Shop-Vac!!

F

frostydog

New member
I just wanted to post an experience I had with Shop-Vac customer service. About 3 years ago (slightly less) I purchased a Shop-Vac wet/dry vac…for general home use and of course the cars. While I wouldn’t say I was a super heavy user…I did use it quite a bit, probably more so than the average home user. Certainly for the cars (weekly) and anything I needed it for around the house…sucked up quite a bit of water with it, cleared irrigation lines, vacuumed the screened in porch, etc… It got a work out to say the least.



Well last week I went to vacuum out my car and when I flicked the power switch it turned on for about ½ a second, then nothing?? I tried different sockets and such but it was surely the vac and it was dead. While I didn’t expect miracles from a $99 vac…I was kinda PO’d.



So I got my owners manual out and sure enough it said it had a 3 year warranty, I had the receipt and I was a couple month inside 3 years.



So the next day, I gathered all my papers and called the customer service number listed. I was in fight mode (what’s expected when you call most customer service these days) had all the papers, my orig receipt…I was ready. Below is my conversion is Shop-Vac CS.



SVCS “Shop Vac customer service may I help you?�

ME “yes…yesterday my shop vac stopped workingâ€�

SVCS “ok sir…we’ll mail you a new motor unit at no charge to you. May I please have the model number and your addressâ€�



That’s it!!! I couldn’t believe it…no copies of my receipt or when/where it was purchased, no trips to a service center or mailing any parts at a cost to me…no hassle what-so-ever. She didn’t even confirm if it was in the 3 year warranty period.



Then 3 DAYS later Fed-Ex shows up with my new motor unit. There were some simple instructions on how to replace the motor…but quite frankly it was a matter of unscrewing 8 screws to open the plastic housing, pulling out the old motor unit and putting in the new one. Now I’m up and running again…good as new, 3 days later.



Yeah…maybe you should expect longer than a 3 year life from a vac motor, but if this motor last another 3 years I’ll be satisfied. Heck….if it goes again I’ll just make another call.
 
Sounds like a good deal. I had a similar experience with a Coleman Generator that I still have. Works great! Congrats.
 
Is this the actual shop vac brand or another... Hell I'm lucky if any of my shop vacs last 6 months much less 3 years. I've blew up ridgids craftsman and whatever brand lowes sells LOL. Guess I'm hard on them or something.
 
ShopVac has been awesome for me too! They replaced 2 motors over a 10 year span until the unit was too old and had to be retired. I had 12 years of heavy abuse to that poor thing from water extractions after a fire and visit from the fire department to abusing it as a temporary sump-pump replacement over a stormy weekend until the new sump-pump could be picked up at the specialty supply store. (Geeezz - if they figure out who I am off this post, I'm sure they'll never replace another motor for me again for all the non-warranted abuse I've just admitted to! :banned: )

They have an awesome product and a fantastic replacement program. Hope this gives them the accolades and new business they deserve!
 
Jakerooni said:
Is this the actual shop vac brand or another... Hell I'm lucky if any of my shop vacs last 6 months much less 3 years. I've blew up ridgids craftsman and whatever brand lowes sells LOL. Guess I'm hard on them or something.
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It was Shop-Vac brand. When it happend I was PO'd and was pretty close to running out and just buying a competitor brand just because I was mad and wanted an instant fix. But my wife actually pulled all the paper work out and had me look to see if it was under warranty. Even when I saw it had the 3 year warranty, I was still going to go buy another…thinking I’d have to mail something away and it would end up costing me $30 bucks anyways…



Boy am I glad I gave them a call!!



I can only recommend if you burn another out (shop vac brand, can't comment on the others), just give them a call…you’ll have a fix in less than a week at no cost.
 
BigAl3 said:
glad your experience with their customer service was a good one! that's how it always should be... :up
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I know!! Sometimes I think companies just lose sight of the "real" value of good customer service. Sure this replacement probably cost Shop Vac $20-30...I think many companies only look at that $ amount. And don't realize the value of a return customer and good word of mouth advertising.



Heck you have schmos (like me and Saintlysins) going on-line telling others, can only lead to good things for Shop Vac.



BearValley said:
Cool to hear good news. Seems like we hear too much of what is wrong with everything - thanks!
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Agree...100%
 
That's good customer service. Although it's not relevant to car detailing, Weber Grills has service like that. If something fails within the warranty period they just send you the parts with no questions asked. It's worth the extra money they charge for their products.
 
Often times the motors quit working because brushes become glazed from the dust and arcing. If you can access those brushes, and they aren't worn out, usually you can get away with just pulling them out cleaning the brush face and reinstalling them and spraying some deoxit on the commutator. Deoxit is available at electronic stores and maybe radio shack (Radio Shack seems to only sell phones nowadays). It also helps to spray some wd-40 on the com and let it dry. The motors usually start right back up after that.
 
Great service...I've had similar experiences with:



Porter Cable (missing parts - even received a follow-up call)

Mantis (the little garden cultivator - best service ever)

Weber Grills (replaced out-of-warranty borken parts)



LL
 
Joel_MD said:
That's good customer service. Although it's not relevant to car detailing, Weber Grills has service like that. If something fails within the warranty period they just send you the parts with no questions asked. It's worth the extra money they charge for their products.
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I disagree; a shop "type" vacuum is certainly a detailing tool. While it certainly has other uses…specifically related to auto detailing I use mine for general vacuuming, wet carpet extraction and blowing off excess water when I need a quick dry. There are countless threads discussing shop type vacs on these forums.



I thought I would just add my experience for those in the market…
 
frostydog said:
I disagree; a shop "type" vacuum is certainly a detailing tool. While it certainly has other uses…specifically related to auto detailing I use mine for general vacuuming, wet carpet extraction and blowing off excess water when I need a quick dry. There are countless threads discussing shop type vacs on these forums.



I thought I would just add my experience for those in the market…
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I think he meant the grill, not the vacuum lol!



Although there is nothing like a hamburger while detailing!
 
i bought a stainless steel 'contractor series' Shop Vac years ago, and abused it weekly.



the stainless bin got holes in the bottom, likely from some chemical sitting in there too long - so it leaked onto the driveway, and everywhere else.



i called Shop Vac service, to see where i could purchase a new bin, as everything else was working fine, and two days later, a new stainless steel bin was at my door - free of charge.



me: "yeah i was wondering where i could purchase a shop vac part



customer service: " what model is it"



me: "its a model number ..."



customer service: "we'll ship one right out to you, not sure if it's still under warranty, but its easier just to ship one out - no charge"



me: "can i marry you" :D
 
Hmmm.......I wish I recieved similiar service from Shop-Vac. I just had a terrible experience with them. I went to go use my father's Shop-Vac only to have it not turn on. I opened the assembly to discover that the switch was bad.



This Shop-Vac (model LM500) is approximately 8 years old but MAYBE was used 10 times during that period. Everything else on the unit works like a charm except for the failed switch.



I contacted customer support in hopes that they could provide me info how to attain a new switch. All the CSA was interested in was selling me a complete motor assembly for about $85. I asked why can't they assist me in getting a replacement switch and he responded saying due to liability. It's a $2.00 part and they're trying to squeeze me for a complete motor assembly. He asked me if there was anything else he could do for me and I responded by telling him that he didn't help me with the first issue. He then said, "Well......I answered your question, didn't I?". As I started to respond, he hung up on me.



So, I then go to email Shop-Vac through their website. I type up an accurate account of what happened and click to submit but recieve an error code indicating that part of the site is under maintenance. I attempted to re-submit the email several times since with no luck.



I'm livid about the poor quality of customer support that I recieved and inability to escalate it. I've been going through a long period of unemployment that causes me to prefer to repair rather than to replace. When you are in my position, you tend to notice the little things. I don't appreciate, as a consumer, the direction that companies are going. Lower quality, minimal customer support..........makes me sick. Where the hell is American pride because I haven't seen it for a long time.



Guess I need to go rig an overpriced generic switch from RadioShack into it. Thanks for nothing Shop-Vac.
 
Beaste1173 said:
Hmmm.......I wish I recieved similiar service from Shop-Vac. I just had a terrible experience with them. I went to go use my father's Shop-Vac only to have it not turn on. I opened the assembly to discover that the switch was bad.



This Shop-Vac (model LM500) is approximately 8 years old but MAYBE was used 10 times during that period. Everything else on the unit works like a charm except for the failed switch.



I contacted customer support in hopes that they could provide me info how to attain a new switch. All the CSA was interested in was selling me a complete motor assembly for about $85. I asked why can't they assist me in getting a replacement switch and he responded saying due to liability. It's a $2.00 part and they're trying to squeeze me for a complete motor assembly. He asked me if there was anything else he could do for me and I responded by telling him that he didn't help me with the first issue. He then said, "Well......I answered your question, didn't I?". As I started to respond, he hung up on me.



So, I then go to email Shop-Vac through their website. I type up an accurate account of what happened and click to submit but recieve an error code indicating that part of the site is under maintenance. I attempted to re-submit the email several times since with no luck.



I'm livid about the poor quality of customer support that I recieved and inability to escalate it. I've been going through a long period of unemployment that causes me to prefer to repair rather than to replace. When you are in my position, you tend to notice the little things. I don't appreciate, as a consumer, the direction that companies are going. Lower quality, minimal customer support..........makes me sick. Where the hell is American pride because I haven't seen it for a long time.



Guess I need to go rig an overpriced generic switch from RadioShack into it. Thanks for nothing Shop-Vac.
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Ha...American Pride...now thats damn funny! When was the last time you purchased something electronic that said MADE IN AMERICA? Even if you can buy something made here in the states, the manufacturer makes it using parts made in CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA(s), TAIWAN, INDONESIA or MEXICO! Its so damn sad, we don't make anything anymore and if there is an american company and unions have driven the cost of labor up so high, that the products are much morfe expensive then their imported competitors!
 
Did you ever manage to successfully repair your ShopVac LM500? I am having the exact same problem, same scenario. Vac is about 8 years old and lucky if used a dozen times, rarely for wet pickup. Switch is bad, or so I think. Funny, I can take it apart, and put it back together, and it will work for a few uses then, same old. I am looking at this switch ( 16A 125V or 10A 250V DPST AC On/Off Round Rocker Switch - RadioShack.com ) and was going to pick one up tomorrow to give it a shot and I came across your post. I thought I would check with you first.



Thanks! (Will NEVER buy another ShopVac...)





Beaste1173 said:
Hmmm.......I wish I recieved similiar service from Shop-Vac. I just had a terrible experience with them. I went to go use my father's Shop-Vac only to have it not turn on. I opened the assembly to discover that the switch was bad.



This Shop-Vac (model LM500) is approximately 8 years old but MAYBE was used 10 times during that period. Everything else on the unit works like a charm except for the failed switch.



I contacted customer support in hopes that they could provide me info how to attain a new switch. All the CSA was interested in was selling me a complete motor assembly for about $85. I asked why can't they assist me in getting a replacement switch and he responded saying due to liability. It's a $2.00 part and they're trying to squeeze me for a complete motor assembly. He asked me if there was anything else he could do for me and I responded by telling him that he didn't help me with the first issue. He then said, "Well......I answered your question, didn't I?". As I started to respond, he hung up on me.



So, I then go to email Shop-Vac through their website. I type up an accurate account of what happened and click to submit but recieve an error code indicating that part of the site is under maintenance. I attempted to re-submit the email several times since with no luck.



I'm livid about the poor quality of customer support that I recieved and inability to escalate it. I've been going through a long period of unemployment that causes me to prefer to repair rather than to replace. When you are in my position, you tend to notice the little things. I don't appreciate, as a consumer, the direction that companies are going. Lower quality, minimal customer support..........makes me sick. Where the hell is American pride because I haven't seen it for a long time.



Guess I need to go rig an overpriced generic switch from RadioShack into it. Thanks for nothing Shop-Vac.
Click to expand...
 
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