Carbatec does it again

[Lappa]

Over the past year, the kids have given me a Carbatec voucher and some money to buy myself some wood working gear.
Black Friday came, 15% specials, so I bought a jointer (topped up with some of my own $$) Asked for it to be delivered the following Friday.
Friday came along and I hadn’t received an invoice or email re the purchase so I gave the 1800 number a call.
Enquired about my purchase and got the dreaded “hmmm. Not sure about this. It was coming from Sydney. Let me give them a call”
Sydney came on the phone” I think we have one or two, ones showing on the floor. Not sure if it’s actually there”.
My reply was “So I assume it hasn’t been sent then?”
Laugh at the end of the phone with “No”
“Will I see it next Friday?” I enquired
”maybe” was the reply.

same day I ordered a stand for it from a Hare and Forbes. An hour later I has an email receipt with expected delivery date. Monday another email to say it had been sent and it arrived Wednesday.

Rang them this morning to speak to the manager but he/she failed to ring back.

This is the third time I’ve ordered from Carbatec and three times I’ve had problems. If it wasnt for the voucher I would not have bought from them. Am I the only one out there that has problems with this company??

[taz01]

Over the past year, the kids have given me a Carbatec voucher and some money to buy myself some wood working gear.
Black Friday came, 15% specials, so I bought a jointer (topped up with some of my own $$) Asked for it to be delivered the following Friday.
Friday came along and I hadn’t received an invoice or email re the purchase so I gave the 1800 number a call.
Enquired about my purchase and got the dreaded “hmmm. Not sure about this. It was coming from Sydney. Let me give them a call”
Sydney came on the phone” I think we have one or two, ones showing on the floor. Not sure if it’s actually there”.
My reply was “So I assume it hasn’t been sent then?”
Laugh at the end of the phone with “No”
“Will I see it next Friday?” I enquired
”maybe” was the reply.

same day I ordered a stand for it from a Hare and Forbes. An hour later I has an email re riot with experience ted delivery date. Monday an other email to say it had been sent and it arrived Wednesday.

Rang them this morning to speak to the manager but he/she failed to ring back.

This is the third time I’ve ordered from Carbatec and three times I’ve had problems. If it wasnt for the voucher I would not have bought from them. Am I the only one out there that has problems with this company??So far (touch wood) I've had no issues at all with Carbatec.

It might be a day or two longer on the expected delivery if the item is coming from Bris or Perth instead of Sydney but nothing more than that.

[BobL]

I went to the CT Perth store to buy a small surface plate about two months ago.
No stock but supposedly one was coming in the next shipment some 2-3 days later - we'll call you when it arrives. After 5 days no call so I called them -
"It's here - it just needs to be unpacked" ,
"So can I assume it's OK to come out later today to get it",
"No, better wait till it's unpacked - we'll call you when its available".

I call back 48 hours later.
"yes it's here waiting for you"
ARGGGHHHG!
Within the hour I had picked it up.

Then, two weeks later ago I get a phone message, "Your surface place is ready to pick up".
I ignored the message and thought - they will eventually work it out.
Then two days later I get another message about the same thing - I ignored that one as well.
On Friday I got a call - again they said I could come and pick it up.
I told them, "you blokes don't know if you are coming or going and you really need to get your act together" as it sounds like I could just go and pick up a second one.
I'll probably get another call next week about it.

[derekcohen]

I had been planning a lathe upgrade for a while (10 years on a Jet mini), and had narrowed the search down to the Nova Saturn (variable speed full size Nova). So I am dithering ... because it is a lot of money and much more than I had planned originally to spend (was looking at the 1624, but not variable speed - still half the price of the Saturn all up) ... and checking the Carbatec website ... oh ... at least 10x each day. Then it is Thursday (which comes before Black Friday), and there is a message in my inbox that machines are to be discounted 12 1/2%! There is one Saturn in stock. Of course, no one is going to snap it up, but it feels that way. First thing Friday I call in, and ... yes ... the discount applies. A $500 saving is not to be sneezed at!

I have always had a terrific relationship with the guys who work the Perth CT store. I have known some of them about 25 years. Their service has always been fantastic. The problems tend to lie with the website, not the store ... not this store. I wanted a Nova live end kit for the lathe, and had seen one box on display when I collected the lathe. I checked the website yesterday, and it said "out of stock". I called, and it was still on the shelf. Picked it up this morning.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Spyro]

:D

I'll give you an outsider's perspective, because 15 years in Australia later I'm still more Greek than I am Australian, but please don't take it the wrong way, in Greece we have our own different type of challenges and they are much much more serious than that.

Your problems with Carbatec to me sound fairly typical of dealing with an Australian company. Labour here is very expensive (thank God, it means we get paid), and people are trying to do as many things as possible with a few people as possible, and as a result they often simply fail. Also for some bizarre reason companies in Australia seem to absolutely hate modern computer systems, I've seen some software packages here that were probably also used by Neil Armstrong on his first moon landing. Possibly also due to the cost of IT professionals, I don't know. So I always make sure to have A LOT of time available, and a lot of patience. I don't know the Carbatec guys personally, but every time I've been down to their Melbourne shop they're just a nice group, polite and helpful, which is also very typical of Aussies, and I find that this is usually the case with most shops I go to. Only weird thing I noticed in Carbatec is how long it takes to pay, where the guy takes a look at your items and then seems to write a small novel about them on his computer, and then for some reason gives you a whole bunch of papers stapled together. Probably something to do with their computer systems :D

[DomAU]

Sorry you had a bad experience. I've bought a fair bit of stuff from Carbatec the last few years and I think they are generally getting better with their online orders the last year or so. Everything now ships from Brisbane so it takes a little while to get to Melb, but my last three orders have taken between 4 and 7 days to arrive following placement of an order - which isn't amazing but you can't really complain when it's free shipping. One order was sent in two seperate packages (one was only a 10 pack of Festool Delta sand paper which would have cost more to ship than the gross cost of the item!).

I will say I've noticed Carbatec have really sharpened their pencil on pricing recently, with many items coming down substantially in price from just a year or two ago.

Cheers, Dom

[China]

Carbatec are notorious for selling items they don't have every time I have used the Adelaide store same story no stock I ask then why is i listed as in stock on the website and just get a blank lookI no longer use them I can get the same items elsewhere.

[FenceFurniture]

Carbatec are notorious for selling items they don't haveYes. Always have to follow up on the phone afterwards, which kinda defeats the purpose.




So far (touch wood) I've had no issues at all with Carbatec. Best stop now then if you want any chance of maintaining that record :D You too Dom, for all the reasons.... :; :q




Am I the only one out there that has problems with this company??Clearly not Peter. If this was a good news thread about the Sydney store you could ask the opposite question legitimately.......

It very much seems to depend on whether the store is actually owned by Carbatec or is a franchise. I can't remember the status of them all now or which delivered the lesser quality of service, or no service at all (let's be frank here: NONE of their stores would match Lee Valley for service - eez no possible to even get close!). Maybe Melb was owned-franchised-owned? And Sydney was franchised then owned? It all seems terribly patchy.

I suppose there must have been a good news story come out of the Sydney store somewhere over the years, but I'm not sure that person is still alive to talk about it....

I have often speculated on how many hours they would last trading in the USA. I'm yet to hear a convincing argument for hitting double digits.



InFamously, CT started off as a garage business.

One of the curiously quaint things about them is that in many ways nothing has changed all that much.




I really DO wish Timbecon would open up a store in Sydney, and have told them as much in person at Wood Dust recently (and why, in plain language). Not for a while it seems. :(

[KBs PensNmore]

Wish someone would set up a decent store in Adelaide too. 3 weeks from ordering a Colt long series Drillbit, to receiving it, the money came out of my account the following day of the order being placed.
Where do you go now China?
Kryn

[China]

Kryn I find it much faster and more reliable to use Tmbecon in WA or CWS. The days of buying local in SA have pretty much gone

[rrich]

Back when ATT was a dominating force in the land line telephone industry, I moved to a small town in Delaware, Ohio. We were served by 'Northern Ohio Telephone Company'. I have often said that "You ain't lived until you have been served by NOTC."

First we moved into a rented town house. The phones were there and just needed to be connected at the central office. Not a big deal. When our old home was sold we purchased a home in Delaware. SWMBO and I were in a bowling league and our team had an almost VP level executive at NOTC. I enquired if we could have the same number from the town house at the new house and could the phone service be simultaneous at both home during the move in period. Not a problem I was told, just specify that when you order the move/new service.

The day of the start of the move, I call home from work, MANY times and no answer. At the end of the day I arrive and ask, "Were have you been all day?" The answer was "Here why didn't you call?" After about an hour I discover that our phone has battery but doesn't work and we don't know what the number is. The new house has no phones installed but the phone is live to the drop on the outside of the house.

The next day, Saturday, and after much yelling, screaming and threatening PUC action the phone guy is at the new house to install the phones. Nothing is right. Two ugly black phones and no wall phone. Monday I am at NOTC to complain and get the phones that were originally ordered. (A green desk model and a white wall model. Rotary dial as push buttons weren't available at NOTC.) I am in the lobby and am being forced to deal with someone over a phone because it is after all 'The Phone Company'. The white wall phone is not a problem but the green desk variety is not available, pick another color. I said, "Why don't I take the phone that I'm talking on home with me and install it at home?" "You can't do that!" the CSR almost shouted. "Sure I can. I used to work for GTE in California." After the CSR had calmed down, she asked "Why would you do that?" "Because this phone is green."

That mates is the ultimate in Customer non-Service.
As I've said, "You ain't lived until you've had telephone service from Northern Ohio Telephone Company.

[ajw]

My recent experience with Carbatec has been good. I got an email alert a couple of weeks ago about a flash sale of Gift Cards, 10% off. I thought there'd be a general sale coming up, so I got myself some gift cards and waited. Then along came the 12.5% off sale. Ordered some equipment and got the 12.5% discount, and paid with the vouchers to get another 10% off the discounted price. Got email confirmation of the order, and it was delivered the next week.

I've also used online ordering from Timbecon and it's been good too. For a country our size, I think we're doing OK to have both of these retailers still operating and competing. Sure, it's not the same as the US, but we're nothing like the size of that market.

My local PC parts and repair supplier in Penrith has recently shut up shop. They've closed 5 retail outlet, and have moved online. It's a bit difficult to take a dodgy computer to an online store to get them to diagnose the problem...

Just my 2 cents worth.

cheers,

ajw

[Breezy]

I can add my experience with Carbatec. Ordered a CNC router part for the men's shed to be posted to my home address, after waiting two weeks for delivery rang the nationwide help desk, answer was the part is being sent to the Perth store and they will forward to you, it should arrive next week.
Waited another week still no part, so rang Perth store, Oh the computer that we check back orders has been closed down for the day and the person who has the password for it has gone home, I'll get them to call you back tomorrow.
Ten minutes later she called back, supplier posted the part three weeks ago via Auspost, but will post another one express post, we will forward it to you as soon as we get it.
A couple of days later a Thursday I received a call to say that the part was in Perth and that they would be sending it out in the afternoon's post.
So I thought OK that will be delivered on Monday or Tuesday.
Monday I'm at the shed and checking emails and there is one from Carbatec with a Auspost tracking number, so checked it and it showed that Auspost tried to deliver on Sunday, no one home, package can be picked up after 12pm Monday at local post office!!!
Some attempt to deliver, I was home all day Sunday!!!!

[Mobyturns]

I must admit that I have had rather hit and miss service from Carbatec over the years and have had the odd stoush with them. I have been searching for a Jet 10-20 drum sander for quite a while. It is now discontinued, so when it appeared as a special in a Carbatec email I very tentatively thought about ordering it online. My better judgement said no, so I called. At least with a phone call I could instantly have my queries answered. The phone service was excellent, yes they had stock, so I placed my order even though I was still feeling uneasy due to past experiences with them. Well the unit turned up pretty pronto, the delivery driver for Startrack excellent, so I was suitably impressed. Have they redeemed themselves with me? Well the jury is still out on that one, as one recent good experience will have to be backed up to erase the memory of some pretty bad service in the past.

[ian]

It very much seems to depend on whether the store is actually owned by Carbatec or is a franchise. I can't remember the status of them all now or which delivered the lesser quality of service, or no service at all (let's be frank here: NONE of their stores would match Lee Valley for service - eez no possible to even get close!).
now that is a bit unfair.
I've dealt with two different German retailers that come close to Lee Valley for customer service, and Lie Nielsen is also very very good.
Occasionally I come across an Australian retailer who approaches LV's level of service, but they a few and far between and tend to be ones where the owner is the manager of the business.

Talking to the guys at my "local", old man Leonard Lee (Mr Lee to everyone) was a regular visitor who took an interest.

[FenceFurniture]

now that is a bit unfair.:D Nah, I meant not possible for CT to get close. My personal LV experience was extraordinarily good (and generous)..


(I forget who the character was, but it was said to Fawlty)
"I suggest that this is the worst restaurant on the entire South Coast of England"
The Major "NO, NO, I won't have that! There's that place in Eastbourne"

[nrb]

My experience with these guys has been very good,bought a table saw some years ago and had a problem that something had not been tightened up correctly,they sent a courier to pick it up,a couple of days later a call, when can we bring it back,all good
Just recently bought a angle cross sled,none in Aus but an order from the USA in process,told it would be about 4 weeks,got a call about then to come and pick up,no problems

[MikeJ]

Sorry to hear of your problems. I have found Carbatec in Hobart to be terrific. When stuff needs to be ordered it has always arrived in the time frame promised.

Cheers

[Tonyz]

Dont buy much, cant afford to but I read the comments and my thoughts are.....

has anyone tracked down the head office/management of Crapatec, not just a store but where all the decisions are made...supposedly. Is there a registered office for Carbatec?

the below attachment is interesting. But it may be worth someone doing a more detailed search, knowing what they are looking for.

If stores are just part of an organisation and the staff in said stores know the stuffups start in head office then really while they get paid should they really care, yes some will go beyond the normal staff requirements.

I understand complaints etc but unless the business is notified then nothing will happen. I would also surmise they are big enough to not really get in a panic over a few complaints, there is not enough competition to worry about. Sad state of affairs if that is true.

[ian]

from Carbatech's website
" ... our current retail stores in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide as well as our licensed stores in Hobart, Launceston and Auckland ..."

"our retail stores" would suggest part of a whole.

[Lappa]

Phone calls made and received, emails received , SMS received and I’m promised my item this Friday (7th) so I took a day off work. Still no item.
This time it appears it’s StarTrack Express at fault. Picked up on the 4th but still sitting on their depot floor at 4:30 on the 7th.

On another note, I ordered some TFT displays and boards from China last Friday night and received them 8:52am Tuesday.
No wonder this country is in trouble!

[FenceFurniture]

The most concerning thing overall is that the people who frequent this site, either as participants or lurkers, are surely the core business target of Carbatec. For every +ve story (or at least not -ve) there are many more that are negative, and sometimes breathtakingly so. Does Carbatec not understand that they get so much bad press? People actively look for ways not to spend their hard earned with them.

Leonard Lee would be having conniptions if his business was performing to that paltry standard.

[BobL]

The most concerning thing overall is that the people who frequent this site, either as participants or lurkers, are surely the core business target of Carbatec. For every +ve story (or at least not -ve) there are many more that are negative, and sometimes breathtakingly so. Does Carbatec not understand that they get so much bad press? People actively look for ways not to spend their hard earned with them.

I wouldn't rate our influence that highly. Through my interactions with the various mens sheds and WW clubs I visit my impression is that very few woodies have ever heard of WWF. Some of this is probably because most of these folks tend to be older and less internet savvy and so they don't web surf and this also means they don't know how to access alternative on-line sources of WW gear. Until this cohort move on or wise up I'd say CT and TC will continue to have a have a free ride.

[Lappa]

Interesting BobL. Most people using Men’s Sheds, from my experience, don’t buy their own gear - they go to the Men’s Shed and use theirs - that’s why they join.
I haven’t been back since buying my gear and I know others in the same boat.
Its the members of the committees that buy the gear for the sheds that know full well the problems with these companies and it’s where I first heard disatisfaction re Carbatec and their service.

These companies cry crocodile tears and tell you how sorry they are blah blah blah but they don’t give a rats because they have a captive audience of tinkerers like myself that only want to spend $500 to $2000 on machinery.

[BobL]

Interesting BobL. Most people using Men’s Sheds, from my experience, don’t buy their own gear - they go to the Men’s Shed and use theirs - that’s why they join.
I haven’t been back since buying my gear and I know others in the same boat.
Its the members of the committees that buy the gear for the sheds that know full well the problems with these companies and it’s where I first heard disatisfaction re Carbatec and their service.

My point was mainly that WWF doesn't reach as many woodies as we might think it does. Thee are less than 400 members with more than 1000 posts and most of the members sign up and never come back on a regular basis. Yes there are a lot of lurkers but they probably come and go on an even less regular basis so the chances of them stumbling across or even being interested in threads like this is low.

When I visit Mens sheds my interactions are primarily with committee members. Maybe its a WA thing but only the odd individual on Mens shed committees I've spoke to has ever heard of WWF, and I have never heard anything negative about CT from them. One of the members of our committee recirculates CT emails to all members. The fine woodworking association of WA I was a member of for some 5 years was similar. I can only recall one negative comment in my interactions with members and CT machinery was quite prominent when I visited their sheds.

[ian]

in terms of equipment we have a dilemma.

At one end is Mitre10 and Bunnings -- which in respect to wood working tools primarily caters to "weekend warriors" and tradies looking for a bargain or in a hurry.

then there is Sydney Tools and the like -- catering to tradies and the more informed (and cashed up?) consumer.

then there's "low end industrial" retailers like Carbatech, TimberCon and Hare and Forbes.

and lastly, the "full scale industrial" retailers like Felder and similar.


What I will give Carbatech and Timbercon credit for is their range of hand tools -- and on reflection, they can't be praised enough for this service.
Direct retailers like Chris Vesper, Colin Clenton, Terry Gordon, Lie Nielsen Australia, Henry Eckert, the Wood Works Book and Tool are essential for those "very much in the know" but until you join those ranks where can a person go to get tools that work, rather than just pretend to work? Carbatech is the answer.

[FenceFurniture]

My point was mainly that WWF doesn't reach as many woodies as we might think it does. Thee are less than 400 members with more than 1000 posts and most of the members sign up and never come back on a regular basis. Yes there are a lot of lurkers but they probably come and go on an even less regular basis so the chances of them stumbling across or even being interested in threads like this is low.

When I visit Mens sheds my interactions are primarily with committee members. Maybe its a WA thing but only the odd individual on Mens shed committees I've spoke to has ever heard of WWF, and I have never heard anything negative about CT from them. One of the members of our committee recirculates CT emails to all members. The fine woodworking association of WA I was a member of for some 5 years was similar. I can only recall one negative comment in my interactions with members and CT machinery was quite prominent when I visited their sheds.Even so, I would still think that the largest single body of potential customers would be within this forum. It may not be a very large body. What else could be a larger body of like minded people within Oz? That being the case, I would have thought that this would be the best place to have a presence......we will never know how many lurkers read these posts, but I'd sure there are many that do.

Years ago Carbatec was a sponsor of the Forums, and as such they had there own sub-forum where they could discuss whatever they liked to do with their business. There was one entry in it - and that was someone else welcoming them! Such is their arrogance that they didn't see any need to participate.

[rustynail]

The variance in experience would probably be due to the variance in attitude of employees. I have had both good and bad service from staff. I have had dealings with managers that have had an inferior attitude to the floor staff. Now that is a problem. If the Boss doesn't care, then it will soon filter down through the ranks.

[BobL]

Even so, I would still think that the largest single body of potential customers would be within this forum. It may not be a very large body. What else could be a larger body of like minded people within Oz? That being the case, I would have thought that this would be the best place to have a presence......we will never know how many lurkers read these posts, but I'd sure there are many that do.

I agree its a very good place to have a presence but I'm not convinced we are in touch with as many woodies are we think we might be. I reckon just the number wood turners alone around Oz would outnumber the number of current "views" of this thread and bear in mind that many of the views are multiple views by the same members and non-members. I make it a regular thing during my talks to clubs etc to ask who has heard of WWF? My estimate is maybe 8-9 out of 10 woodies that I encounter have never heard of us. In the case of seniors woodies some of that is because they don't use the internet much or even at all.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've dealt with a few different Carbatec branches during my perambulations and the best I can say is... each one is different.

In the past many were pre-existing stores that simply took on the Carbatec franchise... and they were the ones where the service was either exceptional or bloody atrocious, depending on what the store was run like before the rebadging. The ones established from the get-go by and as CT are, by and large, pretty average in the PR dept.

So I think RustyNail has hit that on the head.

As an aside, some of the absolute best buys I've ever made came from stores trying to get out of the franchise. From past conversations with certain ex-managers, the only way they could get out with minimal financial loss was declaring bankruptcy and having massive clearance sales before the CT-authorised liquidators moved in.

A sad state of affairs, but it scored me some equipment I could otherwise only dream about given my budgets at those times.

(I'm not inferring that anything like this is still the case now. It may be, it may not. :shrug: 20 odd years ago when CT first started expanding, it certainly was.)