A nice surprise from Axminster

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Popey

Established Member
Joined
4 Apr 2020
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Location
Swindon
Last week I ordered an Axminster AC250PT planer thicknesser and AC82E chip extractor. I was advised that the lead time for the planer thicknesser was 4-5 weeks and 2-3 for the chip extractor. Imagine my surprise and delight to get a call this morning saying that they want to deliver it next Thursday. I’d better crack on with reorganising the workshop!

cheers

Mark
 
Axminster - for a variety of reasons - have come in for some general criticism recently but there was a time when their offering, service and back-up was superb......... and I speak as a customer of the old Axminster shop going back 35-odd years, before their huge warehousing.

It wasn't a case of what went wrong..... rather how you put it right.

Most suppliers have supply and delivery problems these days, hitting home on two fronts and it comes as a pleasant reminder of those days to see someone praising them for exceeding their expectations.
 
I bought an Axminster floor standing pillar drill in about 2003

In 2017 I rang them up about a broken worm drive....and burger me they had one in stock, £3.50


And yet the same year I needed a new nut for my VG tenoning machine.....£180+VAT from the manufacturer in Belgium.
 
I have no complaints about them. The delivery driver was a really nice chap, very helpful and interested in what I was going to use the kit for. I think a lot or most of the criticism is unjustified.
 
I think the criticism is somewhat valid.
It is because they were noticably good at customer service previously that the deterioration is more obvious.
I think it is harder to be great at customer focus the bigger the company becomes.
I also think the business model has changed a bit from selling other brand machines to their own badged Chinese stuff. They are trying to brand everything Axminster.
One thing I don't understand is why they do stuff like sell Gyokucho saws under another name even though they are marked Gyokucho. Stuff like that is just daft.

Ollie
 
I have had no issues at all with Axminster's customer service. As far as badging chinese-manufactured machines, it's no different to Record Power, Charnwood etc. The planer-thicknessers are all pretty much identical save for some minor details. The same applies to bandsaws. I have the Record Power Sabre 350 bandsaw. Rikon, a US brand sell the exact same machine except for the colour and badges (obviously).
I can't comment on the saws you mention - but I'll bet that most, if not all of the Japanese saws sold in the UK come out of one or two manufacturers in the far East.
 
I ordered some stuff on Friday afternoon about 2ish
Wasn’t in a hurry so chose the cheapest delivery (3.95)rather than £16 sat morn delivery
Royal Mail this morning delivered..
So much congrats to Royal Mail
 
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