Grizzly Inc now on the top of my bad company list!!

[tyler mckenzie]

Support local. Buy the 66 if its in good shape. It will hold its resale value.

[Joe Von Kaenel]

This seems to be the sign of the times. Recently I've placed orders for several woodworking tools from different companies and had the same thing happen. I understand your frustration, but it isn't just Grizzly


Joe

[Ben Davis]

I saw a lot of comments understanding his frustration, but didn't see anyone taking him to task. I find that odd, so I'll be a little hard on Scott.

-- If I understand right, Scott placed an order and they promptly (within days) told him it was backordered. He did not wait months and then get told they didn't have it--it was almost immediate.

-- Scott did not indicate his card has been charged, contrary to what some people seem to be implying. As far as I know, he isn't out any cash and hasn't paid anything.

-- Scott has the option to walk away and buy somewhere else, which he has not elected to do, notwithstanding saying Grizzly has the worst customer service.

-- Scott, as far as I know, hasn't even called them to find out if there are other options.

So, if I get this right, he has trashed a company in a public forum for--in effect--not updating their website fast enough with respect to backordered stock. Grizzly is on the bottom of his list for customer service because of that?

I'd say Scott ought to have a beer and relax. I understand the frustration of saving up money, finally pulling the trigger, and having to wait, but I don't think that excuses prematurely and publicly bashing a company for what seems like a minor issue.

Stuff gets backordered all the time. Deal with it.

I see your points Eric. The problem is he just loaned them his money for 4 months without any interest payment. I'd be quite upset too given how tight things are around my house.

[Jonathan Spool]

As a company owner I am aware of the phenomena that occurs when a customer makes public a negative experience. It takes a lot of positivity to make up for a little negativity in the market place. Lately, I have noted a trend on the forums where a poster slams a company, seemingly hoping for a greater discount or otherwise inequitable return of their online drama.
Manufacturers are often held "Hostage" to these "Screamers". I recognise that there are often legitimate claims, and have a lot of respect for posters that have taken every means to resolve a problem in house with the manufacturer prior to going public. Likewise, I have great respect for owners like Shiraz who have the decency to respond in a public forum in such excellent form (always). Customers must realize that the more requirements they place on a company such as Grizzly, such as in house IT upgrades, quicker and smaller lots to ship from China, etc. etc., the more Grizzly will be required to charge for their merchandise. You don't go to Costco, and expect the same customer service as you get in Nordstroms now do you? That being said, Grizzly has maintained excellent customer service, where it counts.
In this day of rapid and mass communication there has to be some level of responsibility exibited by the general public before slamming companies prior to making effort to resolve issues privately.
Just my two cents!

[Bill Huber]

I see your points Eric. The problem is he just loaned them his money for 4 months without any interest payment. I'd be quite upset too given how tight things are around my house.

That is not true, you need to read all of the post.

The fact is if that money he spent on the saw is in a saving account or interest bearing checking account then he will get some interest on it until Aug.

His card was not charged and the law states it can not be charged until shipment.

[Joel Earl]

I see your points Eric. The problem is he just loaned them his money for 4 months without any interest payment. I'd be quite upset too given how tight things are around my house.

Originally Posted by Eric DeSilva

-- Scott did not indicate his card has been charged, contrary to what some people seem to be implying. As far as I know, he isn't out any cash and hasn't paid anything.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++

He did get charged???? I did not gather that to be the case Ben

I did not think so and read this to many times - eyes are watering as I type. I have never heard of them doing that to anyone before. Never

[Jim O'Dell]

But Ben, he didn't loan them anything. All he did was promise to pay by the agreed method when the item was shipped. Shiraz and others have said that they don't charge the credit card until the item is shipped.

As I said before, I'd be disappointed that the item was not in stock, but in the case of this saw, I'd wait. I think it is that good of a value. Jim.

[Eric DeSilva]

I was saying that he did not get charged. Shiraz also indicated in an earlier post that Grizzly does not charge if backordered. So, he should not be out a penny.

[Paul Johnstone]

I placed my order for a new Grizzly G0691 this week. Received an email today saying that it is on back order till, get this, AUGUST 30th!!!!!! In this day and age they couldn't have put that information on their web page? Don't tell me I can order one, take my money and then tell me you don't have one to ship. Let me know BEFORE I order that there is a 4 month delay. To me, that is just crappy customer service! Right now I have half a mind to cancel my order and go someplace else! Should have bought that used Powermatic 66 after all. I am not a happy camper!!!

Do it. Cancel the order.

That's the only way they will change their policies. Right now, it's more profitable to maintain the current system. Enough people tolerate these absurd that it has become a common practice for some companies. (To keep inventory absurdly low and have long lead times)

Seems like a no brainer to me. The alternative is to stew over it until Aug 30, and then possibly get another delay notice

[Keith Outten]

Paul,

Possibly you haven't noticed but these are very uncertain economic times we are in right now and it is a common practice for companies to run their inventories below their normal levels. I can't say that this is what Grizzly is doing but every business I frequent is adjusting their inventory among other things to just stay in business.

The flow of products to market is not at normal levels and some companies are having trouble forecasting consumer purchasing. Many companies are riding the financial edge making decisions month by month, it is a really tough time to be in business.

Many consumers have their heads in the sand expecting their purchases to be delivered without interruption or delay......frankly I am amazed that things are going as well as they are given the seriousness of the global economic situation.
.

[Bill Huber]

Do it. Cancel the order.

That's the only way they will change their policies. Right now, it's more profitable to maintain the current system. Enough people tolerate these absurd that it has become a common practice for some companies. (To keep inventory absurdly low and have long lead times)

Seems like a no brainer to me. The alternative is to stew over it until Aug 30, and then possibly get another delay notice

So what Grizzly should do is to make millions of the saws and keep them in different warehouses all over the country. Then when their inventory overhead is so high they can handle it, they could just ask the government for a bail out. Lets see have I heard this before. I think, just not sure where.......

[Blake Barr]

wow 5 pages and counting... seriously... if you can't wait for the saw go elsewhere... it's that simple. If it's such a good deal you can't get it elsewhere then wait... 4 pages of responses is silly for such a trivial matter.... People need to quit pretending like anyone that runs a company is out to SCREW people for money or just to screw people in general... this is life, deal with it and if someone can't fill your needs for your hard earned dollars go elsewhere... simple!

As a disclaimer I'm just a peon with a job in a phone center... maybe I'm just jaded from all the people who are completely unreasonable and want things their way and they want it now rather than working with the system....

All that said I do understand the frustration... just not the drama.....

[Danny Thompson]

Okay, everything Shiraz says is reasonable. And we knew it would be. He's got a consistent record here. People raise issues, complaints. He explains (which he doesn't have to do, but I think is wise because many of us would never buy from Grizzly if sites like this didn't raise our awareness of them, so their reputation among a community like this is important) Okay. Good.

And I, too, am glad Shiraz didn't say, "Deal with it!!" Because that surely would have been a problem.

That aside. Scott is frustrated. We're all friends here. I mean. Dang. My wife is at the top of my hate list some days, and I wouldn't take anything for her! I get frustrated with my job some days, but I sure don't want to lose it!

And who better to understand Scott's frustration than his online woodworking buddies. I mean, the Mrs., his boss, daughter, and the parking lot attendant sure aren't going to understand!

Okay, so there will always be a post out here that says, "Today was not Grizzly's best day." That will balance out all the "The Green Guys Rule!" posts. They put out good tols at a low price. Some warts appear now and again, and we need to admit it. It's up to Grizzly to either live with them, or improve them. That's it.

I've got my own frustrations with the company. They appear to be missing a "right first time, every time" standard, but it appears, eventually, they do what needs to be done to satisfy the customer, which is more than you can say about a lot of companies, but less than you can about others.

So, Scott, I say, vent if you want. Just don't incorrectly state the facts of the situation, like sometimes happens here, and you are good.

[Bruce Benjamin]

I have to agree with Robert. Don't come on a woodworker forum and bash a company without merit. CALL the company up and get the problem resolved. IF the company won't resolve the problem to your satisfaction, THEN come here and post your rant. Grizzly has some of the best customer service of any company you'll deal with.

In reality, no matter what steps are taken by a customer, if you come onto this forum and bash Grizzly you are certain to get flamed heavily. I have yet to see a thread that was critical of Grizzly that didn't have at least some of the replies slamming the OP. Even the treads that are critical of the shipping damage problems that Grizzly is famous for have some posters defending them to the very end.

Clearly Grizzly has a large following of very loyal customers and that must be deserved. But no company is perfect no matter how some posters or Grizzly want to spin it. Every company will drop the ball occasionally and even Grizzly can screw up once in a while and not manage to make it right.

Bruce

[Bruce Benjamin]

Reading this thread, the first thing that comes to mind is "the little boy that cried wolf." There have been a number of them lately. Eventually, Shiraz will just ignore SMC.

I doubt that this will happen. Shiraz posting on this or any other forum in response to complaints usually benefits his company at least as much as it benefits his customers/potential customers. You can look at his reply as doing the OP a favor. I look at it as damage control. There's nothing wrong with damage control at all but don't pretend it's all about customer service. If the sole purpose of Shiraz's post was customer service it could've been done via PM or a direct email. If I were in Shiraz's place I would've done the exact same thing...Because I would want to keep my company from looking bad in the public eye. If my only goal was to selflessly help the customer I would've contacted the OP privately.

Bruce