Oh don't torment us!Originally Posted by Rob Lee
Contributor
Oh don't torment us!
Contributor
Mr. Lee,
Thank you for taking the time to give us all this insight.
Fred Skelly
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Member
Oof, that's frustrating. I feel super lucky, I ordered the RH shooter two weeks ago and it shipped the very next day. I hope yours comes in soon. Sounds like Rob is on it.
Contributor
Rob - Bravo to you for taking the time to help folks here understand what you are facing. As someone who complained a while back about LV customer service I have a better appreciation for the challenges you face.
Just received my beautiful Veritas crosscut saw today.
Keep up the good work!!
Regards,
Kris
Member
Short version, it takes several materials, a bunch of skilled people, and time on several machines to build a plane. Changing over a machine takes time and slows overall production. Shortage of any one of these resources would delay fulfilling an order. At the moment, it is time on key machines that is limiting. There are lots of products that share time on the same machine. I appreciate Rob Lee’s openness to being as specific as possible.
I understand that a person ordering a left handed shooting plane might feel like their order was being neglected in favor of higher volume tools, but I just received a No. 4 custom smoother, which is probably higher volume than the shooter, just yesterday. The order was placed March 23, 2022. A set of PM-V11 chisels, also a popular item, from the same order is still on backorder.
I too am in no rush.
Rob, that electrical shortage for your new plant can easily be solved. Move the plant to Tennessee. We have excess generating capacity. We would love to have you as neighbors.
Breaking news: I also have a Veritas custom No. 7 on backorder. Ordered on August 4, 2022, the date expected just moved from Dec 15 back to March 10, 2023. I have other means to plane a board, primarily a couple of big heavy machines in the same Harvest Gold color as my kitchen appliances from the 70’s.
Last edited by Thomas Wilson; 12-06-2022 at 9:21 AM.
Contributor
Locking in a price or being put on a notify list seem like pretty good choices to me these days.
Contributor
I wonder if the new mills are why the fit and finish of the chisels I got not too long ago was not so great?
Member
I got one shipped yesterday, I'll let you know how they look on my end.
Contributor
I've also just received my Custom #4 (July 1 order date).
I think there may be a few teething issues....
Young enough to remember doing it;
Old enough to wish I could do it again.
Contributor
Pretty lame that the OP didn't respond
[OP]
Contributor
Rob,
I appreciate the prompt and personal response. I will say that I second what other have mentioned that the 'expected' date that is offered online and to your customer service representatives may be the root of many of our frustrations. I (and I assume most) would rather bad news up front than to be strung along with continually missed estimates.
Contributor
They must be catching up. December 28 order date on a RH shooting plane with PMV-11 blade, expected ship date February 8th but I just received tracking confirmation today.
Contributor
LH shooting plane is in stock as of this morning
Contributor
I manage a high mix low volume manufacturing business with issues similar to what Rob has explained. I read this with great interest to see, and learn how Rob would respond (hoping that there would be something here to apply to my own work).
And there IS.
I APPLAUD you Mr Lee, for monitoring these sites on a regular basis and taking time and effort to provide such transparency to the 'hurdles' your organization faces in getting everything to run smoothly and predictably. Although some supply chain bottlenecks have lifted, there are still numerous struggles before manufacturing is back to 'normal'.
But this dedication to your CUSTOMERS, to take the time to provide an explanation of a specific order, is exemplary leadership imo. I have no doubt your focus on providing answers cascades a message down through your organization to keep the customer experience as a top priority.
Thank you.
Contributor
I’ve somehow missed this thread. Since joining this sub forum, and learning extensively from the many much more knowledgeable hand-powered tool experts here, I’ve become a big fan of Veritas tools. In fact, I’ve had to reorganize my “planes” drawer, adding a second, with several purchases. As much as I love my new shooting, skew block, low angle jack, and LA block planes, (not to mention the bench PM-V11 chisels, and the mortise set which arrived after almost a year wait), I’ve enjoyed Rob’s occasional presence here just as much. Thanks!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote