Warco WM250 Lathe and Warco WM18 Milling machine (Advice please)

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

As there's always the possibility that a new item will be faulty on delivery, the real test is what the supplier does about it after the disappointment.

The worst case is a seller who can't be contacted (as might happen if you buy direct from China), or is obstructive, disbelieving, not interested, dishonest or irresponsible.

Next worse is a supplier who has to be badgered.

Third is the supplier who doesn't keep you reassured while they work out a solution. (This is because you fear he's one of the bad guys.)

Although STK2008 has been wound up good and proper by the experience, it was always unlikely that he was going to be completely stuffed. There are a few safety nets in position:

• Recovery of money from his credit card
• Consumer Protection
• Warranty
• An established business with a good reputation to protect

In comparison, buying second-hand is far more risk. You have the same hassle but the safety nets are either thinner or non-existent.

Fortunately most people are honest and want to do a proper job. (It's the exceptions who cause all the bother.)

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Yeah you are correct but hopefully every thing seems like it should work out fine .

Shall keep every one updated any way.

I should be able to start making stuff and can then join in sharing my creations/disasters LOL.

[Frederic FrenereParticipant @fredericfrenere44328]

So glad for your resolution. I met M. Warren at Leamington and to me he seems very genuine guy.

Great news

Fred

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Yeah I spoke to the boss man and he realy did seem realy nice so just got to wait for him to get back to me.

I understand he needs to arrange a few things etc so real happy .

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Well done.

Jim

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Glad to hear you will have a good outcome to this. I have known Roger for many years and have had numerous machines and equipment from Warco. I have nothing but praise for the company and the staff. I know others have had gripes with them but I am not always convinced that the issue lies solely with Warco.

My latest purchase is one of these The one on the left is their new DH vice, the one on the right is the original DH-1

It is a big heavy duty vice, more suited to the larger mill (mine is an Ajax AJT 4 with a 54" x 11" table) Just waiting for them to get the additional jaws into stock. So far very impressed, zero jaw lift and excellent capacity.

No affiliation with Warco, just a very satisfied customer.

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Thank you.

Just got to sit tight for them to get back to me as the boss man needed to sort out and check a few things he said he will get back to me not heard back from em today but didn't realy expect to.

Shall wait till Tuesday if they ain't got back shall buzz them just to get an update   but yeah hopefully shall all work out in the end

Edited By STK2008 on 27/04/2018 19:02:37

[DanielParticipant @daniel]

Posted by Graeme W on 27/04/2018 18:46:41:

Glad to hear you will have a good outcome to this. I have known Roger for many years and have had numerous machines and equipment from Warco. I have nothing but praise for the company and the staff. I know others have had gripes with them but I am not always convinced that the issue lies solely with Warco.

….etc

The dealings I have had with Warco have only been positive; Including the purchase and delivery to France of their GH1322 lathe.

While I was awaiting delivery, time seemed to pass so painfully slowly; as it always does when I'm waiting for an order to arrive. But, it did arrive and suddenly the wait paled into memory.

It's true that their voluntary communications are minimal, to say the least. But, they are a serious company with whom I have every confidence. I would be sure that they will see you right, but they do need a bit of time to do it. I'm sure they have a thousand other balls in the air as well as yours.

All the best

Daniel

 

 

 

Edited By Daniel on 28/04/2018 07:39:41

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Thank you sir.
It’s a weekend all as we all know warco ain’t open now till Monday so won’t have any thing to report on the matter but to repeat what one has said so far.
Seems every thing should work out great.
If there is a rep from warco on here or if Roger himself is reading this thank you realy apriciate the agreeing to loading up your own van with remaining items I’m waiting for plus agreeing to load up replacement mill and even come and deliver them etc.

Amazing service could not be happier with this solution.

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

OK still not much to update on

I caved in and rang them yesterday and was asked for my postcode and was told to leave it with them so?.

 

Also checking there website shows the WM250 lathe stand still aint in stock its been a long time now about 4 weeks+ .

Edited By STK2008 on 01/05/2018 11:58:19

Edited By STK2008 on 01/05/2018 11:58:34

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

I wouldn't go by what the stock on their website says, for all you know they may have had a delivery today, and a stand is sitting earmarked for you.

Did you ask them about the stand when you rang them?

I am trying to put this as delicately as possible, but 10 pages in this thread my senses tell me you aren't a very patient person

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

One advantage of growing old is when something turns up after two months it's either "Did I order one of those" or " Heck that's quick I think I only ordered it a couple of days ago".

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Lol I am most of the time believe it or not lol.
Just get a bit nervous as I have spent so much and generally things don’t often go right for me as have been seen all ready with a faulty wm18 doh.

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Bazyle lol

Just hoping when we do finally get delivery of replacement mill and when I get my lathe every thing is as it should be would hate to be

“That customer” to ring them up yet again as something is faulty etc but suppose I’m with in me rights to do so as I’ve been told by warco them self it does sound like I have a manufactured faulty machine with the bearings in the head machined out on the pee.

Edited By STK2008 on 01/05/2018 13:57:19

[DanielParticipant @daniel]

Posted by Bazyle on 01/05/2018 13:53:52:

One advantage of growing old is when something turns up after two months it's either "Did I order one of those" or " Heck that's quick I think I only ordered it a couple of days ago".

Well said Bazyle.

It's not just me then …

[Old SchoolParticipant @oldschool]

Our experience of Warco service leaves a lot to be desired my son tried to buy a WM250 at the Midlands ME but they didn't want to talk to a young lad he walked away and bought it on the Internet. Delivery was something else he got close to cancelling it due to broken promises on delivery they just didn't seem to know what was going on. Anyway he was assured it wouldn't arrive before Christmas. His mum got s phone call a week before Christmas saying it was on its way.

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Yeah I’m getting the impression If you don’t ring them u will never get updated on what’s going on.

I rang today and spoke to the boss man he had no idea at first what I was talking about even though it was 2 days ago he agreed about a faulty mill and delivering my lathe etc etc.

He did remember after a bit more info but I think he forgot.

He took my post code and we left it at that.

They do seem a bit ummm slow with keeping customers informed and what not I’m sure there busy but still.

I’m going to ring again tomorrow and keep ringing other wise I’m worried it will just get left lol.

Any way shall keep the thread updated as and when .

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

We get a lot of raw material & finished parts from China at work & very rarely do the containers turn up "on time", due to many factors. The source factory can be late shipping, ships get delayed by weather (we have had containers delivered to Rotterdam instead of Felixstowe due to weather, then lost 3 or 4 weeks getting it back from Rotterdam to Felixstowe again). Even when your container does get into the UK, some get impounded at random by C&E for X-ray checking, which can take over a week (for which you are charged storage by the day !). And rarely can the shipping agents give any kind of delivery update until the day the container is actually released to them at the port.

It is not good for the blood pressure when you have "late" parts that have to get to customers to keep production lines running & you don't know if they will get to you on time. 4-6 weeks "late" from intial estimates given 3 or more months previously is not unusual & no amount of huffing and puffing on our part will get "late" shipments to us any quicker – it arrives when it get here & not before !

I enquired about a WM18 with an MT3 spindle recently (not currently shown on Warco's website – they seem to have standardised on R8) & was told that one could be special ordered no problem & delivery would be the normal 5 months – it is a long supply chain ! So it is quite likely than Warco got an estimated delivery date at the time they placed their order several months back & genuinely don't know when the container will actually turn up if it is "late".

And Warco are not alone in this – SPG are OOS of their equivalent milling machine at the moment – the answer to my restock query being that delivery "should be next month". It must be just as frustrating for suppliers not to have stock to sell & not knowing when it will appear (due to circumstances beyound their control) as it is for you as a customer – you could try cutting them a bit of slack.

Nigel B

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

As a detached observer who has no former dealings with Warco, I've got to say that the fact that Warco supplied you with a duff mill did little in itself to lower them in my estimation; we all know to expect the odd bad apple.

What has lowered them in my estimation, to the point where they've currently dropped down my list of top places to buy machinery from (which I'm currently in the market for), is their response (actions, not just words) to finding out they supplied you with a duff mill.

If I had been Warco I would have arranged a next-working-day pick-up of your mill (regardless of what other machinery you are waiting for from them), told you whether or not a replacement was immediately to hand that could be sent out, and said that as soon as we had satisfied ourselves that the mill did in fact have the fault you say it does we would send out the replacement. Upon receipt, it would be unlikely to need more than one working day to verify or contradict your findings.

However good a supplier's products are, however good the reputation for build quality they have, those same goods can rapidly become unattractive to prospective buyers when the way the supplier is seen to deal with teething problems or faulty merchandise falls short of what reasonable buyers expect.

If the mill is indeed faulty, you will not lose financially. If Warco's customer service proves to be faulty as well as the mill, in the long run they may lose far more than you might have done.

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

I agree with Bill.

When I bought my Chester Crusader lathe, I had an issue with the three jaw check, (weird scroll meant I couldn't get soft jaws to fit), they "over nighted" a new chuck and soft jaws for free. Warco is yet another example of the customer doing the pre-delivery checks.

Jim

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Bill Phinn on 02/05/2018 03:39:31:

As a detached observer who has no former dealings with Warco, I've got to say that the fact that Warco supplied you with a duff mill did little in itself to lower them in my estimation; we all know to expect the odd bad apple.

What has lowered them in my estimation, to the point where they've currently dropped down my list of top places to buy machinery from (which I'm currently in the market for), is their response (actions, not just words) to finding out they supplied you with a duff mill.

…

However good a supplier's products are, however good the reputation for build quality they have, those same goods can rapidly become unattractive to prospective buyers when the way the supplier is seen to deal with teething problems or faulty merchandise falls short of what reasonable buyers expect.

If the mill is indeed faulty, you will not lose financially. If Warco's customer service proves to be faulty as well as the mill, in the long run they may lose far more than you might have done.

Absolutely right. My experiences with Warco has been good but this example shows they are far from perfect. I'm confident they will do the right thing, but they need to explain. Failing to keep the customer informed is a mistake. mgnbuk gives many examples of how a distributor like Warco can be delayed by supply chain problems. Whatever the cause, Warco would be well advised to keep STK2008 informed especially if there is going to be a delay. If they don't, we are likely to start speculating, turning a minor issue into lasting reputational damage.

Warco pay good money to advertise on this site; it is a likely source of new buisness. This thread is free advertising. If I were Warco I'd see it as a glorious opportunity to score brownie points by allowing STK2008 to publicise how well Warco manage this type of problem. At the moment it appears that they may be accidentally covering themselves in poo – very possibly while a perfectly acceptable fix is coming together in the background.

Most customers are reasonable – don't wind them up by accident!

Dave

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

What puzzles me about the likes if Warco/Chester/Toolco/SPG etc, is they are small in number when it comes to staff….I cant believe they are inundated with orders/stocktaking/ preparing/repairing machines that they are so busy to pick up the phone and attempt to resolve outstanding issues like this….

I had an issue with a DRO display purchased from one supplier, contacted them about the issue and was told 'I'll get back to you in 5 mins'. Sure enough got the call, and a replacement was on its way….

C'mon Mr Warren, its not that hard to sort this out for this forum member and his mill?

Edited By John Rudd on 02/05/2018 09:55:45

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

Any further update on this?

A successful conclusion?

[STK2008Participant @stk2008]

Hi

I have decided to go for a full refund they came last week and took all tooling and machine and I have canceled the remaining order.

I am not going to post why I decided to go this route.

Warco did offer to exchange faulty machine but as said decided on a different approach for reasons I shall not post.

 

I shall say though Warco did collect fautly machine and tooling in there own van and the chaps where very nice like every one at Warco.

I had a phone call today from Warco to take card details so they could issue the refund.

 

All in all I am happy with the outcome and wish Warco all the best for the future.

I have requested for this forum thread to be deleted about two weeks ago but still not been done so if an admin could delete this thread for me please that would be great.

 

Thanks to every one for your amazing input and realy look forward to chatting more with you as I have said befor this is an amazeing comunity thank you all.

 

 

Edited By STK2008 on 14/05/2018 20:23:54

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Though I wouldn't presume to want to influence the mods' decision, I for one feel this thread should remain. It contains information about the sorts of problems that may beset new machinery of the kind many of us are in the market for. I say may because the OP's ultimate reticence and desire for his thread to be deleted leaves it in doubt whether Warco actually suppled him with a faulty machine in the first place. All we really know is that Warco came good on their customer service.

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