IH AWOL?

[jetflatline]

Anyone heard from IH in the past few weeks?

I pre-paid for a CNC upgrade for my IH mill back in mid-October and was told they were running 6 weeks behind, so I assumed 8 weeks later (because I know how I operate :-) would be the delivery date.

Since then I've emailed/phoned IH a few times trying to find out the status of my order and more details about support gear (which serial/parallel card, NEMA enclosure, etc) I'd have to buy before doing the install.

I've gotten zero response, and that makes me a little nervous.

On a mailing list I follow, someone said Tommy's dad passed away, but I haven't seen any sort of web posting or email saying, "family crisis, I'm way behind, sorry". Nor is there an auto-responder at their email saying, "we'll get back to you, sorry for the delay".

As of now I'm $4500 down and behind on some jobs and not sure if I should call my credit card company or if I should cool my jets because there will be a box from UPS on my porch tomorrow in the morning.

Thoughts?

thx,

--jet

[Runner4404spd]

Tommy and gene are stand up guys. they maybe behind but they won't forget you. Gene did pass away not to long ago and i'm sure tommy is having a heck of a time finding someone to help or at least get out what he's got on the books. yeah it sucks waiting for stuff but be patient. if you want you can post your questions here alot of guys built a kit and would be more than willing to help with your questions. in terms of BOB forget it. and the nema enclosure i used was 24x36x12 and it houses my computer inside as well.

[jetflatline]

>yeah it sucks waiting for stuff but be patient.

So how much longer should I wait? Six months? A year? I've heard nothing since they charged my credit card, and that's with my emailing/phoning them multiple times to find out what's up.

This is a CNC kit, not a new mill from overseas. In theory they crank these puppies out using COTS gear and stock materials.

It's three months after they charged my card for $4500 and I haven't heard a single word other than the original invoice I received. Forget actual delivery of goods, I've not even gotten a response to emails/phone calls asking about status or the prep work I need to do for an install. Even a "sorry, we're behind, would you like us to refund your money?" email or a "the **** hit the fan, we're sorry, we're really behind and we're not sure what the schedule is like right now, but we'll let you know week-by-week what the schedule is." email would be fine.

"Stand-up guys" don't charge you full price up front, promise a delivery date, then ignore you. If I did this with one of my customers I'd probably be in small claims right now.

[ZipSnipe]

I would be calling my credit card company. If one of them died and especially if he was the one who ran the books , then that would spell trouble for IH. And yeah over 3 months is a joke!!!

[ltcjr71]

I had a similar experience with them, but in the end I am happy. I am also currently waiting on the return of my limit switches. It has been quite some time now, but I know in the end they will be right. It's just a little scary running the mill without any limits. Not to mention dangerous.

Unless you have an immediate need, I would wait it out. Loosing a family member is going to take a little time to recover. Jumping ship when a company is having difficulties can only worsen the situation. If you believe IH is a good product and would like to see them around for years to come, stay aboard.

FWIW- I did speak to Tommy about a week ago. It took a little phone tag and patience.

--Larry
www.caseydesignproducts.com

[RustedOut]

I'm in the same boat. Ordered second week of October. Talked to Tommy a couple of times since and was told things would start shipping the same week we spoke. Never happened!

Talked to the gal who answered the phone two weeks ago today and she asked Tommy when he was shipping and I got the answer the next week. Still nothing.

Hate to bug him, but man you got to talk to your customers and let them know what's up. It's 14 weeks now on an 8 week deal. May call again tomorrow and try to talk to Tommy, depends on how my work day goes .

Bob

[williamsmotower]

I ordered a cnc mill, paid half down... the balance when shipped.

I didn't call or ask when it was going to be done (but I was in no hurry, had other things going on) and without bothering them I got a call and said it was done. Total time I think was 4 months... but they did tell me 12 weeks upon initial order... so it was resonable in my eyes

What I'm getting at here, IH isn't flaking on anyone... they are working hard to fill their orders... and everytime they answer the phone it takes them longer.

[Speeder]

I would try to work with them. They have always been good to me when I needed them. I only have a manual mill but getting any parts that I need has left me feeling good about their company. I hated to hear about Gene. I always loved talking to him & he always made the time to converse with me when I called them at 1 in the morning. Outstanding gentleman & he will be missed.

[Tormachmaster]

Thats terrible I would be pissed I dont care about any situations anyone has ( I am truely sorry for their losses that is one hard thing to go through.) But as far as buisness I believe nobody should be able to sell something they dont have ready to ship that is just bad and down right a terrible way to do buisness when I ordered my machine through a different company the first thing I asked was is this a product you have ready to ship right now? If not I would have hung up the phone. Good luck I have never herd of anyone having problems from IH and I know they would not turn bad ruining what their dad setup for them so sorry for your wait but it sounds like you already knew it was not on it's way. Like the company who should never sell what they dont have-the buyer should never pay for something that does not exist. Take it as a lesson. Please post when it arrives.

[csaw]

Please help me out here, not that it is any of my business. However, I did talk to Tommy a couple weeks ago about a mill as I am interested in one of theirs. He didn't mention anything about Gene. Has this happened real recently? I think I read they were related. Were they brothers, father son or what. Just curious. Was it unexpected?

My father who was my best friend and business partner passed away a few years back very unexpectedly. Wow, was I overwhelmed as it was a very busy two man business. Luckily we had been talking with someone about buying us out prior to his death. I held down the fort for a couple weeks until I could complete the sale. It was hard times.

I wish Tommy all the best and hope all this gets resolved amicably.

Good Luck to all.

[Cruiser]

Please help me out here, not that it is any of my business. However, I did talk to Tommy a couple weeks ago about a mill as I am interested in one of theirs. He didn't mention anything about Gene. Has this happened real recently? I think I read they were related. Were they brothers, father son or what. Just curious. Was it unexpected?

My father who was my best friend and business partner passed away a few years back very unexpectedly. Wow, was I overwhelmed as it was a very busy two man business. Luckily we had been talking with someone about buying us out prior to his death. I held down the fort for a couple weeks until I could complete the sale. It was hard times.

I wish Tommy all the best and hope all this gets resolved amicably.

Good Luck to all.

It is not really appropriate I think to make this private thing so public.
The short of it is Gene is Tommy's father and he did pass very recently.
Tommy is and always was, since the purchase, IH ! Gene was the sole of IH and now this is also Tommy's new position.
I know he is going to be a strong influence and IH is going to be strongly influenced !
Gene called me many times, of his own volition, and we gambled on who's phone batteries would fail ! I miss the calls.

[Tormachmaster]

Anyone heard from IH in the past few weeks?

I pre-paid for a CNC upgrade for my IH mill back in mid-October and was told they were running 6 weeks behind, so I assumed 8 weeks later (because I know how I operate :-) would be the delivery date.

Since then I've emailed/phoned IH a few times trying to find out the status of my order and more details about support gear (which serial/parallel card, NEMA enclosure, etc) I'd have to buy before doing the install.

I've gotten zero response, and that makes me a little nervous.

On a mailing list I follow, someone said Tommy's dad passed away, but I haven't seen any sort of web posting or email saying, "family crisis, I'm way behind, sorry". Nor is there an auto-responder at their email saying, "we'll get back to you, sorry for the delay".

As of now I'm $4500 down and behind on some jobs and not sure if I should call my credit card company or if I should cool my jets because there will be a box from UPS on my porch tomorrow in the morning.

Thoughts?

thx,

--jet

Have you herd from them yet?