Got a warrantee replacement hammer from Snap-On

[Stuart in MN]

About 40 years ago I got one of those plastic tip Snap-On hammers, that has one face made of hard plastic and the other tip is rubber. Apparently the rubber tip just got dried up and brittle over time, and it finally just broke into bits. I wasn't sure if Snap-On would cover warrantee replacement of hammers but I called their customer service anyway. I was just hoping to get a replacement tip, but they said they would would just send me a whole new hammer. Fine by me. My exact hammer is long out of production so they sent the modern equivalent. It was back ordered for the longest time, but it finally showed up in the mail yesterday.

I should mention that I had several phone calls with them as I was checking on shipping progress, and every time a polite and friendly human being picked up the phone after just a few rings, I didn't have to deal with AI or getting put on hold. So, I give them five stars for customer service.

 

[cgrutt]

Cool. Snap on has replaced a few hammers for me too due to cracked plastic (handles in my case).

 

[Shiftless]

I assume you guys didn’t have to provide receipts for your old hammers before getting new ones from SnapOn corporate. (Not truck route)

 

[Stuart in MN]

I assume you guys didn’t have to provide receipts for your old hammers before getting new ones from SnapOn corporate. (Not truck route)

Nope, no receipt or photo or anything for proof of ownership. I just told them I'd had it since 1985 and they didn't question it.

 

[cgrutt]

Same with me. No receipts. One was replaced by corp. I walked onto a random truck with other one and driver just replaced it.

 

[Shiftless]

Nope, no receipt or photo or anything for proof of ownership. I just told them I'd had it since 1985 and they didn't question it.

That’s rather surprising. How did they know for sure that you even had a broken hammer?
Am I the only guy who reads something like that and thinks to maybe call S.O. and ask for a new hammer to replace his non existent old broken hammer?

 

[Firebrick43]

That’s rather surprising. How did they know for sure that you even had a broken hammer?
Am I the only guy who reads something like that and thinks to maybe call S.O. and ask for a new hammer to replace his non existent old broken hammer?

If you sound like you know what you are doing and not trying to warranty a bucket full of 80 year old garage sale sockets they are not going to ask for receipts.

I have warrantied half a dozen things over the phone in the last 20 years and only once did they ask to send something back , 1st gen ratchet wrench, and they sent a prepaid label for me to do so

 

[cgrutt]

If you sound like you know what you are doing and not trying to warranty a bucket full of 80 year old garage sale sockets they are not going to ask for receipts.

I have warrantied half a dozen things over the phone in the last 20 years and only once did they ask to send something back , 1st gen ratchet wrench, and they sent a prepaid label for me to do so

Pretty much same with me. Only asked me to return tools once and they provided the postage. Never was asked for a receipt.

 

[Jacobs976]

If you sound like you know what you are doing and not trying to warranty a bucket full of 80 year old garage sale sockets they are not going to ask for receipts.

I have warrantied half a dozen things over the phone in the last 20 years and only once did they ask to send something back , 1st gen ratchet wrench, and they sent a prepaid label for me to do so

I think I've had two or three send to warehouse requests.

First one I refused, it was my 3/4 drive ratchet that lost its two front teeth(functional but with a little issue communicating with the work) and I was worried they'd send me the newer model which would mean tracking down a truck 2 hours away since that's the only one out of 3(two in my town and one at the Chili's by a customer 2 hours South)that will sell to independents/low volume to buy a new handle for it since the heads a different size so I requested a rebuild kit specifically and they shipped it out.

One was a 3/8 ratchet the anvil sheared off, a couple sockets I had been holding onto, and an old rivet sheet metal style ratchet wrench and I just sent it in when they asked because I didn't care about the ratchet either way since I had a spare. I think I may have asked about the rebuild kit but they kinda skipped over that part and I didn't feel like arguing regardless of what would show up in the end.

Last one might've just been a few sockets or something. It's hard to remember but the other two were rememberable since I was worried about buying a new handle and I ended up with a new F80.

Otherwise they've just sent me a confirmation email after I sent in a request with details on the issues(gear wheel teeth sheared, socket split vertically along hex point, etc..).

I've had the same experience with Gearwrench (minus the human interaction, ability to ask questions, and confirmation/updates)too which was surprising. Fill the form out and new part shows up a month later with no warning or updates. Receipt was requested in form but I mentioned I didn't have it and the store that had it in their system didn't carry the tools anymore and since I never received any further query it was apparently sufficient.

 

[CarBikeGuy70]

I had almost the same issue. Same hammer and age- one of the faces deteriorated. I walked onto my local Snap On truck for a replacement under warranty. It was out of stock on the truck, new one was ordered and arrived two weeks later. Quality and good customer service goes a long way.

 

[zmotorsports]

Good to hear.

I had the same handle style but a bronze hammer that I purchased new back in the late 80's, if memory serves it was my first Snap-on hammer. About 2 or 3 years ago the handle broke near the end and my Snap-on rep replaced it no questions asked. I did ask if there was any way I could get an older version, which I already knew the answer, and was told it would only be replaced by the new style with the black inserts. Not as big a deal as I made it out to be as the vintage style had grown on me, but I do like the new hammer.

 

[PelicanPines]

It looks like the old hammer had some life left in it... if you could have gotten a replacement tip(s).

 

[ronr80]

A few years back I had cutters sold by snap-on , and the were damaged , called and said the did not make them any more , but they would send me the replacements. 5 star service , got them . R

 

[oscarsnapkin]

They replaced some deadblow hammers for me a few months back. The orange plastic basically disintegrated. They sent me new ones that look similar to the red one the OP received. I did send my old ones in using a prepaid label that they gave me. Start to finish was about a week. They also replaced a large 46mm 3/4” drive impact socket for me a week or so later. When I emailed them to inquire about getting it warrantied I included a picture of the broken socket. They sent me a new one without asking for the broken one. I wrote about this in another thread. It surprised me that they didn’t want it returned because I could literally take the broken one onto a truck and get it replaced, and then I’d have two new sockets. Especially since there are lots of broken SO tools for sale on eBay.

 

[NHtoolguy]

Cornwell replaced my 1980's vintage Compo-Cast hammer under their warranty, too. The black polyurethane material was crumbling from age. I was very pleased with their customer service.

 

[Stuart in MN]

That’s rather surprising. How did they know for sure that you even had a broken hammer?
Am I the only guy who reads something like that and thinks to maybe call S.O. and ask for a new hammer to replace his non existent old broken hammer?

That thought occurred to me as well. Maybe I just sound sincere on the phone.

It looks like the old hammer had some life left in it... if you could have gotten a replacement tip(s).

I think I'll try to fab up a replacement tip. I'm thinking a rubber stopper from the hardware if I can find one that's a suitable size, or I could even cut up a piece of hockey puck.

 

[ChefRex]

I have a few broken Mac tools including a hammer, haven't had a dealer in years, I need to get them on the phone sometime.

 

[tomshep]

I have a few broken Mac tools including a hammer, haven't had a dealer in years, I need to get them on the phone sometime.

I just did this on 3 MAC deadblow hammers. No phone warranty with a person. You get instructions on where you have to send the broken tool and they will evaluate and respond. Tom

 

[gatewaysysop]

I just did this on 3 MAC deadblow hammers. No phone warranty with a person. You get instructions on where you have to send the broken tool and they will evaluate and respond. Tom

Yep. Been that way for quite a while now. Their process is **** and the people "evaluating" the tools are brain dead. I sent in an extension with a frozen detent ball, literally was physically impossible to place a socket upon it. I even had included a note to explain this, in case it wasn't obvious enough on a tool with one moving part. They sent it back saying there was nothing wrong with it as far as they could tell. I won't buy anything from them again where I expect warranty service as part of the price I'm paying.

 

[Wamsutta]

I assume you guys didn’t have to provide receipts for your old hammers before getting new ones from SnapOn corporate. (Not truck route)

It helps tremendously when you inquire about one tool and one tool only.

 

[Shiftless]

It helps tremendously when you inquire about one tool and one tool only.

I’m sure it does.
I‘m imagining some old guy trying to warranty a coffee can full of worn out rusty sockets he picked up last weekend at an estate sale.

 

[ChefRex]

I just did this on 3 MAC deadblow hammers. No phone warranty with a person. You get instructions on where you have to send the broken tool and they will evaluate and respond. Tom

So I need to ship on my dime and then they can deny it? That's not what I paid for.
Glad most of my stuff is SO and I get service

 

[gatewaysysop]

So I need to ship on my dime and then they can deny it? That's not what I paid for.
Glad most of my stuff is SO and I get service

Correct. You include a note saying what you've sent and what's wrong with it and then the braindead a--holes tell you they didn't find anything wrong and ship it back to you.

If you happen to ask for contact info for a Mac driver in your area, to exchange it in person, they tell you "Sorry, we don't give that out. We've had drivers assaulted and robbed." Yeah, I bet, probably by people whose warranty they denied. No sympathy from me.

 

[Wamsutta]

I’m sure it does.
I‘m imagining some old guy trying to warranty a coffee can full of worn out rusty sockets he picked up last weekend at an estate sale.

That's when customer service will tell the person to see a dealer.

 

[Sumboodie]

I had one similar in Craftsman flavor that exploded and shrapnelled my face.