Subject: Re: Craftsman router replacement

From: "Andrew Patterson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 17:20:48 GMT

> >I would like to know more about this from people that have actually had
> >their Sears routers repalced. I looked for the original thread that had
> >the replaced routers in it, but it seems to have expired.

Here is my repost:

A recent post to this newsgroup mentioned the lousy plastic cam locking
mechanism on several of the lower-end Sears Craftsman routers. Sears
finally fixed the problem with this year's models, and the person that
brought this up before was able to trade his in without any problem. Well,
I had about the same router (1-1/2HP version) that I bought 3 years ago.
Obviously out of warrantee, but I figured, maybe I can pay a small fee to
get it upgraded.

I apparently got an excellent salesman. He understood my problem right
away, freely admitting that the previous design was very poor and that it
took too long for them to fix it. He asked me how old mine was, and I told
him it was 3 years old, well out of warrantee. Well, he swapped it for the
new model for no charge! I was very impressed. He just put a clearance tag
on my old one (for $32), as it was still working fine and safe. For that
price it will probably be very good for someone (it did work, it just can
slip and it was hard to adjust). Of course the new one has a brand new
warrantee. I did have the receipt, which I provided, but he agreed to swap
it before he knew I had the receipt.

Needless to say, I am happy (BTW, I also recently ordered a Freud FT2000e
3-1/4HP router so I have a better, more beefy unit as well). This salesman
knew the value of a happy customer. The router is only about $60 new, so
for less than $30 he bought likely return business.

To be honest, if he had said "I am sorry, but we cannot take a return on a
unit that old" I would not have blamed them, and I would not have held it
against Sears. Their service this time, though, was exemplary.

When you buy tools, examine it to see if you think it is good for your use,
don't just say "It is Craftsman so it must be bad/good." Every
manufacturer, in general, has good and not-so-good products. I still
faithfully buy Craftsman hand tools because I have had very good luck with
them (mostly wrenches, sockets and such). I compare them to others and
often decide the Craftsman is the best quality. I have never had problems
with their return guarantee. I guess I have access to the better Sears
stores!

Anyway, thought I would put this positive Sears note in here! By all means,
if you have a problem with something, ask if anything can be done. Be
honest, don't try to tell them you bought it less than a year ago if you
did not. Don't even try to hide that fact, come right out with it. Be
reasonable, don't expect them to replace every tool that breaks after the
warrantee period. Be polite, and if you get an answer you believe is
unreasonable by all means talk to someone else, but always be polite and
honest! It really works sometimes!

Andrew

---

From: Doug Hood <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 13:40:50 -0500

Count me among the few (many?) to get the "EZ Lock mechanism" router
replaced with the newer redesigned Craftsman routers. I took mine back
today. I explained that I had discovered (through the newsgroups) that
they had redesigned the locking mechanism, and that some folks had
received replacements. I simply asked them to replace mine (the worse
that could happen is that they would say "NO").    

Three observations:

1. They replaced it with no questions asked
2. The shelves were nearly empty of 1.5 hp routers like the one I
replaced
3. They retagged it for clearance. When I walked by the clearance table
on the 
   way out, there were at least two other routers there already. 

The new mechanism appears much more solid. Thanks to all who took the
time
to alert the rest of us...

doug

---

From: [email-masked] (Mike McDonald)
Date: 12 Feb 1997 01:20:55 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
> to alert the rest of us...

  What is the new mechanism?

  Mike McDonald
  [email-masked]

---

From: "Dave Ptacek" <[email-masked]>
Date: 12 Feb 1997 19:26:20 GMT

Andrew Patterson <[email-masked]> wrote in article
<01bc17c9$6ed17f60$94883180@ifozdex>...
> > >the replaced routers in it, but it seems to have expired.

I took my 1.5hp back to SEARS a week ago, and they didn't know anything
about the adjustable height mechanism.  They took my name and number and
said they would check into it.  After a couple of days and no response, I
surfed over to www.sears.com and stated my situation in a "tell us what you
think" email.  The email stated the problem and closed with me stating that
I would become a "very unhappy ex-Sears customer" if the situation wasn't
resolved.  I was called in 48 hrs, and the result was "please bring your
router (receipt optional) and we'll give you the purchase price as credit
to another router".  

Today, I successfully exchanged it for the new 1.5hp model no questions
asked.  I would like to thank rec.ww for bringing up the possible router
exchange, I too have had the height "automatically" adjust but just assumed
that's what a person gets when you buy cheap instead of quality.

Dave.