Tools For Lathe And Mill From Shars And Enco

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AirWolf said:
I think you would get a better response if you start a new thread asking this question.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks I will try that, got 2 hours to decide ... Thanks for the suggestion
 
Guys,

This was a great thread, but it is getting way off topic. Let's get it back on track or it will end.

All of the off topic discussions talked about, good stuff, but it needs to be placed in it's own threads if you want to talk about it.
 
Well, my ordering experience had turned into a complete nightmare thanks to ENCO.

So far I've been the most impressed with Shars. I placed two orders, both were shipped and contained all the items I ordered, plus one is due to be delivered today. I didn't have a problem with the shipping cost... not cheap but not out of line either. One order contained 11 items and was 23 lbs... shipping was $28.81. The other order contained 8 items and was 27 lbs... shipping was $26.74. Also, even though I mentioned earlier two items didn't get the 20% discount, that was correct as the discount didn't apply to Edge Technology items and it said so on their website. Considering their prices were much cheaper than Enco, I plan to order from then again.

Grizzly falls in the middle. I ordered 3 items, 2 were shipped but the Boring Bar Set is on backorder. I don't have an immediate use for it but hopefully it won't take long. My only real complaint is their prices. I thought the Glanze 1/2" Turning Tool set was overpriced but the price of the Boring Bar Set made up for it, assuming it still arrives. It would have been nice to have a discount code for them but I just couldn't find any in time.

Enco was a nightmare... a complete nightmare... and it's not over. Here is the story...

I finalized the list of items I needed from Enco after I placed my orders with Shars and Grizzly. The list consisted of 15 model numbers for 18 items total. Just prior to checkout, I entered each discount code and clicked on the Apply box per their email. In both cases I didn't receive any acknowledgements or errors, so I completed checkout thinking the discounts would be applied near the end of the checkout process. Turns out that didn't happen... it simply processed the order without any discount at all. So instead of a $266.47 invoice, I ended up with a $355.29 invoice.

I called customer service and the person I spoke with claimed he had to create a new invoice from scratch. Didn't think anything of it figuring we make a new order and he cancels the original. What I thought odd, is I had to read every part number to him over the phone. But what do I know... so I did exactly that and when he finished, he read off the total. I didn't have the correct total in front of me but the new amount was much less than the original.

After we hung up, I went online and reviewed the new order... the total was $293.95. Checked it and found out there were three items that didn't receive the 25% discount... so the total should have been $266.47. If it was a couple dollars I would have just let it go, but not for $26.78. I was so ****** I had to let this go for a day figuring even a credit to my account would be good enough.

Yeah, that's bad... but it gets worse... MUCH worse.

I called today, spoke with a woman at customer service, and found out they processed BOTH orders, each one arriving in multiple boxes. She gives me some tracking numbers and tries to tell me I either have to refuse the boxes "for the incorrect order" or return them. Now how the heck am I going to know which boxes are for the correct order and which ones aren't? I can't tell from the tracking numbers.

So I check my credit card transactions and the charge for $293.95 is removed and a new charge for $355.29 is added. Now I have absolutely NO CLUE what is going on.
 
Customer Service is the bane of my existence, I can only really recall one or two I've ever dealt with that i felt good about after i hung up the phone.
 
I called Enco yet again. This time I pressed "2" for Accounting and Billing Inquiries, which connected me with someone in New York. The biggest advantage was talking with someone who actually understands the invoicing, shipping and billing process. So we reviewed both invoices which helped clarify things and put us on the same page. Bottom line is the first support person incorrectly reconstructed another Order which explains why everyone else was giving wrong information.

When an order is placed, it creates a Packing Slip Number showing your entire order, prices, etc. Later it may get broken down into different Packing Slip Numbers showing which items get shipped together vs. others that need shipped separately or later due to a backorder. As the orders are packed and shipped, it establishes a Shipping Date, Tracking Number and Invoice Number for each shipment. As they are completed, the Status changes overnight from 'In Process' to 'Invoiced'. Once everything on the Order is Invoiced, then it's finished.

The first Order wasn't cancelled so each order has three Packing Slip Numbers with the same items but different prices. It looks like shipping realized this so we don't think I'm being sent duplicate items. But things are a mess. For example, the bulk of my items were shipped based on the Invoice under the 2nd Order which shows a Shipping Date and Tracking Number) but billed under on the 1st Order (and obviously because it shows a higher amount). So Tracking Numbers and Invoice Numbers are scattered between both Orders.

We are thinking (hoping?) all Invoices on both orders will be Invoiced tonight so I'm to call him tomorrow. Once they are all Invoiced we can figure everything out and credit my charge card. So the nightmare may not be over.
 
That sucks! Crud like that does happen and when it does it just snowballs every time it seems. Frustration.
I made orders with Enco a couple of times this week and they have gone in without a hitch so far. Some of the stuff is already in from last Friday orders.

I hope you get it all straightened out soon.
 
As far as Enco vs Shars, I have bought items from Enco here and there through the years since about 1980. I was never dissapointed with what I bought, including Enco brands. Heck, I still have a Enco branded 0-3 digit micrometer set that I bought back in the early 90's that holds tolerances on my Starrett standards to this day. (go figure, the Chinese stuff they sell started decent and got worse through the years!) I guess every business has it's Issues.

I started purchasing from Shars last year. So far I am pleased with the purchases, but I don't generally buy the cheapest grade of stuff the have, either. I wanted a tailstock and indexing plates for my 12" Phase II rotary table. Looking carefully at the shars site, I saw they sold what looked like a close copy of the same table, and they had a duplicate of the tailstock and the indexing plates. So I made the order and the parts came in today. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the plywood box for the tailstock and the cardboard box for the index plates were labeled "Phase II"!!! and at just a bit more than half the cost of Enco even on sale and discounts.
 
YOU KNOW THAT SAYING? JUST WHEN YOU THINK THINGS CAN'T POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE????

THE ONLY good news is both orders are finally done being invoiced.
THE BAD NEWS is they made more shipments. Now I'm being sent DOUBLE OF EVERYTHING!!!

Apparently there is some sort of connection between ENCO and MSC because I'm now getting notifications from UPS of deliveries from MSC as well as ENCO. Some of the MSC tracking numbers match the ones from ENCO but others don't. Between ENCO and MSC I have about 10 Packages being delivered. WTF?
 
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