18th Century Style Kids Workbench


wouldwurker

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Looks great Vinny, they are going to love working in them. And yeah, "throw together" doesn't really work when you're building something they will have for a lifetime. the bench in the background looks like it has served you well for a long time, time for one for yourself, as if you don't have enough to do already :ph34r:

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Received my $200+ vise from Benchcrafted, with all the hardware spilled out into the carelessly packed shipping box.  Sent them an email advising I'd ship back if they could send a me replacement.  Quite surprised at the response I received from a company that is supposed to stand by their product.  My email and their response, below:

My email to Benchcrafted

Subject: Packing/Shipping Problem - Order #XXXX

I received my Hi Vise on Saturday (Jan 5) via UPS, however there were some major problems with the way it was packed in the shipping box.


 

The small HI-Vise box was packed in a shipping box substantially larger (4-6x), however the only other packing material was a few small air packs.  Because the HI-Vise box was not taped, nor adequately secured in the shipping box, the HI-Vise box was open and all hardware was tossed about the large shipping box with no support, presumably banged around quite a bit in the shipping and handling process.  Even if the HI-Vise box didn’t open, it was shipped in an oversized box with no packaging to secure it.   The Hi-Vise box would still have been thrown all around.


 

I trust you understand my concern for how it was packed and shipped.   I opted for BC hardware for the high quality machining and craftsmanship, (and commensurate price)…didn’t expect to see it packed/shipped so carelessly.


 

If you can send me a email me a shipping label, I’ll adequately pack and ship back to you.  I also ask that you please send a replacement asap so I can be assured the same hardware I’m returning won’t just be shipped back to me.

The vise is to be installed as a leg vise for a mini-roubo I built my 5 year old son.  I placed the original order on 12/28.

Thank you.  I can be reached at XXX if you need to contact me.

Benchcrafted's Response:

Sorry about that but you don;t mention any actual damage so we're not sure why you want a replacement?

Cheers,

 

 

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Agree with the last two comments - their response is appropriate as you reported poor packaging (and I agree with that) but did not state any actual damage that required a replacement.  As long as all the hardware is there, despite it having spilled, again does not warrant replacement. 

I understand that you might have concerns that it was damaged or affected in shipping but neither in your post to us nor your message to BC did you report any.

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Sorry guys, but I disagree wholeheartedly.

If you bought something...a tv, guitar, tablesaw, vise...whatever, at a  retail store and the sales guy dropped the box down the stairs after you paid, would you:

a: inspect it for superficial damage to the best of your ability and take it home 

or;

b. Ask him to just grab you a different one   

These are expensive, high quality machined parts that were given a rock tumbler treatment en route cross-country.   I’m not going to go through a QA process to check for scratches and burrs in the parts and threads, nor do I know what their tolerance is for superficial defects off the line.    

By the way, I could just return it and buy another without any communication, but actually advising them of the problem was the right thing to do...

 

 

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I'm on your side Vinny. It seems sloppy that they package it in a way where you have to go through to make sure that no threads are damaged or finish is marred. I do understand the other side as well so just give them some reason like damaged parts or nicked finish. I get how you don't want to be their QA agent after all that's not what you signed up for. The question on my mind is why did they ship it box inside of box. Also why don't they just  make their box more sturdy so they don't need to double box it. Seems like it'd save them money on packaging.

I have benchcrafted site up now and i really want to buy the hardware for a roubo.... maybe I'll hold off a bit.

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While it is understandable that they may ask if there was any visible or noted damage, the went about it very poorly. To give such a short and unconcerned response is bad customer service in any situation. As much as I hate calling customer service lines, in this situation I'd be tempted to call and see if you can find someone that at least cares a little bit. Even if only to get them to make note of the issue and look into their process later, or to have it on record if you were to have issues with the vise down the road.

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If the product was marred or scuffed up at all that's certainly cause for replacement. Email them with some further explanation. To play the devil's advocate, it looks to me that the CS rep was just a little clueless, as opposed to purposely trying to deny your claim.

I've never dealt with them, but I have never read a bad report of their customer service so this seems out of character.

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Their phone number doesn't work, nor do they publish it.  Not dealing with a CS rep either.

Here's how it ended (below).  Very disappointed, because I was really excited about splurging on my first BC vise, which was integral in the initial design and scale of the bench.

What really sucks is that I have two disappointed 5 and 3 year old boys that still don't have their Dad-made mini-roubo while i get all this sorted out.

From Me:

Thanks for your response, albeit disappointing,

 

When one purchases a new product it's expected it to be handled with care from quality assurance to consumer; even more so with precision hardware.  Certainly didn't expect it to be banged around en-route from Iowa to Georgia before I open the box.

 

If you bought a guitar and it arrived loosely packed in a refrigerator box you wouldn’t inspect it for superficial damage and live with it.

 

If the edges get burred or scratched beyond the level of tolerance off the line, I prefer to be the one to do it, not the UPS driver.  This is the 'handling' part of the shipping and handling for which I paid.

 

Please advise next steps.

 

Thank you

From: Benchcrafted

 

Vince,

 

Again,  you've not mentioned any damage whatsoever.  We understand that it's desirable for a product not to get banged around, but it sounds like this is a case where we're just talking about the product box?  We don;t issue replacements when there is no damage.  If you would like a fresh clean product box we'll send you one of those.

From Me:

I don't care about the box.  I'm referring to all the parts that came out of the box.

 

How about this?  Send me a shipping label, and I'll return it, you can refund me, and I'll buy a Veritas vise from Lee Valley.

 

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Hopefully you purchased it using a credit card so you can dispute the charge if BC fights you on returning it, as it seems they may do. 

In the meantime, it may be worthwhile to do a quick inspection of the parts to see if you can find any damage, even if minor. Reporting some scratches or marring might make them slightly more receptive to accepting a return or exchange. 

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