Letter to JET

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simdave

New User
Dave
I would like to first like congratulate your engineers for an amazing design in your new Vortex collectors, but I have to question the intelligence of your marketing department not allowing an upgrade kit for older DC1100 systems. Understanding that it's about making money, I can't seem to follow your logic. While the Vortex is clearly a great product I'm not about to dump my older DC1100 and spend another $600-$700 for the Vortex when I can get a grizzly true cyclone for $695. What I would do is spend $200 or maybe even $250 to upgrade my older system. With all due respect I think you boys are missing the boat on this one.
 

Vetteman9956

New User
Brad
I asked that same question to Jet customer service a few months ago and all I was told was they weren't going to offer an upgrade. even my computer can be upgraded. Guess this will be my last Jet DC. As with many other companies, creating loyality from your customer has taken a back seat to Greed. And they wonder why they lose market share. Recently, I went to 3 stores in Cary looking for cutting board oil, 2 of the home improvement stores don't carry it and all I heard from the dept manager at Bed, Bath and beyond was how hard it was to get and that they had been out for over 2 months. I am getting so tired of running all over town to buy something and then coming home empty handed. And they can't understand why we are all buying online instead of our local brick and mortar store. I want my old time Hardware back!!!
 

JCraig

New User
Jerry
I asked that same question to Jet customer service a few months ago and all I was told was they weren't going to offer an upgrade. even my computer can be upgraded. Guess this will be my last Jet DC. As with many other companies, creating loyality from your customer has taken a back seat to Greed. And they wonder why they lose market share. Recently, I went to 3 stores in Cary looking for cutting board oil, 2 of the home improvement stores don't carry it and all I heard from the dept manager at Bed, Bath and beyond was how hard it was to get and that they had been out for over 2 months. I am getting so tired of running all over town to buy something and then coming home empty handed. And they can't understand why we are all buying online instead of our local brick and mortar store. I want my old time Hardware back!!!

Brad,

One of the nice things about living in the triad, is the old time hardware store we have in High Point, NC.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Southside-Hardware/107601352634491
 

golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
Bad....if your dressing up an old cutting board use Walnut Oil...perfectly safe with food and u can get it at most grocery stores:eek:ccasion1
 

Vetteman9956

New User
Brad
I looked at the drug store and in the size they have its around $ 80 a gallon. I ordered it online and will have it Tuesday. It just blows me away that Lowes and Home Depot won't stock anything unless the sells 10,000 a month nationwide. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to both for something simple and they don't have it. Goes back to that customer service thing. I would love to be closer to a hardware like you discribe in High Point. We had one in Michigan before we moved down here and it had been there since the late 1800's, all though I think the last time they dusted was 1912. :gar-La; Not a place to go if dust makes you sneeze.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
The Jet Vortex has been ridden to death over at either SMC, or Woodnet.net. Just order a WOK, and make your own,. Or better yet, make Thien Baffle to fit your dust collector. According to Phil Thien's testing his baffle is superior to the cone. He discarded cone early on in his quest for a better DC separator.
 

NCTurner

New User
Gary
Brad don't forget about Burke Bros on Hillsborough by the fair grounds, I'd bet you a dollar to a dime they have it.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
There is also an old time Hardware Store and Feed and Seed in Carpenter. Just off NC-55 on Morrisville-Carpenter Rd. It is small but has a lot of character. Wood floors, pot bellied stove, etc.

- Ken.
 

FlyingRon

Moderator
Ron
For cutting boards walnut oil works and so does regular mineral oil Walnut oil can be had at most better grocers. Mineral oil comes from the drug store (I bought the last bunch at the Target health/pharmacy department). Comes in a bottle like rubbing alcohol.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
At Walmart yesterday, mineral oil was $1.49 per pint.
Bought a couple of pints, along with a gallon of RV antifreeze to winterize my pressure washers Sunday. I don't exactly understand the mentality of thinking a company OWES an existing customer an upgrade. They are in business to SELL machines. Want the newest, then sell your old and buy the new. When Bosch came out with the 1591 saw, why didn't they offer an upgrade for the 1587? Same exact principal. Yet no one complained. This especially irks me as the upgrade is very doable on your own.
 
Bought a couple of pints, along with a gallon of RV antifreeze to winterize my pressure washers Sunday. I don't exactly understand the mentality of thinking a company OWES an existing customer an upgrade. They are in business to SELL machines. Want the newest, then sell your old and buy the new. When Bosch came out with the 1591 saw, why didn't they offer an upgrade for the 1587? Same exact principal. Yet no one complained. This especially irks me as the upgrade is very doable on your own.


no offense but this is what is wrong with America.... things used to be built to last or easy to be repaired.... everyone talks about recycling and being green..... well if manufactures built there products better and provided upgrade paths would could save alot of resources. Companies and Manufactures just care about money now days and I think he has a valid point asking JET for a upgrade path...

and do not get me wrong there are some companies that do care but my comments are overall in the market place... I just got a stick of RAM replaced that was causing errors that was 4 years old no questions asked... I wish more companies would treat there customers this well...

and nothing is worse then saving up to buy something and then 6 months later it is out of date
 

sbarnhardt

New User
Barney
no offense but this is what is wrong with america.... Things used to be built to last or easy to be repaired.... Everyone talks about recycling and being green..... Well if manufactures built there products better and provided upgrade paths would could save alot of resources. Companies and manufactures just care about money now days and i think he has a valid point asking jet for a upgrade path...

And do not get me wrong there are some companies that do care but my comments are overall in the market place... I just got a stick of ram replaced that was causing errors that was 4 years old no questions asked... I wish more companies would treat there customers this well...

And nothing is worse then saving up to buy something and then 6 months later it is out of date

amen!!!!!!
 

Vetteman9956

New User
Brad
Bought a couple of pints, along with a gallon of RV antifreeze to winterize my pressure washers Sunday. I don't exactly understand the mentality of thinking a company OWES an existing customer an upgrade. They are in business to SELL machines. Want the newest, then sell your old and buy the new. When Bosch came out with the 1591 saw, why didn't they offer an upgrade for the 1587? Same exact principal. Yet no one complained. This especially irks me as the upgrade is very doable on your own.

Bruce, I can see a point when we are talking about a major improvement but on minor upgrades I can't see selling my current piece of equipment for 50-60% of what I paid for it and having to purchase a new machine identical to what I had with the exception of a minor improvement. Yes I could build one but why reinvent the wheel when they have developed one that works and I am willing to pay a reasonable price for. I have 35 years in the aircraft industry and I can still get a new and improved part to fit a 1954 Piper or Beechcraft. Why can you get a improved bag for your 1960 Kirby? Because these manufacturers understand that doing what they should translates into customers who will pay more for a product that lasts and has the support then they will for a throwaway piece. It called building customer loyality and not many companies care about that anymore.Thats why I am willing to pay for a Festool saw instead of a Black and Decker from Walmart. I also know I will have my Festool long after that BD saw is in a landfill.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
no offense but this is what is wrong with America.... things used to be built to last or easy to be repaired.... everyone talks about recycling and being green..... well if manufactures built there products better and provided upgrade paths would could save alot of resources. Companies and Manufactures just care about money now days and I think he has a valid point asking JET for a upgrade path...

and do not get me wrong there are some companies that do care but my comments are overall in the market place... I just got a stick of RAM replaced that was causing errors that was 4 years old no questions asked... I wish more companies would treat there customers this well...

and nothing is worse then saving up to buy something and then 6 months later it is out of date
First, most purchases are price driven. When it's cheap enough, someone will buy it. So we all (MYSELF INCLUDED) want to buy at absolute lowest price. When these Jet DC's were bought, I'm willing to bet they weren't the most expensive to purchase. As for "throw away", has anyone complained about their DC failing? As for upgrading computers, do remember the world before the 286 processor? Every new machine meant having to buy new soft ware. Has some one asked Jet to replace a DEFECTIVE part, or asked for an upgrade instead. Jet has offered the upgrade, but not at the price point some consider to be fair. That is their RIGHT as a business (to make a profit.) Sometimes, price out buying your car one piece at the time. I take a "brand name prescription" that is over $1000 (one thousand dollars) per month, that I am sure it only costs pennies to produce. But this drug maker invested both time and resources to develop this drug, and thus are entitled to a profit. Either accept what you have, or sell it at a loss (remember you have had the enjoyment of use which does have value), and buy a newer machine. Profit isn't a dirty word.
 

ehpoole

Administrator
Ethan
So we all (MYSELF INCLUDED) want to buy at absolute lowest price. When these Jet DC's were bought, I'm willing to bet they weren't the most expensive to purchase. As for "throw away", has anyone complained about their DC failing? As for upgrading computers, do remember the world before the 286 processor? Every new machine meant having to buy new soft ware. Has some one asked Jet to replace a DEFECTIVE part, or asked for an upgrade instead. Jet has offered the upgrade, but not at the price point some consider to be fair. That is their RIGHT as a business (to make a profit.) Sometimes, price out buying your car one piece at the time. I take a "brand name prescription" that is over $1000 (one thousand dollars) per month, that I am sure it only costs pennies to produce. But this drug maker invested both time and resources to develop this drug, and thus are entitled to a profit. Either accept what you have, or sell it at a loss (remember you have had the enjoyment of use which does have value), and buy a newer machine. Profit isn't a dirty word.

Hopefully I don't regret jumping into the fray, but heregoes:

1) Not all of us are driven by the bottom dollar. I am regularly willing to pay a modest premium (say 10-20%) to purchase locally and I seldom purchase the cheapest tool (or much else) -- I usually aim for middle-of-the-pack or better. To me, saving money on junk is money wasted, not saved. Good tools may not be cheap, but for me they, and my workshop, are also my physical therapy and even quality tools are cheaper than real physical therapy.

2) I'm not sure what computers you were buying back in the 80's but the 80286 ran what the 80186 (yes, there was such CPU) ran, which more than happily ran what the 8086 ran -- same went for the 80386, 80486, Pentium P5, Pentium II, Pentium III, and so forth. As for Commodores (of which I still own many), My C128 could run the same software as my Plus/4, which could run the same software as my C64, which could run the same software as my Vic-20. There is some real truth to your comments back in the 70's, but by the 80's you generally only *had* to invest in new software if you either 1) changed between vendors (e.g. Commodore, Atari, Apple, Adam, Tandy Radio Shack, Texas Instruments, etc.) or 2) wanted new features not available in the older software. In fact, my C128 was even backward compatible with the original cassette drive of my Vic-20 as well as the 1541 floppy drive that was a later upgrade to the Vic-20. There were also a number of computers of that era that ran CP/M, many on Z80 CPUs, that could share software between different platforms and manufacturers and were very much the precursors to the modern IBM PC and Compatibles in many respects.

(My goodness, have I ever dated myself now! I might as well throw in that, as a teenager, I ran an RBBS-PC BBS back in the late 80's to early 90's as well. I run all my own servers these days, but even so I really miss those days with my BBS!)

3) Yes, No, and Maybe on the Pharmaceutical Industry. I pay nearly half what you are paying for GENERIC morphine (you don't want to know what brand-name goes for) -- and I'm pretty certain the pharmaceutical industry did not have to invest much into inventing a medication that has existed for thousands of years! They also invest a great deal in thwarting our Patent system and interfering with the legitimate manufacture of generics which, frankly, borders on something between collusion and criminal in my book. We, as Americans, pay far more for any given medication than any other nation on this Earth.

The above said, I do believe that, yes, a vendor has the right to do pretty much whatever they want with their product. However, that attitude of treating nearly everything as expendable and eliminating reasonable upgrade paths is a very real symptom of nearly everything that is wrong and broken in our modern global economy. I don't have an issue with any company earning a fair and honest profit, but I do have an issue with the often pervasive attitude that profit is all that matters and that civic responsibility has no place in the modern world.

The reason the OP is so annoyed with Jet is because Jet chooses not to sell an upgrade part that is, for all practical purposes, a bolt-on upgrade so far as anyone can discern. IMHO, this is a fair criticism and no wrong has been committed by stating this opinion. Others are, obviously, welcome to disagree, but that does not invalidate the OP's stated position.

PS - Junquecol, please know that none of the above is directed at you personally -- I just take issue with the examples you are citing. Like the OP, this subject is one of those that hits a nerve with me as well, just for slightly different reasons (I don't own a Jet DC, but I do hope that Jet might reconsider their stance).
 
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