looking for advice-- friend bought a machine with problems

[lawrence]

Hi all, I have a buddy from another forum that bought a Carvewright recently, in part because of the posts I've been doing for the last couple of years. To make a long story short, he's only had the machine since the Tuesday after Christmas and worked really hard to research/ask questions and get things right before he even powered it up. He got the machine as well as the center line text and conforming vectors.

On his first attempt he couldn't get the machine to unlock. He worked with tech support and discovered it was a faulty card.... it would be until the following week until he got his card, so I express mailed him out an extra card for him to use over the weekend.

His spirits high, he did his first carve and it turned out very well. (the tutorial shell) and then managed another very nice little project.

His next project was to be the dust collector (fletcher's) I sent him the MPC as well as a link to the forum post. We had a good talk on the phone and I walked him through a troubleshooting (his board was .748 thick versus .75) and he got to carving.

I got an email this morning that he got an Z axis stall a quarter way through the project.... he seemed very concerned.

Tonight I came home and got a message that tech support thinks the motor needs to be replaced. If he wants to return it, there would be a 10% restocking fee and he would have to pay shipping both ways.

I can't help but think that a machine under warranty (less than a month and only a couple of projects) should be covered completely--it should function properly through the warranty period or can be returned. I'm very close to telling him to try again and then just let the credit card lawyers sort it out. I hate to do this though, but I am very confident that he did the things he was supposed to do before using his machine-- from an extra 8 inches on the boards to masking tape on the bottoms.... he read and did the research and sought out help from me before and during use... but he simply had had nothing but problems. He's still excited about the machine and would like to try out another, but this one has just been nothing but issues from moment one. With under a month and only a couple of hours use I know I wouldn't want to be changing out motors--

What should my advice to him be? I really want folks' experiences with this machine to be as awesome as mine has been and am unsure which way to point him.

Lawrence

[jaroot]

So this is a brand new machine that has a faulty card and a dead motor and they want a restocking fee?! Really!? I would think that it would be in somebodies best interest to get this worked out and worked out quickly! I would think that they should replace the machine. At very least they should ship it to and from LHR on their dime and get it fixed. These things aren't cheap and an unhappy customer is poison for business.

I guess I'm glad that we bought a refurbished unit with no expectations. We had some problems but because it wasn't brand new we were expecting it.

Had we bought a brand new one and couldn't get through two or three carves without a failure I'd be P****d.

It's kind of weird that it seems that people get machines that just work great or they don't work at all. It really seems to be a problem with the new "C" type which one would think would be much better.

Oh well, enough rant. I love mine. It needs some TLC but it is still working great.

[CarverJerry]

I have to agree with jaroot 100%. Maybe Connie will read this thread and she can help do something for him. It may be a total misunderstanding with tech support people. But yeah they should do something like RIGHT NOW.....

[lawrence]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to be a bash-- I guess I'll cut to the chase-

If a machine is under warranty (and with less than 2 hours cut time) is it the customer's responsibility to replace a motor if it goes bad (even if they send out a new motor), or should LHR get them a good machine? In my mind this is like buying a new car and the starter motor going out after a week and the company saying "we'll mail you a new one and help you install it over the phone" Am I wrong here?

Lawrence

[jaroot]

I guess that was the point of my post. LHR should get the machine fixed. I've not read the warrenty but I can't imagine that the customer is responsible for the labor.

And I don't think that asking for $170 to ship the machine back and forth really shouldn't be the customers responsibility either.

[AskBud]

Connie has beed notified. Texas has had a bad storm, so it may be a little while for the contacts to be accomplished. Let's all give the LHR staff a little time!


Lawrence, you may help by sending a PM to Connie with the friends name.
AskBud

[lawrence]

Great idea Bud--thanks. I'm confident that LHR can take care of this the right way.

Lawrence

[ktjwilliams]

The quality control is not consistant with these machines,, That's Y some work great and some r nuttin but trouble... Put Americans to work and build the Machines here instead of CHINA !!! Problem Solved !!!

And LHR should be shipping him a new machine with a return shipping label for the defective one.. It's Called Customer service ..

[lynnfrwd]

I'll look into it tomorrow and see what we can do to resolve your friends issue.


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[lawrence]

Thank you Connie-- I wasn't meaning to start a bash-session- just curious about the warranty policy. On second thought I probably should have come to you guys first before bringing it up here on the forum. I appreciate it and hope everyone is safe and dry from the storms.

Lawrence

[jaustin]

Did he buy the $999 sale with a 30 day warranty by chance?

[lawrence]

yes he did- which is one reason he really wants to get this sorted out before the 30 days is up

[lynnfrwd]

I know you didn't Lawrence.

These were the original goals of LHR:

Be compact to fit in anyone’s garage, while providing a maximum output capacity

Include software that is full-featured, yet easy enough for beginners to learn to use

Make it available at a price that makes professional CNC fabricating affordable

That last one meant that it had to be manufactured in China. If it were made in the USA, as many of us wish it were, than most of you would not be able to afford it and would not have a machine today.

It is currently $1000 and does come with a warranty that says, if there is a defective part, we will send it to you for replacement.

It's not about bad customer service or standing behind our product. It's about keeping the cost down, so we can keep the price down. Shipping these machines is expensive and with UPS sometimes more damaging.

I know you all have spent hard earned money to buy this machine and it was no easy purchase, but up until 5 years ago an affordable CNC was not even a possibility to be considered.

It is very unfortunate when a new machine has an issue and it does occasionally happen, but considering the amount going out, that number is very small. I know it's not small enough when it is you that it is happening to and believe me I don't want it to happen to anyone.

The second half of the goals when we came out with the Version C were:

Run quieter and more smoothly
Build a tougher system that offers enhanced stability
Add powerful new software functions
Minimize maintenance and simplify repairs

I still think these goals too were met. This forum a couple of years ago was totally different than it is now. It wasn't pretty. The machine is stable and customers such as you, Lawrence, and many others like jaroot and kt are producing some awesome projects. There are issues here and there, but with my customer service guys, Askbud and AlWho, all of the others in this CW forum, and the tools put in place on the website, these are ones we can get past.

I look forward to helping your friend get past this issue and producing projects soon. I can't promise anything beyond our policy, but I will do my best.


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[lynnfrwd]

yes he did- which is one reason he really wants to get this sorted out before the 30 days is up

The issue is started within the 30 day warranty.


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[jaroot]

@Connie
Sorry I shot my mouth off. I didn't realize that the 30 day warranty required customer installation of parts.

@Lawrence
I would tell you friend to get the motor and put it in. It's just a matter of time before he will have to become intimate with the machine anyway, if he keeps it for any length of time.

Is there anyone of us that is close by that could help him with this?

[liquidguitars]

but with my customer service guys, Askbud and AlWho, all of the others in this CW forum,

I wonder if they know that or even got a xmass card.

I thought of a card idea but needed a caption...

50306

[BBrooks]

I wonder if they know that or even got a xmass card.

I thought of a card idea but needed a caption...

50306

1 - "HEY! Who took number 47, it's my favorite"
2 - "I obviously have way to much time and money on my hands"
3 - "Damn, I needs me another Carvewright"
4 - "AL! We need to talk" ...Mrs Al
:)

[lynnfrwd]

"Coming Soon - New Stack-able Version"

(not really...just my caption)

[lawrence]

THANK YOU! to LHR for coming up with a solution that worked for both them and the customer. I look forward to seeing my buddy's work in the future. Keep up the great work guys!

Lawrence

[fspearman]

Im the guy this thread is about. i am pleased to say that the issue has been resolved to my satisfaction. Thanks to Lawrence for all his heip.

I am looking forward to greathings from the machine. The hour and 35 minutes I was able to use it were impressive.

[jaroot]

Welcome to the party!


Im the guy this thread is about. i am pleased to say that the issue has been resolved to my satisfaction. Thanks to Lawrence for all his heip.

I am looking forward to greathings from the machine. The hour and 35 minutes I was able to use it were impressive.