Grainger customer service is awful!

[gaston9mm]

We'll they sent me the wrong item and charged me $160 more than the correct item. I call to tell them and they tell me oh we'll I can send it back but shipping is on me. After talking longer I get them to pay for shipping back since it was their fault. Sent the item back the first of June and it was signed for by Garry with Grainger. As of today still nothing put back on my card. Call today and speak with Bernise who hard a very nasty attitude. Told me she was only one at Grainger that could help me. I ask for a supervisor and finally get Jerry on the phone who really wasn't that nice either. Finally he realizes that it's their screw up and gets nicer but states because of holiday it will be Monday before it can be fixed. We'll I hope they get it corrected soon. He stated he had no idea why they kept my money and the item and didn't issue credit back. This was my first and last time ever dealing with Grainger. Sorry for rant.

 

[Stuart in MN]

On the other hand, I've always had great service from Grainger - never a single problem.

 

[gaston9mm]

I've always heard good stories from them. I don't know what happened this time.

 

[HaroRider]

Their prices seem a bit high, or is it just me?

 

[IFMJohn]

How long have you waited for your money back? At my parts store it takes up to 5 buisiness days to get your money back.

 

[dsimatt]

Their prices seem a bit high, or is it just me?

You can do your homework and find stuff else where a lot cheaper, they are convenient but not worth the price to me.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Their prices seem a bit high, or is it just me?

Their prices are high to keep the individual consumer away. They are focused solely towards company supply, and for those companies the prices are lower.

 

[cheechi]

Never dealt with them over the phone. Catalog mail in orders, no issues (the school's P/O system was a little dated, and Grainger's site has never been award winning).

In person when the place isn't busy, it's great. Guy took the time to find out which of the thousand switches and odd size fasteners I needed. He knew going in I was only needing the $4 power switch and only might buy anything else. We even shot the **** about tools, this was when DeWalt 20v was brand new, I saw it hanging there first before Lowe's or HD even had a display so we played with them a bit.

When the store is busy, let's say someone walks in to pick up a $10k order, well you're SOL buddy. But if I ran a store you'd be SOL in that situation too.

 

[Farmall450]

Their prices are high to keep the individual consumer away. They are focused solely towards company supply, and for those companies the prices are lower.

Yup...if an individual walks in, they're paying for convenience.

 

[Art From De Leon]

I was NOT impressed with their prices, until I found out I can get the company discount of my employer, which I doubt would be the full corporate discount, as if I were using an official purchase order.

But I still prefer McMaster Carr.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Their prices seem a bit high, or is it just me?

It's a convenience thing - They have most anything you need in one place.
As corporate customer, I just break out the catalog and get whatever the heck we need for the shop - price is no issue when I know it will be the right item and show up the next day in UPS.
New outlet / plug / power cord for the shop welder.
New battery drill / driver for the electronics shop guys.
Need to put up some new light fixtures - pick 'em out and order 'em.
Box of specific bolts for a job.

Any of this stuff COULD be found cheaper somewhere else - but my boss pays me enough that he doesn't want me spending extra hours, at many dollars per hour, to save a few dollars on supplies like this - just get the stuff and get the job done.


And as for their customer service, I imagine is can kinda **** if you don't already know 100% what you need and find it in the catalog, but I have never need to discuss anything with them beyond which florescent light ballast is used in place of and old out of production one, and that stuff has always been right.

For hardware specific stuff - odd bolts, latches and the like - I use McMaster Carr.

 

[jakemac]

I didn't like the way I was treated at their stores in the 90's and have actively avoided doing business with them since. Sometimes it can't be helped, but I'd rather chew my arm off before buying from Grainger.

 

[Mike007]

Ive completely given up on Grainger. I can no longer speak directly to someone at my local branch to check stock, I must call their call center. 3 times in a row I have been told, it's in stock or it's ordered and will be there on a given day. The item is never there and the people at the branch know nothing of my order. Quite frustrating, the branch is a 1/2 hour drive for me.

 

[gaston9mm]

How long have you waited for your money back? At my parts store it takes up to 5 buisiness days to get your money back.

It's been 20 days so far.

 

[bob15]

Prices might be high, but today is a holiday and it is quite possible that the person responsible for crediting the account is off today, like much of the country.

Not giving an excuse for the previous few days, but bitching about today's service being it's the 4th of July is pointless.

Why did you wait 3 weeks to complain? You should have called them 2 weeks ago and NOT wait until today. I never had any issues with Grainger nor Zoro tools and remember mistake do happen. I'm sure you've even made a mistake or two in the past.......like not calling 2 weeks ago.

 

[e30bradley]

I do not like grainger. I LOVE mc.master. So much that I plan on visiting the warehouse someday and telling how much I like doing business with them.

 

[shanny19]

I have had one experience with Grainger, and it will be the last. And at the end of the miserable transaction, when I made it clear that they had lost any future business of mine, the guy I was dealing with was very happy to hear it. They would just as soon that the individual consumer would leave them the heck alone, and I'm happy to comply.

 

[wvrailroader]

I have always gotten great service at the local Grainger branch, either when dealing with them for my employer or just for personal odds and ends. They are always friendly and very helpful. On the other hand, there are a few locally owned industrial supply houses around that I will go miles out of my way to avoid doing business with due to poor customer service. I guess it all depends on who you deal with at a particular location.

 

[gaston9mm]

Prices might be high, but today is a holiday and it is quite possible that the person responsible for crediting the account is off today, like much of the country.

Not giving an excuse for the previous few days, but bitching about today's service being it's the 4th of July is pointless.

Why did you wait 3 weeks to complain? You should have called them 2 weeks ago and NOT wait until today. I never had any issues with Grainger nor Zoro tools and remember mistake do happen. I'm sure you've even made a mistake or two in the past.......like not calling 2 weeks ago.

Your right I did wait till today. I was told by the first lady that it would post and I would have to find out from my credit card company. That was three weeks ago. I just found out from the credit card company today it had not posted. There is a lot of things I left out for the sake of typing that I did right and they did wrong. It was there screw up in the first place not mine. Its not my place to keep correcting a business that screws up and does not fix it. I gave them the benefit of the doubt. That's still no excuse for the poor customer service and rude attitude I got from them. Bottom line im not happy with their service and will not do business with them again. That does not change how you feel or if you want to continue to do business with them.

 

[hydro182]

I deal with them regularly....never a problem.. Co. gets 30% discount. They carry alot more than the catalogue would indicate. I regularly call various mfg. for part/model # then call grainger an they have a stock number (not listed) for it.

 

[David Jackson]

There is a Grainger outlet in Reno. I was there a couple of years ago and asked if they would mail me a catalog; the guy said no but I could have one, free; so I took it. It is huge and I can understand them not wanting to mail it.
Sometimes they have what no one else seems to; I lost the compressor motor from my old air compressor (I bought it used in 1972) and Grainger had the exact one; after all those years! Not the electric motor; the actual air compressor itself.

 

[A_Pmech]

I have nothing good to say about Grainger, I actively avoid them. I use McMaster every day though.

Speaking of which, Jack Goodell had a McMaster catalog in his office at the Ventana nuke plant, but they still won't mail me one.

 

[SteveCh]

I haven't been to Graingers in probably 20 yr. I found then that—talking about counter service here—that if you know exactly what you wanted and seemed a pro, you got great, fast, friendly service. If you really weren't sure what you wanted or needed, not fast and not friendly. I learned. I would only go in when I had all my numbers, models, sizes, etc. and exact name and number of the items I wanted. They are definitely geared toward the big customer who doesn't take any more of their time than required to pick up the order and hand it over the counter.

Just the was it is, or was. Like I said, I did learn after my first couple trips in to them. As to the problem the OP is hassling with, good luck. I found that it just wasn't worth the hassle, myself. And, with today's internet research/search capabilities, Graingers is not longer the handiest or only place to get something such as a new capacitor for a table saw motor or whatever. That is, if time is not of the essence and you can wait for UPS to deliver what you need.

 

[jakemac]

Speaking of which, Jack Goodell had a McMaster catalog in his office at the Ventana nuke plant, but they still won't mail me one.

That's always been an ongoing issue with McMaster. They only print a finite number of hard copy catalogs each year, and will only mail them out to customers that have a history of large volume annual sales with them. Occasionally, a smaller volume customer can strong arm them into releasing a copy, but otherwise they tell you to use their online catalog.

 

[ttpete]

When I was a facilitator for two shops, my Grainger account was assigned to an account rep. He would do all the legwork when I called him needing something. If it wasn't in the Grainger catalog, he'd find it elsewhere and have it shipped to me and it would be invoiced by Grainger. He'd stop by once a week and see if I needed anything, and if I had a want list, he'd pick it up and take care of it.

At Christmas time he'd buy me dinner and drinks at the best steak house in town. And I could buy personal stuff at my company's discount rate.

 

[-Brent-]

I like Grainger but I don't like the fact that if you purchase something online (even if you're picking it up) they'll sell your info and you're going to get junk mail for a long while.

The only reason I knew it was them is I used "Not a Business" in the business field. I've never used that term elsewhere, ever. Now, nearly daily, I get junk mail addressed to me and my new "business" name.

 

[Ign]

Sounds like McMaster. Their cust svc is non-existent.

 

[A_Pmech]

Sounds like McMaster. Their cust svc is non-existent.

McMaster has bent over backwards for me on numerous occasions. As a consequence, I use them for most of my MRO supplies.

 

[A_Pmech]

That's always been an ongoing issue with McMaster. They only print a finite number of hard copy catalogs each year, and will only mail them out to customers that have a history of large volume annual sales with them. Occasionally, a smaller volume customer can strong arm them into releasing a copy, but otherwise they tell you to use their online catalog.

Agreed, but did you get the joke?

 

[jakemac]

Agreed, but did you get the joke?

View media item 38281 Obviously I didn't. View media item 38281 I just had to google it. View media item 38281 Funny !

 

[A_Pmech]

View media item 38281 Obviously I didn't. View media item 38281 I just had to google it. View media item 38281 Funny !

It's a good movie!

 

[metaldad]

as stated, i use mc master carr. they 99.9% of the time have it in stock, it's on the way home for a pick up.
grainger never has what i need, when i need. 10 am next morning usually does me no good. and then sometimes that's a lie.
in general, dealing with grainger is aggravating

 

[Hootbro]

I like Grainger threads. It is always 50/50 that they either **** and are the devil or they are the greatest company out there.

Like others mentioned, they are geared towards large industrial orders and not necessarily towards walk up consumer sales.