grainger customer service is crappy

[bsaint]

I've been going to graingers for like 10 years now all over the country for work. Seems like people aren't as friendly there as they used to be. I tried buying an amp clamp and the guy basically was no help on guiding me where in the book they were.

 

[mikew13]

I've been going to graingers for like 10 years now all over the country for work. Seems like people aren't as friendly there as they used to be. I tried buying an amp clamp and the guy basically was no help on guiding me where in the book they were.

Online customer service is very good, I got even better service when Proto customer service was a complete waste of my time after repeated attempts.
I got the two items I needed through Grainger and not Proto.

 

[deezilram]

Luckily, my local branch has a few long-timers who are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful when I can walk in. The not so long timers are no where near as friendly, and the newest ones are horrid. I also had a regional sales rep who would routinely get me pricing I could sometimes hardly believe. Unfortunately, they changed their whole system around - now I get whoever is available in the regional sales pool and they aren't too willing to discount much on anything.

- Deezil

 

[djkeev]

Graingers is a hurting company struggling for survival. In my are of populous NJ my local store closed a few years ago (Wharton) I then had to travel to Parsippany, turns out that store just closed making me travel almost an hour in miserable traffic. I'm on picking u at g store, the can ship it to me now.

But I agree, in store help was often of not much real help.

Dave

 

[metaldad]

I avoid grainGer like the plague

 

[amguttin]

I like grainger Blackhawks is killer for the

Money

 

[volunteers]

I put online orders from grainger several times, but I never received anything.

 

[R-132 Fan]

Grainger = Rapists. Granger is a place to shop for people who are spending someone elses money.
Last year I went into the Granger in north Austin for a 50 amp recepticle. Their price was 96.00 and they told me that was without the sales tax.
I told him to keep it and drove five minutes to a local company and found what I needed for under $15.00 and the counter clerk acted like a nice guy.
I hope they go out of business, no doubt it would be good for the economy overall as the big corporations that are overpaying at Grainger might be able to lower their prices a little after they stop being raped by Grainger.

 

[Davefr]

I've never had an issue with customer service or counter sales. However their prices are terrible.

I used to be able to buy through my employers corp. account and got decent deals. Now even buying with our corporate discount yields pricing even higher then street price.

If you pay their normal catalog prices your paying about 1.5X higher then market.

I've written off Grainger.

 

[Steevo]

Good thing there's only about 6500 pages in that catalog, or you'd be there all day looking for that amp clamp.

I have found that for some items Grainger is quite reasonable on pricing, especially if it is something you need right away, and the only options are pick it up at Grainger or order it from someone else, pay shipping and wait a day or two.
If I know I'll be going near a Grainger warehouse and there's some small item I need, I can usually order it online, show up there 20 minutes later and walk out with what I need. For some other stuff, they are a LOT more expensive than the alternatives.

I can order a sheave for $12 elsewhere that Grainger wants $65 for.

 

[DHS]

I think the good thing about Grainger is that you can get what you wanted very fast.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I think the good thing about Grainger is that you can get what you wanted very fast.

This is the whole point of Grainger - they don't claim to be a discount retailer, but when a business needs something fast they're the place to go.

Personally, I've never had any problems with their service.

 

[Zeke]

I like Grainger and the others that have a paper catalog plus an online catalog. That way I can find out the proper terminology for an item, Google it and buy it from the cheapest source.

 

[rasit]

I don't expect great customer service from catalog sales. I use them when I know what I want and need it quick. Beats running all over town, or calling around looking for hard to find items........

 

[Davefr]

Speaking of Grainger, has anyone used Zoro Tools? Zoro is a new front end for Grainger that's less focused on BTB sales and more on consumer and small business.

I think Drillspot was the same thing but I hated that website.

 

[larryq]

I've ordered from Grainger before and never had a problem in the stores, sorry to hear about your experience. Their phone support is the best I've ever had. And to join in the conversation, they're not a discounter by any means-- their specialty is having a tool that will fit your immediate need, right then.

To the person who said Grainger is hurting financially-- their most recent quarterly net profit was 189 million? http://quicktake.morningstar.com/stocknet/secdocuments.aspx?symbol=gww

 

[bw77]

I have not purchased anything from Grainger, but I have from Drillspot.
I like to use Grainger for looking up the COO, they are the only website I
know of that lists where items are made, other than Snap-on.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

grainger will ape **** you on prices; no courtesy reach around either

 

[OccupantRJ]

I've ordered from Grainger before and never had a problem in the stores, sorry to hear about your experience. Their phone support is the best I've ever had. And to join in the conversation, they're not a discounter by any means-- their specialty is having a tool that will fit your immediate need, right then.

To the person who said Grainger is hurting financially-- their most recent quarterly net profit was 189 million? http://quicktake.morningstar.com/stocknet/secdocuments.aspx?symbol=gww

Around here previously, they did not even want to talk to an individual about a purchase. Now they are advertising their business on the local radio stations. Something is up.

 

[djkeev]

Around here previously, they did not even want to talk to an individual about a purchase. Now they are advertising their business on the local radio stations. Something is up.

What's "up" is that they've stopped expanding and are now closing stores in populous areas as I've experienced. They want $$$'s and are no longer uppity about where Those dollars come from.

Dave

 

[Slip_Kid]

I am forced to buy there due to company policy, we get about 25% off sticker price. Not always the cheapest but I can get most items that same day. Being in the service business getting a part the same day is key.

 

[nanofrog]

I have not purchased anything from Grainger, but I have from Drillspot.
I like to use Grainger for looking up the COO, they are the only website I
know of that lists where items are made, other than Snap-on.

All-Spec.com also lists the COO in the Technical Information tab, and I use it more than Grainger for this purpose (they run good sales for stuff I use, which also makes them attractive).

 

[jeffmoss26]

We bought from Grainger all the time when I worked at UT (Plant Operations buys everything from them) and with state pricing, it was amazing to look at the catalog and see the difference....6 bucks for 24 AA batteries vs 15 bucks on the website!
Personally, I buy from MSC and McMaster as well as local places as much as I can.

 

[coolright]

I have a sales rep that comes out to my facility once a week. So any issues are dealt with right then and there, which has been only a couple of times over all the years I've ordered from them.
We get 27% off book plus free shipping on anything we order right to my loading dock door next day 95% of the time. If it's over $100 I can call the rep, and will get special pricing on item/items most of the time 37 to 40% off book (I've set the $100 number) Also if I've seen an item at a certain price the rep will most of the time beat the price by at least 10%.

 

[OEXL16B]

A local independently owned industrial supply is always better for product quality and customer service.