Cornwell

[morgaj1]

I have an old Cornwell ratchet that was my grandfather's. It no longer works because the detent spring broke and the detent ball was deformed. Since I do not have a local Cornwell truck, I boxed it up and mailed it to Cornwell. I included a letter in the package asking them to fix the ratchet instead of replacing it because of the sentimental value. About a week later, I get a package from Cornwell containing my grandfather's ratchet, a repair kit, a brand new ratchet and handwritten on my letter:

"We decided to give you a replacement ratchet. Also, we have included a repair kit for you to fix your grandfather's ratchet."

What a great gesture. You don't see that kind of customer service much these days.

 

[BK13]

Good on them!

 

[3baygarage]

That's incredibly cool.

 

[K-Dog]

WAY cool.

 

[four.cycle]

very cool.
amazing sometimes what some of the manufacturers will do when you write them a nice letter.
had a kinda-sorta similar experience with Porter-Cable years ago.

 

[Brownsfan]

They are a small company compared to the other truck brands. They are still a privately employee owned company. That's the kind of service you get from a smaller company. More personal than the giant corporations.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Those who talk trash on Cornwell either had a bad driver or some other petty reason, because they couldn't knock the tools.

I'm glad that you got a great story and a new ratchet to pass down the line.

Post some pics!

 

[Brownsfan]

Yep. I wish I still had a Cornwell dealer. I LOVE their ratchets. Even the coarse 30t models. Strong as hell and smooth as butter. I also really like the Witte rebrand screwdriver set I have. Best Phillips tips I have ever used.

 

[firworks]

Great story, great company. Great ratchets too.

Strangely enough, the Cornwell truck is the one I see most around town. The only other truck I've ever even seen in this area is Snap-On and it's rare.

 

[morgaj1]

Here are pics of the ratchets:

 

[3baygarage]

Nice comparison shots.

 

[Wamsutta]

Good people!

 

[mikebaker1129]

Cool story !
We have a Cornwell truck stopping by since Snap on dumped us.
I am going to give him a try this Wednesday when he comes by.
I hear he is a good dealer to boot.

 

[Dave455]

That's a great story!

I know very little about Cornwell tools. I suspect that few have made it to the U.K. but from what I can see they look really nice!

Interesting to see that they are still making the same pattern of ratchet after obviously many years, and presumably to the same quality too! That says a lot!

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

That is great to hear! I'm a Cornwell fan as well.

I called them yesterday to find out where the closest dealer is, now I just gotta call the DM when I get a chance.

 

[KnurledNut]

Here are pics of the ratchets...

Your grandfathers ratchet is the better looking one!



Thanks for sharing the story.
These word-of-mouth positive testimonials do a company well.

 

[Vortaku]

That is badass! good job Cornwell

 

[buba]

Your Grandfather's has a great patina and almost resembles the industrial finish version. Does it have the assembly/oil hole in the head?

I have also had great warranty support from the Cornwell folks in Wadsworth Ohio via the old fashioned snail mail route.

 

[morgaj1]

Does it have the assembly/oil hole in the head?

It does, but looks to have been filled in with something like JB Weld.

 

[morgaj1]

Your grandfathers ratchet is the better looking one!

I agree!

 

[Ponchoguy]

very cool.
amazing sometimes what some of the manufacturers will do when you write them a nice letter.
had a kinda-sorta similar experience with Porter-Cable years ago.

I had a similar (good) experience with DeVilbiss/PC/Dewalt a few years back. Excellent company, excellent service.

 

[Ponchoguy]

I have an old Cornwell ratchet that was my grandfather's. It no longer works because the detent spring broke and the detent ball was deformed. Since I do not have a local Cornwell truck, I boxed it up and mailed it to Cornwell. I included a letter in the package asking them to fix the ratchet instead of replacing it because of the sentimental value. About a week later, I get a package from Cornwell containing my grandfather's ratchet, a repair kit, a brand new ratchet and handwritten on my letter:

"We decided to give you a replacement ratchet. Also, we have included a repair kit for you to fix your grandfather's ratchet."

What a great gesture. You don't see that kind of customer service much these days.

You don't and I do the same thing. Writing a letter/making the effort usually brings rewards when you get the right ear. That's a company that stands behind their products and that's a company you'll go to in the future.

 

[colin39]

What a nice gesture from them.
The only cornwell tools i have is a 1/4 drive ratchet ,that is my reach for ratchet and a set of apanners 8-19 and i think they are great.

 

[Vinko]

I had a similar story. Though not as sentimental. I bought a set of used Cornwell combo wrenches from a forum member here (haven't seen him post lately though). They arrived and we put them to use in a certain area of the shop where we need to have a full range of sizes -- kind of a dedicated little area with the tools we needed for maintenance on a couple of machines. Mind they were used -- and the first time I picked up the 3/4 and turned a bolt with the closed end, the end just clean broke. Almost a clean shear. (This isn't a knock against that forum member that sold them at all -- he couldn't have known and he's always done right the few times I've gotten stuff from him).

Anyway, I put the wrench in a small box with a note that said: hey, I bought this as part of a used set. These things are great -- I like the size, how thin the handles are, the angle of the head, they really fit into machinery that we're maintaining. It'd be great if you could warranty, but we're not the first purchaser, so just call us if you'd rather us purchase a replacement (we wanted to keep it as a set -- kinda shop OCD). Anyway, got a new 3/4 wrench back in a week or two. The original was a very, very well worn hard chrome I think. The replacement was triple chrome plate. But no complaints from me!

 

[shoggoth80]

That is a really cool response from them. I own exactly ONE Cornwell tool at home (have universal swivels at work), and it's a nice piece to work with. There will be more Cornwell as funds allow. I don't have a local driver, as his route is a few towns over... but he was pretty upstanding to work with on the one transaction so far... worth driving a bit to meet the guy.

Very uplifting to hear. You can fix your inherited ratchet, and have a newer one to put wear and tear on.

 

[softailgarage]

Very nice. As a dealer in training we got to tour the original forge, which is still in operation since 1919, one of the last American tool forges around. I can't express the feeling I had while in that building, all the history, I was in heaven. At the end of the tour we ended up in the head of the forge's office. I couldn't believe it, cabinets full of die cast race cars, posters on the walls, vintage stuff all over, I was sure I had died and gone to GJ heaven. Anyway, in the corner was an old display case full of old ratchets, sockets, wrenches. By far one of the most coolest and memorable things of my life.

 

[RRmech]

Really GOOD tools, that can often be found quite cheaply on the used tool market (flea market, yard sales, etc.).
They do NOT have the name recognition among non-wrenchers, so they often get tossed among the cheaper tools.

 

[zcbauer89]

This is an awesome story, thanks for sharing. Too many critical comments sometimes, so it's nice to hear something like this.