Laserbits warning

[Dave Kurt]

We purchased 4 Crystal Slant Cubes (KCH 023), which "arrive in a beautiful satin-lined Gift boxes."

1 of the cubes was slightly marred, and on a flat crystal surface this is a major defect - we eventually used this piece for practice.

All four of the gift boxes were horrible. The satin lining was not properly wrapped around the Styrofoam frame so when I pulled each cube from the box, the satin came with it. We spent an hour in vain trying to reattach two of the satin linings to their styrofoam frames. I imagined how the customer would have reacted.

I called Laserbits the next morning to express my concern about the 1 defective cube and the four boxes - the young lady that answered the phone seemed nice enough but offered no help on replacements even after I confirmed their staff simply remove ordered items from a warehouse shelf and dump the product into a box for shipping. Apparently no one checks for defects.

Since we promised the customer a three day turnaround (probably our fault), we had to rush to a local crafts shop and create our own gift boxes.

This is not the first time, in fact the fourth time, we have received defective product from Laserbits. This was the first time they did not offer replacements.

We have been doing business with Laserbits for about two years, not very impressed with their service nor their Web site - seems awfully clunky for otherwise simple transactions. Does anyone know of another vendor offering crystal products similar to the Laserbits line? JDS seems oriented towards trophies and we prefer gifts.

[Anthony Scira]

I find everything I have bought nicely packed and about the quality I expected.

Shipping has always been fast and accurate.

But I do wish they would sell more US made products. I would be willing to pay extra. And in this economy customers would too.

[Rodne Gold]

Domestic VS imported.
We would love to support our domestic industry (South Africa) yet due to inneficiencies and greed on their part , we dont.
We import literally TONS of marble bases for awards and trophies , the most popular being a 2" x2" x 1" travertine base , with a hole drilled and a countersunk base for a nut.
Importing from europe , who gets it from china we have a landed cost of around us 30c...the local product , in vast qty (we import round 50-100 000 of these a yr) would cost us in excess of $4. So supporting local is just insane ..not one of my customers would pay that price. There are many other products we import at prices the locals cant or wont match. If there was even a price disparity of lets say , 50% in local vs import ..we would most likely not import ..but the price duisparities are often many 100's of % and despite our desire for "nationalism" , we just cant ignore this. My duty to my customer is to minimise their cost while maximising my profit...local just wont cut it on a lot of articles.

[Anthony Scira]

"My duty to my customer is to minimize their cost while maximising my profit...local just wont cut it on a lot of articles."

But it would be a good option to offer at least in the environment in the US of buying US made products.

Our economy is faltering and I would like to keep as many as our workers employed as possible. And if my customers are willing to pay the difference to help all the better.

But yeah Laserbit's all good over here.

[AL Ursich]

We purchased 4 Crystal Slant Cubes (KCH 023),

This is not the first time, in fact the fourth time, we have received defective product from Laserbits. This was the first time they did not offer replacements.

That could be the problem, the 4th time. With everyone watching the bottom line posting pictures of the damage or sending laserbits pictures of the damage could help your claim.

My luck has also been good with Laserbits.

If I had a customer call and want a adjustment 4 times I would check the outgoing orders very carefully or ask them to purchase the supplies some place else.

I would even ask the sales clerk to place a Quality Control Note on the order that the outgoing product needs to be inspected for quality Prior to being shipped.

On the other side, posting bad things about a quality company like LaserBits is too easy.....

AL

[Dave Kurt]

On the other side, posting bad things about a quality company like LaserBits is too easy.....

AL

My intention was not to mar anyone's reputation, simply to note flaws exist within their purchasing process. If we had received only one bad product from the lot I would have shrugged it off, but certainly not all of them. In fact we have received bad product in the past and just shrugged it off, but this time was a bit too much.

Being members of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals), we (or at least I) regularly report on companies who provide poor customer service and product. If it does nothing more than make the next potential customer stop and think, then our time in the hot seat was not in vain.

[Clyde Baumwell]

I am just going to weigh in on this thread. It seems to me to be the purpose of the forum is to help on another even if it means telling the truth about an experience with a vendor. I did not think Laserbits was being "bashed" in the original post - it seemed truthful and factual. If I now needed to order these items from them, I am have been forewarned and would ask them to check the items before shipping. I know we don't have a lot of vendors to choose from but we don't need to protect the vendors we have if the quality is suspect.

[Frank Corker]

I'm suprised that no one from Laserbits isn't a member here. This has to be one of the prime laser user sites, where there are a lot of customers congregate. Surely it would be in their best intrests to know what their customers are thinking. If they send out goods which are damaged or substandard, then they should make ammends and do what they can to rectify the problems as soon as possible and without fuss. That's what I do with my customers, if they are not satisfied, I will take a 'hit' redo it and give them what they want.

[Scott Shepherd]

I agree Clyde and the other side of the equation is everyone that is "bashed" (some people's terms, not mine) has the right and ability to address the issues right here. It's a public, open forum. If they don't like being "called out" online, then here's a hint, do right by your customers. Just because you had a good experience with that same vendor doesn't mean that the accounted bad experience never happened.

I'm always amazed when people post accounts of poor customer service and it's flooded with "Well, I had a great experience", like it negates the bad experience and makes it all okay. People post bad experiences because they are frustrated that they cannot get satisfactory responses from the company once the company has taken their money. It's great that you may not have had that experience, but they obviously didn't. Perhaps if you have such great relationships with the company, you could take a minute for a Sawmill Creek friend and call that vendor and tell them you are concerned about some negative comments being made about their company online, and you haven't experienced it and it concerns you as a customer.

It helps the person with the issue get resolution. I know of one case on this very forum where those not involved, got involved, and it resolved the issue very very quickly. We all have the power to help those who are having bad experiences with vendors.

[Mike Fruciano]

I love forums and read this one frequently.

I will personally take a look at the product noted as being below our standards. Typically our policy is to replace faulty product and I will look into why we did not do it this case.

As far as American made, you wont find a more patriotic guy but frankly the manufacturing of almost everything American made is too expensive. You would be amazed to know that medical claims processing, credit processing and lots of other critical data is sent out of America for data entry and processing. We frequently price products made in America and find the prices to be 8-10 times higher. We have some American made products in our product line and find the price increases to be almost monthly. My grandparents came to America and made shoes and garments in large factories. Those factories have moved from country to country seeking lower labor costs.

The important fact is there are many quality products not made in America. LaserBits sources products, tests them extensively for laser compatibility, warehouses them and ships them in a timely manor. These are the tasks that our staff and myself take seriously and work to improve on a dailiy basis.

I value the input from folks on this and other forums and would be happy to respond to concerns of all types via email at mike@laserbits.com

We appreciate your support and business,

Mike Fruciano
LaserBits
Laser University

[Rodne Gold]

I dont care a whit about laserbits ..I am so far from them they would never get my business anyway - but being in business myself - I would like my customers to approach me first for resolution of issues rather than knee jerk post on public forums
I actually think the title of this post could be construed as misleading - Laserbits Warning ...kinda sounds very ominous..perhaps if this was better worded...
The problem with sourcing from China or the like is that most "factories" producing some of the gooda like marble blocks or even glass products or satin lined boxes are little more than garages , its pretty much cottage industry there and the quality varies wildlywith almost no QC
Very difficult to check each and every one. In our marble imports we have about a 5-10% flaw rate - out of square , variable bevels , chips and so forth, we try sort out bad items and do complain about em to the mnfgrs , but some items are not possible to inspect and we have to either rely on my factory staff if we use em intenally or my customer to notify me.
Apart from that , airing dirty linen on a public forum without inviting the supplier to reply , by warning em that you are going to go public and sending em a draft of what you intend to say is , imho , wrong.
The original poster never seemed to have insisted on replacements, just said they werent offered like the 3 times before when they WERE!!!
Perhaps a far better solution would have to have gone higher up the chain than merely the young lady that answered the phone for resolution....
You shrugged off the last "defective" product ...so how were the suppliers to know there was a problem?
I think this whole post was and is a bit unfair , I think the reply from the supplier was very gracious after the slagging off he got.

[Tim Bateson]

My 2 cents - I've had no problems with Laserbits products. They're a bit pricey, but everything I've received has been top notch including the silk lined boxes included with the crystal objects.
Also, they provide some of the fastest shipping in the industry. Saved my bacon a couple times when I needed an item ASAP.

[Doug Griffith]

I would like my customers to approach me first for resolution of issues rather than knee jerk post on public forums

I'm with you Rodne. One bad comment in a public forum can undo countless good comments. Those reading the comment need to hear both sides of the story direct from both parties. Not just one. There should be a good amount of effort to resolve it offline before going public. It does more damage than good.

Cheers,
Doug

[John W. Love]

Personally, I have always had good experiences with Laserbits. I order quite a bit from them. I subscribed to LaserU when I first began, to help me learn CorelDraw and how it would benefit my laser. I think in all the time that I have ordered from them we have had only one picture frame that had a scratch on it, and we were able to save it for a project that would laser over the damaged area. Laserbits has always responded to me in a timely manner when I have inquired about specific products and their applications.

With all of my positive experience from Laserbits I still believe that if someone has had a negative experience that they could not get resolution for, it is their right to post that information in a public forum where the company has the same right to a rebuttal. I have read back through Dave's post and I do not feel that he attempted to overly "bash" Laserbits, but merely to state his repeated displeasure with Laserbits and posted a warning to others so they may be forewarned of his negative experience.
Mike did come in and post that he would look into the situation and I believe that he will. From all of my experiences with Laserbits, I believe that he will not only check into the quality of the product (s) mentioned but will rectify the situation.

In the end, it is not only Laserbits reputation that is on the line with each of the products that are shipped, but also the reputation of the purchaser who has to sell this product to the end consumer. If the dispaly boxes that the pieces came in (which are part of the product and what is being purchased) are poorly made, then it makes us, the engraver and reseller look like we are providing poor quality items for sale. I know I personally would not want my customer to see something like that. I understand Rodne about the work being done in China may be done in garages etc and that there isnt always a chain of quality control, however the customer doesn't care about those excuses as to why you can't deliver a quality product. They simply want the correct product, done the correct way in a timely manner and they trust you to deliver it to them. And just as it is our duty to insure that the product we deliver to our customer is correct by doing a QC on it before it leaves the door, it is also our suppliers duty to do the same for their customers, ie us.

[Steve Clarkson]

Typically our policy is to replace faulty product and I will look into why we did not do it this case.

Mike,

Welcome to the Creek! It's always a tremendous benefit to us to have manufacturers and suppliers maintain a presence here.

I think the important part of your response is what I quoted above.....what more could we ask for from a supplier?

I've always had good experiences with Laserbits and Kristin is the greatest!

Of course.......we always would like to see lower prices.....

But in lieu of that, maybe you could just post a 60% off coupon for us Creekers!!!!!!