Hassle free lifetime guarantee, they say

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ragtopfury

ragtopfury

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Was only a minor hassle.

#2 Phillips screwdriver, Kobalt at Lowe's. Probably have had it for 5 years. Broke the tip off a couple of moths ago. FINALLY remembered to take it with me.
They don't sell this one individually. Only in a blister packed set. Old guy working the tool section said they don't guarantee them beyond 90 days. I showed him the pack that says lifetime, like all the hand tools say. He said see what the girls up front say and wished me luck.

It went very similar to this:
Customer service clerk said it is not covered because it's different. And I have to find a single on the shelf, anyway.
I said it's the same size, newer model and you don't sell them as singles. You need to cut open the set.
She said the handle is a different color blue.
Seriously?? This one was that bright 5 years ago. I have used it once or twice since getting it.
It has to be identical.
I asked how am I supposed to exercise a hassle free lifetime guarantee if you won't let me. I know its not your fault. Will you get me the manager, please.
How about the lead cashier?
How about the manager, please?

She walked away with the whole set, came back 30 seconds later, didn't say a word and cut the pack open.

I guess this means the manager said to make the swap?
She said we had to honor it.
I know. Thank you and have a great day.

Silence. She was pissed like she had to pay for it.


Minor rant over........
 
That's bullshit. They shouldn't advertise something they're so reluctant to provide.

For what it's worth, I recently broke the tip off a small Craftsman screwdriver that they no longer sell as a single. They gave me the whole set that it now comes in, no questions asked. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
And ya know the store is gonna back charge Kobalt for it. But the way they did it the rest of the packet can go to the employees :lol:
 
Back in the late 1970s my folks bought me a ratchet set with the three size ratchet and sockets for Christmas , from JCPenneys. That when they sold more then clothes and competed with Sears.

The large ratchet stopped working it had life time warranty I brought it to the store, the clerk was an old timer and worked for them for years. Showed it to him he went back grabbed one off the shelf ,took the one I had handed me the new one said here you go. The new was better and heavier duty than the one from the set. I still have it to this day! And it’s made in the USA!
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Just remember: a "lifetime" warrantee is for the life of the company issuing it, not the life of the tool..... or you.
I bought a lifetime warrantee water pump for my dually. It lasted two years. Which was about a year longer than the parts place i got it from.

Edit: ...and in the 70s I did some racing at Irwindale on 7" slicks.... marketed with their name on em and sold by.....J.C.Penney.
 
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Had tiny Craftsman 'ignition set' combination wrenches in a plastic case, I bet from the early 70s, from my ex FIL. One broke about 5-10 years ago, I took it in to Sears. He said "We're still lifetime warranty, but you're supposed to have you send them in. Since you obviously took care of these, though, so, here..." and gave me a new set. I don't know about new Lowe's Craftsman, but Sears Craftsman was awesome!
 
same as anything else, a company, their product, their warranty, their word is only as good as the minumum wage stooge the end user (thats us) gets to deal with
 
Guess its all in the store you deal with or just the person you are unlucky to get. Several years ago I bought a Kobalt battery powered drill set. It came with the Impact driver, Drill and Sawsall. The Impact stopped working after a couple of years of daily use. Instead of giving me a new impact they said since it came as a kit I had to bring in the entire set which I did. They handed me a new set and asked if I wanted the circular saw for 1 penny as it was a promotion they had going at the time.
 
I have found I have no use for a flathead screwdrivers (maybe for a small prybar or scraper.) I look for the highest quality Phillips head and buy them individually. Blaines sells Klein brand. The retailer standing behind the warranty claim on the package you would think would be a no brainer.
 
Here's another Sears Craftsman story:
Back in the very early 70s a friend and I were working on my '69 Swinger 340. The only way to reach one of the back cylinder head bolts on the driver side was with a "wobbly-joint" socket. The torque requirement for 340 cylinder head bolts is 95 ft.-lbs. The Craftsman "wobbly-joint" socket broke when we tried to go to 95 ft.-lbs.
We took the socket to the local Sears store and the clerk handed us a brand new one, no questions asked.
Back to work and, again, the socket broke when we tried to get to 95 ft.-lbs.
Back to Sears. Same clerk. Same results, but this time with a funny look on his face.
Back to work and we settled for 93 ft. lbs. on that particular bolt. I never had any problems with that single bolt being just a couple of pounds under spec.
 
Back probably35-40 years ago, when my Sears rachet wrence broke and they wanted to give me a repair kit... was when I bought my LAST Sears product. I take full credit and responsibility for them going broke and selling their chit to Lowe's!! :thumbsup: :thankyou: :rofl:
 
I've had a store tell me that the "lifetime" warranty is "for the life of the part".

I laughed very hard and almost spat.

The clerk didn't understand why I was laughing even after I explained it.

I left and went to another store.
 
A while back, I took a Craftsman 3/8 ratchet that I'd had for 30 years to Ace Hardware to swap out because it was stripped out. The dude gave me a brand new one with no questions asked.
 
I have taken 2 old Craftsman ratchets to Lowes when they started to fail. Each time, I was told to go pick out a new one with no questions asked. I picked out the new "equivalent" one which is much nicer. Gave it to the gal at the service desk and she had me sign a slip of paper and off I went. Great service!!
 
Demonx2 said:
I have taken 2 old Craftsman ratchets to Lowes when they started to fail. Each time, I was told to go pick out a new one with no questions asked. I picked out the new "equivalent" one which is much nicer. Gave it to the gal at the service desk and she had me sign a slip of paper and off I went. Great service!!
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Good to hear, maybe Lowe's is getting smarter.
 
mopowers said:
That's bullshit. They shouldn't advertise something they're so reluctant to provide.

For what it's worth, I recently broke the tip off a small Craftsman screwdriver that they no longer sell as a single. They gave me the whole set that it now comes in, no questions asked. I was pleasantly surprised.
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That's exactly how it should be done. The pack they would have cut open would become worthless and not doing anything would piss off a customer. Granting the action the way they did secured a happy repeat customer.

I remember when I was a late teen, there was a news segment in Minneapolis that was covering customer service issues people were seeing.

Some guy went to 4 or 5 big name department stores in downtown Mpls. He would tell the sales person he was in town for a very important meeting and his wife packed the wrong shirt, that was the wrong size. Problem was the shirt wasn't from the places he went to return it. He said, if you'll take this one shirt back I'll buy 5 so I don't have to worry about this again. Every time he was denied, until the last time. The manager happened to hear him just a the sales person was saying no, the manager walks over and says he'll take the return. The "customer" puts his brand new, in the package shirt on the counter, buys 5 new shirts. When they are done, he asks what they'll do with the original since it's not something they sell. The manager picks it up and tosses it in the trash. His response was something to the effect of "It's trash but it helped me hopefully win a new customer". It's important to note, they gave him a fair value for the shirt.

Some managers aren't lazy and can actually do math. Some managers just like to exercise "power" over anyone they can and forget customers have the power. Same goes for clerks.

I think you handled your situation perfectly. It's not a fight with the clerk. They are "probably" doing what they were told, or at least trying to show some sort of company loyalty and not letting someone "scam" them. It's not their job to 'make decisions".
 
Ugh, Blowe’s……

I must show a receipt or photo ID to exchange a Kobalt tool. When I point to the “Hassle Free” warranty sign, I’m being told that they don’t know if I bought the tool at Blowe’s. Despite my attempts of showing them it’s got Kobalt written on the tool… So, after exchanging a few broken tools throughout the year ( and showing Photo ID to complete the transaction) I get Red Flagged in their system and am actually denied future tool warranty exchanges….. My local Blowe’s has also changed their Lifetime Warranty to a Limited 90 day warranty on certain tools like tape measures. Any attempts to exchange a broken Kobalt tape measure that I purchased when the Lifetime Warranty was in effect on said item, results in an argument between myself and the Blowe’s employees as their warranty policy has changed ….

Needless to say, Blowe’s will honor and exchange Craftsman, Lufkin, Crescent, tape measures with Lifetime Warranty for another tape measure with a Lifetime Warranty.

How is it that Kobalt is Blowe’s line of tools and Blowe’s changes their own Lifetime Warranty on THEIR own products?
 
MiradaMegaCab said:
Ugh, Blowe’s……

I must show a receipt or photo ID to exchange a Kobalt tool. When I point to the “Hassle Free” warranty sign, I’m being told that they don’t know if I bought the tool at Blowe’s. Despite my attempts of showing them it’s got Kobalt written on the tool… So, after exchanging a few broken tools throughout the year ( and showing Photo ID to complete the transaction) I get Red Flagged in their system and am actually denied future tool warranty exchanges….. My local Blowe’s has also changed their Lifetime Warranty to a Limited 90 day warranty on certain tools like tape measures. Any attempts to exchange a broken Kobalt tape measure that I purchased when the Lifetime Warranty was in effect on said item, results in an argument between myself and the Blowe’s employees as their warranty policy has changed ….

Needless to say, Blowe’s will honor and exchange Craftsman, Lufkin, Crescent, tape measures with Lifetime Warranty for another tape measure with a Lifetime Warranty.

How is it that Kobalt is Blowe’s line of tools and Blowe’s changes their own Lifetime Warranty on THEIR own products?
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Craftsman lifetime wasn't "hassle free" it was even better as "no questions asked". They shot themselves in the foot with that. I think Lowes just want's to make sure "you" bought the tool at Lowes, not that "it" was bought at Lowes. They are trying to avoid the craftsman debacle of having second handers returning something they didn't purchase originally.
 
I had same problem with a small adjustable wrench. It came in a 3 piece set, lowes gave me a hard time about them breaking up a set
I went home (2 miles ) got the set and then argued for 20-30 minutes
They reluctantly exchanged me the whole set. If it came in a set take the set back
Now Snap On is another issue
Needed a replacement gear set for a # SV-71A ratchet ( it was my fathers)
Talked to a sales rep (truck)
Gave me their number. Turns out it’s a government division product from the 50’s ??? No warranty WTF
Last time for Snap on

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Another is Ridgid
Broke a 36 “ pipe wrench
Warranty sticker is still attached
Local rep would not honor it
Had too many nicks in the head piece
(Lost handle in waste water clarifier @ paper mill). No luck with factory also
2 years later found handle when we drained the clarifier
Kept it as a souvenir lol

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TheGrateRonzini said:
Lol. Looks like you had a torque multiplier on that baby. Which is also what usually breaks my crapsman ratchets
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They break right where the pipe stops! LMAO I don't blame them. I wouldn't either. Read the warranty. I bet it doesn't say "under all conditions". Misuse and abuse are usually not covered.

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