Tools Rant.
 

I bought a set of NEW craftsmen tools lastnight....

Went to pull of a caliper on my friends Acura RSX Type S so we could to the brakes, ans low and behold the bole we needed to pull was 12 MM... We pulled out a 13MM, and that almost fit, but when you pull on it hard, it started to slip and round out. The 12MM from the set was too F'in big for the bolt, and just slid around it, with no resistance from trying to pull the bolt head. The 11MM was too small, so I said F'it. I go into my dads tool cabinet and pull out his 35 year old set of craftsmeb wrenches, and find the right socket. He was missing the 12MM socket, so I found the wrench in his set that fit it. Used that to pull the caliper and fix it.

Now, last night while using the new set of tools, I managed to round off 2 bolts, 6 different NEW sockets, and change all of the brake pads... That just pisses me off when something that is supposed to be quality turns out to be crap, and when you need it most, it doesn't work.



Anyways, I went to sears last night before they closed, and they took the set beck on a goodwill agreement, after some verbal exchanges. They gave me my money back, and they wanted to give me a coupon for 10% off anything in the store. I yelled and screamed at the manager next, and he said I could have their biggest and best set of tools for like half of the full price. I said I wasn't going to take this garbage anymore, and I said I would never shop at Sears again. The guy took my phone# down, and said that the Craftsmen rep would call me to see how they could make it up, but I was pissed, I yelled go to hell.


Also, the Craftsmen Rep just called, and said I have a new set waiting for me at the Sears store where I bought them, and I could go get them for FREE!! I said no, your tools are garbage, they dont even touch the quailty of my dds 35 year old set of Craftsmen tools...

I am torn. I want to go get a set of like MAC tools, or something similar, but I dont know. Ill see how this plays out.


Thanks For Reading!!! Its always good to blow off some steam.

From your treatment of these men, one can only assume you thought it their fault that the tools were poorly made, and that they sold you this sub-par product to spite you.

X2

Chill a little bit... Its not their falt their companys owned by Kmart.

I hate customers who act like everything is YOUR fault, and YOU gave them ****ty equipment.

Its not, its the fault of those who make it, and the ones who do QC on it...

I'd apologize, for acting like a complete *******

BTW, All of the American tool companies are going downhill, because they're cutting the cost (and quality) to compete with china...

~Nate

I just bought some Craftsman jack stands the other day and noticed they were made in China.

Not that I am a big Sears fan, I really prefer quality Harbor Freight Tools:cool: . But, that was a pretty fair gesture they made to you I don't believe the Sears rep is going to buy you any MAC tools. Where are you trying to go with this?

I really can't imagine how you stripped all those sockets using the craftsman tools. You must have been using the 12 point sockets instead of the 6 point. Craftsman tool are not the best tools made, but they are pretty decent. You turned down a free full set? Foolish move out of anger.

The craftsmen rep was cool. I agreed to a deal on the 190 piece tool set. He cut me a deal by giving it to me for free, but I had to agree not to raise anymore hell over this topic.

He got the broken tools, and the bolts, and he saw how the 11, 12, 13 and 14 MM sockets were oddly fitted. He said he used a micrometer, and found that the 12MM socket was 12.9MM, and the 13MM socket was actually about 13MM. He sincerely apologized for the problem, and said that the tools have a lifetime gaurantee, and if I ever find anything odd like this, to call him immediately, and that he will take care of it.


Rant: Over.

Congratulations, justinwrock. You have probably been at the top of these employees' conversations since they were blessed with their wonderful interactions with you!

I agree with NKowi and Nate. Why don't you put yourself in those Sears employees' shoes. The only way that they have anything to do with your dissatisfaction is that they happen to work for the company that sells the product that you purchased. They have no influence on product quality. They did nothing to you, yet you attacked them. I typically ask customers like you to leave the premises and not return.

Unfortunately for people that must face dissatisfied customers from time to time, people like you are becoming more and more common. I don't understand your theory of treating another person, especially someone that had nothing to do with your problem, like you have. Because you took the time to post this on the web, it appears that you are trying to brag about your actions ("I yelled and screamed at the manager next"). These actions don't make you cool, they actually do the opposite. You should be ashamed of yourself, and instead be apologizing to each of these innocent individuals that you attacked. Take it from someone that deals with customers day in and day out - you will get a lot further with kindness. I can only hope that one day you have duties that include working with customers such as yourself!

Enjoy the reputation that you are developing for yourself... you deserve it!

Hey Justinwrock,

I've been known to get hot over that kind of thing myself. I try to keep it under control cause I don't want to die young... well, too late for that, but I'd rather die old anyway.

Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Probably could'a gotten the same results with a little less fireworks but who knows. Quality is going down, all right. Sounds like you came out pretty well, all in all.

MAC or Snap On? Bring $$$.

You should have taken the tools, sold them on Craigslist, and bought one nice shiny Mac wrench. :)

Yup -- I would have taken the tools and said 'thank you sir".

I did take the tools in the end. The craftsmen guy was pretty cool. All in all, I made it out OK.

The reason why I was yelling at the poor consumer service boy is that he was soooo gung ho about his product being the best, and that there was no way that the product he was selling could be defective. so I felt like putting him in his place, as I was the consumer, and the CONSUMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!!


Then to top it off, he said that because I stripped the actual socket, the warranty was void, and I could not replace it with one that would actually work. That is when I decided I needed to speak to the manager and correctly handle this.

Actually, more often than not, "the consumer" is WRONG....

But that's not the point.

I think that they probably were a bit over-confident in their product.

But I also think that you probably were a bit over-enthusiastic in your hell-raising.

Calm and diplomacy usually gets you better results in such situations....

I would have accepted the free tools, sold them on eBay, and then applied that money towards the MAC tools, or whatever...

Anyway...

My personal experience with Craftsman Tools has been a good one. I have a 100-something piece set of sockets/combination wrenches, etc. that I bought a couple of years ago, and they have served me well. I broke the 1/4"-drive ratchet last year, and I returned it to my local Sears store, where they replaced it with no hassle, no questions asked. The guy even gave me 15% off on a 13mm socket after I told him that I lost the one that came with the set.

My one minor complaint about the kit is this: The molded-plastic case that it came in is very poorly fitted, and when you carry it by the handle, many of the sockets and extensions fall out of their slots, so it's a big mess when you open it up. A minor annoyance, but... it's something they could easily improve upon.

Mike

i use craftsman sockets on a daily basis. same with the wrenches. both of the head techs at work own quite a few craftsman tools. i have recently opened an account with matco. i dont care for mac's tools and the snap-on guy is an *********. so i took my bussiness to matco. even snap-on is getting stupid with their warrenties. the tried to charge my buddy to rebuild his 3/8 ratchet. all their air tools have a one year warrenty not lifetime, but thats how snapon,mac,matco,cornwell and most are on the air tools. i decided when i buy my impact wrench for work im gonna get a huskey from home depot. its got a life time warrenty.

i was bored one day and took my calipers out and measured all my sockets in my craftsman tool set.. they all are at spec.. you must of gotten the set that shouldnt of left the factory. i like my craftsman tools. its all my family has used since .. for ever.