Dewalt customer service???

[baldkev]

Hi guys,
Is something up with dewalt at the moment?? Ive been trying to send in a first fix nailer that doesn't fire nails in, but its like mission impossible.

I went on the website and got the nearest repair centre info, contacted them and they asked gor the reciept, which i sent over email, they said they would do next day pickup...... but didnt. Then they didnt reply to further emails.

I contacted the next nearest centre via email and they didnt reply, now when i go on the dewalt website the map says there are no service centres and the service technical link sends me to an error page....

Ive had to buy a cheap pneumatic framing nailer to het me through a job im on and to be honest its streets ahead of the dewalt dcn692n... but you have to drag a compressor around

Does anyone have an email address for dewalt?

Thanks in advance
Kev

 

[TheUnicorn]

just went to dewalt.co.uk and that is now down for maintainance

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I tried to register an impact driver for a guarantee, it was like wading through treacle. I gave up after about eight attempts.

 

[baldkev]

Its my first time trying to contact dewalt. Ive now found a place in Exeter who will send it off to dewalt.

I once tried to get my makita jigsaw fixed, the blade holder sometimes goes wonky and the blade sits at an angle. That was hard work too. I didnt bother, every time it happens i blow it through with an airline, oil it, activate and release the catch for a few minutes and its ok for a couple of weeks.... i wont buy another when it dies though, I'll try the dewalt

 

[shed9]

This kind of emphasises the differing costs across vendors. The very few times I've had to call Festool about an issue, I've been dealt with immediately or had the relevant expert call me within two hours. Every time the issue has been resolved satisfactorily. I know there are people who think Festool is overpriced and the same results can be achieved with lower cost tools but sometimes a lack of appropriate after sales support can lead to lost costs beyond that of the initial outlay for the tool.

 

[baldkev]

A good point shed9.

To be fair i have a lot of makita kit and spart from sending a hoover back to screwfix for refund, the jigsaw was the first time I'd had to go to makita. I had expected the dewalt experience to be better, but theres a couple of factors... the first two places i contacted were dewalt approved service/ repair agents as it isnt so easy to actually speak to dewalt, so they are individual companies working on dewalts behalf. Also covid i guess might be impacting things.

I would still expect a better process from such a large company.

I would like to try festool / mafell to see what they are like in comparison to the kit im used to

 

[JoeS]

I had an issue with my table saw recently. All the service centres said they were struggling to get hold of anyone at DeWalt themselves and that a majority of their UK staff were still furloughed. Beyond that I think Brexit is proving to be a headache for them, particularly in terms of spares and repairs.

 

[Suffolk Brian]

Oddly I have the same problem with a Makita (air powered) nail gun. It failed, they collected it, then deathly silence. This was well before Christmas. Suppose they are “non essential”, or whatever the phrase is, so are all furloughed. Luckily for me, I found a Aldi sourced nail gun that I had forgotten I had, and that worked very well and enabled me to finish my job. Not impressed with the Makita. At all.

 

[Jameshow]

Why do companies regard customer service so poorly?

I think perhaps it's the first thing to go when a company is in decline. People just don't care anymore.

They you notice the product gets cheaper...

Finally it's been sold off to asset striping venture capitalists.....

Seen it happen so many times - usually to British firms...

Cheers James

 

[baldkev]

thanks guys, now i feel very positive

Hopefully they'll get it fixed before April, when the 1 year warranty runs out! Then i might sell it.

 

[shed9]

Why do companies regard customer service so poorly?

Not sure it's a lack of regard, more of positioning within the marketplace, associated production quantities and price point of the product itself. If a company is churning out many thousands of low to mid priced product then profit and loss is less able to cater for after-sales care that recognises that product other than a low to mid cost consumable.

I'd also say the ever growing perception of disposable product has impacted that as well; end users are certainly more inclined to simply replace a faulty product as opposed to seeking to get it repaired. People can very easily rationalise buying new kit and in reality a business model of little to no after-sales care can make more profit on this than it can in fixing and replacing the original product. Society on a whole is lazy, people will stay with the same insurer, bank with the same bank and replace a dead Dewalt with another Dewalt - familiarity and all that. I appreciate this is not always the case, as the posts up there prove but it's enough of a case for it to make no sense for certain manufacturers to offer direct support and to simply keep making more product for the market.

Look at some industries, they have actual statistical data that offsets the legal cost associated to the loss of human life due to defects of product against the cost of fixing the defect.

 

[baldkev]

Plus there might be a cynical aspect, if the tools last a couple of years and dont cost too much to replace, its more sales when they need replacing. Most things can be engineered to last for years and years but then they dont get the turnover of sales ( like the old lightbulb story )