What a great group of people!

[badbert]

I just got off the phone with LHR. I talked with Connie and then Chris. I won't go into details about the call. I will say they were extremely helpful! They were really ready to go above and beyond what I expected!

[CNC Carver]

I have never had a bad experience dealing with LHR either. Glad to have so much support from LHR. THANKS. Happy Holiday's also! Keep up the good work!

[rcdages]

I have never had any problem with getting help from LHR at any time.

They are very good people who care year after year for us their customers.

A big thank you to all at LHR.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Have a Happy Experience with a Business or Customer Service and we tell 10 people..... Have a Un Happy Experience and we tell 1000..... Lets tell 1000 about the GREAT Service from LHR !!!! Good Job !!!!

AL

[lynnfrwd]

Aww, gee willikers! You guys are the best.

We are answering phones as quickly as we can. Now Jimel is gone along with Alex. You will soon be talking to Israel that has been training in the back. Daniel is helping out during lunches and busy times. Joe and I are answering calls and got two more training on machines in the back. Be extra nice to Joseph. He's on the phones doing machine support non-stop. Busy times to avoid are 9 am and noon to 2ish.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TerryT]

If you want to move part of your repair business to Washington, let me know, I will send a resume. !!!

[liquidguitars]

I agree LHR is very helpful especially when you need them the most like when in production or tiring to push the CW on more complex designs...

[Gary Koval]

I agree, LHR are really good people and thank you for your continued support. Speaking of helping, along with LHR if you've ever got a problem after LHR hours, AL WHO, (DIGITALWOODSHOP), is the man to help you out, the guy never sleeps, and is a living Carvewright data base. He helped me several times out of a sticky spot and got me up and running. Just kidding about never sleeping and don't forget he is in the EST Zone, but what a nice guy when you need help...
Gary

[Bigtyme]

I have only had to call a couple of times, but both were handled quickly and with great results. I can't say that about other customer service operations. Keep it up folks!!!

[Capt Bruce]

I like that 1,000 plus goal Al, since our CW Team in Pasadena deserves our thanks and support more often just like they support us every day. And like others said above you deserve that same thanks for all you contribute to our Forum members to keep us all carving.

Connie, we'll try to be nice to the new kids on the block so they get good feedback as well! Keep it up Team and Thanks again!

[dskyer]

It is interesting to read the positive comments about LHR support - my experience with them and the machine has not been positive. I am the original owner of the CompuCarve version of this machine from 2007 - it currently has 11 hours of use and I have had nothing but trouble with the machine and with LHR people. After a year and half of XYZ axis stalls I am being told that " (Chris Lovchik) found two blown "caps" that indicate the power supply suffered some sort of impact and there is nothing that is a manufacturers defect wrong with it.",this is a direct quote from an email I received from Connie in Customer Svc. LHR's solution is that I ante up for another $135 for rebuilt (or $195 for new) power supply.

I have read multiple threads, most with tremendous comments from knowledgeable users like Al Who, on this forum over the past two years regarding issues with stopped carvings, intermittent power issues and/or axis stalls to come away with the feeling that this is not an uncommon problem being, and it can be traced back in a lot of instances to vibration of the machine leading to breaking of the wire lead on the power supply.

Frankly, 11 hours of actual carving time was not worth the $1500 I spent on this machine. Good customer service is to work with the customer to come to a resolution that builds loyalty to a product or company not one that leads to insults and abuse of goodwill. I will be another (of the many you can find on the internet) of the detractors telling 1000 people or more how poorly made this machine is and how poor the customer service is.

[liquidguitars]

of the detractors telling 1000 people or more how poorly made this machine is



I own old upgraded compucarve machines three are in service so a bad designed machine could never make this violin all day long so i say drop the 200 bucks.

58478


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oSqBE9yQ68s

[Digitalwoodshop]

Excellent Music !!!! Great Violin too... I agree... Buy the power supply and get on with the carving...

Bad Caps can sometimes be contributed to a Power Spike.... As a Tech for many years you are faced with 2 choices, Fix it and move on or Don't fix it and sell it...

Lightning was something that I saw cause many products show up on my Repair Bench at the Sony Service Center.

And last but not least.... We have seen many machines destroyed by using a Shop Vac to suck up chips and the Static could very possibly have blown the Caps in the power supply.... So without knowing the full history of the machine, it's hard to point at a single thing that caused the Power Supply to go bad.... Normally it is a outside "Influence" like Lightning, Power Surge or even a Shop Vac.

Good Luck with your choices of fix it or not.

AL

[liquidguitars]

Happy New Year AL !

[dskyer]

Al, you make some good points, but neither are applicable in this case. All circuits in my shop are surge protected from the main panel (like you would for computers) - it was expensive but good insurance in the long run. As for shop vac - after buying my machine I hooked it into my dust collection system chips pulling out the slot in the bottom and would use air hose to blow it out. Copper wire runs through the inside of the dust collection hose to collect any possible static charge that may build in any of the plastic runs, connections and carry it to ground. My tools get treated as well as my kids. This is the single most expensive tool in my shop and I took no chances with it. I will probably have to replace the dead unit with a rebuilt in order to sell on Craigslist or eBay to minimize my loss. At this point doing a business with a company like LHR is not something I want to continue with.

[Digitalwoodshop]

Sorry your experience has not gone well since 2008.

Sounds like you have a nice shop with a Great Setup.

If you ever decide to continue with a CW know that WE as users are here to Support you and help answer any questions.

Good Luck what ever direction you decide to go in.

With a nice Shop you will at least be able to do Woodworking and that is a relaxing endeavor.

AL

[badbert]

dskyer the most abuse your machine (and many others) will ever receive, was the handling they received during shipping. I am not saying that this is the cause of your problem. I am the third owner of a unused A-model machine. It only had 20 minutes on the cut motor when I bought it for $900. It never worked. The problem was the power supply. I paid 135 for a rebuilt and could have returned the core for $40 (I think). Regardless, I was immediately disillusioned. I had to spend $135 on top of $900. I could have bought a C with the carvetight Chuck. The Quick-change Chuck died after a few dozen hours, and I had to upgrade. Luckily I found someone parting out theirs on Ebay. So I bought the Carvetight for $80. But if you take a little time to search this forum, you will see the wonderful things that I have been able to create. Had I been alone, I would feel the same way you do now. But with all of the help from the wonderful people here on this forum, my experience has been very rewarding. I know that my experience has no weight on your experience. But I wanted to welcome you to this forum. You are about to have the dissatisfying experience the first two owners had with this Wonderful machine. I feel your frustration. But don't let that frustration prevent you from the wonderful experience the rest of us have had. Spend the money on the remanufactured power supply. While you are waiting for the delivery. Spend some time here, getting to know these wonderful people. Let them help you fix your machine and learn from them how to use it. You won't be sorry!

[lawrence]

I've only had to deal with LHR on the phone a few times- and my tech issues were "change to a new computer... etc" My support was quick and painless. I've helped 2 folks get parts for their machines and one "other" situation that got resolved in a way that both parties were satisfied.

On a couple of occasions I have helped folks buy machines and have run several webinars for folks (I'm probably doing one Friday evening if anyone is interested... ) Folks generally give me a call and we chat on the phone while they look at a video of my screen. I can share what is on my screen with them and show them how easy it is and some of the things the different upgrades can do with regard to sketchup, inkscape, coreldraw etc... I want to help LHR and the Carvewright be successful. I really do believe in it!

The way I usually put it to folks is that LHR's customer service reputation was probably not a fluke of one or two folks, in the past there have been some holes in the way they dealt with the sheer number of problems folks have had. To ignore this would be a bit naive...
...but over the last several years they have gotten MUCH better and are very good at helping folks ID what is wrong with their machine. This being said, I also point out that LHR likely makes very little $$ on each machine and that if you want additional customer support, be prepared to pay for it. You certainly can't also expect LHR to pay for shipping both ways for every little issue...especially customer caused issues... they'd lose money on every sale if they did! I tell folks this very clearly when I talk to them about my machines. If they are going to be afraid to take the top off and troubleshoot, they shouldn't buy one.

My tech problems I have been able to deal with through doing searches on this forum, asking questions on this forum, or just plain figuring it out... Heck, if I didn't troubleshoot and "fudge" things a bit I'd get errors on every other carve too... learning how things work is just part of using this thing and I knew it when I bought it. This is where a lot of problems came from methinks... the compucarve sales....

I think selling CNCs to folks as a "simple, and plug and play!" machine was/is a little premature...Many folks that were ill prepared to deal with a CNC bought compucarves... and tried to do very advanced things with them right away. Once you screw up the machine, it takes some effort to unscrew it... and this can happen quickly and very early in the life of the machine. One old timer (who I love dearly and have known for many years from my church growing up) was given one very early on as a gift. It sat for years in the box until we talked one day about our woodworking and he told me he had "one of those machines" that his Granddaughter had given him for Fathers day 3 years earlier. This wonderful 89 year old gentleman didn't even know how to save a file or what "double click" meant. I gave him a big hug and helped him sharpen his chisels. We found a buyer for his machine on Craigslist and I was happy to help him with that. He was just not the right person for a Carvewright and it would have caused him more frustration than joy... I'm not saying you can't be elderly and know how to use this machine, but I believe there does need to be a base of understanding of computers and how to make the software function at a basic level.

CNC users need to walk before you run... or just like if you bought an airplane without training or knowledge of how to use it, you're likely to break it. Lots of folks bought $2K airplanes, cracked them up, and then hollered that the airplane wasn't working right... Add to this that so many machines are damaged with shipping and it made for a lot of unhappiness and bad press. (and the fact that LHR has been learning along the way too!)

I very much sympathize with the frustration of those of you who have machines that aren't carving. We will support and help you in any way we can-- please don't give up!

Just my .02- I really do love my machine, am impressed that LHR has come so far and am very happy with the customer service I have gotten. I try to spread the word when I can and post on several other sites hoping to spread the word... I think the best thing we can do is be honest about our experiences and their reputation will continue to improve.

Great job Connie and all the other folks at LHR- keep it up, and we'll keep spreading the word!

Lawrence

ps- All this being said, I've still never taken the cover off my machine... I'm due to do my 250 hour service and will be turning to past posts/questions here on the forum for guidance... I wouldn't have it any way and appreciate all your support!

[Digitalwoodshop]

And every Customer Service call can go one of many ways... I can just imagine the large volume of calls that the Staff at LHR field every day.... So many people to TRAIN to deal with the FLOW.....

Case in point.... I was FIRED this week by a Fire Department for not making progress in sending them pictures and ideas for Accountability Boards "YET"... That request and about a dozen other sample and art requests are still on my list... And so are the dozen actual orders that the Fire Departments are asking about too... "WHERE are my TAGS?"

And for me.... Where are the "CHECKS" I have been waiting for from Delivered orders..... SO we are all "Customers" or "Clients" in some way... and this one man Shop is buried deep in work and Customer Service is Suffering.... I keep everyone up to date... But the Guys that Fired me are from a OIL COMPANY and this could have been BIG... I will still send them artwork or pictures with ideas and tell them that any company they find to make the stuff is welcome to copy any of my ideas. Being a Oil Company and this the Fire Department responsible for the Safety of the Facility, a weekly meeting with management and the "No Progress" report got old.... Like Trump... "AL, YOUR FIRED"... LOL...

I am actively looking for another business to make what I am doing.... To pass the over flow of new orders to them... As some know, All the Fire Tags I made last year starting in February will need to be replaced as the new thicker epoxy I used caused the tags to WARP...


So I may get a "A+" for help on the Forum fixing CW's.... I got a "F" this week from a Fire Department.... LOL.... 9:30 PM... Quitting time...

AL

[fwharris]

Your XYZ stalls were probably do to the broken capacitors on the power supply. I also have 2007 CompuCarve and had the same problem early on. The diagnosed the problem over the phone. I got a new power supply (it had more goop on the components) and have not had the issue sense. If you still have the original QC get that upgraded also.

[TerryT]

Damn LG.... Just... damn.... that has got to make you feel good, to see something you made, played like that!

[badbert]

And every Customer Service call can go one of many ways... I can just imagine the large volume of calls that the Staff at LHR field every day.... So many people to TRAIN to deal with the FLOW.....

Case in point.... I was FIRED this week by a Fire Department for not making progress in sending them pictures and ideas for Accountability Boards "YET"... That request and about a dozen other sample and art requests are still on my list... And so are the dozen actual orders that the Fire Departments are asking about too... "WHERE are my TAGS?"

And for me.... Where are the "CHECKS" I have been waiting for from Delivered orders..... SO we are all "Customers" or "Clients" in some way... and this one man Shop is buried deep in work and Customer Service is Suffering.... I keep everyone up to date... But the Guys that Fired me are from a OIL COMPANY and this could have been BIG... I will still send them artwork or pictures with ideas and tell them that any company they find to make the stuff is welcome to copy any of my ideas. Being a Oil Company and this the Fire Department responsible for the Safety of the Facility, a weekly meeting with management and the "No Progress" report got old.... Like Trump... "AL, YOUR FIRED"... LOL...

I am actively looking for another business to make what I am doing.... To pass the over flow of new orders to them... As some know, All the Fire Tags I made last year starting in February will need to be replaced as the new thicker epoxy I used caused the tags to WARP...


So I may get a "A+" for help on the Forum fixing CW's.... I got a "F" this week from a Fire Department.... LOL.... 9:30 PM... Quitting time...

AL Al would the logistics be feasible for me to help you out? I would certainly be willing to try! But we are so far away...

[liquidguitars]

Thanks Terry, hearing the video take some of the pain away from the day in day out tasks!

[badbert]

She is actually sitting at your bench, playing that incredibly beautiful music, on that incredibly beautiful Violin... THAT YOU CREATED!! How inspirational is that?! You have achieved greatness.

[DickB]

Well, support has been pretty good and has improved, but like most everything it has not been perfect. Years ago when I got my Vista machine I tried loading Designer and kept getting "gui stopped working" or whatever errors. Tech support insisted that I was not installing it correctly as administrator. In fact I had followed installation instructions to the letter. I offered to let the tech take remote control and install for himself, to prove it, but he said no he couldn't do that. He said if I followed instructions it would work. That was very frustrating, as I knew there was a bug, CarveWright would not listen, so the problem would not get fixed. And I had to let my brand new, speedy computer sit idle and continue to plug along on my old, slow system. Months later I happened to read the latest Designer release notes, which included a fix for a Windows 7 installation problem that sounded like mine. I downloaded that version, and sure enough, it installed on my Vista system. At last I was able to use my new computer. So yes, there was a time period where I was frustrated, I had a problem, the manufacturer wouldn't acknowledge it let alone correct it, and in hindsight it was clearly a "manufacturing" defect.

[CNC Carver]

Al,
Wish you were closer, as you have helped me and many others here. I would like to return the favor. Hopefully someone closer feels the same way and has some extra time that they could share with you.
Jeff

And every Customer Service call can go one of many ways... I can just imagine the large volume of calls that the Staff at LHR field every day.... So many people to TRAIN to deal with the FLOW.....

Case in point.... I was FIRED this week by a Fire Department for not making progress in sending them pictures and ideas for Accountability Boards "YET"... That request and about a dozen other sample and art requests are still on my list... And so are the dozen actual orders that the Fire Departments are asking about too... "WHERE are my TAGS?"

And for me.... Where are the "CHECKS" I have been waiting for from Delivered orders..... SO we are all "Customers" or "Clients" in some way... and this one man Shop is buried deep in work and Customer Service is Suffering.... I keep everyone up to date... But the Guys that Fired me are from a OIL COMPANY and this could have been BIG... I will still send them artwork or pictures with ideas and tell them that any company they find to make the stuff is welcome to copy any of my ideas. Being a Oil Company and this the Fire Department responsible for the Safety of the Facility, a weekly meeting with management and the "No Progress" report got old.... Like Trump... "AL, YOUR FIRED"... LOL...

I am actively looking for another business to make what I am doing.... To pass the over flow of new orders to them... As some know, All the Fire Tags I made last year starting in February will need to be replaced as the new thicker epoxy I used caused the tags to WARP...


So I may get a "A+" for help on the Forum fixing CW's.... I got a "F" this week from a Fire Department.... LOL.... 9:30 PM... Quitting time...

AL

[Nick68]

Yep, I second that....

[ktjwilliams]

Al,, I'm in NJ if you need some help ... I got lots of help from this site and the folks on it.. Only called LHR twice,,, Once was good and resolved problem... Second time not so good... So since then I come here... Al, like I said I'm just across the border in NJ, so let me know if I can help you out...