Great Products - Marginal Execution
Written: Dec 18 '08 (Updated Dec 20 '08)
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I've purchased a number of expensive things from Northern over the years. The equipment is typically very good. The execution and customer service are usually pretty marginal. Here are several examples:
August 2007: Purchased several metal locking cabinets on wheels for my shop. The name and description was "Best Metal Cabinets Mobile Cabinet - 36in.W x 24in.D x 36in.H, Model# MA-36324" I also ordered some of the same type only they were 66" H. The website mistakenly displayed the picture of the tall cabinet when the description was for the small cabinet. I ordered what I *thought* were the tall cabinets only to find out that they were actually the smaller size. It was a huge deal to get this corrected. I actually had to refuse delivery for the incorrect cabinets. I wrote a separate email to Northern Tool to make them aware of the problem however, the misleading item photo was never corrected.
November 2008: I ordered the 'Hotline' catalog membership for two years @ $59.99. This is supposed to provide special pricing and discounts. The shipping status for the order indicated 'shipped' shortly after placing the order, however there was no tracking number available from the website. After a couple of weeks, I called customer service and asked about the order status. I was told that it typically takes THREE WEEKS to have the order fulfilled. OK, so FOUR WEEKS later, the catalog and membership and coupons still had not arrived. I called Customer Service again and the best that they could provide was that they 'make another request' to have the catalog shipped out. I was told this time that it was like any other magazine subscription and typically takes up to six weeks to fulfill the order.
This is complete bunk! This should be delivered in a few days, not 4 weeks. There is simply no good reason that it should take that long to fulfill an order. I am actually WAITING to spend money at their store- they make it as difficult as possible. After spending several more than $7,000 there over the past couple of years, you would think that they could try a little harder.
I have been keeping an eye on the Torin 42' tool box to see if it would go on sale. I bought this item a couple of years ago at $499 but found that I need another one for the shop. The price during the summertime had jumped to $569, so I waited to see if it would go on sale for the holidays. In the fall, they raised the price again to $599 and then put the item on 'sale' for the holidays at $569. The price is now back to $599- a 20% increase over my original purchase. I'm sure they're not the only company raise prices and then put things on 'sale' but these pricing games are hard to swallow.
I live down the road from the Northern Tool store and the folks working in the store are neither helpful nor friendly. Many times I have walked in and out of the store without ever being acknowledged by any of the staff. They seem to hang out in the back near the warehouse door and do everything they can to avoid eye contact.
Northern Tool is a privately held company so they don't have answer to shareholders for this poor execution. It would not be difficult to improve the customer service (and therefore sales). They have very good products - if they could execute effectively they could be a great company.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Hotline Catalog Membership
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