Rockwell Cordless Tools

[Swagopenturner]

Not really related to turning but some good news just the same.
Recently the batteries for my Rockwell 6 1/2" Circular Saw stopped holding a charge. Rockwell has a "Free Batteries For Life" for most of their power tools. Great idea! But when I contacted them, they have discontinued most of their power tools and batteries. However, their customer service rep informed me they will take back the saw and all batteries, and replace them with ones from Worx Tools, their sister company (both owned by Positec). I do have to ship the old saw and batteries (lithium, so they have to go FedEx ground), but it will be worth not having to buy a new one and several batteries. Also, in the future, even though Worx does not have a free batteries for life warranty, Rockwell assures me they will honor that program for me.
In my view, this is good customer service!

 

[moke]

That is awesome...good for you! My Dad worked for Rockwell at a Airline/Aerospace radio manufacturer for 25 years. For a while, he could buy their tools for fairly cheap. There were no cordless tools then, but we have a ton of them. They all still work, so they must of been made fairly well. I still have and use a Rockwell jointer/planer. Bunches of folks must have taken advantage of that program and they were one of, if not the biggest employer in the City....but every auction and a lot of the Craigs list tools are Rockwell. They sold the company off, so they are not around anymore.

 

[penicillin]

I hope you have that in writing.

Sadly, I have outlived most of the companies that made "lifetime warranty" products that I have. A few companies are still around, but insist on seeing "proof of purchase" (e.g., a receipt) to fulfill their lifetime warranties, which is absurd for an item that may be decades old.

 

[montmill]

If you think "lifetime warrenty" is a long time think about cemeteries with "perpetual care".

 

[Bats]

If you think "lifetime warrenty" is a long time think about cemeteries with "perpetual care".

Combine the two, and you've really got it made!

(can I have an adjoining plot for my tools? or maybe a few - the lathe and mill might get crowded sharing a plot, and then they're likely to argue)

 

[David350]

The "lifetime" warranty reminded me of a fond memory. I had a turning instructor I took a lesson from who said he gave a lifetime warranty on all his work. He was mid 80's at the time and seemed to be in very good health. His definition of a lifetime warranty was his lifetime

On another note, late in my professional career, I sold a high-end product where we were frequently compared to very inferior, imported products. I would often hear from my customers that these companies were offering a lifetime warranty on their products so they must be good. My response was always "that's good as that is how long it will take you to find them when you need service". I rarely lost out after they thought about this point....