Member
I can't fault my local store they have been good and I have bought a PM shaper when on sale and some festools among other items. The thing I dislike is they only want to sell their wood river tools...no more quality tools from L/N. I hate to see them going to all this wood river chinese stuff and not letting me have a choice to buy quality tools
Phil
Contributor
The individual stores are purchased franchises; therefore, the service at one Woodcraft does not reflect the entire company. I have had nothing but great service from the Raleigh, NC store, even though it is 1 1/2 hours from my home. Visit each time I am in the area.
Contributor
I'll repeat my comment on my local Woodcraft at Stanton, CA - Good, knowledgeable people and good stocking. Never a problem. They bend over backward to help. Highly recommended.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
I sometimes go to the Woodcraft in West Springfield, MA. The staff is extremely knowledgable. Although they do tend to pay more attention to the people that are frequent shoppers, or spend lots of money. Since I usually just buy small, inexpensive items, and I'm not as knowlegable as they are, they sometimes (but rarely) can be concescending.
But I will still shop there. The bad incidents are rare and they are very, very knowledgable.
Bill Smith
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If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving!
Member
Originally Posted by Dave Ray
I have similar sentiments about the Norfolk store. Though I live a few hours away now, I make it a point to swing by any time I'm back in the area. Just haven't had the same experience with my local store (Springfield).
In general, you don't go to Woodcraft for a bargain - the "7-11" model is valid. If you don't know anything about woodworking, taking some classes to learn fundamentals at Woodcraft helps quite a bit.
"Responsibility is a unique concept... You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you... If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible." -HGR
Contributor
John
I live 1/2 way between the Manchester store, and the Warwick store. Both are nice.
I usually go to Warwick just to avoid Hartford Traffic.
I know that wood is more expensive purchased in a Woodcraft, but some of the wood I've purchased from Manchester, and Warwick. I've never seen before. Movinqui, and Curly Peruvian Walnut. ( They still look nice in my garage.)
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
Member
After more than a decade of purchases at my "local" Woodcraft store, I pulled the plug on the relationship a couple of weeks ago.
Several thousand dollars, with the most recent being my Nova 1642-44 lathe, have passed from my hands to Woodcraft's since I bought my first jointer there. That was back when we lived within 15 minutes from the store.
Since moving to well over an hour away, (on a good traffic day), I had been spreading my purchases among closer stores or internet shops. But, when I decided to dive into turning, I went back to Woodcraft. The fellow I talked to about turning used to work in the agency I managed. He was helpful and the lathe sale as well as a few thousand dollars of "other necessary items" over the next couple of months went well.
After having problems with one of my Super Nova2 chucks wobbling, and getting nowhere with the store, I called Tim at Teknatool who told me that the WoodRiver insert that Woodcraft had sold me with the lathe and the chuck was not compatible because the WR insert didn't seat against the inner face on the chuck, hence wobble.
I called WC to mention what Teknatool had told me about the insert and was told that I should return the insert and so I packed it up and drove on over to do so.
When I walked in the store, everybody was busy doing things that didn't relate to customers as I was the only person in the store. The manager looked preoccupied, but he did ask me what I needed. I told him the story about the insert and how it shouldn't be sold with the SN2 chuck and he could barely tolerate the conversation. He said, "if it doesn't work, we will take it back".
I said that I was also attempting to point out that selling the WR insert with the SN2 was a problem that should be communicated to sales folks in the store (he isn't as much a woodworker as a woodworking store manager), and that seemed to fall on deaf ears.
The return and purchase of the right insert went reasonably OK other than the sales guy who I had never seen before continually asking me where the original bag for the WC insert was.
As I was driving home, I remembered that, of the of the 2 Hunter tools that I had bought from the store 10 days earlier, one had not been in stock and the manager had told me that it would be in on Monday (which happened to be that same day). So I called the store and asked if it had come in and was told, ""yes, but you can't get it until Tuesday".
When I told the WC guy what I had been told about the tool scheduled to be there on Monday, he replied, "well, he should have added that we need a day to unpack everything".
I decided not to mention that perhaps the 5 staff in the store when I was there 15 minutes earlier could find the time to unpack items that have been ordered and paid for, but I did mention that the fellow who told me that my tool would be in on Monday was the manager of the store and that he didn't say, "it will be here on Monday, but you can't have it until Tuesday".
I also didn't mention that I was in the middle of a 75 mile round trip to swap out the insert that I was told would work for the one that Teknatool points out is the only insert that should be used with the SN2 and now I'm being told that I have to make another 75 mile round trip tomorrow.
I saved that for the manager who came on next. He had the audacity to tell me that he always tells customers that items will come in on a given day, but that they will be available on the following day. I told him that, had he told me that, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I even went back to my shopping buddy who ordered an ungodly expensive Festool table extension at the same time that I had been told that the Hunter tool would be in on Monday and he confirmed that we had both been told the same thing by the same guy, (the manager).
Long story short, the combination of staff acting like dealing with a customer is an intrusion into their day, the store manager not being interested that his staff were selling the wrong insert for the SN2 chuck, being made to think that I was in the wrong for asking to pick up my paid for tool on the day I was told it would be there, and the big lie, "I always tell customers..." was enough for me to decide to spend the next several thousand dollars for my woodworking hobby elsewhere. My buddy picked up my imprisoned Hunter tool the next day (he lives close by WC).
When I was much younger, I raced motorcycles and later bicycles. During each of these periods, I also worked in shops, both as a mechanic and in sales. One thing that always stood out to me was the significant distinction between people who worked in shops out of love for the activity and willingness to share that enthusiasm with customers and those who wanted to be in the shop in order to feed their own "Jones". Unfortunately, my local Woodcraft has become populated by an overabundance of the latter.
I'm moving on.
Last edited by Bob Borzelleri; 03-26-2010 at 12:11 PM.
Contributor
Just for contrast to show how different the different stores are, the staff at my local store have done things for me like digging through a huge shipment to find the one item that I wanted (that I didn't even special order, but that they knew would be in that shipment) and giving me pieces off their own SawStop while waiting for SS to ship me replacements. Lots of other little things too all the time.
Contributor
I hardly ever buy lumber there, but I do sometimes buy some of the smaller bits of wood they have. They have a nice selection of exotic woods in just the right sizes for what I need, and I can use them to make veneers or inlays or things like that. Their lumber is a bit expensive, though, especially considering all the great lumber suppliers in our area.John
I live 1/2 way between the Manchester store, and the Warwick store. Both are nice.
I usually go to Warwick just to avoid Hartford Traffic.
I know that wood is more expensive purchased in a Woodcraft, but some of the wood I've purchased from Manchester, and Warwick. I've never seen before. Movinqui, and Curly Peruvian Walnut. ( They still look nice in my garage.
Member
(1) Staff
Most of them know me by name. I have great discussions with several of them on a regular basis. Not every one of them know everything I need to ask about, but they are very familiar with each others areas of expertise and hand me off quickly and smoothly. For the meager amount of my woodworking budget, they spend a great deal of time helping me.
(2) Cost
Their prices on lumber are very high, but it doesn't seem to hurt their feeling that I buy lumber elsewhere. I have always felt that their lumber was to fill that need for just a little more to finish some project. Their other products I can't really compare to anything other than Internet sellers, no one else in my area sells their kind of stock. But their prices match up pretty well to the web prices i see for Rockwell, Peachtree, and Highland
(3) Inventory
My Woodcraft almost always what I'm after. The shelves are full. And they are expanding into a new, bigger facility with more floor space for shop equipment.
Contributor
Agreed. The competition in the Portland area is strong with Woodcraft, Woodcrafters and Rockler within 10-15 minutes of each other. I have had excellent experiences in all three stores and try to spread my purchases around. Most of my purchases in the past 2+ years have been price fixed (Festool, etc.) so it makes supporting the local stores very easy. Consumables like screws & wood are purchased elsewhere (2x+ price difference).The one here in town(Tigard, OR) is great.
Contributor
One other comment:
For those of you with a bad Woodcraft, you should contact the -owner- of the store (can be different than the manager). Our local store has the owner's contact info posted @ the sales counter. If that doesn't work, I would complain to Woodcraft corporate. They are definitely concerned about how their franchises are being perceived!
Member
I use the Richmond store also. It has changed hands about 3 times since it opened,
The current owner is always friendly and helpful. I usually don't need to ask questions of the staff,but when I have,they have been helpful.
Member
Like Ken, the closest WC to me is in Spokane. It is about 2 1/2 hours away, and I have only been there once. This was right after receiving my new lathe, and I had a lot of questions (still do). They were very helpful, even as far as taking me back to the shop area and drawing things out on a black board. I just wish it was closer. Or maybe not. I seem to be a impulsive buyer, and I can see myself being in there daily if it was local.
Member
Greg...
In my view, it takes a sustained effort to make a store "a bad store". For stores where the staff and management come across as bothered or interrupted when faced with a customer, I have no interest or investment in trying to change the culture. There are simply too many other options for spending money on woodworking tools and supplies.
Customers should not have to operate as QA/QC monitors. If the owner of the Woodcraft store knows how his staff operate and isn't willing to intervene, then I'm not going to waste my time expressing my displeasure. If he doesn't know (at least in the case I'm referring to ), then he is too far removed to have an impact, in my view.
Sometimes a posting here of a bad experience is simply that; letting people know up front as opposed to a call to arms.
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