Shopsmith Customer Support

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DougD
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Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 11:36 am

Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by DougD »

I called Shopsmith today with a general question about the Tenon Jig usage. I was told to submit an email and I responded why not transfer me to the tech support department as has been the case for a long time. They wanted a credit card for a $20 charge to talk to someone.
What has happened to Shopsmith Customer Support? Have they elevated themselves to point where they can charge their longtime customers for simple questions?
Has anyone else experienced this lack of help?
Thanks,
Doug
edma194
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by edma194 »

Did you get the name of the person you spoke to? They seem to have new and inexperienced people there and this may be the only way they're managing to deal with their current volume of service requests. I hope this situation will improve soon.

I haven't experienced a requirement for an email but I have communicated with them by email to communicate detailed information. A requirement for an email would be fine if we knew they would respond in a particular time frame and follow up on any issue until it was resolved but I don't think that is happening. They do have a $20 charge to speak to an engineer, but I didn't think that would apply to a general question as you have characterized it. I paid for some engineer time once, didn't really pay off except to confirm that no other information was available.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
DougD
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by DougD »

I did not get a name, just a person who answered the phone, but thanks for the response.
Doug
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dusty
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by dusty »

With access to this forum why do you have unanswered questions.



Ask and I would almost guarantee that answers will abound.
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
Sent from my Dell XPS using Firefox.
RFGuy
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by RFGuy »

Doug,


Forgive me for answering a post with another thread, but your question seems similar to what Jerry reported recently. You may benefit from reading that thread and my answer below. As Dusty pointed out this forum is a great resource and is certainly the place to come when in doubt about technical information received (or NOT received) from the Mothership (Shopsmith). ;)

viewtopic.php?p=306332#p306332
RFGuy wrote: Sat Feb 18, 2023 10:25 am
gac5ss wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 10:59 am Fast forward to today, after purchasing another 520, and contacting Shopsmith for parts, product knowledge is severely lacking. Maybe I just missing my superhero lady by chance. Sorry to say I can't remember her name.
Jerry,

Taking another look at this thread and your original question, I have to ask what specific product knowledge are you looking for? Honestly, if you are looking for more technical knowledge or even just general accessory questions to the 520, I would recommend instead that you open up a new thread for each topic on this forum and ask your questions here. IF it is more pricing info, parts damaged in shipment, etc. then yes go through customer service at Shopsmith. However, technical product knowledge is freely shared by many very experienced Shopsmith customers on this forum. Many come here with compatibility questions between equipment, upgrade recommendations, accessory questions, etc. etc. and receive good advice from other members. If you still aren't quite sure about posting them all here, then I would ask you give us a bit more details on what you needed help on from customer service on this thread and then members can better direct you to getting the resources that you need. Either way, please use this forum to its full extent. I have been grateful to the advice of many forum members here. I have had my share of customer service issues with Shopsmith, but it has been more on the overcharge side, packing & shipping fiascos, long lead time on orders, even orders getting collapsed into a single order and stuff getting dropped off the order type categories. I have shared these grievances in the past on this forum, but I only bring up my experience of them to validate that you have not been alone in wishing customer service and order fulfillment at SS was a few notches better. There was one or two "good" customer service that I worked with a few years ago, but I can't remember their names and I think they are no longer there also.
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
DougD
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by DougD »

I recall in the past years when a call to Shopsmith Customer Support was very informative, but your response indicates that the forum may be a much better source due to the wealth of experience of the members for technical issues. Recently, I ordered a part for my 520 and after a week was not even processed.
Thanks for the info,
Doug
RFGuy
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by RFGuy »

DougD wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 8:40 am I recall in the past years when a call to Shopsmith Customer Support was very informative, but your response indicates that the forum may be a much better source due to the wealth of experience of the members for technical issues. Recently, I ordered a part for my 520 and after a week was not even processed.
Thanks for the info,
Doug
Doug,

Yeah, if you read the other thread that I linked, there was discussion regarding how helpful Shopsmith customer service was in the past as you describe. I didn't utilize them back then and I don't know when this "golden" era of customer service was for them, but I don't believe that is the case any more for them.

viewtopic.php?p=306332#p306332
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
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chapmanruss
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by chapmanruss »

Doug,

You said,
I recall in the past years when a call to Shopsmith Customer Support was very informative, but your response indicates that the forum may be a much better source due to the wealth of experience of the members for technical issues. Recently, I ordered a part for my 520 and after a week was not even processed.
I found that this is not an uncommon situation for orders. Some of my orders are processed and shipped within a very short time while others take a long time. Availability of the part/parts being in stock is most often the culprit. Just a single out of stock part can hold up an entire order.

This forum is a great resource for information on Shopsmith tools even going back to the first Shopsmith the Model 10E. For example, JPG has owned his 1960's Mark 5 Goldie since it was new along with other Shopsmith tools. That's a lot of years of Shopsmith experience you won't find through customer service. He is just one example of the knowledge base found here on the Forum.
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
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JPG
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by JPG »

To say nothing re Russ's Model 10 expertise!!!!!

Yes there be many others worth mentioning.
╔═══╗
╟JPG ╢
╚═══╝

Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
edma194
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Re: Shopsmith Customer Support

Post by edma194 »

The Shopsmith website has a link here to the forum under the 'Resources' tab. If they can't respond to calls directly they could give customers a bigger push to post there questions here. If the experts here can't answer a question there's not much chance anyone at Shopsmith has the answer either. I understand they wouldn't want to make it appear that the forum is providing official support for the product, but it could be referred to as a base of knowledge. They do control this website, at least to the extent that they care to so far, and it shouldn't be difficult to provide a disclaimer about the information and advice presented here.

I recall the great service days in the 90s when I acquired my first Shopsmith, a Mark V greenie. It came with newer Shopsmith manuals that provided an excellent introduction to use of the machine, but not much service information, especially for a newcomer. I managed to resolve a problem with a frozen lower sheave by stumbling around blindly, but then afterwards turned to Shopsmith support for help, and they were fantastic. I don't remember the names but someone was able to explain to me the difference between the gilmer drive and the newer Poly-V version, and then provided more information and printed instructions for replacing the belt. I had no problems later ordering a new quadrant and additional parts.

I worked for a company with a world class service department and I know that in addition to providing immediate response and access to experts there was still an experience hurdle for support personnel to overcome, and that just takes time. It also requires some dedication to providing the personnel the time and resources to gain that experience. A support organization that is understaffed and barely able to take calls or provide any response at all is not going to make it happen, it takes time to analyze and organize issues so that the solutions and diagnostic methods are disseminated among the support providers. And it takes further dedication, and the proper resources to provide the kind of support that they really need to have relative to the quality of product they produce. Frankly, an inability to process orders in a timely fashion reflects poorly on them, and that's really sales not support.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
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