Reality check regarding merchant (long)
Michael Kieta-near Ramstein Germany
>Hello everyone,
This probably belongs on the messages board, but this is the forum where I hang out, so..
Brief history: I�m an American living in Germany working for the DoD. During the past year or two, I�ve been upgrading my bandsaw with a riser kit, new spring, a Fastrak fence, and quick crank, and new blades. I�ve purchased all these items from Highland Hardware. Before I started this process, I also purchased some blades of the �pre-riser� length that I haven�t used.
Last night (European time), I called Highland Hardware about returning three of those blades for credit or exchange. To be honest, I didn�t expect any problems. The guy at HH immediately started questioning whether it would worth sending them back because of the shipping. I said I expected to have to pay for the shipping. He wanted to know when I had purchased them (more than a year ago), whether they were �wrapped,� and if they were in good condition. I said they were in the same condition as they�d arrived, because I hadn�t used them. This went on for awhile and he commented several times that I would be better off selling them here if I could find someone that wanted them. He said he couldn�t promise anything over the phone, because they might �just have to put them on the bargain table� in the store.
I was getting upset, so I said it didn�t sound like very good customer service. I said I had purchased a several items from them and I didn�t see the problem with returning unused blades for credit. He responded that they were in business, and I was way beyond the time limit for returns. He finally said I could send them the blades with �an explanation of the circumstances� and they would �try to be fair.� If the blades were in good enough shape, they would return them to their shelves and give me credit for them based on their price at the time of purchase and minus a �restocking fee.� Since everyone�s blades have increased significantly in price, it sounds like they have the potential to make a double profit on these blades, plus I pay them for restocking the blades.
Finally the reality check: I could understand his reluctance to promise anything over the phone without having seen the blades. But assuming these blades are in the same shape as they were shipped to me (they are) am I being unreasonable to expect HH to exchange my blades for the longer blades? There�s no difference in cost between the blades of different length. Or am I expecting too much and this is a standard business practice that shouldn�t bother me. I have a suspicion that this is a typical level of customer service, which explains why everyone raves about Lee Valley, Rob Lee, and Lie-Nielsen. In fact, if someone will tell me that LV would have done the same thing, I�ll do the healthy thing and release my resentment. Actually, I plan on doing that eventually anyway, but I'll get there faster.
I�ve already decided I�ll put the blades up for a benefit auction for WC rather than hassle with HH. But I�m unsure whether I will continue to do business with HH. That�s where the reality check comes in.
Thanks and sorry this is so long.
Michael
