Carba-Tec … not particularly impressed

So I chose to buy the dowelling jig from them because they were the only store that had a metric model:

http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec...ing-jig_c11140

Turns out it's the same imperial model as everywhere else. Not a major deal, but kinda misleading.

Then my order arrives without calipers. I email them about the missing item. No response, but eventually I figure out from reading the invoice carefully that it's on backorder. No note about how long I'll have to wait.

Order was placed 23 June.

Order arrives sans calipers 30 June.

Calipers arrive about 3 weeks later mid-July.

… and then another set of calipers arrives 23 September?

I get on the email and ask for the RMA and send them back 29 Sep.

Today is 14 November nearly 7 weeks later and I'm still waiting for my refund to be processed, and I've followed up with them three times.

I'm sure their in-store experience is much better, but as an online customer I won't be ordering from them again. :no:

Sadly, my experiences with them haven't been much better when buying/ordering in person.

Except for one store which was closing down due to "conflicts with Head Office." As the out-going staff sold ALL their stock at less than 10% of cost, the lack of any later support (well... not through that branch, anyway) was far less of a concern. ;)

Needless to say, I spent way, way more than I'd anticipated that day; the main items being a bandsaw, a dust extractor, a portable thicknesser and a mate & I went halves in a pallet of turning blanks...

That was my best trip to CT ever!

Seems a lot of people aren't impressed by them, waiting a week for the order to be picked, is a bit rich too, especially as it's after the credit card has been debited!!!!! :((
Overpriced also, bought 2 blades from somewhere else including delivery, was less than Carba-crap wanted plus postage. I only go there as a last resort, pity that they are the Jet distributors for Aust.
Kryn

Needed a spare for my performax (now jet) drum sander. Seem they don't stock it, won't order it. Found it after 2 minute searching online. $50 exUSA and in stock for immediate delivery.
only go there when there's no other option.

Darren from Carba-Tec contacted me and has sorted it all out. Turns out that they hadn't charged me for the first set of calipers they sent soon after the original order so I had got them for free till they charged me for the second set they sent several months later.

Hopefully they don't keep my credit card details on file otherwise I might find other random stuff arriving in my mail over the next few years :o

Thanks Darren for stepping in and looking after me.

I had to make 2 orders last month. First was a microplane for $28, sorry none in Sydney so I had to pay $17 to get one from Brisbane. Second was a forstner bit for $10, none in Sydney so another $17.

Do they have anything in Sydney? :~

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wongo

I had to make 2 orders last month. First was a microplane for $28, sorry none in Sydney so I had to pay $17 to get one from Brisbane. Second was a forstner bit for $10, none in Sydney so another $17.

---

Stupid question:

Most of our Bunnings clones have the ability to order items to be delivered from other clones. The delivery is to the local store. Do you not have that option?

Most of the carba-crap stores, carry very little in stock, everything has to come from the head office in Brisbane, where it is posted out to you about a week after ordering it or delivered to the store to be picked up. Friend of mine went to spend about $15,000 there on equipment, I'll have that, that and that, and can you load it onto the truck out front. Was told "Sorry, this is all we have and it's for display". He went elsewhere, saved about $1500 and drove away with what he wanted plus more. NOT a good way of doing business.
Kryn

Been buying C-Tec stuph for several years now and it seems Service has degraded over recent years --- I do remember better online and in-house response - But staff online have always been very courteous and helpful. The main office in Brisbane has good people, but each time I visited, there is a delay in being served and pressure to complete the sale quickly. [SWMBO waiting in the car - waiting for me to spend too much $$$]

The product line has exploded, and now there are many more toys, and with each order, it seems I create more "''Backorder''' complications.

Re CC - they kept my details on file - but the card had expired! Ordered some new BS blades, they came a week before the backorder from June for items that were on special in new flyer. Bizarre!

The call waiting 'Geoff Lowe' story loses its charm very quickly over the phone. :~

They tell me that there is some new software on the way - I hope they succeed, because it seems that many local OZ business that we depend on, are doing it tough and folding up.

It seems that freight is a problem from BrisVegas - as many Melb and Sydney stores offer free freight above a certain value or "free shipping" weekends. I tend to wait for the local WWW show to come to town and that is now serving a much smaller crowd each year, with less vendors as well.

Not yet alarmed, but still concerned.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rrich

Stupid question:

Most of our Bunnings clones have the ability to order items to be delivered from other clones. The delivery is to the local store. Do you not have that option?

---

Sorry Bunnings sell toys not tools.

What gets me most is that the minimum postage for CT is $14. My $10 bit became $24.

I recently wanted to buy a veritas jointer fence & as it's a fair drive to C-T, I tried to ring to see if they had it in stock first. They've now decided that the shop staff are too busy to answer phones, so all calls are diverted to the sales centre in Brisbane. It took several attempts over a couple of days, waiting on hold for ages before hanging up, to get through to see if there were any in stock in Sydney. They said there was one there & that is all they will carry in the stores as it is not a fast moving item. So we now have to trust their computer system as we cant get anyone in the stores to physically check if things are there & put them aside for us:~
Next time I want something I'll just wait till I need a few thing & then get them from overseas.

I have also had some issues with Carbatec's service, but as I live in South East Queensland, I deal with their Head Office in Brisbane, and as a result I haven't experienced many of the low or no stock holdings type issues that other people have been discussing. Most of my issues with Carbatec have been to do with Carbatec's:

1. On-line Sales web store not stating when items are out of stock,
2. Ordering system that seems to make a complicated mess of backorder management,
3. Stock that is advertised as on special, but is not actually in stock (and is not due for a few months),
4. Long wait times for in-stock items to be picked and shipped, and
5. Issues with Carbatec's sometimes less that satisfactory Technical Support.

We can complain to each other on this forum about the various problems that we're experiencing with Carbatec's service, but it's most likely that anyone who is directly responsible for that service will read this post. It's in our interests to support those supplier's that meet our woodworking and metalworking requirements. Unfortunately, we're regularly seeing our supplier's businesses closing down for one reason or another. So, if we want our suppliers to survive, we need to discuss our issues directly with the relevant supplier. Maybe with regular informative feedback being provided to the right people, our suppliers will be able to improve their service and products where needed, and continue to sell at a price we can afford, whilst still making the profits necessary to stay in business.

If you want to discuss the issue with someone at Carbatec who is (or should be) directly responsible for addressing the issues raised, then talking to Carbatec's CEO (Simon Lowe) should ensure that the issues are raised with the right person. Unfortunately, Simon doesn't advertise his email address on the Carbatec website. So, I've sent a letter via the post to Simon Lowe (COE) C/- Carbatec's Brisbane postal address.

Maybe some business like discussions directly with Simon Lowe might raise the issues in a way that gets them some management focus. I stress "business like discussions" - not bitch sessions.

Regards,

Roy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 62woollybugger

I recently wanted to buy a veritas jointer fence & as it's a fair drive to C-T, I tried to ring to see if they had it in stock first. They've now decided that the shop staff are too busy to answer phones, so all calls are diverted to the sales centre in Brisbane. It took several attempts over a couple of days, waiting on hold for ages before hanging up, to get through to see if there were any in stock in Sydney. They said there was one there & that is all they will carry in the stores as it is not a fast moving item. So we now have to trust their computer system as we cant get anyone in the stores to physically check if things are there & put them aside for us:~
Next time I want something I'll just wait till I need a few thing & then get them from overseas.

---

I am no great fan of Carbatec but recently my experience was exactly the opposite.
I was chasing a part for my wide drum sander so rang and was answered by Brisbane. They said that the part was in stock in Melb so I asked could they physically check for me. I was put through to Melb who confirmed that the part was there and they put it aside for me to collect a couple of days later.

We must speak as we find.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chesand

so rang and was answered by Brisbane. They said that the part was in stock in Melb so I asked could they physically check for me. I was put through to Melb who confirmed that the part was there and they put it aside for me to collect a couple of days later.

---

Next time just ring (03) 8549 9999 and you will be answered by their Melbourne store as it used to be before they changed.


Peter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sturdee

Next time just ring (03) 8549 9999 and you will be answered by their Melbourne store as it used to be before they changed.

---

Didn't happen a week ago when I rang - still got Brisbane. Try (03)8549 9996 instead. It worked for me. :wink:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Sadly, my experiences with them haven't been much better when buying/ordering in person.

Except for one store which was closing down due to "conflicts with Head Office." As the out-going staff sold ALL their stock at less than 10% of cost, the lack of any later support (well... not through that branch, anyway) was far less of a concern. ;)

Needless to say, I spent way, way more than I'd anticipated that day; the main items being a bandsaw, a dust extractor, a portable thicknesser and a mate & I went halves in a pallet of turning blanks...

That was my best trip to CT ever!

---

Know where you are about. I might have done alright too - except as a woodworker I was not part of the select group who could be seen when they came in the door - I buy, I have needs which I can pay for and the only staff member who acknowledged me in 6 or 7 visits was the dog

Sydney is a comfortable day trip from here - guess where my money went and still goes

Neil

Just put in a call to Carbatec in Brissy to try to get an understanding of what is going on with my orders.

Was informed there is a massive backlog in the callcentre responding to email... My query regarding outstanding/backorder items sent 3 weeks ago was still in the queue for answering.

I was informed that there is a website update in the works that would allow stock tracking so you don't have to order stuff that is not in stock and wait for an indefinite period for it to arrive. I noted with my latest order that shipping costs are now a feature on their website (saves around 4 days waiting for someone to get back to you with a shipping price)

They can't give me a date(or month) when my stuff might arrive or be delivered and I was told I was welcome to cancel the order....

I will also note that buying gear from Amazon/Rockler/other direct and shipping via a freight forwarder is much cheaper and while we try to support the Aussie Companies, they are not making it easy...

I do hope someone from Carbatec reads this forum and can see that their reputation is suffering.

To be honest I don't think that they care anymore. This a feeling I get with most companies, that are on a national level, not only wood working but 4WD stuff also.
Kryn

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NathanaelBC

Darren from Carba-Tec contacted me and has sorted it all out. Turns out that they hadn't charged me for the first set of calipers they sent soon after the original order so I had got them for free till they charged me for the second set they sent several months later.

---

Yep, Darren is about the only guy there who I now deal with. He's a star. He responds quickly to email, is keen to help you out, and seems to really care about the customers. Unfortunately some items can only be bought from Carba-Tec and whenever there is a problem (which there invariably always is), I contact Darren.

I also have the Melbourne manager's mobile number given to me by a call centre person in Brisbane! :o Had a number of (heated) discussions on the phone with him about their poor service and numerous mistakes. He really doesn't care.