On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:32:46 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As a contractor, my tools are usually dropped, fall off roofs and ladders, have heavy things fall on them, get left out in the rain, get stolen, misplaced and about 10 other things occur before I have to worry about warranty issues.

However, I bought a pair of ultra compact 12v Li drills about 4 or 5 years ago when they first came out. I bought them to use on my kitchen work as they work great to drive tiny hinge screws, drill the holes for pulls, and they are just dandy inside a cabinet when replacing or adjusting drawer hardware. Both we $99 with on battery each, and a charger. They are fine little drills.

But the batteries finally died. I took the to the local HD as instructed and had a really bad time. The "tool guy" had to look at them, make his determination, write a report on his findings and then make a suggestion as to what repairs MIGHT be authorized. He told me that it could take him a month in the store to get to them, and if they were found to be in warranty, it could take another month to have it certified by the national repair depot, and then if it was the batteries ONLY, then they could possibly ship new ones to me in another 10 days to 2 weeks after that. So the whole process could take as much as 2 1/2 months! I was shocked. The tool guy did a cursory inspection and agreed that when new batteries were put in the old drills they both worked fine. When the old batteries were put in a new test charger, they showed as defective. However, he determined the issue needed more research on his part. (Clever man... I thought for a moment I was at the monkey cage at the zoo...)

I called the national number to tell them what was going on. They told me that they were tired of being blamed for the long wait times for warranty resolution and they were more tired of people calling to yell at them for store related issues. With their help they told me how and what to say (their corporate buzz words) to the store manager to get the project off center. It worked!

From start to finish of this episode I had two new batteries in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wasn't through.

The batteries came with a stern warning to register them within 90 days or there would be no further battery warranty. I tried several times to register, and then contacted them by email as instructed on their website. They didn't realize that you couldn't access their registration screens after the tool and its parts were registered. The reason was that anyone could change their serial numbers to tools found in pawn shops, etc. without having bought the tool new. So my CS email response was for me to simply go the website and register.

After a while, I gave up and called national customer service again. They lady on the other end of the phone sighed pretty heavily and told me that I couldn't register them myself and a phone call was required. On a previously registered tool only Ridgid CS could modify any information. So today, she took my info over the phone and my account was updated within the half hour.

So the moral is, register the tools correctly, know that they will honor their warranty in some cases, and know you will have to work for it as well as be patient. That being said, HD/Ridgid are the only guys that will warrant tools for more than a few months (most not at all) for contractor use.

Hey... at least it worked, and I have my two favorite mini drills back!

Robert

As long as we are propping up Home Depot...

A few weeks ago I went to a local HD and parked in a spot where there were no other vehicles or carts or anything nearby. When I came out I saw that one of these carts was about 3" from the driver's side fender.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5...44d28f7e_z.jpg

After closer inspection I found a small dent and some orange paint on my fender, at the exact height of the corner of the cart.

I went inside, found a manager, and asked him to come outside. He looked at the situation and told me that he would file a report. He noted that 90% of parking lot damage claims are denied, but this one looked like a no brainer and that he would say so in his report.

About 2 weeks later I got a call from some firm representing Home Depot and was asked a few questions about the incident. They promised to get back to me in a few days, which they did. It is now my responsibility to submit 2 estimates to have the damage repaired. The representative promised that Home Depot will pay the lower of the 2 estimates.

My plan is to go to 2 dealer body shops, where I assume I will get the highest estimates.