Backorders

[donalexander]

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only person on this board (or planet) that likes the Shopsmith Mark V but is continuously disappointed with their customer service. I don't mean they're not polite when I call on the phone. Getting replacement parts in a reasonable length of time has been a problem since I started dealing with the company in the late 1970s.

My latest fiasco happened Friday afternoon. A bandsaw table insert showed up in the mail from Shopsmith. I scratched my head because I didn't recall ordering one. Monday morning I spoke to a customer service representative, who was pleasant enough. He said the parts had been on back order for "a while" and that I ordered it in April of 2012. Now, 13 months later it showed up. I've been using a zero clearance insert that cost less that 1/5th what the aluminum SS part cost and arrived in 2 days. Apparently I utterly forgot I had ordered the SS replacement part.

He explained that the previous manufacturer of the part went out of business and they had a hard time finding someone to make them at a reasonable cost. Thirteen months seems like an awful long time to be without a simple, easy to manufacture part. The insert they sent appears to be stamped out of sheet aluminum with a B- finish (I improved to an A finish in about 30 seconds on a Scotchbrite wheel and it seems to me the manufacturer could have done this for me).

I really want to support the company but its a two-way street. For $13.99 +$2.00 S&H I'd expect a better product delivered promptly. The cost in this case is trivial and the part is certainly adequate. I assume SS operates this site and reads it so what I offer here is offered as constructive criticism.

[frank81]

I'd say in their defense, finding a supplier to manufacture a low volume of parts is cost prohibitive.

On the other hand, when this happens at work usually we change the part to NLA until we can source from another supplier, communicate the situation and hope for some cancellations, and then contract a one-off run of the remaining orders and just eat the loss.

And the way to avoid it all together is changing the part to NLA as soon as the supplier goes away, and only sell what remains on hand. But some things will always slip through the cracks, no body is perfect.

I feel your pain and SS's pain on this, it can be frustrating.

[Ed in Tampa]

I can appreciate your position but I do take exception to one part of you commit. You infered to me that you have been having backorder problems since the late 70's. I bought and started dealing with Shopsmith around 83 or so. In all that time since I have never experienced a backorder until after 2008. Up until then I could order my parts by Monday or very early Tuesday and they would be at my home by Friday awaiting a weekend play date. The one backorder I did experience since then has been no more than a week or two wait.

I can see how the insert for the bandsaw could be a problem that took a while to fix. Not many companies would want to set up a die cutter for less than a couple thousand of those things, if you expected a reasonable price. Give them business for a couple of million the price would come down to pennies per.

My guess is Shopsmith was at the mercy of some company that agreed to go through the whole process to stamp out a couple hundred and still keep the per price low enough that people would buy them.

Either that or they found someone that would cut them individually on a laser/high presssure water CNC machine at a reasonable price.

[dgale]

While I understand the frustration, the flip side of this is how much I appreciate that virtually any part is available for my Mark V and this is true for most parts on machines and SPTs dating back to the 50's...not many manufacturers can boast this. I have an Inca bandsaw and jointer (both stand-mounted) that my father bought back in the late 70's or early 80's - the bandsaw has a broken guide assembly and hence sits unused in the corner of my shop - to the best of my knowledge this company is out of business and hence what should be a simple part to replace is NLA...I should just salvage the motor off the thing and scrap the rest but it was my Dad's and I have a notion of figuring out how to fix it some day...probably won't ever happen unless I can somehow stumble across a used one out there for parts. We should all feel fortunate that SS is still in business and able to provide us with parts, regardless of how long it takes to sometimes get them.

[donalexander]

I can appreciate your position but I do take exception to one part of you commit. You infered to me that you have been having backorder problems since the late 70's. I bought and started dealing with Shopsmith around 83 or so. In all that time since I have never experienced a backorder until after 2008. Up until then I could order my parts by Monday or very early Tuesday and they would be at my home by Friday awaiting a weekend play date. The one backorder I did experience since then has been no more than a week or two wait.

I can see how the insert for the bandsaw could be a problem that took a while to fix. Not many companies would want to set up a die cutter for less than a couple thousand of those things, if you expected a reasonable price. Give them business for a couple of million the price would come down to pennies per.

My guess is Shopsmith was at the mercy of some company that agreed to go through the whole process to stamp out a couple hundred and still keep the per price low enough that people would buy them.

Either that or they found someone that would cut them individually on a laser/high presssure water CNC machine at a reasonable price.

Ed, This experience wasn't an isolated instance. I bought jointer from the company in the 70's and waited 9 months to get the feet to mount the unit to my Mark V. I returned the unit to them supposedly unused. They agreed to the return. After months more of haggling about getting a refund, I gave up again and turned it over to my credit card company. They got a resolution quickly. I had enough problems with them in the 70s that I swore them off except for what I needed to get from SS, like sanding discs.

As for practical solutions, in this case there are zero clearance (HDPE I think) inserts available that are every bit as good, and perhaps better, than the original metal inserts. I would suggest that SS could have supplied these as an alternative to the aluminum insert. There was no need to wait over a year for a part.

Honestly guys, I'm not bashing the company and I'm especially not bashing the product. All I am doing is identifying a problem that is fixable - easily fixable. I'd like to see them not just survive, but actually thrive. However, until there is some serious assessment of their situation, I don't hold a lot of hope. The market place is highly competitive and I think there's room for significant improvement in service. The product is fine.

'nuff said.

[dusty]

I have had back ordered items. I have waited long periods of time for things that I thought should be off the shelf. I have complained about shipping costs. There are some things that I buy elsewhere because the SS price is unreasonable.

BUT, I will never give up my Mark V (neither one of them). It does everything that I ever need and it is as precise as I will ever want.

They could spruce up customer service a little bit. It is not as superb as it once was.

nuff said!

[Ed in Tampa]

Ed, This experience wasn't an isolated instance. I bought jointer from the company in the 70's and waited 9 months to get the feet to mount the unit to my Mark V. I returned the unit to them supposedly unused. They agreed to the return. After months more of haggling about getting a refund, I gave up again and turned it over to my credit card company. They got a resolution quickly. I had enough problems with them in the 70s that I swore them off except for what I needed to get from SS, like sanding discs.

As for practical solutions, in this case there are zero clearance (HDPE I think) inserts available that are every bit as good, and perhaps better, than the original metal inserts. I would suggest that SS could have supplied these as an alternative to the aluminum insert. There was no need to wait over a year for a part.

Honestly guys, I'm not bashing the company and I'm especially not bashing the product. All I am doing is identifying a problem that is fixable - easily fixable. I'd like to see them not just survive, but actually thrive. However, until there is some serious assessment of their situation, I don't hold a lot of hope. The market place is highly competitive and I think there's room for significant improvement in service. The product is fine.

'nuff said.

Again I don't know anything about Shopsmith in the 70's. In the mid 80's when I came into the game they were super in customer service. In fact I would say one of the best. I ordered things that got damaged in shipment and they sent me replacements and told me to locally scrap the damaged piece.
I never had a backorder until I ordered something after 2008 when things were coming apart financially. So I didn't mean to infer you didn't have those bad experiences.

And from what you experienced I agree they need to do something. I often wonder why they don't pick up so of these products that were made for shopsmith but offered by other people. The zero clearance insert made from HDPE for instance. To me it seems like a no brainer.

[JPG]

There is a very real limit what a very 'few' people can do!

[billmayo]

There is a very real limit what a very 'few' people can do!

Amen! Their CS is outstanding every time I have spoken to them. Shopsmith lost all their suppliers in the 2007-2010 time frame as most went out of business. I was able to stockpile many parts before that time as their survival looked poor for a few years. I am still amazed that Shopsmith can still deliver almost any part ordered within a few months. It is very difficult or impossible to find suppliers who will respond quickly to small and/or limited orders (less than 1000 items) and most require payment before delivery. I am very thankful they are still around to offer Shopsmith parts, help and advise.