Our long sordid tale is winding down…we’ve finally gotten to the point of NO-CS asking me, point blank, if I was Delta007, and I told him yes. I really did not know what to expect, but I guess I should have. What I got was ‘This is an unmoderated forum and you’re not authorized to be helping Delta customers on there. You need to stop.’ I didn’t even try to argue. By this time, we had seen enough of NO-CS that I knew he couldn’t be reasoned with - no use to try.
Looking back over the years and having dealt with many different personalities and managers, being faced with this sort of a short-sighted control-freak was probably the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ and started me to seriously consider that my time with Delta was over. I had never been faced with such disdain for customers in my life. Making me cease helping them went against everything that I had spent more than23 years doing…I was not happy…. and neither were our customers. Here’s a few direct quotes: “There used to be a member from Delta that helped us on his own and Delta made him stop. Delta007, IIRC. Great guy, great Idea, Dumb Delta move. He defused many a complaint.” One of Woodnet’s members sent this message to the Co. President: “I feel obligated to drop you a note to express my appreciation for your employees. I am an avid woodworker and a member of the Woodnet forum. Several of your employees frequent this forum sometimes providing information and assistance. In my opinion these people are your best public relations tool. Due to their input, my last few tool purchases have gone to Delta. With all things being equal, the decision to go with Delta tools is swayed by the genuine interest of these individuals….While they have never claimed to represent Delta tools, they have not disguised the fact they are employed by Delta…As a corporation you should be proud of these individuals and encourage their efforts….Please take the time to recognize these people for all the good will efforts they put forth.” THAT was the way a decent manager should have responded to my involvement with those forums…but not NO-CS. No Way.
We used to get compliments all over the place for just doing very simple things for those folks… check out some of these comments… “Delta007 has gone above and beyond and I appreciate it.”… “That was a classy assist, 007! Nice to see that” …“Now that's customer service, my friends. This is why my shop is mostly grey. Nice job 007.”
As you can see, we did a LOT of good for Delta and a pathetic manager came along and destroyed it. That was just one of the reasons that, within the year, Porter-Cable / Delta was purchased by Black & Decker… and it continued to slide down the hill from there…
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
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