zimman
Well-known member
Furthermore, buy your tools from a person you can shake hands with. It helps.
Zim
Just confirming other’s experiences, Wright no longer has a meaningful Warranty for their tools.
- Thread starter timoboy
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Zim
dnschmidt
Well-known member
This fixation with warrantee for something as cheap as hand tools is a mystery to me. If a $500 impact wrench ****'s the bed that's worth the effort if a $10 socket dies who gives a ****. Why sweat the small stuff?
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For me, it’s more of an issue that a no conditions warranty tells me the manufacturer stands behind their product. Even if I never use it…they have the confidence to offer such a guarantee.
When a manufacturer offers a warranty, then works their asses off to find ways to invalidate it….it tells a completely different story.
Alot of users invalidate a warranty by double wrenching, using cheater bars, hammering an undersized socket onto a rusted fastener, or pounding the handle of a socket wrench to break loose a fastener.
It’s inconceivable to me that a wrench could just break under normal use. Maybe a thin wall socket might split after prolonged use. Or maybe chrome might fail, or maybe a tool could just wear out after a long while, but that would fall under ordinary wear and tear.
Just a follow-up for the “why Tekton” crowd…we are an engineering services company. We don’t mass produce but rather prototype/assemble limited runs. Also tools often go missing/lost etc so a lower cost industrial brand like Wright as opposed to Snap-On made sense at the time. Nothing should be regularly breaking under the type of use we exert on tools (assembling brand new products in cleanroom type environments). Absolutely no problem to have someone in a given project team message about a replacement tool under warranty we aren’t running some high volume sweat shop.
Ive been handling this for us for awhile and Tekton has been INCREDIBLE with warranty service. Even in the cases where a tool was discontinued they offered a generous credit and shipped the replacement product of our choice lighting fast. We regularly use even their Taiwanese heavy duty 3/4 drive socket kits without fail and have had exactly zero failures of any of their heavy duty products. Again as expected under the type of use case for our tools.
With Wright just in the past year we have had: peeling chrome on like new tooling stored in a climate controlled clean room, misprinted sockets galore, extensions straight up missing detent balls from new, ratchets that skip, and in this case a ratchet that failed under incredibly low load. We are done supporting that brand.
Ive been handling this for us for awhile and Tekton has been INCREDIBLE with warranty service. Even in the cases where a tool was discontinued they offered a generous credit and shipped the replacement product of our choice lighting fast. We regularly use even their Taiwanese heavy duty 3/4 drive socket kits without fail and have had exactly zero failures of any of their heavy duty products. Again as expected under the type of use case for our tools.
With Wright just in the past year we have had: peeling chrome on like new tooling stored in a climate controlled clean room, misprinted sockets galore, extensions straight up missing detent balls from new, ratchets that skip, and in this case a ratchet that failed under incredibly low load. We are done supporting that brand.
The OP wasn't about a $10 socket. It was about a $200 ratchet.
And whether it was $1 or $10,000, if a company pissed me off I'd never patronize them again. Plenty of others to do business with.
neophyte
Well-known member
There have been anecdotes onGJ about sockets cracking from being dropped onto concrete.
I think the brand mentioned was made in Spain.
There are pictures on Reddit of the occasional snapped Knipex plier or cutter.
Knipex seems to play blackjack with hardness, and every once in a while busts.
Judging from other instances, batches of tools sometimes miss a step in production, like tempering, or hardening, or cleaning before plating.
Ohio Andy
Well-known member
I have a Snapon 1100TMPBFR
shop.snapon.com
One of the sockets did not work... It was the wrong size somehow. It was the size I didn't use often and when I received a set of a hundred things in it, I do not usually meticulously test all of them.
So for me, one of the values of a long warranty is if there's something I don't use often or a set that contains things I don't use often if I find problems with them, I hope they will replace it.
Snap-on Store
One of the sockets did not work... It was the wrong size somehow. It was the size I didn't use often and when I received a set of a hundred things in it, I do not usually meticulously test all of them.
So for me, one of the values of a long warranty is if there's something I don't use often or a set that contains things I don't use often if I find problems with them, I hope they will replace it.
Wrench97
Well-known member
I have sockets that are just plain worn out some from the mid 70's most from the 80's & 90's.
Snap On, Mac and Matco the craftsman I don't bother with any more, 7/16, 1/2" & 9/16 have gotten a work out over the last 50+ years yes in a fleet shop I used SAE tools right up to the end, air line fittings are still sae sizes as are just about every mudflap bolt I've ever touched For C models, LN models were SAE right up til the end in mid 90's and they were in the fleet 10-15 years some longer... replacement trailer siderail bolts 3/8" uss thread. I exchange worn out for new sockets regularly I just hope I get to wear them out all over again.
Snap On, Mac and Matco the craftsman I don't bother with any more, 7/16, 1/2" & 9/16 have gotten a work out over the last 50+ years yes in a fleet shop I used SAE tools right up to the end, air line fittings are still sae sizes as are just about every mudflap bolt I've ever touched For C models, LN models were SAE right up til the end in mid 90's and they were in the fleet 10-15 years some longer... replacement trailer siderail bolts 3/8" uss thread. I exchange worn out for new sockets regularly I just hope I get to wear them out all over again.
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
I could say the same for Snap On, Mac, Craftsman and SK tools I've had. Duds are gonna happen when you buy enough tools, that's the law of large numbers, not an indictment of any particular brand.
I get that the warranty service from Wright was denied, and that *****, but it seems like we're not gonna get the whole story on that one, despite folks asking for it.
3baygarage
Well-known member
My Craftsman 3/4 Saltus cracked dropping it on the ground after first use. I bought it brand new off the shelf at Sears Hardware. I used it to change a grinder wheel, then it fell. The socket cracked down opposite sides.
Ohio Andy
Well-known member
I have had to warranty a few things from snap-on... Never had to warranty anything from Wright... And I own more things from Wright Tools.I could say the same for Snap On, Mac, Craftsman and SK tools I've had. Duds are gonna happen when you buy enough tools, that's the law of large numbers, not an indictment of any particular brand.
I get that the warranty service from Wright was denied, and that *****, but it seems like we're not gonna get the whole story on that one, despite folks asking for it.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ I couldn't even begin to count the number of brand-new tools I saw fail right out of the gate.
One of the really surprising ones was a pair of 7-inch diagonal cutters - one side just fell off the first time the guy tried to use it.
WTH?
One of the really surprising ones was a pair of 7-inch diagonal cutters - one side just fell off the first time the guy tried to use it.
WTH?
four.cycle
Well-known member
I am buying a Wright socket set from another member here right now, and hope to be able to score a set of matching deep-wells when the ebay seller cuts me a deal on them.
I had a set of Wright-made "Powr-Kraft" - was really nice stuff.
As though I need another socket set, right?
four.cycle
Well-known member
the deep wells are in the kit! yAY! now I just have to find a matching 3/8" socket.
easy peasy.
some stuff fails right away. no accounting for it. you cannot "test" every tool that comes down an assembly line when you're cranking out tens of thousands of widgets every day.
mis-broached sockets, wrenches lacking ANY broaching (at either end!), pliers with only handle having the "vinyl grip"... on and on.
Makes you wonder "Hey, what was that QC guy doing at that moment that he missed THAT??!?!"
easy peasy.
some stuff fails right away. no accounting for it. you cannot "test" every tool that comes down an assembly line when you're cranking out tens of thousands of widgets every day.
mis-broached sockets, wrenches lacking ANY broaching (at either end!), pliers with only handle having the "vinyl grip"... on and on.
Makes you wonder "Hey, what was that QC guy doing at that moment that he missed THAT??!?!"
For industrial and commercial users, warranty generally doesn't matter. It is a marketing ploy for home and retail users.
It is a difficult thing for a home owner to wrap their head around, but consider this: The cost of executing a warranty claim for a major company far exceeds the cost of the tool itself. An employee making $30-50/hour might need to generate $150 per hour of productivity to offset all of the overheads and G&A associated with running a business like employment taxes, employee benefits, insurance etc.. Having somebody spend an hour of the day at a fully burdened cost of $150 an hour to the company to file a claim and ship the item to warranty a broken $30 wrench doesn't make economic sense. It is much easier to just issue another $20-30 tool.
This is why you will see vending machines in production areas stocked with both consumable items and long-term consumables like certain tools. Employee walks up, swipes their badge, gets the replacement they need and moves on. The system looks for out of family dispensing to flag anybody who might be stealing but it is more cost effective than trying to make warranty claims all day.
It is a difficult thing for a home owner to wrap their head around, but consider this: The cost of executing a warranty claim for a major company far exceeds the cost of the tool itself. An employee making $30-50/hour might need to generate $150 per hour of productivity to offset all of the overheads and G&A associated with running a business like employment taxes, employee benefits, insurance etc.. Having somebody spend an hour of the day at a fully burdened cost of $150 an hour to the company to file a claim and ship the item to warranty a broken $30 wrench doesn't make economic sense. It is much easier to just issue another $20-30 tool.
This is why you will see vending machines in production areas stocked with both consumable items and long-term consumables like certain tools. Employee walks up, swipes their badge, gets the replacement they need and moves on. The system looks for out of family dispensing to flag anybody who might be stealing but it is more cost effective than trying to make warranty claims all day.
Perhaps so. When I worked in manufacturing a long time ago, we had a tool crib run by a third party vendor. If we had a tool break, we had to bring the broken tool to the crib to get a replacement. Not a clue if they ever got warrantied back to the manufacturer or not.
This...
Same reason companies pay more to buy from MSC, Grainger, etc.
Specific to Wright, I have consulted with several large industrial companies that use Wright tools. Their purchase tend to run into the 100's of thousands of dollars. Warranties were generally written as part of the contract. What I have seen is it is functionally a write down. The company sends a list of broken tools at the end of the quarter and gets a refund or a credit on the next quarters purchase. Wright has the option to collect broken tools, but in practice I have never seen them do it. It is not worth the time for either side to argue if the $100 wrench was missused. Grab another and get back to work.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ "Warranty" on Sylvania and General Electric bulbs was simply a 4% discount off the invoice. "Warranty" was simply tossed into the trash.
It is ungodly time consuming and mind-bogglingly expensive (in labor costs) to process "warranty returns".
CGarage
Well-known member
I agree with @four.cycle
Separetely, it never hurts to be polite and courteous with those over the phone whom you are requesting help from. Come to think of it, a little politeness, kindness, and courteousness will get one far and it seems to be disappearing more and more every day.
Separetely, it never hurts to be polite and courteous with those over the phone whom you are requesting help from. Come to think of it, a little politeness, kindness, and courteousness will get one far and it seems to be disappearing more and more every day.
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
There is a big gap between “commercial use(r)” and “too big to bother warrantying/ having some sort of contractual settlement in place“.
I have no opinion on Wright/ what happened here.
Kind regards,
Olli
I have no opinion on Wright/ what happened here.
Kind regards,
Olli
They almost certainly did not.
Tool cribs have 2 fundamental jobs. 1- Control and maintenance of high dollar tooling and 2- ensuring everyone on the floor has what they need. Part of #2 is to track issuance of consumable items for forward planning purposes
Although I can’t take advantage of the warranty policy, I still really want to buy American-branded (and American-made) tools.
Initially, I had my heart set on Wright (specifically Wright Grip), so I’ve been constantly reading everyone’s great posts and feedback here. However, I’ve decided to change course and focus on Proto instead.
A product's retail price includes a "promise."
When a consumer files a warranty claim and gets denied, the manufacturer should treat the customer as an equal party and formally issue a fair, reasonable, and legitimate explanation for the denial.
Some people choose to give up their rights because of the time and cost involved. That comes down to personal values and perspectives, but no one should project their own values onto others.
Try to understand, and show respect.
(Note: My English isn't very good, so I used translation software to help write this post.)
I wouldn't base a manufacturer's reputation based on one instance here. I'm not implying the OP didn't have an issue with Wright, but it could simply be a misunderstanding or the rep having a bad day.
Users have had "one off" warranty issues with almost all tool companies.
If they've become a little stricter it's because users have been sending them buckets of rusty garage sale tools to replace with new to flip on Ebay.
Snaparxon
Well-known member
I disagree with you a little bit on the above statement,
Maybe if you are breaking tools, you are doing something wrong.
Ever use a older Cornwell socket on a tight bolt? Don't use Cornwell sockets anymore myself.
A Mac combination wrench open end spreading, or worse yet, breaking in two trying to loosen a nut?
I personally had 2 Snap on sockets crack consecutivley on same bolt, tried a Craftsman G2 coded socket and it did the job. At the time, it blew my young mind after drinking the Snap on Kool-Aid for so long.
When an fairly new Armstrong 1/2" dr 3/4"impact socket exploded in half when using a old, tired 1/2" impact gun what did I do wrong?
Manufacturers and consumers are equals, so I can understand what you’re saying—especially regarding situations where someone buys a broken tool from a second-hand market, gets it replaced with a new one by the manufacturer under warranty, and then resells it, causing financial harm to the manufacturer.
What I want to address is another aspect: manufacturers should avoid presuming that users are malicious, abusive, or trying to exploit loopholes, and instead provide fair, reasonable, and legal documentation.
Making consumers “prove their own innocence” feels to me like an insult and a stomp on one’s personal dignity.
Saying it like this might sound crude and disrespectful, but what I mean is: you cannot presume that a person intends to commit
(Note: My English isn’t very good, so I used translation software to help write this post.)
Firebrick43
Well-known member
Touchy aren't we. I was laughing about "the beam, where cheater pipe witness marks would be."
Its a humorous comment. Is it not sarcasm?
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gatewaysysop
Well-known member
It's all about money, unfortunately. If they assume there are no bad actors, until people prove otherwise, they end up getting fleeced. When the company gets fleeced, you know who gets punished? Everyone else that buys the product, through higher prices.
I'd rather a company vet the warranty claims (at least to -some- degree) than go out of business or raise their prices sky high to compensate for all the scumbags taking advantage of them. I think there's a balance to be struck, rather than the extremes of "assume the customers are saints" and "assume the customers are scumbags".
You’re right that manufacturers need to vet claims and provide a fair, reasonable, and legitimate written explanation. I suspect that current retail prices already factor in the cost of warranty coverage and the associated risk premium.It's all about money, unfortunately. If they assume there are no bad actors, until people prove otherwise, they end up getting fleeced. When the company gets fleeced, you know who gets punished? Everyone else that buys the product, through higher prices.
I'd rather a company vet the warranty claims (at least to -some- degree) than go out of business or raise their prices sky high to compensate for all the scumbags taking advantage of them. I think there's a balance to be struck, rather than the extremes of "assume the customers are saints" and "assume the customers are scumbags".
(Note: My English isn’t very good, so I used translation software to help write this post.)