What Are Your Expectations?....

[Cary Falk]

How much money can you expect any arbitrary company to outlay on a roll of the dice from a past owners perfomance? Expecting any company to blanketly absorb the prior owners issues is utterly ludicrous.

A stretch is phrasing it pleasantly.

While your interaction with your companies prior customer may have lead to some good faith business on their part, you more than likely opened yourself up for a possible litany of other past customers to wipe you off the face of the earth with refinishing of work based on precedence.

A long shot either way but bad business to say the least.

This was my thoughts as well when I read this thread. Good on you for doing something nice, butt.......... You say it only cost you $200 but where do you draw the line, $2k, $2M? Most CS has gone down hill. Companies are more interested in getting new customers then keeping the ones they have. I'm no fan of Delta, but I don't think they did anything wrong. There are some people you can never please and you don't want/need as customers. One that expects them to honor a 10 year old rebate after they changed hands umpteen times is one of them.

[eugene thomas]

As to delta . Even if was still same owner who offered you the rebate. Think ya kind of dropped the ball. I would bet 50% of time get rebate from purchase have to call to get them moving on it.

[Wade Lippman]

There is probably a 50% chance you got the rebate and forgot about it. I sure don't know what rebate checks I got 10 years ago. Yeah, you meant to throw the paperwork out when you got the check, but you also meant to follow up on it 10 years ago.

Regarding Rigid's lifetime warranty... I bought two ROS from HD 6 years ago. Rigid refused to let me register because my HD receipt wasn't adequate. Maybe they needed a video of me buying it? Now that I think of it, I haven't bought a Rigid tool since.

[Mark Blatter]

Just a generic response to some of the thoughts expressed.

1. Delta had no responsibility to honor the rebate now. I believe I said that in my original post. I called out of curiosity to see what their reaction would be.

2. I know I didn't ever receive it because I didn't select the $50, I requested a cordless drill and I have never owned a Delta cordless.

3. I was not expecting Delta to do anything. As many pointed out, there was a certain responsibility on my part to follow up a short time after the fact and not let it go for ten years.

4. As to my honoring a request from a previous customer, that was 100% my decision. In the course of a couple of years we received perhaps 3 or 4 similar requests / complaints. I handled each one on a case by case basis. Some folks said they were willing to pay, so we agreed to a number that they thought was fair. The last one, they were an older couple and I just figured it was the right thing to do.

5. As for the shop itself, we closed our doors the end of 2009. The year I bought the shop the county issued about $70 million in building permits. In 2009 they issued about $7 million, of which about $3 million was a single house. To say the least, the economy tanked to the point that about half of all trades went out of business, if not more. Lumber stores that had been open for close to 100 years had to close.

My final thought is how a different company handled something similar. I believe it was Campbell's Soup Company that in the 1920s had put an ad in a magazine saying that anyone that sent in the ad along with a certain number of soup labels would receive a free poster. Years later, sometime in the late 80s or 90s, someone came across the ad and sent it in. The Campbell company still had three of the posters on hand, but as they were now quite valuable (in the range of $30K as I recall) they were framed and hanging in the offices. The president said to honor the request and not to worry about the value of the poster. I could be wrong on some of the details as my mind isn't what it used to be, but that is what I call class.

[Rick Fisher]

My first jointer was a Delta X 6" .. I bought it for $599.. It was during a promotion where you could pick one of 4 free gifts. I picked the 690LR Router. It arrived. That was probably about 12 years ago ?

I would not hold it against Delta if they didn't give you the $50 .. You can push them into it .. they might do it but I wouldn't feel good about it. They had a responsibility to pay you .. you had a responsibility to inform them in a reasonable time if they didn't.. Maybe the post man stole your drill ? Who knows.. its over now.

I wouldn't buy Delta tools because you will probably never get parts.. but I wouldn't hold the rebate against them .. lol

[John Sanford]

The "statute of limitations" may or may not be relevant, depending on whether or not such considerations have actual legal force in the case of rebates submitted in a timely fashion. Once the OP submitted the rebate paperwork, the entire onus on fulfillment falls upon the company, not the customer. His failure to follow up can only be considered with regards to any damages he may potentially claim, but it in now way relieves the company of the burden of performance with regards to the original contract.

The multiple changes of ownership may or may not have any bearing on the matter. We don't know the details of the purchases, nor do we know the whether or not the CS individual spoken to was delivering the truth, a company directed distraction, or something off the cuff intended to save hassle.

From a marketing perspective, Delta would be well advised to honor rebates of this sort. Frankly though, I suspect that there's no nefarious plot to deny rebates, for one simple reason. "What?? 10 years? Nobody ever thought about something like that!"

[Rick Fisher]

The press release on the sale of Delta to Chang Type said Chang Type purchased the assets including trademarks and designs..

If it was actually an asset sale then B+D would still owe the $50 ..

[HANK METZ]

The press release on the sale of Delta to Chang Type said Chang Type purchased the assets including trademarks and designs..

If it was actually an asset sale then B+D would still owe the $50 ..

See my prior post Rick; it is a standard business practice to purchase assets only and avoid liabilities like the o.p. tried to invoke.

[Brian Tymchak]

OK, I cannot say they are wrong, from any and all viewpoints, except one. Namely customer service. If it had been me, I would have at least explored more about it and tried to do something.

You are disturbed that the CS rep didn't even try to help you. More than likely, they have been trained to handle this situation and have a planned response. Your comparison to how you handled a customer service situation is completely different. You were the business owner, and a small business at that, empowered to make that kind of decision. And since the customer asked how much, I conclude you went well beyond any reasonable expectation the customer had. The CS rep has a line of management above them relying on call center metrics to determine this reps performance and next raise, if any. Since the situation was so clearly beyond reasonable expectations, if I were the CS rep, I likely would have given you the same answer. Did you ask to talk to a supervisor when you didn't get the answer you wanted? That is a typical escalation path for a customer to take. No harm in asking the question I guess, but give the CS rep a break.

[Mark Blatter]

You are disturbed that the CS rep didn't even try to help you. More than likely, they have been trained to handle this situation and have a planned response. Your comparison to how you handled a customer service situation is completely different. You were the business owner, and a small business at that, empowered to make that kind of decision. And since the customer asked how much, I conclude you went well beyond any reasonable expectation the customer had. The CS rep has a line of management above them relying on call center metrics to determine this reps performance and next raise, if any. Since the situation was so clearly beyond reasonable expectations, if I were the CS rep, I likely would have given you the same answer. Did you ask to talk to a supervisor when you didn't get the answer you wanted? That is a typical escalation path for a customer to take. No harm in asking the question I guess, but give the CS rep a break.

I didn't ask to speak with a supervisor for two reasons, first it just wasn't that important, and second because the rep put me on hold while she talked to someone else about it.

Let me be clear on this....my goal, the reason for even making the call in the first place, was to see how Delta handled it. A cordless drill that is worth about $50 isn't one that I would ever buy. If I was going to buy one, well honestly I don't know what I would buy today. Years past I would have looked at Milwaukee or possibly Dewalt, but I understand that these have changed hands and the quality has dropped. So many venerable tool brands have become junk that you never know what to buy. I called to see what the attitude was at Delta towards customer service. How that call was handled told me all I need to know. Since Delta also owns Dewalt and a number of other brands, I plan on staying away from them as well.

[Rod Sheridan]

To me, great customer service is what a company does when it is no longer legaly required to do so.

Anything else is simply complying with the law.

I have an example, about 20 years ago I purchased a rosewood/steel/brass try square from Lee Valley, it wasn't square at all.

It looked so nice in the tool crib that I never returned it.

10 years later I decided that keeping a not square in the tool crib was stupid so I took it back to LV.

They checked it, it wasn't square, and I had no proof that I had purchased it at LV.

A few weeks later I received a letter from Leonard Lee (President) indicating that they had to go back into their old catalogues to determine the last year that I could have purchased the square from them, and to please find enclosed a cheque for the full amount plus the appropriate Provincial sales tax for that year.

It wasn't a store credit, it was a cheque that I could spend as I wished, so of course I purchased a replacement square at LV.

That's customer service..............Rod.

[John Piwaron]

After 10 years of no follow up I'd leave it alone. This isn't so much about customer service as completing a transaction. It's long over. Forget it. I would.

As to the customer service of the current incarnation of Delta, I can only say good things. I had an issue with a new Unisaw that they handled in a very short amount of time. A week, tops. It was great. For the people "leery" of buying from them - why? In the case of a table saw, there's not much to go wrong with it. Basically these are old designs. Not too many parts in them, not much to go wrong. In a hobby shop. I'm not worried in the least.

[Mark Blatter]

Rod

I hear you completely. I bought a lawn mower from Costco in July of 2005 and used it to mow about an acre of lawn for the rest of that summer. The next year I tried to use the lawn mower but while it tried to start it just would not keep running. I took it to a small engine repair guy that lived close by and he spent a day going through it and finally said that it had to be inside the motor. I called Costco to see who the local warranty place was and they wouldn't tell me. They said, 'Bring it back.' I said no, it has been a year and no way I am going to bring it back. After about the fifth of sixth attempt to get the local warranty place, they convinced me to just bring it back, so I did. They of course looked up what I had paid and refunded it in full.

Costco may not be the greatest company in the world, but I cannot think of a better one anywhere. Why? Because their customer service is simply outstanding.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I would not expect them to even consider honoring a 10 year old rebate.

Maybe I have low expectations, but, I was shocked when I called Dewalt to figure out what I should do about a damaged piece (fake wood top on the 735 planer stand) that I had ordered mail order. They sent me a replacement top without asking for a copy of the receipt or anything. I did not expect that.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Awhile back I had a pair of Ridgid locking pliers which failed during an especially vigorous wrestling match with a fence post. Knowing Ridgid tools are warranted for life I returned them for replacement. I got a note back, along with the broken pliers, saying that line was no longer made and they couldn't replace them.

I felt they shouldn't be able to abandon their responsibility that way so I called customer service. When the rep said they couldn't replace them because they aren't made anymore I asked if they could send me a pair of pliers that replaced that design. Since they were a somewhat innovative design there wasn't a direct replacement but she said she would ask her boss when he was available.

I got a call later that day from an executive-level type who, after a short but interesting conversation, offered me one of two types of channel-lock-type or one style of vice-grip-type pliers to choose from, which he sent me with a nice note.

I now have no hesitation buying Ridgid tools. ..And now that I have posted this before such an august group of craftsmen, they may get an additional sale or two .. who knows ? Good customer service can go a long way in these days of broad internet communication.

On balance, I feel I must add that, like Bruce Wren and Wade Lippman, when registering for a warranty on another tool, I was irritated about how long it took and, I seem to remember having to call when the delivery time had lapsed. Hopefully, that's due to the beancounters' instructions to the fulfillment processors, not that that ameliorates the practice.