Teknatool: Home of thieves!

[Fish30114]

I am writing this post out of frustration and disappointment in Teknatools. Having said that I am open to any input comments on this situation.
What happened--I ordered two smocks from Teknatool (NOVA) and they arrived and I tried one on--it didn't fit--I contacted NOVA and they said send them back and they would credit my account--all good so far--simultaneously I had ordered two very expensive fishing reels, Avets-which are about $500 a piece-they arrived right handed instead of left handed. Long story short, my wife fouled up and mailed the smocks back to my fishing guy, and the reels to NOVA. When I contacted NOVA the girl I had spoken with said 'I got one smock back, and I already credited your account for two. WHAT???? No you never got a smock back from me at all, my wife inadvertently mailed you two fishing reels! My fishing guy sent me pictures of both smocks he had received in California, NOVA in Florida basically told me to stick it in my ear, the highest ranking person I could speak with at Teknatool/NOVA said his name was Tom Walker, and that he was a principal with the company. He went on to say that 'no one that worked for him would steal my reels'---Yeah Right ---at this point I don't know what else to do, I placed a follow up call to Tom yesterday (no call returned), our initial contact was last Friday, and no call from him since so at this time I have placed a phone call to a criminal attorney I am acquainted with to ask advice.

I actually still like my Nova DVR XP lathe a good deal--although it did have some issues and Teknatools customer service is GOOFY at best--is my honest assessment of NOVA lathes, but I am really wanting to hang them out to dry over this incident, I can assure you I WILL NEVER BUY OR RECOMMEND Teknatool to anyone for anything--at this time I honestly feel that they are in fact home to thieves!!!

 

[KenV]

You have tracking numbers and can follow it to delivery?

Have you done so and advised Tom that of the results of the tracking??

 

[bobleibo]

Don
Having spent a lifetime in an industry dealing with this, I'll try to provide a little help
- everything is going to come down to credibility, yours vs. theirs
- proving they received the package is the easy part. Proving what was in the box is another story.
- start documenting everything you have done. Phone calls are difficult thus I recommend you send emails or registered letters.
- get a signed affidavit from your fishing guy who was nice enough to tell you that the smocks were in the box he received along with the picture.
- get a signed affidavit from your wife telling of the mistake she made.
- get a copy of the delivery info from the carrier you used to send the package to Teknatool that shows date and time of delivery along with who signed for it.
- the shipping manifest for the reels that were delivered to Teknatool will have a bar code or scan code on the box from the carrier. Get it. Certainly the reels weighed more than the smocks and the electronic info should document this.

Now comes the real fun. Once you have all of this, provide it to the "kind" gentleman at Teknatool who is being less than helpful. If he has a shred of decency, he can trace the delivery back to who the shipping/receiving clerk is that accepted your package. With a little luck, that person will says "Yes, I got them and they are right here. I didn't know what to do with it" and your problem will be solved. Otherwise it might come down to the Teknatool manager putting a little pressure on his folks that handle incoming freight. I am certain they have more than one in a company that big. When he sees how efficient you are being with the documentation, he might be a little more helpful. I doubt he wants the bad PR over a mistake.
Good luck...
Bob

 

[Fish30114]

Ken and Bob, thanks for the feedback. My wife shipped these packages 'delivery confirmation' not signature confirmation--meaning that the packages were confirmed delivered to the 'receptionist front desk' that is all the info we have except time of delivery. We provided that to the so called principal at NOVA---the gal who said she received one smock from me, which is patently false--claims she didn't receive anything and that she asked around and nobody had seen 'anything like that'...I will follow your advice on the various affidavits Bob, and will proceed along those lines.

NOVA has no chance of getting any business from me or anyone who asks me about NOVA/Teknatool!!

An obviously disappointing situation

 

[stonepecker]

Has there been any movement on this problem?

Interested minds want to know.

 

[Fish30114]

Basically Teknatool has told me to jump in a lake. They have gone into the mode of ducking my calls at this time. The fellow who identified himself as a principal of the company--Tom Walker--has been less than helpful, he simply stated that 'nobody around here would have taken your stuff' just patently refusing to recognize that I have proof of delivery to them, and that somebody DID in fact take them. My fishing guy has provided an affidavit and a picture of the smocks that were mistakenly sent to him, and the post office did confirm that the weight of the package delivered to Teknatool weighed more than the smocks--the weight of the fishing reels exactly according to my fishing supplier.... long story short, I am massively disappointed in Nova, and there 'screw the customer attitude' and based on this I will strongly advise against anyone investing their hard earned money in anything from Nova/Tekanatool. Their entire attitude is unacceptable, and they have patently refused to follow up on the incident on their end at all.

Truly 'HOME OF THIEVES!'

 

[dexter0606]

You really have no proof that the package was delivered to the receptionist. Could have been left at the door and someone else took them. Don't always believe the delivery guys. I'm thinking the one at most fault/blame would be your wife, although you may live to regret placing the blame there. I had a customer swear up and down that they didn't receive a shipment from me even though I too had delivery confirmation. It showed up a few days later. It had fallen in behind some other stuff and was hidden. Just sayin', no real proof. Just a mess up on your end

 

[stonepecker]

Jeff (dexter).......I believe that these were mailed. Not shipped by carrier but sent by USPS. And yes, I know how they are.

At this point, I will take Fish's word and PERSONALLY, would never blame anyone..... even the wife. Accidents happen. What I find sad is the lack of help on Nova's part. Being mailed, there should be a slip and conformation of delivery. Trying to lay the 'blame' on anyone at this point is moot. Solving the problem is really the important thing.

As a small business owner, I would bend over backwards to help find out what happened.

 

[jaywood1207]

Jeff (dexter).......I believe that these were mailed. Not shipped by carrier but sent by USPS. And yes, I know how they are.

At this point, I will take Fish's word and PERSONALLY, would never blame anyone..... even the wife. Accidents happen. What I find sad is the lack of help on Nova's part. Being mailed, there should be a slip and conformation of delivery. Trying to lay the 'blame' on anyone at this point is moot. Solving the problem is really the important thing.

As a small business owner, I would bend over backwards to help find out what happened.

Coming on a forum like this and slamming them is maybe not the best way to get their cooperation.

 

[stonepecker]

Jeff (dexter).......I believe that these were mailed. Not shipped by carrier but sent by USPS. And yes, I know how they are.

At this point, I will take Fish's word and PERSONALLY, would never blame anyone..... even the wife. Accidents happen. What I find sad is the lack of help on Nova's part. Being mailed, there should be a slip and conformation of delivery. Trying to lay the 'blame' on anyone at this point is moot. Solving the problem is really the important thing.

As a small business owner, I would bend over backwards to help find out what happened.

Coming on a forum like this and slamming them is maybe not the best way to get their cooperation.

IF........and that is a very big word at this time.........everything else has failed to resolve the problem in private.......then there is nothing to loose. I really understand that mistakes happen. They should be able to be resolved where everyone feels that all was tried to make them better. With the lack of 'help' on anyones part.......Frustration is going to set in.

That is when the forums can be a blessing. A different viewpoint. Maybe someone has an idea that hasn't been tried. By getting the facts out there for everyone to see, we can all discuss the problem and just maybe solve it.

We will be able to make judgments for ourselves. Information is the way to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

 

[Michael67]

delivery times

According to your statement that there had been "delivery confirmation" without a "time", there is always a "time" stamp for every delivery. There are also new features on the scanners to indicate where and how it was delivered. There is an option for delivery to "front desk/receptionist , front/porch, at mailbox, Business Closed etc.... When you review your confirmation #'s on USPS.com it should tell you When, where and what time it was delivered. Also, if this info doesn't show on the website, you can call your local P.O. office and they can sometimes access more info about the delivery. Hope this helps Mike

 

[jallan]

Maybe this will help. search eng. thknatool international and when it comes up on the right side click on linkedin.com. this will bring up the parent company with their address in New Zealand. You can write to them and let them know what happened. Maybe they will help as they are the owners.

 

[nativewooder]

It is never a good idea to blame someone else for your mistakes. IMHO, you need to send regrets to both companies and sincerely ask for their assistance, along with assistance from USPS.

 

[Fish30114]

Good idea in the website search Jallen, appreciate it. Nativewoodturner, I hear what you are saying, but the fact that someone takes advantage of a mistake someone else makes doesn't make it right--far from it--Nova/Teknatools attitude has simply sucked in this incident from the very start--when I did what you are suggesting--I have a lot of experience managing large amounts of people, and one thing I can tell you, is that it is never wise to consider a group of 2 or more people with blanket statements--like 'none of my people would have stolen your fishing reels!' I have delivery confirmation--including time???--of 'delivered to front desk receptionist' but despite this, and an affidavit from my fishing guy stating he received the smocks, the individual who identified himself as a principal of the company, Tom Walker, has basically told me to pound sand.


I would recommend that anyone who wanted to spend their money on a lathe look for a company that had leadership with more integrity.

In short AVOID NOVA LIKE THE PLAGUE!

 

[dexter0606]

I believe that if I was personally slammed on line in this manner for something that I had no responsibility in I would tell you to go pound sand as well. They're probably tired of your abuse. You have absolutely no proof that anyone there has your package and yet you launch a public tirade against the business. Really???

 

[vtgaryw]

These situations can be extremely frustrating. It's hard to blame someone for publicly slamming a company in an online forum - once they've done everything possible to resolve the situation between the parties involved.

In this case, you'll most likely never have positive proof that the fishing reels were actually stolen by someone. I think it's okay to go public, though, with the way you were treated if the company involved wasn't cooperative or pleasant to deal with. Like Joe Friday says "just the facts."

I worked for a company where we had something very similar happen to us. We shipped a very expensive piece of electronic equipment to a company. It was reported by the carrier as "received at guard shack." They denied it. It was fortunate in our case that our insurance carrier covered the loss.

-gary

 

[JohnLifer]

Had a somewhat similar issue come up where I work. We have equipment that we return to a vendor every 6 months for calibration. We in addition have a calibration lab that handles other items for us. (and rest of company.) I had a supervisor send the equipment to the cal lab rather than the vendor. Cal lab sent on to vendor. Vendor says they never received it.
and UPS shows signature by employee that doesn't work the day it supposedly arrived.
Well the vendor is trying to make good, $1500 piece of equipment and we as a company do not insure over the $100 min (anything). Yeah, another topic
We are still working with them to get in new item and so far they have been cooperative to a high level. Didn't admit it was stolen (improbably) or lost, just it isn't there and they would make good. We'll see! For this event, I'd be screaming on live too....... Yes they got wrong item, it does show they received package.......

Hey, did you have a copy of the packing slip or other documentation in the box? Can they produce it? Prove what I sent!

 

[drise]

If the box was insured, I would file a claim. If not, I would file a complaint with the US Postal Inspection Service https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/
They are the law enforcement arm of the USPS.

 

[vtgaryw]

I'm in the market for a new lathe, and the Nova Comet II was high on my list. I appreciate stories this this because they help you figure out what companies have excellent customer service. Not saying I wont buy it because of one data point, but every piece of feedback I can get goes into the equation.

-gary

 

[Dave Turner]

First of all, the mistake was on your end. Teknatool has not done anything wrong (other than not communicate with you as well as a company selling a product should). If the executive's employees deny receiving the reels, what is he supposed to do? Maybe one of them took them, maybe not. Maybe they ended up in the dumpster because there was no returned parts bin for them to go into. Maybe someone stamped it return to sender and it's lost or still in the mail system. He and you will likely never know.

Secondly, the title of your post, "Teknatool: Home of thieves!", is inappropriate. I've purchased and use several Teknatool products and find them to be excellent tools at a fair price. Based on my experiences, I believe them to be a reliable and trustworthy company. I think it's great that you share your experiences with us on the forum. But you are describing one very atypical experience and your frustrations are showing through. Given that the responsible error was entirely on your end, I'd think that honey would be a much better approach than a stick.

Good luck. I don't fish, but I can certainly relate to a monetary loss.

 

[robertkulp]

I have a Teknatool Comet II lathe with the Nova G3 chuck and am very pleased. As a matter of fact, I purchased it from the Nashville Woodcraft as a floor model, but it had some some problems that were typical of the first generation of the Comet II. Teknatool was between production runs, but they gladly swapped it with a gen 2 unit when they came in. They paid shipping both directions for the swap.

While not everyone will have had as good an experience as I did, I can't let this go without telling about mine.

 

[nava1uni]

I also own a Nova DVR and when I had an issue with it. Teknatool was very responsive with very good customer service. I can understand your frustration, but I don't think accusing people of stealing, without any proof, will ever get anyone to want to be helpful. I think that the man may know his employees better then you. Maybe your reels never got there. Maybe they were taken somewhere along the way.

 

[edstreet]

so at this time I have placed a phone call to a criminal attorney I am acquainted with to ask advice.[/B]

So what did the attorney tell you.


FYI any good attorney will tell you package tracking numbers will only tell you yes or no on the package being delivered, as to the content that is a whole new matter that is highly subjective.

 

[Fish30114]

Edstreet, that is basically the jist of it. he attorney also recommended that I send a demand letter citing the affidavit from my fishing guy, and from my wife, who mistakenly mailed the packages to the wrong folks. I do KNOW that the package with the reels was delivered to Teknatool, and have evidence of such. I have NO PROBLEM calling them out for their unacceptable behavior here, or anywhere else I can think of--sporadic instances of customer service a company like this SHOULD provide, does nothing to assuage their unacceptable behavior in this case--as to anyone knowing a large group of employees better, I've said my piece on that already--the guy claiming to be the responsible party obviously doesn't know his people, as someone did in fact steal my reels. I don't except any excuses for this type of behavior, and for any company to say anything less than 'we are going to look into this, and figure out what happened on our end' is less than acceptable. Looking into this on their end is the least they could do in my assessment, and they have patently denied to do that.

For this reason and all those listed previously, I will continue, and strongly do recommend that anyone looking to buy any item that these folks sell-look elsewhere. The leadership and employees of a company that behaves in this fashion is simply unacceptable, and indicative of larger issues in my opinion--I can tell you one thing--they will never get any more of my money or any of anyone who asks me about any equipment they sell. I feel it is incumbent on me to warn anyone that I can about their behavior in this matter, and I intend to do so however I can.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

If they can't find it, what solution would you like from them?

If someone did take it, they're unlikely to say to their boss 'Yes, I took the expensive reels home - please fire me'.

It might be that the boss's hands are tied - he can't accuse his staff of theft without compelling evidence - so you'll have to give the evidence in a clear way. Avoid emotions, and lay out the facts, and give a feasible solution.

 

[rd_ab_penman]

Could Teknatool sue for slander being publicly called thieves?

Les

 

[silent soundly]

It's not a den of thieves. There is one single thief (if the reels weren't lost somehow). The thief might not even work at Teknatool. The situation is definitely frustrating and detailing it here is fine. No reason to try to hurt their business by speculating and assuming the worst.

 

[edstreet]

A third option is it was stolen before the company had their hands on it.


I.e. Delivered to the wrong address and listed as being on the right address. The wrong receiver is silent about the package and nova is taking the heat.

 

[Fish30114]

ED,I had thought of that, but they aren't even refuting the fact that they received the package. In fact, the person who says he is responsible for any deliveries, says that she received on of two smocks from me. FALSE! I have suggested and still feel that the leader of NOVA who I have spoken with once, needs to sternly question this individual, and find out what happened. This person is obviously lying, no smocks from me were received by NOVA--I feel that they have a person who should be responsible for incoming packages, and the fact that USPS has provided evidence of delivery, and a statement that the weight of the two packages in consideration had a different weight--the reels being heavier--and that that package was received by Teknatool--I would like my reels returned, replaced or a refund for the value of them paid.
I have owned and run several small companies, and I can assure you I would have handled this situation very differently--if only in the methodology of dealing with the customer (me in this case) more directly and not making blanket statements like 'no one around here would have taken your reels' which is obviously false--someone there did take them! The fact that the claimed responsible party is ducking my phone calls at this time, to me, shows the type of people I am dealing with, and to say they have no integrity is a simple fact IMO. I can tell you that this company has had a 'this is the way it is' attitude on several issues in dealing with them on my lathe, and in General, it is not a shock to me, that management has behaved this way in this instance. I will say that I have the name of one person there who has gone the extra mile in helping me with issues on my lathe, and unfortunately he has obviously been told by Tom Walker to cut off communication with me--last I spoke to him he was going to call me back, but has not done so, and at this time is ducking my calls.

 

[jaywood1207]

Maybe he is "ducking" your phone calls because he feels you are harassing him. Maybe he did investigate and gave you his answer but you won't listen to his answer because you want a different one. If I sent a package to the wrong place as a seller I would take full responsibility and move on and use it as a lesson learned. An expensive one but none the less a lesson learned.

That's the problem in today's society. Everyone wants to blame someone else instead of taking responsibility for their actions.

As my wife tells me, build a bridge and move on.

 

[triw51]

After reading this one question comes to mind. The receiving lady admits to accepting the package but said there was only one smock in the box. You have proof that the fishing guy received a package with 2 smocks. Why doesn't the manager check with her as to what was really in the box it could not have been a smock if you still have two smacks.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[H2O]

Given that there is a person claiming to have received your package with only one of the smocks and another vendor that has your package with the two smocks that this person should have received, would be enough for me to fire said person. Obviously dishonest, and even if the person confessed after being informed they are terminated, would not change my mind on the matter. That would just reinforce my decision. And the cost of replacement would be deducted from their final pay check.
One dishonest person can ruin a hard earned name and destroy a reputation.
The person responsible for the mistake, is the person that signed for the package. The contents of the package should have been reported immediately.

 

[dexter0606]

Given that there is a person claiming to have received your package with only one of the smocks and another vendor that has your package with the two smocks that this person should have received, would be enough for me to fire said person. Obviously dishonest, and even if the person confessed after being informed they are terminated, would not change my mind on the matter. That would just reinforce my decision. And the cost of replacement would be deducted from their final pay check.
One dishonest person can ruin a hard earned name and destroy a reputation.
The person responsible for the mistake, is the person that signed for the package. The contents of the package should have been reported immediately.

Wow!!

 

[Fish30114]

triw51, that is precisely what I have asked the 'principal' of the company to do. I asked him politely, 'why don't you question this person, I believe you could tell if she is lying to you--she certainly didn't get any package with any quantity of smocks from me' the fellow just simply said, I know my people and none of them would have taken your reels.

As I've said, that doesn't wash with me, and I have experience that this is a bad position to take.

I don't hold any hope for a positive resolution to this matter, and I will simply tell anyone, anyhow to save their hard earned money for a company other than NOVA/Teknatool

 

[dexter0606]

triw51, that is precisely what I have asked the 'principal' of the company to do. I asked him politely, 'why don't you question this person, I believe you could tell if she is lying to you--she certainly didn't get any package with any quantity of smocks from me' the fellow just simply said, I know my people and none of them would have taken your reels.

As I've said, that doesn't wash with me, and I have experience that this is a bad position to take.

I don't hold any hope for a positive resolution to this matter, and I will simply tell anyone, anyhow to save their hard earned money for a company other than NOVA/Teknatool

OMG! Give it up. I personally believe you're embarrassing yourself more than you may think. This is going nowhere. The receptionist probably told you they reimbursed a smock just to get rid of the ridiculous postings/calls. The fault lies with you (your wife). Deal with it. Let it go. You have no case. But you are entertaining me

 

[Holz Mechaniker]

OMG! Give it up. I personally believe you're embarrassing yourself more than you may think. This is going nowhere. The receptionist probably told you they reimbursed a smock just to get rid of the ridiculous postings/calls. The fault lies with you (your wife). Deal with it. Let it go. You have no case. But you are entertaining me

Yeah I am with Dex on this. Not their fault, they are probably po'ed that they got fubared Fishing equipment..

 

[Fish30114]

Holz and Dexter, when I read comments like you two wrote, I am reminded of admonitions from older folks when I was growing up--if you don't have something positive to say keep your mouth shut. I put you two in this category--as I have stated I don't think I am going to get anywhere with NOVA/Teknatool, but as I have also stated I will not pass on any opportunity to point out there poor behavior. You can choose to place blame wherever you wish, but the fact remains that someone stealing from someone else who makes an honest mistake is unacceptable. Trust me I have no issues letting my wife know she screwed up, but as she said 'well that doesn't give the person who actually got the reels, and excuse to steal them' and with that I have to agree.
The simple fact that the claimed responsible person just refuses to follow up on this incident is the true issue with NOVA/Teknatool, I happen to believe that a company is only as good as it's leaders, and this company has a pathetic leader in this case.

You two hold any view you like, but I don't want to hear about it on my thread please!

 

[Dave Turner]

Please remember that this is a public forum and everyone is encouraged to constructively contribute to any thread, whether or not they agree with the original poster. As goes without saying, differences in opinion should be handled with courtesy and respect. Also, it might be appropriate for everyone to review this forum's Acceptable Use Policy, which states that "Broad, negative statements about individuals or businesses are not permitted".

 

[beck3906]

I've been mildly interested in his thread just to see the outcome. It's gotten to a low level and appears to have run it's course.

And yes, the OP can criticize Tecknatool whenever he wants, but it eventually becomes the comments of an individual who may not know when to give it up.

 

[Fish30114]

Hello Dave, I did in fact read the policies/guidelines previously, but in this case I felt it was warranted to post this thread about dishonest business practices from a major vendor. In fact, several of the replies have been helpful to me in my efforts to seek resolution on this issues. I also would have been very thankful for a post of this nature, if it ever occurred to happen to a fellow member, or anything like it did, before I spent a rather large amount of money with this mfg.

So in short, it is my desire to comply with all site regs, but I would encourage the management of this site as well as any members to do us the straightforward favor of simply stating the facts, as I have, if any mfg. treats them wrong.