Originally Posted by
Connie Ratissea
No doubt there were unhappy customers with the old Quick Change Chuck and we can still not please everyone, but look at those reviews. Look at the dates on most of them or look at recent posts that make references such as "I bought mine two years ago", "I was a beta tester", etc. Even on BBB, out of 24 complaints since 2008, only two are from 2011 and my guess is they are referring to an older model, not the new version C.
I have been in Marketing & Sales for the CW, since 2008. I started working very closely with the Customer Service Department a little over a year ago, because I got tired of hearing negative comments from our customers about our customer support. As of June 2011, I became the Customer Service Supervisor and, while we are still not flawless, I guarantee there has been change for the better.
There were problems in the past and improvements have been made with the new Version C. We continue to improve the machine and add to the capabilities of the software (which is fantastic and desired by many!). We have many tools that have been put in place over the last couple of years to assist the customer in learning how to properly use the system and to be successful including videos, Step-by-Step Design projects, user groups and training classes throughout the US and some in Canada.
There will always be some unsatisfied customers, as with any sophisticated machine, no matter what we do and they WILL post their frustrations. If you read between the lines you would see these were usually the ones that didn't take the necessary time to learn how to properly maintain or use the system. Sometimes the worst offenders are those that say "I've been doing woodworking for 35 years" or "I'm an engineer" and they don't learn that this machine is not like any other tool you have in your shop. You can't just throw a board in and hit "go".
You must properly educate yourself on how THIS machine works. Others were not properly educated about what they were buying. I've heard the stories of customers having to tell the salesman what the machine was, because the salesman they are buying it from didn't even know they sold it.
Was LHR faultless throughout the last 5 years? No, absolutely not. We went to market to soon and we sold it through salesmen that didn't know what it did, we didn't have the tools in place to properly educate customers or support them. We have grown as a company and addressed those issues.
The CW is not a machine that is meant for everyone, nor is it a replacement for the big commercial CNC's. That is not what the CW does, but what it does do is pretty spectacular! It also does it better and faster and less expensive. AND there are MANY MANY happy CW customers out there, otherwise LHR wouldn't still be in business. We had some "kinks" to work out and we've done that.
So, individuals that had a CarveWright or CompuCarve two or three years ago or who had a bad experience in the past, I'm sure you will chime in here with your comments. For those of you looking for an affordable desktop sized CNC carving system with some of the most sought after high-tech, full-featured software out there, that has and can produce more than my little brain ever imagined it could, it's time for another look!
