Tool repair / general customer service rant.

[DuckRyder]

So, I have a craftsman torque wrench. Its several years (like 6 or 8 ) old but rarely used. The last time I got it out to use it I noticed the plastic handle slides up on the metal handle which makes it impossible to tell what setting it is on.

Well today it worked its way up on the to do list, I know it is not warranted for life so I get the owners manual out and start looking for a repair address. None to be found and no telephone number. buried on about page 5 I find "for service return to store". We have one of those little "Hometown" Sears stores in town so I pack myself over there and am greeted by a somewhat disinterested young lady who advises me before I even get to the counter that "torque wrenches are only warranted for 1 year".

The rest of the conversation goes something like this...

• I know but, can it be repaired
• No you can only replace the ratchet part
• Well they can calibrate them right? That might take care of it?
• You will have to go to union city for that (which by the way union city can't do)

So I am a little irritated and say "well that is not very helpful" and she goes back to read ing Vogue or whatever it was...

I get home and get on the web to try to locate information, I can't really find a telephone number but get a hold of the parts department and the gentleman there was helpful, he thought it was a "hand powered tool and should be warranted for life" (not that I disagree, but I knew it wasn't when I bought it) he also found a number for a repair depot in Kennesaw and was transferring me to the Craftsman's sales for a chance at more information when the transfer failed. So I decide to use the number for the repair center. I get Bill who does some checking and finds it can be repaired for a flat rate roughly equal to the cost of a new one (OK, it is like 20.00 less).

So I call the local store and try to explain that they gave me wrong information, I was wrongly thinking that they would want to know the correct answer, and get the "You need to go to a company store" (also incorrect, no store can repair it) and I'm sure when you buy something there they don't say "oh we aren't a company store, so we can't help you after you pay..." and starts arguing with me...

Now here's the thing, if the local store cared about the customer, they would have figured all this out for me and offered to do the sending off, that is my main beef, the second one is that they should make the repair more cost effective because throwing the wrench away and getting a new one is just wasteful.

Thanks for listening...

[basketcase0302]

Robert,

I used Craftsman tin snips for about 10 years working in the So. Florida air-conditioning field. I quit buying Craftsman tools when about 15 years ago I tried to return a pair of craftsman tin snips, (which had a lifetime warranty/and I had exchanged before) and they gave me a set of sears brand tin snips for the replacement!
I still have many of their sockets and ratchets, but won't spend anymore money on their hand tools.
Funny how they can kinda' "make the rules as they go along"...

[DuckRyder]

Robert,

I used Craftsman tin snips for about 10 years working in the So. Florida air-conditioning field. I quit buying Craftsman tools when about 15 years ago I tried to return a pair of craftsman tin snips, (which had a lifetime warranty/and I had exchanged before) and they gave me a set of sears brand tin snips for the replacement!
I still have many of their sockets and ratchets, but won't spend anymore money on their hand tools.
Funny how they can kinda' "make the rules as they go along"...

I had them try something like that on me one time, I just said "I don't think so"...

I've been doing some research and it seems like the tool business is in turmoil and most everything is owned by one or two big conglomerates. Since I no longer work in a dealer I can't keep buying MAC and Snap On (almost all of my stuff is MAC) and I generally get good service out of Craftsman. I can order a Snap On or MAC on-line but for occasional use it seems like over kill (and costly overkill at that) I'll probably look at Kobalt @ Lowe's (no longer made by Snap On) and Husky @ Home Depot (Probably made by Stanley/Proto) and still have this one repaired.

It seems that Kobalt and Craftsman torque wrenches are made by Danahar, although the designs are quire different. I won't be buying any more of these "MicroTorq" design Craftsman wrenches, thats for sure...

Oh, and I know the owner of the "Hometown Sears" and I'll be stopping by to discuss the little misses attitude...

[BobbyFord]

I don't skimp on torque wrenches. I buy Snap-On and when they need to be recalibrated I drop them off at my local dealers house. Sure, Snap-On tools are expensive but I get great customer service.

[JWW]

Never cared much for our local Sear's either. It was one of those independent types also. Not very helpful...maybe that is why they are no longer in business. Now I go to Kmart (shaking my head as I type this) to get anything Craftsman related. Oh well.

[DuckRyder]

I don't skimp on torque wrenches.

Certainly I can't argue with your decision, although I really don't consider a decent brand of consumer brand wrench skimping for someone who does not use it professionally.

This is a 3/8 drive wrench that I bought for a specific purpose and I would be surprised if I use it once a year, a $300.00 wrench just doesn't make sense to me for that use. Particularly when I can get a 100.00 one had have $200.00 left over for 5.56mm...

I buy Snap-On and when they need to be re-calibrated I drop them off at my local dealers house. Sure, Snap-On tools are expensive but I get great customer service.

I truly am glad you get that kind of service, when I worked at the dealer we almost all had MAC, because the MAC guy would show up like clockwork every week and gave you zero flack about replacing stuff. We were lucky if the Snap-On guy showed up once a month and he'd give you guff about replacing something if you didn't have a box full of Snap-On. It was a vicious cycle, the less he sold us the less he showed up, the less he showed up the less he sold. He finally just quit coming at all so we all bought more MAC and Cornwall/SK. So my point is that it is all about your sales representative.

[cep62]

Yeh customer service means alot.
I had a Snap-on dealer that would stop every week. I told him he didn't have to ,because I had most of what I needed, once a month was fine.
He said he didn't mind because I was on his route.

So he sells his route and moves. The new guy never stops because I don't buy enough (say he doesn't have time )
If I need something I have to track Him down.
He would drive by the shop once a week, and wouldn't even look over and wave.

So needless to say when the new Mac man came to around, he got alot of business in town.

[DuckRyder]

Didn't Stanley own Mac at one time??

I belive they do and have for about 10 years.

[fordman]

this may not be quite on subject but it does say something about craptsman tools. it used ot be they hand a lifetime on everything that had the name on it. now they have almost gotten rid of the warranty and just use the name as a selling tool. not as a guarntee. ever since Kfart bought out sears. quality of craptsman has also went down.

[cdeal28078]

I have some craftsman wrenches and a bunch of their sockets. I have quit trying to return anything for replacement. Their customer service around Charlotte is terrible. I buy tools rarely as I have most of what I need but when I do I buy the brand from Lowes as they have a pretty good replacement policy. I have one of their 1/2" torque wrenches and like it fine.
I have lots of Mac, Snap-on and some cornwell sockets and wrenches and they are great tools. I bought all of them second hand though and could never have afforded to buy all of them new.
clint

[papabug71]

Craftsman tools are garbage. The older tools were good stuff, but anything built in the last 10 years or so is junk.

I have an old set of S/K sockets from Montgomery Wards dad got back in the day & they're better tools than Craftsman tools of the same era.

[DuckRyder]

I've never had much of a problem getting them to replace broken stuff, there was the one incident with the Volkswagen rear brakes, the 6 foot piece of pipe and the (4) 1/2 inch drive ratchets in one day... but...

It seems that most of the Craftsman stuff is made by Danaher who owns MatCo, Allen, KD and GearWrench. I understand that they also make the Kobalt stuff after Lowe's had a big falling out with SnapOn (apparently they wanted the SnapOn logo on Kobalt), Stanley makes the Home Depot Husky brand.

So as I understand it the big 3 are:

Stanley (MAC, Pôrto, Fa Com, SK, Etc.)
Danaher ( MatCo, Allen, KD and GearWrench, Etc.)
SnapOn (SnapOn/Bluepoint)

At least that is what I'm coming up with on the ErrorNet...

The main thing I never liked about Craftsman is the texture on the wrenches makes them hard to clean, the MAC is polished but the edges are sharper, I still like the MAC better than Craftsman's standard line.

[bluemoose]

FWIW I have always had great luck returning Craftsman tools. I walk in, give the tool to the person at the counter, tell them I'll be right back. I go get the tool I need and tell them it is lifetime warranteed. Never had a problem.
On another note, My great grandfather had a shovel for about 40 years. Whittled it down to about the size of a spoon over that time. He went into the local sears, and they replaced it, no questions asked! If more places were like that today we might not be in the mess we are. Tool companies should take a cue from gun companies. You can't have too many guns or tools. Give me good service, and I will come back to buy your product.
It just seems like more companies from all sectors of the economy are more focused on getting new customers in the door than getting current customers back again.

Rant finished, Moose out

[SteveC]

i have all sorts of brands of tools i will say that my local snap on is pretty good as warranty. Ive mangled some tools bad, i twisted the head off from a 1/2 inch breaker bar that when it broke sent the rest of the bar at a ultra fast velocity into my face. No questions asked beside what happened to my face replaced the end of the breaker bar and sent me on my way.

[averagef250]

I use a 45 year old 1/2" 20-150 craftsman torque wrench for all the pidly 25-45 lb/ft torqueing during engine assembly. I have it's calibration checked yearly when my CDI wrenches are calibrated. The Craftsman is way off, but it is repeatable and I know what it torques to. I have oiled/repaired the craftsman wrench quite a bit over the years, but haven't replaced it as it just keeps going and does it's job fine.

I believe CDI is quite a bit more wrench than anyone elses. Snap-on bought them several years back now. If you need to buy one they are a good choice.