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My new G0463 Mill arrived and won't run.
- Thread starter Harv
- Start date
The second inoperative mill and the malfunctioning table drive are packed up and ready to ship back. Fed Ex is supposed to be here by 5:00 PM today to pick up. Grizzly Customer Service told me the other day "if we can get this machine running when we get it back I will then be charged a 10% re-stocking fee". That really set me on edge. Why can't they just sell me a working product to begin with and avoid the wasted days of down time? Don't they have a Quality Control Department? Other companies don't ship nonworking machinery and expect the customer to troubleshoot it to get it running or suffer a 10% penalty.
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2013
- Messages
- 4,063
These things aren't toasters packed in Styrofoam. They are heavy and subject to shipping that most appliances aren't exposed to. What worked at the factory may get a connector jostled loose during shipping. And it is unreasonable to expect any reseller (which is all Griz is) of their size to 'function test' every machine that moves through their warehouses. Smaller guys like Matt can do it, but I would be pleasantly surprised if he uncrates every machine and tests every function. If I'm wrong Matt, I extend my sincerest apologies. 
And no, I seriously doubt that they (or even PM) has a Quality Control Department. That is for manufacturers, not resellers. If a machine show up in my garage that doesn't work, I will make every effort to troubleshoot the problem to root cause. If I can (I don't have schematics for the controller board for example). I'm not saying you did this, but if they open it up and discover a loose connection that when fixed makes the machine operable, I can see the restocking fee from their perspective. Not saying I would do this, but I'm not part of this scenario.
You should have a better experience with PM and your new PM25.
And no, I seriously doubt that they (or even PM) has a Quality Control Department. That is for manufacturers, not resellers. If a machine show up in my garage that doesn't work, I will make every effort to troubleshoot the problem to root cause. If I can (I don't have schematics for the controller board for example). I'm not saying you did this, but if they open it up and discover a loose connection that when fixed makes the machine operable, I can see the restocking fee from their perspective. Not saying I would do this, but I'm not part of this scenario.
You should have a better experience with PM and your new PM25.
These things aren't toasters packed in Styrofoam. They are heavy and subject to shipping that most appliances aren't exposed to. What worked at the factory may get a connector jostled loose during shipping. And it is unreasonable to expect any reseller (which is all Griz is) of their size to 'function test' every machine that moves through their warehouses. Smaller guys like Matt can do it, but I would be pleasantly surprised if he uncrates every machine and tests every function. If I'm wrong Matt, I extend my sincerest apologies.
And no, I seriously doubt that they (or even PM) has a Quality Control Department. That is for manufacturers, not resellers. If a machine show up in my garage that doesn't work, I will make every effort to troubleshoot the problem to root cause. If I can (I don't have schematics for the controller board for example). I'm not saying you did this, but if they open it up and discover a loose connection that when fixed makes the machine operable, I can see the restocking fee from their perspective. Not saying I would do this, but I'm not part of this scenario.
You should have a better experience with PM and your new PM25.
The way I see it is that I paid for a machine that works, not one that I have to fix before I can use it. I don't really care if I purchase the product from the factory that makes it or from a reseller I expect the product (any product I buy "new") to work as advertised for my money. I would not expect to fix a new truck before I could drive it.
Nowhere in the ad for the machine did I read anything about it being the customers responsibility to check and make sure (even though I did as most of us likely do) that they did their job properly as part of the purchase arraignment. If it was a loose wire I think that I would have spotted it. This machine did the same thing the previous machine did and the table drive was also defective.
As far as I am concerned their Customer Service Department (if they were any good) should have been apologizing for the time and money it cost me because they were unable to fulfill the business arrangement that they entered into. Not threatening to charge me extra because they shipped defective merchandise. Maybe an apology and a 5% to 10% off coupon for my next purchase or something along those lines but it seems that Grizzly has gotten so big that they are thinking that a person owes them something for them doing business with them.
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- Joined
- Mar 21, 2013
- Messages
- 4,063
Actually, forget the next purchase, I would be asking for a partial refund to cover my troubleshooting time on their machine. Wasn't inferring you missed a loose wire, that was just an example that came to mind. It sounds like they have some serious issues with this machine. Wouldn't be the first time though...
I wasn't thinking that you were implying anything except posting you're thoughts on the matter. I always find your posts of good interest and am glad that you take the time. I respect you're experience.
I am cutting some threads and my shop is out of stock on 1/2x20 nuts, I gotta go to the hardware store
Only one defective power feed.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2014
- Messages
- 84
My experience with Grizzly's customer service was excellent. Direct following ups (they call me and emailed me several times to update me where my replacement parts were)
Not saying you weren't polite in your discussions but could that be a factor here?
Not saying you weren't polite in your discussions but could that be a factor here?
I'm always professional when doing business. The Customer Service Rep. didn't like the fact that I insisted on my money back with the second malfunctioning mill. With both mills failing in the exact same manner I felt that I would not be able to trust the electronics on the second machine even if they wanted to send me some components or a circuit board to replace. If that worked and the machine started running...how long would it run was not something I wanted to find out at this point, especially after the table drive motor failed as well. I think they must be dealing with a bad batch of electronics or something of that nature ( of course I do not know for certain).
I am still disappointed because I put a lot of thought into purchasing that particular model and felt that it would serve my purposes very effectively. I had also taken the time and money to build a stand for it so sending the mill back was not something that I am real pleased with having to do. My current mill tooling is MT3 so I also have purchased a few hundred dollars worth of R8 tooling but that will still be used although at the time I wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
Two people I made commitments too also have been put behind schedule because of these two bad machines and that is not their fault. This has soured me on dealing with Grizzly which was a company that I thought very highly of a few weeks ago. At this time I do not want to purchase anything from them but I am hoping my feelings on that will change. I already own some Grizzly equipment that is performing fine but I am now worried about the electronics when I hit the start button on my lathe. I do not think that I will ever purchase another Grizzly machine but I may purchasing some tooling or supplies from them in the future but Grizzly will certainly not be the first supplier that I check for my needs. They used to be.
I called Customer Service yesterday and the CS agent I dealt with concerning Fed Ex picking up the second defective mill was pleasant to deal with. I may just have gotten a hold of an Agent that wasn't very experienced or just not good at her job I do not know. I do know that I was very surprised when they started trying to blame me for the malfunctioning machine and stating that they were considering charging me a 10% fee. I still won't know how this situation is going to play out until this coming week.