GearWrench QC issue...pics inside

[nissan_crawler]

I'm glad we are taking care of you to your expectations.

Please let me know via PM if you are not completely satisfied when you receive the replacement product.

Again - sorry for the incovenience.

Steve

As I've said many times, all companies have screwups, it's how they handle them that matters.

 

[kartracer23]

I just got my 68 pc. socket set from Amazon & dang! Very nice stuff. Guess I had never looked at tools real close before, but these are beautifully finished.

 

[Kartman]

I just got off the phone with a Cust. Service person who said she could not help me with the exchnage as she was not the rep. for the Amazon account. I was then transferred to a woman by the name of "Dell" who is currently out of the office until tomorrow. I left her a nice detailed message and my phone number. Hopefully she will call me back to get this all resolved. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[joshboogie]

That's weird. I just called up and told the lady on the phone that I had a 3 pc spark plug ratchet set that had some pitting and rust on the sockets. She asked for a part # and My address then told me she would send out replacements. Whole call took under 5 minutes no lie but I called 1st thing this morning.

 

[Kartman]

That's weird. I just called up and told the lady on the phone that I had a 3 pc spark plug ratchet set that had some pitting and rust on the sockets. She asked for a part # and My address then told me she would send out replacements. Whole call took under 5 minutes no lie but I called 1st thing this morning.

I was kind of surprised too.... especially calling them after reading that they took care of you right away. Regardless, I didn't feel like putting up a big stink and arguing with the lady over the phone and just followed what she told me. Hopefully Dell will call back tomorrow and we can get this all taken care of.

 

[GearWrench Brand]

I just got off the phone with a Cust. Service person who said she could not help me with the exchnage as she was not the rep. for the Amazon account. I was then transferred to a woman by the name of "Dell" who is currently out of the office until tomorrow. I left her a nice detailed message and my phone number. Hopefully she will call me back to get this all resolved. I'll keep you guys posted.

Kartman - ask for Moira, she handled Josh's call this morning and will be familiar with the problem.


Thanks,

Steve

 

[bchee]

I got my set today. The ratchet looked ok. I didn't see any obvious rust on the sockets, but there was pitting, in the same places you guys had. I don't know if its enough to bother me.

The blue plastic inside the 5/8 socket was cracked though, and the inside of the socket had some kind of white powder.

I looked closely at the female end and, although it didn't look 'finished', I didn't notice what was wrong. It's not supposed to be completely chromed inside the female end, is it?

 

[Merkava_4]

I looked closely at the female end and, although it didn't look 'finished', I didn't notice what was wrong. It's not supposed to be completely chromed inside the female end, is it?

I would think it should be silver with a very slight texture that's no where near as rough as the socket on the first page of this thread.

 

[Kartman]

Well, after not hearing back from Dell regarding the message I left her yesterday, I contacted Moira as Steve suggested. There is good news and bad news.

Good: They are aware of the QC problems and are trying to contact their retailers and have them check their stock for the "chrome pitting issue". Moira was happy to offer an exchange.

Bad: The spark plug sets are all out of stock and on backorder so I would need to wait for it. I'll also need to pay for the shipping costs to get my brand new & defective spark plug socket and ratchet set to them (approx. $10) which pretty much kills the deal that I got from Amazon. At this point I am going to cut my losses, return the items to Amazon and try and forget about this whole experience.

JoshBoogie: You sure did get lucky!

 

[Jononon]

I'll also need to pay for the shipping costs to get my brand new & defective spark plug socket and racthet set to them (approx. $10) which pretty much kills the deal that I got from Amazon.

I trust they're going to refund the costs of postage when they find that there is a fault ?

 

[Kartman]

I trust they're going to refund the costs of postage when they find that there is a fault ?

Unfortunately no. Moira said that they will NOT reimburse me for shipping costs and that it will need to come out of my own pocket despite the now known chrome pitting issue.

 

[billymade]

Maybe your should PM the Gearwrench guys on here and see if they will do something, all they can say is "NO"! Worth a try!

 

[Jononon]

What's the legal position on faulty goods ? Not fixing a known problem at their own expense seems morally dubious, at best.

Maybe your should PM the Gearwrench guys on here and see if they will do something, all they can say is "NO"! Worth a try!

Good idea, they wouldn't be here if they didn't think it was worth their while in business and reputation:

 

[Stuey]

If you're not happy and don't want to pay return shipping, return it to amazon for free and wait for another sale.

Or I'm sure that you could also take your set to a GW vendor and ask them for an exchange - I believe that entitlement is built into the warranty.

 

[64merc]

Or I'm sure that you could also take your set to a GW vendor and ask them for an exchange - I believe that entitlement is built into the warranty.

That's a good point, but I wonder if most retailers stock that set?

 

[Stuey]

It's also typical practice for one to have to pay one-way shipping back to a warehouse/company for warranty replacement.

 

[64merc]

It's also typical practice for one to have to pay one-way shipping back to a warehouse/company for warranty replacement.

Also a good point, but I think what ***** here is that they require warranty replacement and are still brand new. If they had broken through use then this would be standard practice.

 

[Kartman]

Also a good point, but I think what ***** here is that they require warranty replacement and are still brand new. If they had broken through use then this would be standard practice.

Totally agree. I would be happy to pay the return shipping charge if I had broken or damaged it during use. However, this was a defective item right out of the package which I don't believe I should be paying return shipping for.

This experience has eaten enough of my time. Going to return it back to Amazon for a refund.

 

[Stuey]

I guess it's up to the manufacturer. Sometimes manufacturers prefer for buyers to contact them directly even when a product is brand new right out of the box, while others prefer buyers to contact the vendor.

What I would do is contact Amazon, mention the problem, and request that the relacement be shipped from more recent stock if possible.

 

[billymade]

PM'ing the gearwrench guys doesn't cost anything, give it a try; what do you have to lose?

 

[64merc]

Totally agree. I would be happy to pay the return shipping charge if I had broken or damaged it during use. However, this was a defective item right out of the package which I don't believe I should be paying return shipping for.

This experience has eaten enough of my time. Going to return it back to Amazon for a refund.

Yup, I think I'd be pissed and decide to just return it and get my money back.

 

[joshboogie]

JoshBoogie: You sure did get lucky!

I don't know if I'm lucky or not yet cause I haven't received anything. Until I actually have my hands on the replacements I'm in the same boat as you.

 

[Merkava_4]

Did I miss something? You've contacted GW customer service haven't you? What did they say?

 

[64merc]

Did I miss something? You've contacted GW customer service haven't you? What did they say?

As I understand it, they basically said: OOPS, sorry about that, go ahead and send it back to us on your dime and we'll replace it.

 

[Merkava_4]

As I understand it, they basically said: OOPS, sorry about that, go ahead and send it back to us on your dime and we'll replace it.

They should have sent the guy a return label to stick on the outside of the box that pays the postage costs; either that, or they should have emailed him a printable label with the R/A number on it.

 

[GearWrench Brand]

Kartman - PM me your shipping address and I'll take care of it. You shouldn't have to pay shipping charges.

Steve

 

[joshboogie]

Did I miss something? You've contacted GW customer service haven't you? What did they say?

Yeah I contacted them and the lady (moira?) "said" they were sending me replacements for the sockets. Whether I actually get them is still up in the air. I don't count it until I have it.

 

[GearWrench Brand]

Yeah I contacted them and the lady (moira?) "said" they were sending me replacements for the sockets. Whether I actually get them is still up in the air. I don't count it until I have it.

Josh - your order is already booked, I saw it in the system. No need to worry.

Steve

 

[Kartman]

Kartman - PM me your shipping address and I'll take care of it. You shouldn't have to pay shipping charges.

Steve

Thanks Steve! PM Sent

 

[billymade]

See Kartman! I figured they would make it right for you; I'm glad you gave them a chance to make it right!

 

[joshboogie]

Josh - your order is already booked, I saw it in the system. No need to worry.

Steve

Thanks for the heads up. I like the fact that there is someone who actually cares about what happens to the customers.

 

[paramudduck]

Well I recieved mine today. No signs of visible rust. The extension part of the sockets have the appearence of chrome over sand blast in areas.

The ratchet I like and don't like. I was hoping for a slightly larger diameter on the handle. On the other hand the thin head design is very nice. It has an excellent chrome finish and a nice action to it.

For the price I paid for them I am satisfied. I'm not into the bling factor as they will get beat using them later this fall and winter.

With the unlimited warrenty if the sockets mess up I'll trade them for a, hopefully, prettier set then.

I think Gearwrench just had a glitched lot slip through. It happens with all tools.

 

[joshboogie]

Re: GearWrench QC issue...(update)

OK so GearWrench came through and I got some new (no pitted) sockets and a 1/4 in soft grip ratchet for free. However there are still s few issues. Like I said in my original post it seems like there is a spring inside that the ball of the extension rotates on and in the original set I got the 5/8's did not rotate smoothly. Well now the 13/16's from the new set I received has the same issue. In the video below you can see that it is pretty hard to rotate. The first one is the 13/16's from the new set, the second is the original 13/16's, and the third is the new 5/8's.


<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://s13.photobucket.com/flash/player.swf?file=http://vid13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/joshboogie/tools/Spark plug sockets/CIMG0003.flv"></embed>

Here is a pic of the spring I'm taking about.

Issue #2 is that the inside of the extension is still not plated. I looked at my 3/8's kit that I have and all of the extensions and sockets are plated. Maybe this is just how they come but I'm leaning toward not.


Pics of the new 5/8's

Both 5/8's side by side.

There is no pitting on the new sockets so I'm happy about that just not too impressed with the chrome job.


Here's a pic of the 14 in. ratchet. It's nice and I like it. I prefer the full polished but free is always the better choice. lol

 

[Uncle Buck]

I think that it is a bit unreasonable to expect the female drive end of any tools to shine brightly with no finish issues. I do not think the female drive end is ever finished to the same degree as the exterior of a socket, extention etc. Further, I do not ever recall buying any brand new tools, including Snap-on that proved the idea expressed above as wrong. BTW: This thread should prove to you guys that these GearWrench Guys seem to always bend over backwards to take care of the customer. Originally I had my doubts about GearWrench, but I would buy anything they are selling now with total confidence. They have won me over.

 

[Fedwrench]

I examined the female drive ends from my Gearwrench Spark Plug ratchet set. They are satin finished just like yours. None of my extensions from Craftsman, SK, Mac, Snap on, Matco, or Proto are chromed on the female drive end. Most are worn but, they appear to have been satin finished too.
I think the spring you refer to for the ball socket engagement, only purpose is to provide tension so, the socket doesn't flop around. My rotates freely but, I shot a little WD40 in there as I do with all of my ball type swivels. Mine doesn't make that clicking sound your first socket in the video did when rotated.
If you're still not happy or satisfied, I would contact Gearwrench or send the original set back to the vendor for a refund but, the set you have may be as good as it gets.
Nice video!!

 

[Stanger]

Are you worried about them rusting? Just smear a drop of oil around in there. That is really cool of Gearwrench to send you that 1/4" drive comfort grip ratchet. Great service Gearwrench!

 

[joshboogie]

I'm not really super worried about the finish on the inside of the extension. It's really superficial but I'm just wondering why it's different from the extensions in my other kit. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm going to try some lube inside the socket to see if it gets smoother. I know it's not supposed to flop around and it adds tension but why are they all not smooth? That's what I'm wondering.

I'm happy with the kit over all I'm just posting what I find.

 

[dxdexter]

Its more than likely the same on all the Gearwrench extensions and probably not a big deal.

I don't necessarily think its a quality issue, but just for the record all the unused extensions I own from K-D, Gray, and Mastercraft are polished and chromed over the top and up to the edge of the square drive. My older Snap-on, Proto and Gray appear to as well, but they are beat up. My newer Proto has chrome, but the chromed surface is unpolished and some what rougher.

Pictured is a new Gray extension.

 

[GearWrench Brand]

We full polish the female ends of our standard extensions, but these specialty extensions are designed to be satin finished on the female end.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Stanger]

We full polish the female ends of our standard extensions, but these specialty extensions are designed to be satin finished on the female end.

And there is the answer. Awesome. As for the tight swivel, I would just lube it and work it a lot. It isn't a big enough issue to complain about and it will more than likely wear in with use.