modes. A real pain in the rear and only due to poor design/lack of thought in the otherwise still poorly functioning dust collection hood.
4. The jointer dust guard flops around and gets in the way of operations when planing - no good reason for this - again, just bad design.

If I were to rate this machine 1 to 10, I'd give it a 3 overall. Having said this, the jointer works well and I have no complaints about it other than the guard flopping around when machine is converted to planer.

As far as customer service is concerned, most of the people I talk to are very nice. Parts replacement has been fast and good (I also have their 16" Band saw and several other Laguna tools).

But… no fix, and no response to my email to them about the above Planer/Jointer issues!

Also, I see this unit is no longer available from Laguna (discontinued? Let us hope!)

Hey Laguna… will you trade this hunk for a newer model when and if you ever fix these issues and offer a combo machine that actually works?

Now… that would be good customer service!


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