RESOLVED: I was trying to avoid posting this - General jointer damaged by ???

[Tim Morton]

"General will ship out a replacment floor model 480 jointer to me."

Great! another "floor model"

thats what he PAID for in the beginnning...you want he should get a brand new one?

[Chuck Wintle]

"General will ship out a replacment floor model 480 jointer to me."

Great! another "floor model"

I would expect that a floor model should be in perfect operating condition although it may have some cosmetic damage like scratches. The other jointer was unusable as delivered.

[Rod Upfold]

A lot of companies forget or don't care...

It takes a long time to get a good company reputation...but a very short time to destroy or get a bad company reputation


Rod

[Gary Herrmann]

This is the latest email I received today:

My only question was how the jointer would be shipped to me, so I know how much I need to dismantle it in preparation.

Dear Mr. Herrmann,
This email is to confirm the details of the phone conversation that you had with Norman Frampton of General Mfg. on 06/14/2007 in regards to the replacement of your damaged jointer.
Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc. & General Mfg. have agreed:
· To ship you a replacement jointer at no cost to you.
· The replacement jointer will be a General Mfg. Model 480, identical to the one that was damaged in shipping.
· The replacement jointer, like the one damaged, is a new machine that has been on display. The replacement jointer has been on display in General Mfg.'s showroom.
· The replacement jointer will be shipped from General Mfg. to you at the following address; Gary Herrmann, XXX Main Street.
General Mfg. has agreed:
· To package the replacement jointer in a manner safe for transport and in a manner that will make it as easy as possible for the packaging to be used for repackaging the damaged jointer.
· To, upon receipt of the damaged jointer, inspect the jointer and attempt to determine the cause of the damage.
· To document their findings and forward them to you - for further forwarding to the Old Dominion Claims department, in an effort to facilitate a payment towards the claim filed.
You have agreed:
· To thoroughly inspect the replacement jointer for freight damage before accepting/signing for it.
· To disassemble the damaged jointer, as necessary, and have it ready to package for return shipping to General Mfg. upon receipt of the replacement jointer.
· To make use of the packing materials used to ship the replacement jointer in order to properly package the damaged jointer for return shipping to General Mfg.
· To receive the replacement jointer and ship the damaged jointer on the same day - making use of the same freight truck.
· To make your own arrangements for getting the damaged jointer out of your basement, prior to being picked up by the freight company, and your own arrangements for getting the replacement jointer into your basement - both at your own expense, if necessary.
· To, upon receipt and thorough inspection of the replacement jointer, contact your credit card company and inform them that your order has been completed to your satisfaction. Informing the credit card company that you agree to the charges originally placed on your account, thus cancelling the dispute you have already filed - or - allowing Redmond to reprocess the charges, if necessary, in order to ensure that Redmond is financially compensated as originally agreed upon.
· To continue to pursue the claim filed with Old Dominion, making use of any documentation that General Mfg. provides to help support the claim.
· To forward any funds awarded as a result of the claim filed with Old Dominion to Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc.
· To post a favorable message about Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc. and General Mfg. in regards to the manner in which they handled your situation to your satisfaction.
Please respond to the above as quickly as possible. General Mfg. has already contacted a freight carrier about shipping the replacement jointer and tracking information should be available as early as Monday 06/18/22207.
Sincerely,
XXXX
Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc.

[Jason Beam]

Lookin' good, gary ... I'd be a little nervous about having to unpack the new and then repack the old machine while the driver sits there waiting on you. I'd get flustered and in a hury...plus wouldn't this mean you'll need helpers to remove the whole machine from the packing material? If it's on a pallet, for example?

Hopefully it's packed better than the first one and it's in managable pieces.

[Chuck Wintle]

Gary,
When the new jointer arrives it might bbe a good idea to have a couple of friends to help plus inspect the new machine for damage. 3 pairs of eyes is better than 1 pair of eyes for that sort of thing.

[Andrew Williams]

That last clause in the contract is very interesting....I would not have expected it. I wonder if the fact that this saga is airing out in an open woodworkers' forum is a big part of why this issue is being resolved quickly.

I would certainly like to hear what General's findings are regarding what actually happened. My guess is that it was dropped on it's side or slammed down. Anyone want to take bets on Redmond changing their mode of crating for jointers from this point on? I would have assumed that in order to ship a jointer you would have to at least remove the tables and lay them upside-down on a supporting structure.

[Steven Wilson]

That sounds fairly reasonable. You might want to give general a call and ask them how they are going to pack it. My guess is that the jointer top and fence will be on a pallet and that the cabinet and motor assembly will be in a box. So, I would expect that you'll get a delivery of two items. It's fairly typical for this class of jointer to be packaged like that. Or better yet, have them snap a picture of the unit on the loading dock and have them email it to you (MiniMax Eric did that for me).

[Bob Opsitos]

This is the latest email I received today:

· To post a favorable message about Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc. and General Mfg. in regards to the manner in which they handled your situation to your satisfaction.

Proof the forum has power.

Good for you.

Bob

[Tom Veatch]

...Or better yet, have them snap a picture of the unit on the loading dock and have them email it to you (MiniMax Eric did that for me).

Very good idea! That way, at least some of the reshipment preparation can be done ahead of time. Delivery driver might be getting a little surly after cooling his heels for a couple of hours waiting for the repackaging to be completed - especially if he's not expecting it.

[Mark Carlson]

Do they really expect you to continue to pursue the claim with Old Dominion? Redmonds didn't ship the jointer correctly so let them pursue Old Dominion. Posting a favorable message on General would be easy. Redmonds not so much.


~mark

[Bruce Benjamin]

I would have a problem with having to unpack the new one and then repack the old one in such a hurry. That doesn't seem too fair to me since those things can be pretty heavy, as you already know. I'd renegotiate that part of the deal. I'm sure the driver won't be happy about it either. How much time will you have to accomplish this? Start in the morning, finish in the afternoon? They should just schedule a separate pick up at your convenience.

Being forced to continue to negotiate a claim with the shipper sounds unfair to me too. You weren't the person at fault with this. Redmond was. Let them deal with it.

And finally, about having to make a positive post about the transaction. The way I see it, this has cost you so much time and effort and possibly some $$ if you need to hire help to move the jointer. Don't forget additional time off work. All this just to get a jointer that was most likely doomed before it even was loaded onto the truck. Now you have to go through the whole process again and none of this was your fault. Oh yeah, it's been a real positive experience and Redmond has handled it beautifully.

I'm sure you'll be glad to get what you originally paid for and be done with this. I just don't see how Redmond has done you any favors with this ordeal. At least when Sunhill screwed up my order they compensated me with 2 free sets of knives and a free mobile base. They also added numerous apologies and the offer of a complete refund. They did screw up big time but they did everything I could reasonably expect them to do. I guess about the only thing more they could've done was reimburse me for the 1 day, (total) I lost from work. I doubt anyone would do that though. Sorry, but Redmond is still never going to get a dime of my money, especially after seeing their list of demands.

Good luck and I hope your new jointer is a lot better. General really came to the rescue with this one.

Bruce

[Phil Thien]

To post a favorable message about Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc. and General Mfg. in regards to the manner in which they handled your situation to your satisfaction.

They lost me right there. I'd tell 'em to pickup their bad jointer and I'd find another company to deal with.

[Don Bullock]

This is the latest email I received today:

My only question was how the jointer would be shipped to me, so I know how much I need to dismantle it in preparation.

Dear Mr. Herrmann,
This email is to confirm the details of the phone conversation that you had with Norman Frampton of General Mfg. on 06/14/2007 in regards to the replacement of your damaged jointer.
Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc. & General Mfg. have agreed:


yada...yada...yada...


Sincerely,
XXXX
Wm. J. Redmond & Son, Inc.

I find it very interesting that this email is from Redmond, not General Mfg. If I had received it I would have called Norm Frampton back and told him that they could have the damaged machine and the whole deal is off. The way I see it Redmond is making unacceptable demands and hurting both their reputation and that of General even further. What right do they have to make such demands? Absolutely none! If they had done their job right you wouldn't be in this mess and you'd be enjoying your woodworking. Instead you have a big piece of broken equipment taking up space in your shop and, I'm sure, a lot of headaches.

Gary, you have been more than patient on this deal gone sour. It's time, in my opinion, to play your trump card. Dispute the charges through your credit card and tell Redmond to come get their damaged goods or you'll start charging them rent for the space. I'm sure you have other woodworking machine dealers in your area with better customer relations. If you don't, I know that Eagle Tools in Los Angelas has sold machines in many parts of the country. They sell General tools and are absolutely "the best" in customer service. Give Ricky or Jesse a call.

[DAVID CASHDAN]

If It Was Me In This Situation, I Would Take My Sweet Time Inspecting And Uncrating, Maybe Take An Hour Or Two For Lunch, Then Take My Time Crating The Broken One...........
The Driver Is Probably Paid By The Hour , And You Are Not Paying For The Shipping..............:d

They Haven't Gone Out Of Their Way To Help You , Just Return The Favor...........................


Dave