Customer Service response time

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

I received a defective part on a new product and discussed the problem with customer service. Customer service said I would need to get a replacement part approved by an engineer. I sent photos and description to customer service (who is the only contact with engineers) last week, but still have not heard back.

Is this normal for Shopsmith support? I am not able to use my Shopsmith unless I remove the 520 rails and replace them with the 510 rails.

I have spent a ton of money with Shopsmith over the years and expected better support.

Mike

[jsburger]

Howdy folks,

I received a defective part on a new product and discussed the problem with customer service. Customer service said I would need to get a replacement part approved by an engineer. I sent photos and description to customer service (who is the only contact with engineers) last week, but still have not heard back.

Is this normal for Shopsmith support? I am not able to use my Shopsmith unless I remove the 520 rails and replace them with the 510 rails.

I have spent a ton of money with Shopsmith over the years and expected better support.

Mike

COVID-19 has impacted many companies. These are unusual times.

What is wrong with your 520 upgrade?

[dusty]

John is right. These are unusual times.

Is this about the knurled, threaded insert? If so, which table rail (main table, extension table or floating table). You can most likely install that knurled, insert (the one you pictured) yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZRMGS6H/re ... NrPXRydWU=

[RFGuy]

Howdy folks,

I received a defective part on a new product and discussed the problem with customer service. Customer service said I would need to get a replacement part approved by an engineer. I sent photos and description to customer service (who is the only contact with engineers) last week, but still have not heard back.

Is this normal for Shopsmith support? I am not able to use my Shopsmith unless I remove the 520 rails and replace them with the 510 rails.

I have spent a ton of money with Shopsmith over the years and expected better support.

Mike

Mike,

Sorry that this has happened to you. I had a similar kind of problem last year when I purchased the universal lathe tool rest from Shopsmith. I discussed a bit in the thread below. Basically the part was not machined correctly causing it to be non-functional in operation. I contacted Shopsmith customer service and for these types of cases I believe they always defer to engineering, i.e. customer service won't just send out a replacement without engineering approval. They setup a phone call for me with Jim McCann who is their engineer. It took probably less than a minute for Jim to listen to the issue that I was having and he agreed with my assessment. Also indicated my problem was rare but it has happened before so he knew what it was quickly when I started describing it. He authorized a replacement and I received it fast (maybe within a week). It sounds like you have a similar type of problem, but the next step is to get customer service to schedule that phone call for you with Jim McCann. He may be overloaded and/or there may be delays due to COVID-19. I would continue to push customer service for a phone call with Jim to resolve this because I believe he will help, but also because they need to know if they are having a manufacturing defect. They may need to address this issue with multiple customers and/or put in place some new quality control processes to catch it. Could also be a defect from one of their suppliers, e.g. threaded insert supplier, in which case they would need more information to address it. Even if you decide to fix this yourself, I would still recommend getting through to Jim McCann for these reasons. I only had a limited experience with him, but he was awesome for my issue (just takes a few hoops to go through with customer service to get there unfortunately).

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... ed#p266130

[DLB]

If about the rivnut, CS is being ridiculous. It is a waste of your time and their money to engage engineering, IMO. Their are two plausible corrective actions, replace the defective rail(s) or replace the defective kit. They shouldn't need engineering to tell them that. It is not an engineering issue, it is a manufacturing quality issue.

CS non-responsiveness is par for the course in my recent experience. They don't answer emails and they don't call back. It's not about how long it will take, in my experience, it just isn't going to happen. Same with receiving defective parts/kits. I believe I've ordered six assorted upgrades this year. I've attempted installation of five, and four of the five had issues ranging from major to trivial.

That said, I don't think you need CS to set up a call with engineering. You just need to know that all the ways they tell you to do it don't work. What I did : Go to the home page and click the red ENGINEERING SUPPORT link. Don't call, even though it is warranty and the instructions say to. Just go through the setup and at some point you can select 'Warranty' instead of providing a payment method. Select the time and date. (This is my recollection, it's been a couple of months.) This worked perfectly. Engineering can order the parts and provide you with an order number.

Rant complete.

- David

[RFGuy]

If about the rivnut, CS is being ridiculous. It is a waste of your time and their money to engage engineering, IMO. Their are two plausible corrective actions, replace the defective rail(s) or replace the defective kit. They shouldn't need engineering to tell them that. It is not an engineering issue, it is a manufacturing quality issue.

CS non-responsiveness is par for the course in my recent experience. They don't answer emails and they don't call back. It's not about how long it will take, in my experience, it just isn't going to happen. Same with receiving defective parts/kits. I believe I've ordered six assorted upgrades this year. I've attempted installation of five, and four of the five had issues ranging from major to trivial.

That said, I don't think you need CS to set up a call with engineering. You just need to know that all the ways they tell you to do it don't work. What I did : Go to the home page and click the red ENGINEERING SUPPORT link. Don't call, even though it is warranty and the instructions say to. Just go through the setup and at some point you can select 'Warranty' instead of providing a payment method. Select the time and date. (This is my recollection, it's been a couple of months.) This worked perfectly. Engineering can order the parts and provide you with an order number.

Rant complete.

- David

I only suggested that because that is how I got mine setup so that Shopsmith paid for the engineering call instead of me. If your method works that is great and good to know for the future...

[DLB]

I only suggested that because that is how I got mine setup so that Shopsmith paid for the engineering call instead of me. If your method works that is great and good to know for the future...

I wasn't disagreeing with you. The call to CS first is Shopsmith's process. I was also provided an email method for setting up the call, but my emails came back with an error. And it probably works fine if/when someone answers the phone. But it is the same phone number as everything else, and it can be difficult to get through and/or get a call back. One can persevere and get through. I'm presuming that CS has way too much work on their plate for a variety of reasons.

- David

[garys]

If your problem is the clinch nut from this thread, it should be fairly each to clinch it down youself. All it should require is the right size bolt, a wrench, and some oil for the threads.

That way you can fix it on the spot and not wait for repairs to be done for you.

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... 4-s10.html

[JPG]

If your problem is the clinch nut from this thread, it should be fairly each to clinch it down youself. All it should require is the right size bolt, a wrench, and some oil for the threads.

That way you can fix it on the spot and not wait for repairs to be done for you.

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... 4-s10.html

I would recommend grease for this type of operation not oil.

[garys]

Grease would work too. Just make sure it is thin enough to wick fully into the threads for good lubrication.
If you have done electrical work and used the Greenlee knockout punches, the concept is very similar. A bit of lube on the threads really helps.