scroll saw by DeWalt!!! With much excitement I finally saved up enough money and purchased ol’ yeller in November 2008. It was a HUGE improvement from the tiny lit’l saw I had been making sawdust on! Overall it was the scroll saw I thought (and heard) it was. Until one day in October 2009 it quit working to my disbelief!!! I searched the internet for authorized service centers and found one here locally in OS. When I dropped it off I was told 2-3 weeks…you know what that means – lol! Well after calling every Monday for a status report and hearing constant excuses (the warehouse was out of parts, shipping was delayed, the warehouse was closed for inventory, blah, blah, blah). Finally after THREE MONTHS of frustration my SO got on the phone and found the district office and called to complain. To both our surprise my beloved saw was there, it arrived the day before! It needed a new motor; it was being replaced and would return back here in OS within the next week or so. When I went to pick it up (from the idiot I initially dropped it off with) he tried to give me a big line of bull and I told him that I had talked to the regional service center and they told me all about my ‘repairs’. He never once offered an apology or nothing…and sadly he is still an ‘authorized’ service center – imagine that!
So now lets skip forward to August 2011…ol’ yeller starts making sounds, not acting right and finally blowing fuses every time it is switched on. I took it apart to see if I could see anything visibly wrong...no such luck. Researched on the forum and internet...no clues. Discovered that there is a 3 year warranty, so believing the statements made on the DeWalt site – ya, right what a joke, live and learn. Anyway, I find ANOTHER authorized service center about an hour away and take it to them. They pretty much tell me it will be ‘out of pocket’ repair – more than likely a new motor (the most expensive part), look at me like a ‘dumb female’ not having a clue about a power tool…and the list goes on! Frustrated I leave and look at my work ticket and it says ‘new motor $259’…hmmm they have already diagnosed it without looking at it. Same story 2-3 weeks for repair; first week goes by – no phone call. Check service net for status...that's another joke! So I call them on Monday - ‘haven’t looked at it yet’, second week goes by - no phone call, call them on the next Monday - ‘haven’t looked at it yet and we are a month backlogged’ – NOT MY problem…I NEED my saw! OK…serious withdrawal has set in, not to mention an extreme backlog of orders that need to be completed. I try and convince them that it needs to be put on priority and that this is how I make my living these days…reply, ‘we will see what we can do’. Of course another week goes by and I call again...'Oh, we forgot to call and let you know that the circuit board is bad and that there is not one to be found in the country'…yes, my saw is down INDEFINETLY!!! I searched all over the internet and NO ONE has the part!!! I call back to talk to the district manager and here is the deal (I use this term very loosely) he wants to make me…I will SELL you a NEW one for the price of the highest repair - $259. Now the circuit board is only $60…why should I pay $259!?! Speechless and just not understanding their so-called policy I hand the phone to my SO…the man can get things done a lot better than my mousy demeanor!!! To my surprise he mentions this forum (as I never thought he really paid attention to all my ramblings about this wonderful site and friends) and suggests that DeWalt may want to get on the internet and check it out as they are not getting rave reviews at the moment! Well after a lengthy conversation they come to the conclusion that the district rep needs to call his supervisor and see what can be done, and will call back. Now this is all happening late Friday afternoon, so I don’t expect to hear anything…to my amazement I receive a phone call after five and a NEW saw is being shipped and should be here within 7-10 days! WOW…I think I will let my SO handle all my battles from now on – lol! Low and behold, the following Friday there is a bright yellow box on my porch…YIPPEE!!!
You would think the story ends here…WRONG!!! Unfortunately, my partner in crime’s heart decided not to beat correctly and we ended up in the ER and hospital for the weekend. He is doing much better now…THANK GOODNESS!!! So with everything going on I finally got back in the studio and spent two days giving it a thorough cleaning, re-hanging shelves that were full of wood that decided to come crashing down and FINALLY got my new saw mounted and table assembled (I forgot how big of pain that was for the seeing impaired and fumble fingers-lol). Install a new blade, get it all squared up, find my scrap of wood and READY, SET, GO...NOPE!!! Hit the switch and NOTHING!!! Hit it again, NOTHING!!! Check the plug and NOTHING! Switch the outlet, NOTHING!!! Blow out the switch…which hasn’t seen any dust yet and still NOTHING! Check the fuse, NOTHING!!! What the blankety, blankety, blank!!! I am at my wits end with DeWalt!!! Unfortunately it was too late to call the service center…so the saga will continue tomorrow and I will keep you posted!
For anyone that has purchased a NEW saw I cannot stress enough…REGISTER THE WARRANTY and hopefully your life with ol’ yeller will be a lot longer than mine!!!!
Sorry for the lengthy diatribe…but I just had to vent!!!
~ Kim (still not making sawdust)
So now lets skip forward to August 2011…ol’ yeller starts making sounds, not acting right and finally blowing fuses every time it is switched on. I took it apart to see if I could see anything visibly wrong...no such luck. Researched on the forum and internet...no clues. Discovered that there is a 3 year warranty, so believing the statements made on the DeWalt site – ya, right what a joke, live and learn. Anyway, I find ANOTHER authorized service center about an hour away and take it to them. They pretty much tell me it will be ‘out of pocket’ repair – more than likely a new motor (the most expensive part), look at me like a ‘dumb female’ not having a clue about a power tool…and the list goes on! Frustrated I leave and look at my work ticket and it says ‘new motor $259’…hmmm they have already diagnosed it without looking at it. Same story 2-3 weeks for repair; first week goes by – no phone call. Check service net for status...that's another joke! So I call them on Monday - ‘haven’t looked at it yet’, second week goes by - no phone call, call them on the next Monday - ‘haven’t looked at it yet and we are a month backlogged’ – NOT MY problem…I NEED my saw! OK…serious withdrawal has set in, not to mention an extreme backlog of orders that need to be completed. I try and convince them that it needs to be put on priority and that this is how I make my living these days…reply, ‘we will see what we can do’. Of course another week goes by and I call again...'Oh, we forgot to call and let you know that the circuit board is bad and that there is not one to be found in the country'…yes, my saw is down INDEFINETLY!!! I searched all over the internet and NO ONE has the part!!! I call back to talk to the district manager and here is the deal (I use this term very loosely) he wants to make me…I will SELL you a NEW one for the price of the highest repair - $259. Now the circuit board is only $60…why should I pay $259!?! Speechless and just not understanding their so-called policy I hand the phone to my SO…the man can get things done a lot better than my mousy demeanor!!! To my surprise he mentions this forum (as I never thought he really paid attention to all my ramblings about this wonderful site and friends) and suggests that DeWalt may want to get on the internet and check it out as they are not getting rave reviews at the moment! Well after a lengthy conversation they come to the conclusion that the district rep needs to call his supervisor and see what can be done, and will call back. Now this is all happening late Friday afternoon, so I don’t expect to hear anything…to my amazement I receive a phone call after five and a NEW saw is being shipped and should be here within 7-10 days! WOW…I think I will let my SO handle all my battles from now on – lol! Low and behold, the following Friday there is a bright yellow box on my porch…YIPPEE!!!
You would think the story ends here…WRONG!!! Unfortunately, my partner in crime’s heart decided not to beat correctly and we ended up in the ER and hospital for the weekend. He is doing much better now…THANK GOODNESS!!! So with everything going on I finally got back in the studio and spent two days giving it a thorough cleaning, re-hanging shelves that were full of wood that decided to come crashing down and FINALLY got my new saw mounted and table assembled (I forgot how big of pain that was for the seeing impaired and fumble fingers-lol). Install a new blade, get it all squared up, find my scrap of wood and READY, SET, GO...NOPE!!! Hit the switch and NOTHING!!! Hit it again, NOTHING!!! Check the plug and NOTHING! Switch the outlet, NOTHING!!! Blow out the switch…which hasn’t seen any dust yet and still NOTHING! Check the fuse, NOTHING!!! What the blankety, blankety, blank!!! I am at my wits end with DeWalt!!! Unfortunately it was too late to call the service center…so the saga will continue tomorrow and I will keep you posted!
For anyone that has purchased a NEW saw I cannot stress enough…REGISTER THE WARRANTY and hopefully your life with ol’ yeller will be a lot longer than mine!!!!
Sorry for the lengthy diatribe…but I just had to vent!!!
~ Kim (still not making sawdust)
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