I have the extra long extra wide bendpac with a RJ45 jack and couldn't be happier. But I also bought it over a decade ago. The last few years it seems BP quality has been hit or miss and at this point wouldn't be a manufacturer I'd recommend. But I can highly recommend getting the jack, it's worth every dime.
LXCam,
Thank you for your patronage. Glad you couldn’t be happier, especially after a decade of service.
It hurts me (and embarrasses me at the same time) to hear that you are convinced that BendPak no longer cares about its customers and that our quality has diminished. I promise you that we still care very deeply. Every lift we ship today is engineered and designed better and stronger than anything ever made in the past – US made or not. Are there times when one of our products delivered was not worthy of the label? Embarrassingly yes, but many times, other parties are/were involved. Was it possible 15-30 years ago to call BendPak (at any time of the day), talk to Judy the receptionist and have her transfer you directly to Joe the customer service guy? Sure it was. Sadly we grew. A lot.
10-years ago, you probably combed the internet looking for truth – online customer comments and reviews. One or two disparaging comments online and you would have likely been swayed. Even 10 years ago, BendPak would have been shipping 30 times more lifts than today’s Backyard Buddy, Advantage and Wildfire - all who make a quality product I’m sure, but perspective should be noted.
What the internet proves is that small-scale lift companies selling just one or two lifts a day fare better in the world of public opinion than lift companies selling 150+ lifts a day. Of course they would fare better because fewer lifts means fewer problems, fewer damaged shipments, fewer shipping delays, fewer missing parts, a helluva a lot less phone rings, and yes, fewer complaints – it’s a numbers game.
Of course there’s a place for smaller, boutique lift companies, but they seem to be part of a dying breed, so be wise. The withering of small businesses trying to stay alive amid the ascendancy of larger adversaries (and e-commerce) has been documented for more than a decade. In my 36 years at BendPak I have seen at least a dozen lift brands come and go - no more phone number, no more website, and no more service.
Finicky customers make you better which is why we will continue focusing on what consumers are saying. To ignore the voice of the street would be counterintuitive. As we continue to grow (and we will), BendPak will continue to improve our processes and efficiencies. I promise.
Thanks again for your business.
