Customer service advice...

[Brian Holcombe]

I had one do something similar to me when one of their tools broke on me. I waited until they came to a local trade show and brought the tool....amazing how quickly they are willing to work with you when their are other potential customers available to overhear it.

They had to mail a new one, but all of a sudden I was no longer required to mail mine at my expense first. In fact the salesman at the show told me to take it apart fix it and keep it as a spare (I sent it back).

I'll plug one that has been over the top excellent;

Blue Spruce was one of the best. I had a tool break, he replaced it without a run-around.

[Hilton Ralphs]

The answer should be obvious to anyone contemplating the situation.

But for the manufacturer's negligence, there would be no need to have a defective item shipped back.
The manufacturer should bear the cost of returning the defective unit and re-shipping the replacement unit.

Joe is correct. Everything went well until the supplier developed attitude and that's when I lose the plot completely. I accept mistakes and accidents happen but when I'm made to feel responsible for something I didn't do or forced to fork out more money for nothing then I get very woos. That's a South African word for effing angry and is pronounced with a 'V'.

Do the right thing and send them a polite email stating that returning an OOB failure is really their cost and not yours. If the attitude persists, send the stuff back at your costs and ask for a return and report back here. They will lose more in the end.

[Prashun Patel]

If you are talking about lee valley or lie Nielsen I can tell you that my experience with both has been that if it's their fault they pay shipping. If it's my fault they usually fix replace or refund for free but I pay shipping.

[Maurice Ungaro]

First of all, shame on you for being satisfied with the first CS person you spoke with. Of course, as you stated, your wife fanned the flames post facto. Regardless, I'd call the company back and go up the chain until you get the answer you are looking for. I don't know what company you are dealing with, and I'm not going to speculate either. Bottom line, if you are not happy, let them know, just be diplomatic when expressing yourself to them. You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

[Phil Thien]

The OP is definitely not trying to start a war. I found his desire for free freight absolutely reasonable and correct. You said you'd just pay the freight, you are generous. I wouldn't in such circumstances and principles are principles in my book. We support Lee Valley and the like who offer second-to-none customer service and policy and other players should look to them for guidance.

Simon

I consider myself a principled person, but I'm not going to get my feathers ruffled over seven or eight dollars in shipping.

[bob blakeborough]

Also, consider that sometimes you may be getting a newer employee who is not quite as well versed yet and is confusing policy with, say, a consumer damaged tool or the like as opposed to a defect issue, and they are not giving you the accurate info. Sometimes just calling back and asking politely for management and kindly explaining your POV, it may be very easily resolvable, and definitely for a manufacturers defect, shipping should not be your responsibility if it was their quality control that allowed the visually defective product to get shipped...

[Mike Henderson]

If you are talking about lee valley or lie Nielsen I can tell you that my experience with both has been that if it's their fault they pay shipping. If it's my fault they usually fix replace or refund for free but I pay shipping.

That's been my experience, also. Both have excellent customer service.

Mike

[peter Joseph]

Sorry, I don't think its worth it for a few bucks. I'm no Donald Trump but my time is worth more than spending 15-20min chasing 5$.

[Simon MacGowen]

Sorry, I don't think its worth it for a few bucks. I'm no Donald Trump but my time is worth more than spending 15-20min chasing 5$.

It isn't really about money here. If we customers let a company push us around like that, we condone bad business practice and guess who is going to get hurt in the long run? It is about getting the employee (if he or she is not properly trained) or the employer to understand how a proper business transaction should begin and end.

Simon

[glenn bradley]

Firstly, WELCOME.
Secondly, the maker should pay ALL costs associated with their error. Failure on this principle loses me as a customer but, I openly and politely let them know this without question.

I think if you called back and stated that you do not feel right incurring shipping charges for their error, I bet they would say "oops, you're right!".

Thirdly,

It isn't really about money here.

Absolutely agree. It is incumbent on us to let retailers and manufacturers know that we want a good product for a fair price.

[Moses Yoder]

I don't really see how a miscast on the back of the mouth of a spokeshave would affect it's performance. The iron would still bed just fine and the shave would rest on the wood just fine. I don't see how the performance is affected. Maybe I am missing something? To me it seems like a superficial defect. In that regard I think asking you to pay return postage is reasonable; if you do not want a nicer one bad enough to pay the 8 dollar postage then what is the reason they should pay another round of postage to send you a new one?

[paul cottingham]

Nope. You paid for a new, defect free tool. The manufacturer needs to pay the freight both ways, no questions asked. Why should you have to pay to correct their mistake? The logic of that completely escapes me.

When i still had my business, we had to both pay the freight for an RMA and send the part back after getting their permission. It galled me every time we had to do it. Fortunately, we used high quality parts, and our RMA's were few and far between.

[Phil Thien]

The thing is, historically, mail order companies haven't provided free return shipping (even if the problem was a defective product).

I get that LV and LN may sometimes do this. But we don't even know if the company in question is one of those (and I'm not asking that we name names).

I purchased a blade once at Lowes (on the other side of town). When I got home, I realized that someone had returned a used (damaged) blade and had to return to the store to exchange it. The cost of the fuel was at least six or eight dollars. Should I have asked for reimbursement?

[Pat Barry]

1) I'd like to see a picture of this defect just to be sure about what we are really talking about. Its really not apparent to me this as anything more than a cosmetic thing, maybe not even a real defect. On the other hand, if its a real defect then the company should willingly pay the freight for you.

[Joshua Fishbein]

So here is an update:

I contacted the customer service rep and asked if my return shipping would be covered. Without a question, the rep said that I would be happily reimbursed for shipping, only that I need include a note with the item being sent back along with a receipt for the shipping.

That did make me feel better and I am definitely appreciative of their effort to take care of me, their customer. However, I do feel that there could have been a better way.

I think everyone likes to think that they get the same customer service, support, and quality no matter who you are or how much you spend. The rep clearly stated that it was a manufacturing defect. Whether it affected the performance of the tool is a moot point and should not impact anything at all. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't go out and pay a premium for a brand new Ferrari only to find that your new luxury sportscar needs a new paint job. Yeah sure, it still drives, but are you going to be content? Probably not.

And, just to make a point, I am certainly NOT trying to start any wars. That is why I never stated any names, trying to be as non-specific as possible. I only wanted opinions since this, as mentioned, was my first foray into premium hand tools. So thank you to all of you who did just that. It is always best to evaluate a situation from another person's POV, even if they are playing devil's advocate.

I will let you all know how things play out from here...

And thanks for the welcome everyone. I truly do appreciate it. From everything that I have read so far, this is a really great community filled with a wealth of knowledge and experience. I am grateful and happy to be here and look forward to contributing to the forum.