Good company to do business with

[papaof2]

I ordered a core aerator through Lowe's. It's an Agri-Fab 45-05182. I picked it up at Lowe's Thursday and about halfway through assembly I realized:
1) the instructions have the right model number but they are only semi-correct for the parts in the box
2) it's missing some key bits - couple of bolts & nylock nuts, plastic split bearing and that split bearing isn't available at the local hardware store

I used the online "Missing parts" form late Thursday evening, got an email response Friday morning and the parts were in today's (Monday) mail - that's how customer service should be done ;-)

I did finish assembling the aerator today - finding yet another error in the assembly instructions which makes it obvious the writers never did the assembly. That seems to me the perfect way for those people to "proofread" their work - but they probably don't want to get their hands dirty. I don't like finding that there is 15/16" clearance in which to install a 1 1/4" bolt, either. The first 1/8" of a 1" bolt will go in the outer of the two pieces being bolted together (leaving just a tiny bit of clearance) but that doesn't leave room for the rest of a 1 1/4" bolt in the same space.

The designers, engineers and writers may need help but Customer Service does have its act together.

[9idrr]

Maybe Customer Service is so good because they get so much practice?

[papaof2]

Jun 8, 2020 20:53:46 GMT -6 9idrr said:

Maybe Customer Service is so good because they get so much practice?

I had that thought but decided to leave it out of the post. However, if the others did things as well as Customer Service, CS might not see much activity ;-)

[9idrr]

My guess is that one don't wanna get on a first name basis with anybody in CS.
Then again, if'n it's a good relationship, you might tend to be bumped to the top of the list when times get tough.

[papaof2]

Jun 8, 2020 21:27:09 GMT -6 9idrr said:

My guess is that one don't wanna get on a first name basis with anybody in CS.
Then again, if'n it's a good relationship, you might tend to be bumped to the top of the list when times get tough.

There are definite advantages to being at "the top of the list".

Long in the distant past, I was the administrator for a number of Unix computers that monitored the long distance switching network in the Southeastern US. The next office down the hall had the guy who was responsible for local switching machines and operator services. All those Unix computers were in a different location and they were all maintained by the same crew of techs. The other guy was of the opinion that the techs were a generally stupid group but a necessary evil and he made sure they knew that he knew more than they did. When I asked the techs to do something for me, I said "Please" and "Thank you". When they called me at 2AM (I worked days but took failure calls at home at all hours because it was a 24/7/365 operation) I tried to help them even if it wasn't a computer I was responsible for (I still have some bits of the startup displays in memory) and I never yelled at them. One of us got a nearly immediate response every time he called the techs for help but the other didn't and the one who didn't just couldn't figure out why the techs were always busy when he called...

[9idrr]

And would forever be busy when he called, I imagine.