Outstanding Customer Service

[George Denecke]

A big thanx to Lee Valley. I ordered a pair of toybox lid stays for a repair. They were out of stock, and after inquiry, were not expected before mid July. Apparently because of my inquiry, the searched their store stock and found a set in Reno, NV. A week later they were in my mailbox. You can't beat that for Customer Service. I'm happy and my friend/client is happy.
THANX     AGAIN

[jteneyck]

A big thanx to Lee Valley. I ordered a pair of toybox lid stays for a repair. They were out of stock, and after inquiry, were not expected before mid July. Apparently because of my inquiry, the searched their store stock and found a set in Reno, NV. A week later they were in my mailbox. You can't beat that for Customer Service. I'm happy and my friend/client is happy.
THANX     AGAIN

There's still excellent CS out there and LV is one of the companies that often goes above and beyond.  Good to hear they've done it again.  

John

[Phil Thien]

I appreciate the effort they put into sourcing quality products from North America. Hope that isn't too political.

[Herb]

It is a shame that Jet does not take notice of this. The first time I needed a part for my drum sander it took well over six weeks. I have now been without the sander for about three months waiting on another small part. In my opinion, it is not good customer service and will keep me from buying a Jet product again.

[Halfathumb]

I appreciate the effort they put into sourcing quality products from North America.  Hope that isn't too political.

Nope. Not political. Just makes good sense.

[Handplanesandmore]

Often, we should look in the mirror, and blame ourselves, the customers. First, too many of us tolerate bad service for saving a few bucks here and there. We forgive and forget...but the real story is we are cheap. We rather buy from someone who sells cheaper. This is exactly why many products are outsourced and made in China or Asia (more and more companies are moving out of China to its neighboring countries).

50% of the blame lies in a vendor, and the rest in the customers as to why many merchants are not like Lee Valley. You know it, I know it, and the merchants know it too. Jet would need to charge 25% more (just a guess, could be 20% or 35%, IDK, but you get the point) to provide a service similar to Lee Valley's. Good customer service requires good hiring, training, culture, and whatnot, and all of them cost money.

So the first step to improving customer service is to shop well, not shop cheap. Pay a few bucks more here and there, spread the word, thank the good merchants when they really exceed expectations (write to the owners, GMs, whoever up in the chain), and yes, stop buying from those who treated you bad repeatedly.

Enough rant...back to my online, contactless shopping, which I'm beginning to like, saving me gas and more time for my shop.
Simon

[Tapper]

Often, we should look in the mirror, and blame ourselves, the customers. First, too many of us tolerate bad service for saving a few bucks here and there. We forgive and forget...but the real story is we are cheap. We rather buy from someone who sells cheaper. This is exactly why many products are outsourced and made in China or Asia (more and more companies are moving out of China to its neighboring countries).

50% of the blame lies in a vendor, and the rest in the customers as to why many merchants are not like Lee Valley. You know it, I know it, and the merchants know it too. Jet would need to charge 25% more (just a guess, could be 20% or 35%, IDK, but you get the point) to provide a service similar to Lee Valley's. Good customer service requires good hiring, training, culture, and whatnot, and all of them cost money.

So the first step to improving customer service is to shop well, not shop cheap. Pay a few bucks more here and there, spread the word, thank the good merchants when they really exceed expectations (write to the owners, GMs, whoever up in the chain), and yes, stop buying from those who treated you bad repeatedly.

Enough rant...back to my online, contactless shopping, which I'm beginning to like, saving me gas and more time for my shop.
Simon

Yet another great story about Lee Valley customer service - the hits keep on coming! It's all about great leadership and Rob Lee, like his dad is continuing the tradition.

As for the "look in the mirror" comment, you are welcome to your own view of reality. Companies have chosen to make products in China, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, etc., etc. because their labor costs are dirt cheap and therefore allows them to make more profit and have a rosy report at the annual stockholders meeting (labor unions are part of that equation, but that's another story for another day). It's called econ 101. Consumers can only buy what they're offered. The companies make the decision as to where they source their goods. 

As shown in the OP's story, the swinger is customer service IMO, especially on larger items. Lee Valley (and others) have figured this out. "People buy from people they like" - it never changes. And just like the OP, they tell other people about it!

Doug