Model Forum / General / Models / July 2005

Can't comment on the 920 lathe, but my experience of their service is that
it's absolute crap. I tried to buy half a dozen bits from them - some
collets and a set of transfer punches. Got the punches, but it took them
four attempts to fail to send me the right collets. Every time they got the
order wrong (incomplete, wrong sizes, wrong drawbar thread, you name it),
they expected me to return the wrong bits at my expense and would credit my
account - ie, they get it wrong, therefore I commit to spending more money
with them.

I played along with this for a while, until it became clear that their
stores monkey was actually a thoroughly untrained chimp who couldn't peel a
banana if his life depended on it. I cancelled the order, demanded a refund
for the bits that *still* hadn't turned up, and demanded compensation for
the time and money I spent sending their crap back to them.

They ignored me.

They still owe me money.

I'll never use the f.ckers again.

Oh, I bought a Micro Mill from them a few years ago - deal was fine, except
that they didn't do clamp kits for it (8mm slots, M6 studs). The salesman
told me that they were getting some made locally and would call me back when
they were available. He never called back. The clamp kits never appeared on
their web site. Maybe 'the deal fell through' - or maybe the salesman was
just a liar. If I had any confidence in being able to order a handful of
bits without it becoming one f.ck-up after another, I'd consider the former
with regard to the Micro Mill clamp kits - but, they're useless bastards,
so, as far as I'm concerned, the salesman was lying.

Their 'service' simply doesn't exist. Their treatment of customers stinks.

If I have a need to buy any kit like this again, I'll be going to Warco or
Machine Mart. For bits and pieces, Chronos are hard to beat - their stores
people can actually read an order and pick the bits off the shelves!
Correctly!