follow-up on Nothern Hydraulics
mel sorg
Michael,
I read your post with interest, since I work at a rural hardware store
that has its own repair shop.
Did you happen to ask anyone at Northern Hydraulics if they would
accept the return of the damaged power washer, and refund your money or
exchange it for another one??? I find that for merchandize that is
either defective, or damaged in shipping, that the company usually will
accept it back, and will also sometimes pay you to return it to them
Otherwise, I am wondering why you would assume that it is poor
service on the part of Northern Hydraulics to refer you to the maker of
the power washer? I think it would simplify things greatly to have the
maker send you a replacement for the broken bolt, instead of having them
send it through the dealer, especially if you don't live in the area.
It may also be the case that they are not authorized to do warrantee
repairs on that item, in which case the maker usually will prefer to
deal directly with the buyer.
The fact that they were unwilling to send you an easy-out may have
also been due to the fact that they don't keep them on hand, or that you
talked to a customer service rep that is only familiar with what is on
their computer's parts list, or a combination of both. I can't ever
remember a maker offering to send tools with to a customer to effect a
repair!
BTW, was the bolt found broken immediately after starting the power
washer up, or after it had ran for a while??? My experience is that the
vibration from the washer can also cause problems.......we're in the
process of welding the mounting brackets back on the belt guard of the
one we rent at our store.
just my two cents
mel sorg
Michael Spurgeon wrote:
>
> Previously I had posted a question about people's dealings with Northern
> Hydraulics and the responses were favorable so I ordered a power washer.
> Yes, the power washer did arrive in one week and seems to work fine.
>
> BUT, the bolt that secured the belt cover to the side of the Honda engine
> was broken off flush with the side of the engine. This was not discovered
> until I heard a rattling inside the belt cover and took it apart to find
> the broken bolt laying there and upon further inspection, found the
> associated spacer laying on the ground a short distance away.
>
> When I E-mailed Northern Hydraulics about the problem, I was referred to
> the manufacturer--K-BAR.
>
> A spokesperson for K-BAR offered to send me the broken bolt, but offered no
> other suggestions and seemed uncaring. When I inquired if I should drill
> out the part of the bolt that had broken off in the side of the engine and
> then use an "easy-out" the same person said that would be the solution. I
> replied that I would be happy to supply the labor, drill, and drillbit but
> would they please send me an easy-out since I did not have one to which the
> reply was NO, since it was probably broken in shipment. The shipping box
> was not dented and the unit was very securely attached to the shipping
> pallet inside the crate.
>
> No, it won't hurt me to purchase a $4 easy-out and use a half-hour of my
> time to do the repair job, and no, I don't expect them to pay for $104
> shipping back to the factory for the repair and $104 shipping back to me.
> BUT, if I was willing to do the necessary repair, they could have been a
> little more caring in their attitude and also supplied a $4 tool as a
> jesture of good customer service.
>
> If I had it to do all over again, would I purchase the same unit from
> Northern Hydraulics--possibly but I dunno...maybe I would have looked a
> little closer at some of the comparable power washers locally for a little
> more money. I guess I am a little disappointed that after purchasing the
> item from Northern Hydraulics and a little problem appeared that Northern
> Hydraulics no longer was interested in dealing with me and shuffled me off
> to the manufacturer. Now I wonder if something major goes wrong within the
> warranty period, will K-BAR or Northern Hydraulics be equally helpful?
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike Spurgeon
Michael Spurgeon
Jim Zett
Sorry I didn't get involved in this thread earlier but
a friend had problems with Northern also but I thought
his was an isolated incident and did't want to bad mouth
a company for one bad experience.
He bought a push mower from them. Nothing extravagant.
His girlfriend used it one time and after shutting it
off it would not start. He waited and then it started
but he noticed it had bent mower shaft. After sorting
through details found that it was bent when he received
it and took it back. Got much the same response from
Northern after there mower repair shop made the problem
worse. He swears he will never buy from again. They also
seem to carry alot of imported (mostly Taiwan/China) equipment
which speaks for itself.
Sorry I didn't speak up sooner.
Jim
In article <01bd57a1$1843f560$9204...@skynet.sky.net>, spur...@sky.net
says...
dav...@removethismindspring.com
NH probably did the right thing by referring you to K-Bar. They
probably thought the manufacturer could supply you with a new part
faster than they could without really knowing the full extent of the
problem. (sometimes small parts are missing and the manufacturers
assume the replacement responsibility which speeds up the whole
process)
If you had pushed the issue, NH should have replaced the unit since
it was actually "defective or damaged" upon receipt. After that the
manufacturer normally assumes responsibility for the ongoing warranty.
I wouldn't be to quick to flame NH or K-Bar. This was one of those
"grey area" problems. I bet if you write to NH and include a reciept
they will credit you the $4 for the easy out.
On 25 Mar 1998 03:50:26 GMT, "Michael Spurgeon" <spur...@sky.net>
wrote:
Ken Burner
For what it's worth, I've ordered several minor things from NH over
the past several years and never had a problem. This past xmas, though,
I ordered a hydraulic lift platform as a gift for my brother in New
Hampshire and asked them to ship it there. This was in late Nov and
they promised delivery by Dec 25. A week prior to xmas, I called and
asked the status of the order, since the unit had not arrived. They
claimed to have shipped it already, but promised to ship _another_ one
(here I'm beginning to become skeptical that they really ever shipped
one in the first place). Two weeks after xmas, the unit arrives in a
badly beat-up carton, but appears to be intact. Unfortunately, it is
Chinese junk (not the boat) and, although described in the catalog as
having a 1200 lb lift capacity, would be hard pressed to lift even 300
lbs. safely. Bad design and unacceptable.
Since they wanted my brother to pay $80 to ship it back to them, I
had AmEx revoke payment on it. NH finally came through with a prepaid
UPS number we could use to return it. They finally credited me all but
$30 of the purchase price -- some "restocking fee" because the unit was
not defective.
I learned the following:
1. If everything goes OK, NH is great to deal with.
2. Beware of promised ship dates if you're ordering something
time-critical.
3. Beware of misleading catalog descriptions.
4. Be prepared to pay a restocking fee if you are unsatisfied with
the performance of an item which is not damaged or broken and want a
refund.
I used to take my chances with Harbor Freight if I wanted something
cheap and I didn't care much about quality. I used NH when I wanted
quality materials, even at a higher price. It appears from
conversations I've had with others that NH is changing their strategy,
emphasizing quantity over quality, and that a lot of junk is creeping
into their product line.
Caveat emptor.
-Ken
Michael Spurgeon
Dave--my post was meant to be informative and not flaming and I regret if I
seemed to be flaming in my attitude because I don't like flames on usenet
and my feelings toward Northern Hydraulics are not negative enough that I
would mean to flame them anyway.
Regards,
Mike Spurgeon
dav...@REMOVETHISmindspring.com wrote in article
<351a442d....@news.mindspring.com>...
Michael Spurgeon
Mel:
> I read your post with interest, since I work at a rural hardware store
> that has its own repair shop.
>
> Did you happen to ask anyone at Northern Hydraulics if they would
> accept the return of the damaged power washer, and refund your money or
> exchange it for another one???
No--Northern Hydraulics indicated to me that the manufacturer was to handle
the problem...actually it took me about an hour (including the trip to the
hardware store) and a $8 set of easy-outs (screw extractors) to make the
repair
>
> Otherwise, I am wondering why you would assume that it is poor
> service on the part of Northern Hydraulics to refer you to the maker of
> the power washer? I think it would simplify things greatly to have the
> maker send you a replacement for the broken bolt, instead of having them
> send it through the dealer, especially if you don't live in the area.
> It may also be the case that they are not authorized to do warrantee
> repairs on that item, in which case the maker usually will prefer to
> deal directly with the buyer.
Hopefully the tone of my follow-up post was not unduly negative because I
meant no flaming. If I have an automobile seat to be repaired under
warranty, I expect the seller to do the repair and NOT require me to
contact the manufacturer of the seat. If I have an amplifier repaired, I
expect the company to make the repair and not refer me to the manufacturer
of the defective transistor. When I have repairs to make to computers
under warranty, I expect Gateway, Compaq, Dell, etc. to see to the repairs
and not tell me to go to the parts manufacturers. In other words, I expect
the company selling the item to have the responsibility for warranty work
as it is in nearly all other industries of which I am familiar and have
experience.
> The fact that they were unwilling to send you an easy-out may have
> also been due to the fact that they don't keep them on hand, or that you
> talked to a customer service rep that is only familiar with what is on
> their computer's parts list, or a combination of both. I can't ever
> remember a maker offering to send tools with to a customer to effect a
> repair!
I simply felt that since I was going to take my time and equipment to do
what I consider to be a repair for which they were responsible under
warranty terms, it would not hurt them to at least send me the inexpensive
tool that I did not have in order to make the repair myself...they (the
factory) were unwilling to make the repair anyway.
> BTW, was the bolt found broken immediately after starting the power
> washer up, or after it had ran for a while??? My experience is that the
> vibration from the washer can also cause problems.......we're in the
> process of welding the mounting brackets back on the belt guard of the
> one we rent at our store.
The bolt was broken after starting the power washer up because the backing
plate through which the bolt was screwed into the side of the Honda engine
was offset enough to cause enough strain on the bolt for it to break the
first time additional stress was applied when the engine was running. I
had to loosen the bolts securing the backing plate to the frame and move it
3 mm and then retighten the bolts so that the new bolt could be inserted
straight through the backing plate into the threaded hole in the engine.
> just my two cents
> mel sorg
My one cent added
Mike Spurgeon