Popular Post TheFatBaron Posted October 16, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 16, 2017 I know people love to complain about Laguna customer service, but maybe they've finally fired/hired the right people (or maybe I just got luck). In moving across the country, one of the spacers/bushings came off the fence of my 1412 bandsaw. After poking around McMaster-Carr and a few other sites and not being able to find the exact match fit, I gave them a call. The woman who answered was 1) super friendly 2) showed me were the parts diagram/list was in the manual and 3) is sending me the part for free (it cost $1). And no, I wasn't paid for this. But I feel obliged to say something nice before I return to being a professional grump. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 16, 2017 Report Share Posted October 16, 2017 They seem to run hot and cold without rhyme or reason. Glad the stars were aligned for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I have had nothing but great service from Laguna. We got our 14 SUV bandsaw a couple of years ago and their service has been stellar, even proactive at times. I can't speak highly enough of them. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 I have the laguna power tools and have had great service from them. The blade raising mechanism was got rough and scrapy not long after I bought my table saw and the rep stayedon the line with me for about 30 minutes, walked me through the troubleshooting while I was laying on myside looking into the saw cabinet. We found the problem and he sent me parts - no charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaddrink Posted October 21, 2017 Report Share Posted October 21, 2017 I have a generally great experience of tool quality, but not a single good experience of customer support. It's as close to completely ignored that it could get to. It's a strange and seemingly random mix of communication problems, and never seems to have been based on any spite of for lack of a better word, personal 'grumpiness' from staff members. ..Kind of feels like more of a situation that smacks of way over working them, or lack of experience, as they seemingly do this a lot, but on the other hand don't seem to let it phase them. I could list dozens of instances of them simply not doing anything at all, and having to be chased up. Including a really big one with an initial purchase of a 16" planer where the first was crushed and broken in shipment, and the second just didn't get sent out, until myself and the place I purchased through politely email yelled at them continuously. I can recall the salesman from my store CCing me on the email, because I was mistakenly blaming him for the delay. His words were "Can you please reply and tell me why my customer can't get the tool he's paid for, and why you won't reply to my emails?". This is from a licensed dealer of their tools Once these sentiments penetrated to someone who could do something, it was taken care of.. Point being, both of us were ignored, and when it finally chimed with them they were very apologetic and sent one right out, but that grey area where words bounce off of them seems to be the zone where most of their customer service complaints are focused, and so I guess their worst enemy is a combination of staff experience and communication, because when you dig in and push for answers, you'll get them, but in every instance I've had, they're not going to chase you up. Ever. If you get a good rep, you're golden, but it seems there in lies the crap shoot with laguna. I'm dealing with another guy in regards to a warped brake disk on my bandsaw, and I swear, it's, if I'm lucky a single sentence response once a week, with every follow up ignored. If my email contains more than one question, only one will be replied to, and in a simplistic wording that demonstrates a huge lack of empathy for a customer, and possibly a tech knowledge base that's lacking.. Kind of like an email from an elderly relative or something. Who knows, perhaps he has an in box with 1000 emails building up, but.. That means something isn't working, and something isn't being done about it. It can make a seemingly simply matter go on for months. Now I'm on the edge of winter, and just a few minutes ago sent yet another question (after this time a month delay in answering) for the grub nut holding screw dimensions for the brake caliper, and I might get a response, and I might not.. Kind of resigned myself to having to do it myself, but after, about 3 weeks of this, they did send out a brake disk replacement. It isn't that I'm not capable of doing these things myself either, but you sometimes get stuck with a warranty tool situation, where you want them to be on board with what you're doing, because you want their expertise, and parts, and hopefully parts for free, so you wait on their word.. And if the word is slow and like pulling teeth to come by, it can become challenging to a persons patience Another example.. Back to the planer.. The second one had a forklift injury on the side, causing a gouge in the table extension on one side, and a bend in grill. I contacted them and immediately promised replacements.. This was now 4 months ago. Last I heard, they had the grill but not the table extension replacement and I was told the grill would be sent, followed up by the extension when it arrived in stock, so I said thank you.. another month on, nothing. Emailed the guy back and he said he'd put in the shipping order and he didn't know why it hadn't arrived. Now, while all that is likely true, It's based on their error. It always is. Problem within problem. Their guys not talking. Them not talking to me.. and on it goes.. I feel I'm a polite guy, but if I wasn't, the temptation is there now for me to tell them they're full of shit, and I've spent the last 4-5 months dealing with incompetent and badly managed after sales service on things that should have been right in the first place.. I know a lot of people are not as patient as me, and do tell them this, likely continuously, which would cause a numbness to it from their perspective, and a vicious cycle begins, and seems to be very much instilled at laguna... This kind of thing once in a while is fine.. It's just life and what happens, but Laguna has the largest stockpiling of instances I've ever experienced, which culminates into a much much larger problem. I think they get moved to the (buy used and deal with it yourself) list of tool manufacturers, because I really do like their tools, but tools do go wrong, and that's when it gets tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 Ask for Brian. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaddrink Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 44 minutes ago, difalkner said: Ask for Brian. David Brian is the guy I'm dealing with in regards to the damaged pieces on my planer. No follow up. Short single line answers. No apologies. Nothing really. Just blunt replies that read like 'I did this so it's not my fault' followed by nothing at all. I'm not asking to be waited on hand and foot, but this is about as far from successful help that I've experienced, pretty much ever. It sounds like it's a fairly large business, and the problems are more than individual based. I'm sure Brian is awesome, and that his family loves him to pieces, but the last I heard (again) on my missing pieces was that he'd asked to have it sent out, and nothing on what he would do now it obviously hasn't happened. And that was now over a week ago. This is exactly what happened when my damaged replacement wasn't ever sent out. You email, and wait, and get a kind of vague answer, and then have to ask again what they meant, and wait.. and wait.. and wait.. In every instance that I've experienced, the one time they followed up was after I'd given up, I asked if a picture of the screw hole placement would help them locate the screw size I'm looking for, which was again met with ignoring my reply when I sent a picture and a video of where it was. Comes down to having to wait over 4 months for a functioning tool, and no one seeming to care or follow up. After I've given them 5 grand or so in the last year, I'm in no hurry to give them any more. It's a lot of money for me. I also emailed my band saw guy after no reply for 3ish weeks.. No reply.. I'm on my own, and that's fine. but pff. It's not a good customer service experience. I've still got the tools. Though it may not sound like it, I am actually very happy with them. I don't expect them to last forever without any issues.. It's the interactions and waiting I'm not too taken with. It would be really helpful to have someone to contact who would reply somewhat adequately. Trying to throw them a bone.. Perhaps they're better by phone? Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 By phone is how I've dealt with Brian followed up by e-mail. He has always been very responsive. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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