[Paul W Gillespie]

Just need to vent about Delta Machinery and their terrible parts department. This seems to be a yearly occurrence. I needed some gib bolts to replace some stripped ones on my Delta 8" Jointer so I went to their parts site. They showed them in stock and the price was not too bad at $1 each, so I ordered five. I should have ordered more, just in case, but that was my mistake. Since they were charging an outrageous $9.95 to ship five little bolts totaling $5.95, I figured I would add a few other things I needed. I got a new jointer guard return spring and a pin for my band saw table, bringing my grand total to $10.06. At least I was now spending a bit more than the shipping cost, although all these parts would fit in a #9 envelope and probably cost a buck to send USPS.

Now here is the rub that has sent me into rantsville. I ordered the parts on Monday of last week, seven days ago. I look online and my order is still pending. I called today and the guy tells me, casually, oh we were closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday and we are behind. Your parts are scheduled to be picked and packed today and should go out today or tomorrow. I told him that for $10 I paid for shipping a few bolts, I would think that they could have sent them on Tuesday or Wednesday before the holiday. He didn't sound like he cared what I thought, so I basically said thanks (for nothing) and goodbye.

I realize it was a holiday week, but my order was a full three days before Thanksgiving. They really couldn't get this out in that time frame? I guess I should thank my lucky stars that the parts were in stock with this company. I have ordered from them in the past and parts that I ordered were on back order, never to be seen again. This is a repeated problem with them and it is ruining their once great name.

This is not a way to run a company. I have many Delta tools in my shop, most bought used. I hope they turn it around, but I will not recommend any Delta tools to anyone, new or used, until they get their act together. I guess I will have to keep dealing with them until I am able to eventually replace anything with the Delta name on it, in my shop.

 

[GeorgeC]

Delays around Thanksgiving are quite normal. If I order something at that time of year I never expect fast delivery.

Could you not have bought those bolts at some local merchant? I would think that if nowhere else that Fastenall might have an equivalent item.

George

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

George I can understand delays, but to not have even begun to pack the order for seven days is not acceptable to me, no matter what time of year. I ordered a new beard trimmer from Amazon on Sunday, it was packed and shipped on Sunday. Now holding a company to Amazon standards is a bit unfair, but an order on a Monday, should be packed and shipped by Wednesday. That is the business they are in, in the parts department, that is what they do, pack and ship. This is not a package carrier delay. I will look at some local suppliers for the bolts. I should have done so in the first place, but I figured, hey since they were in stock at Delta, how long could it take to get the correct ones, my mistake.

 

[ryan50hrl]

If it weren't this week...I'd agree. I'd cut them some slack this week. But that's just me. Look on the bright side...at least it's not back ordered.

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

I hear you Ryan and many think I am over reacting, but I just checked my mailbox and the new jointer knives I ordered from Holbren were in the mailbox, USPS and free shipping. Even if it was not free shipping from Holbren, it would have only been $4. These were ordered minutes after the Delta order. Also, I would be cutting some slack if I had not been burned by them in the past on parts orders. We will see about parts being in stock and shipping today or tomorrow. I will believe it when I see it.

This is the Holbren package, containing 8" jointer knives, much bigger than what is needed to ship 5 bolts, a spring and a pin and only 3.95, if I had to pay for shipping, which I did not with a coupon code. So if Delta wants to charge $10 to ship small bolts, at least process the order in a timely fashion or waive shipping fees. I guess I am the only one who feels this way and that is OK, I was just venting. To add to the vent, if they shipped my bolts on time I would be back to setting up my jointer with the new knives. Now it will be most likely another week if I can't find them locally.

 

[rrich]

I had a Delta 6" jointer, open stand and needed to replace the same bolts. I went to Lowe's and picked up a bunch. Less than $5. The only thing that I remember was that the threads were US and the head was metric on the original bolts. Kind of warped my mind for a bit.

 

[Old Skhool]

Delta has always been high on there parts. Example, an arbor nut for the unisaw $20 + tax + shipping. At one time they did have top notch service.

 

[NetDoc]

People can be very frustrating... if you're in a rush, they often are not. I had a mechanic working for me that had a horrible attitude. When asked if he would be finishing a car promised on time, he flippantly remarked that everything was OK since he had a ride home. He thought I over reacted when I fired him on the spot. I put another mechanic, with a far better attitude on that customer's car. Unfortunately, he had made a habit of not meeting deadlines and acting in a timely manner.

 

[TomC]

The only thing I can say is you were lucky they had the parts. I am through with Delta and not being able to get parts.
Tom

 

[afx]

I always order from e-replacement parts or try to find a suitable replacement part at SEARS. You would be surprised what will work in those SEARS bins in the back of the store.

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

OK, I will have to give Delta some props, well a manager in the Delta Parks Department. I look online today and my order says it is still pending. Yesterday I was told it would ship either today or tomorrow. I called to find out when and if it was really going out today and the girl tells me that is is slated to packed and shipped this week. I said wait a minute I was told it would go yesterday or today. She said all she knows is what is listed. So now I am a little miffed, but try and make the best of it. I said well if it has not been packed or shipped, can I add 10 more gib bolts to the order, since nothing has been done so far. She tells me "no." Now I am getting mad. I said why not if the order has not even been touched yet. She made some excuse about internet orders. Then I said well can I cancel the order, I would reorder with the additional bolts. She said "no" again. I said "why not" and this is when I got the answer that sent me over the top. She said, out loud "Oh my God!" I then said "did you just "Oh my god, me?" "Let me talk to your manager."

Now this is where things started getting better. The last two CSR's there were not helpful at all and the last one "Oh my god'ed" me. Well I told the manager what she said and what my problem was. We looked up the part number and now they were reading out of stock, great. He said not to worry, he would look around and many times other parts will fit. He took my number and said he would get back to me. He also told me about the problems they were having with the parts. He told me that Black and Decker were not very helpful during the transition and actually destroyed some of the tooling/parts before the change over. Not sure if it is true, but it sounded good to me.

I get a call later today saying that he found a whole box of the bolts and 10 more were shipped with my order. They might have even been complimentary, I didn't ask, because I was driving. Even if I pay for them, I appreciate the extra effort. And I really didn't want to get the girl CSR in trouble, I just wanted some decent service.

 

[rrbrown]

I get a call later today saying that he found a whole box of the bolts and 10 more were shipped with my order. They might have even been complimentary, I didn't ask, because I was driving. Even if I pay for them, I appreciate the extra effort. And I really didn't want to get the girl CSR in trouble, I just wanted some decent service.

Well hopefully it works out as you said. unfortunately the bad customer service will continue because its the mentality of a lot people these days. You should not worry about her getting in trouble because that is why she has the attitude she has. No one wanted to get her in trouble.

Bad service deserves to be reported and those people need to be held accountable. Something about getting in trouble at work or even getting fired that can make you look at things differently the next time.

 

[middleriggle]

Hey, glad you got your parts and that does suck about the customer service issue. Just wanted to throw out this idea to you. It was a holiday that cut the week by 2/5. It was also end of a month. Many large companies like this will prioritize orders in order of value and volume to show for a better operating month. Not saying it's right, but I've been on the shipping end and when I'm told to not pick something because it's a small order and it's not worth the effort to issue a pick slip, pull the order, send to shipping, pack, and ship the item, I have to follow what I'm told or I'll be out of a job. It is what it is. I understand your frustration. Just saying.

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

Again, I understand Thanksgiving, end of the month and all, but they are charging, what I consider a premium for shipping. If it was a larger part or something much more expensive $10 would not be that bad to ship, but 5, 1/2 inch bolts. That is high and at that rate it should not take 10 days to even think about pulling the order and shipping, no matter what time of year it is. This is what they do, sell parts, pack and ship them. That is what a parts department does. Is there really 10 days worth of order pulling before you can think about getting to mine? These parts were in stock. They need to do better and there is no excuse for this 10 day delay. The manager made good by getting me the extra bolts and expediting my order and for that I am grateful. If they want to rebuild trust in the brand, they have to go above and beyond, every order. Not saying they should give stuff away, but if you charge a high shipping and handling fee, the service should be A+. I want Delta to succeed.

 

[middleriggle]

I think we need to agree to disagree on the issue of time and cost and be thankful that you got your bolts. Have a good day.

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

Sure we can agree to disagree and I will be glad when the bolts are in my hand. I did get notice they shipped today. I am just shocked at how many people will gladly pay for poor service and not make a peep. How long should I have waited for them to ship my, in stock, bolts? Who knows when they would have been shipped if I did not call twice? Should I be glad when I call to inquire about the shipment, that I am spoken to in a rude manner, when in all honesty I was very polite until they kicked it up a notch?

Leaving the rude CSR's out of it and just talking about the general ordering of products from a company, this is a new day and age in online commerce. Amazon had set the bar high, as with most companies. If you read the earlier posts in this thread, I ordered blades from Holbren.com the same day. They shipped them and they were in my hands on Monday, USPS Priority Mail. The cost would have been 3.95, but was free because of a coupon. Not too many online retailers, or retailers in general, are taking 9 days to ship an order, and that was with me prodding them, even if it was a holiday. I ordered three days before the holiday, mind you.

So I am thankful that my bolts are on the way. Delta should be thankful that we as customers don't abandon them completely. They are already heading down a road to ruin with no real availability of their products at many retailers. The stories are all over the forums. As I said earlier, big thanks to the manager who helped me. They should train their CSR's to be a bit more helpful, or give them the leeway to make decisions and not escalate the anger of loyal customers. I also want Delta to bounce back and produce quality products and support the ones already sold. I hope that is the direction they are headed.

 

[rrich]

Delta has always been high on there parts. Example, an arbor nut for the unisaw $20 + tax + shipping. At one time they did have top notch service.

About 18 months ago I bought 4 UniSaw arbor nuts. The left tilt (Normal thread) was like $7.60 or so and the right tilt was $8.25 (left thread). This was at a DeWalt factory store. DeWalt has the parts contract for parts for Delta, for how long I don't know.

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

Credit where credit is due.

I should just let this thread die, but I wanted to give credit where, credit is due. I may have been a little harsh in blasting Delta as bad as I did, given the situation, but I think mistakes were made on both ends. I should have been a bit more patient with the holiday, but I was burned on my last Delta parts order and had a thin skin with the parts department. That being sad, for the money they charge to ship a few bolts, they should be more on the ball.

However, there was no excuse for their CSR, really both I talked to, to be as unhelpful and one was down right rude with the "Oh My God" comment she made to me.

Now the credit due Delta. After taking it to a manager named Bob, he was very helpful into looking into my problem, finding the bolts that were said to be out of stock and including 11 extra bolts in my order, as a courtesy. The order arrived today. This is something that the CSR could have done, or at least should be allowed to do. Not the free bolts part, but the since my order was not picked or packed yet, adding the bolts to it. I was more than willing to pay for them.

Anyway, in the end, Delta's manager Bob, made it right in my book. Delta is too big in the woodworking world. It would be a shame for them to not regain their once great name. There are too many great old Delta tools out there and I hope they can keep us in parts for a long time to come. I wish them luck.

 

[icor1031]

Aww, that comfort curve likes quite dusty. They stopped making the 2000 model. :boat:

 

[Paul W Gillespie]

Yeah, she is very dusty. I need one of those washable keyboards. I like the slight curve better than the split keyboards or even the regular ones. I also have the MS 6000 Natural Mouse, which really helps my hand, wrist, arm and shoulder.