Husqvarna!!! Argh!! (warning Rant coming)

[callagher]

First off...sorry. This is off topic for saws.

Rule #1 Your saw (or outdoor powertool) is only as good as your dealers service department!



Rule #1 has been broken! Around here at least.

I bought a Husqvarna 125L string trimmer for our few acres of heaven. Selected for it's light wieght, cause they took a disc out of my back in '97. And 90% of the time I'm gonna use it just as a string trimmer. I did select it because it comes with the "combi-guard" on it already, and the salesman sold me a Husqvarna grass cutting blade with it. (I'm slowly working at changing some of my woods into the "grove" type of look).

Turns out after checking with two of my local shops, submitting two on-line questions with the "factory" and then calling them directly, the 125L that comes with the "combi-guard" for blade & string trimmer head, has no parts you can buy from Husqvarna to that will actually let you mount a grass cutting blade.

The customer service lady (at Husqvarna, no less) told me today over the phone, that I had been mis-lead by my local sales representative. Only curved shaft trimmers can have a blade mounted to them. The straight shafted trimmer I had bought mistakenly, or been duped into buying was never meant to have a blade mounted on it.

!!!!!!!! :bang:

I asked her why did they show the 125L on Husqvarna's web-site with a blade mounted on it with the "combi-guard" that has it's own spotlight on the page?

No answer...

I've had all my polite on-line inquiries closed, and they are not returning my phone calls.

The MOST interesting thing I learned today is that Husqvarna is not a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), has many unresolved cases and is in unsatisfactory standing.


:censored:


Leason learned.

 

[cuttinscott]

Im not a husky Dealer so I may be wrong.. All the trimmers I have ever dealt with let you use a Brush or Grass Blade with a Straight Shaft but not with a Curved Shaft. I looked at the online manual and on page 20 it shows the trimmer head, grass plastic blades and the brush blade part numbers. And it has a very common size arbor bolt set up. Maybe The lady at elux you talked with was having a bad day?? They do recommend you install a J handle when using a steel blade for safety purposes.


Scott

 

[2000ssm6]

I'm first, I'm first, you should have bought a Stihl:yoyo:

 

[jhellwig]

The MOST interesting thing I learned today is that Husqvarna is not a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), has many unresolved cases and is in unsatisfactory standing.

From what I have heard about the better business bureau is that if you aren't a member they black ball you. It is pricey to be a part of that also.

 

[computeruser]

The MOST interesting thing I learned today is that Husqvarna is not a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), has many unresolved cases and is in unsatisfactory standing.

Who cares whether someone pays to join the BBB or not?

BBB "approval" is about as meaningful as getting a raving endorsement from Consumers Reports.

 

[spike60]

Not all straight shafts are SOLID shafts. Some of them have the same type of wound flex cable that is found in curved shaft trimmers. I'll have to check to be sure, but that may be the case with the 125. (I know, I'm supposed to know this!) If it is, it's not a good idea to put a blade on it.

Further, not all steel shafts are solid. Some are hollow wound steel. Similar in construction to the cardboard center of a roll of toilet paper or paper towels.

 

[oneadam12]

I'm with Computeruser on the BBB. It's main purpose is to make you (the consumer) feel good about using the business. ex: This must be a good business to use, they are a member of the BBB.:taped:

 

[AZLOGGER]

Not all straight shafts are SOLID shafts. Some of them have the same type of wound flex cable that is found in curved shaft trimmers. I'll have to check to be sure, but that may be the case with the 125. (I know, I'm supposed to know this!) If it is, it's not a good idea to put a blade on it.
Further, not all steel shafts are solid. Some are hollow wound steel. Similar in construction to the cardboard center of a roll of toilet paper or paper towels.

spike60:
You are correct in your assumption that the 125L having a flex cable shaft. It is my opinion any trimmer with a flex type shaft should not be used with a brush blade. However Husqvarna shows this unit can be used with a grass blade.

The customer service lady (at Husqvarna, no less) told me today over the phone, that I had been mis-lead by my local sales representative. Only curved shaft trimmers can have a blade mounted to them. The straight shafted trimmer I had bought mistakenly, or been duped into buying was never meant to have a blade mounted on it.

!!!!!!!!

I asked her why did they show the 125L on Husqvarna's web-site with a blade mounted on it with the "combi-guard" that has it's own spotlight on the page?

No answer...

I've had all my polite on-line inquiries closed, and they are not returning my phone calls.

The MOST interesting thing I learned today is that Husqvarna is not a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), has many unresolved cases and is in unsatisfactory standing.

callagher:
If I had been the one selling you that trimmer, I would of brought to your attention that this unit has a flex type cable shaft, And as a personnel preference should only be used with a trimmer head. You can use the grass blade on this unit, however it is strongly recommended you purchase the J-handle kit and install it on the unit prior to using the grass blade. PART#503 7817-03 this kit contains everything you need, including the grass blade. This is shown in your operators manual.
What you were told by the Husqvarna Representative is totally backwards, curved shaft units should not be used with any blades! :bang:

 

[pbtree]

Who cares whether someone pays to join the BBB or not?

BBB "approval" is about as meaningful as getting a raving endorsement from Consumers Reports.

Beautiful!

 

[callagher]

Update

Well,

Looks like the Better Business Bureau at least got them to admit the truth.

(The following is from an E-mail I got this morning from the BBB)

Consumer's Desired Resolution:
I would like to be able to use the Husqvarna trimmer as advertised, with a grass cutting blade.

BBB Processing

05/01/2007 web BBB Case Received by BBB
05/01/2007 SM BBB Case Reviewed by BBB
05/01/2007 Otto EMAIL Send Acknowledgement to Consumer
05/01/2007 Otto FAX Notify Business of Dispute
05/13/2007 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : The current model 125L is a homeowner unit and is sold as a Trimmer not a Brushcutter. The company expects to offer a "J handle kit" in the future. It is currently not available. The shaft tube is a smaller diameter than larger models and there cannot be a universal kit. There currently is no J-handle available for that diameter tube. It would be unsafe to operate that trimmer with a blade in the absence of the extra stability the J-handle provides. Until a J-handle is made for the smaller tube, the kit will not be released. The older model 125's prior to 2005 were brushcutters. The current ones do not yet have a converison kit.
05/14/2007 SM EMAIL Forward Business response to Consumer

 

[Cam501]

Not all straight shafts are SOLID shafts. Some of them have the same type of wound flex cable that is found in curved shaft trimmers. I'll have to check to be sure, but that may be the case with the 125. (I know, I'm supposed to know this!) If it is, it's not a good idea to put a blade on it.

Further, not all steel shafts are solid. Some are hollow wound steel. Similar in construction to the cardboard center of a roll of toilet paper or paper towels.

I'm with AZ logger on this one. No metal blades on curved shaft units, only on straight shaft units. I don't sell a 125L with a blade, but if it's just a grass blade or similar I'll put one on a 223L, otherwise they need a 323/326 or larger.

 

[rreidnauer]

Who cares whether someone pays to join the BBB or not?

BBB "approval" is about as meaningful as getting a raving endorsement from Consumers Reports.

Yep, right up there with the J.D. Power & Associates awards. It's a load of hogwash. The company I work at received an award for best customer service in 2003, and I can assure you, our customer service (at the time anyhow) was far from top notch.

I found that some towns' Chamber of Commerce departments are also badly biased towards "sponsoring businesses". This 'paying for status' thing means nothing to me. Word of mouth beats all.


Oh, and I too was under the impression that blades are used only on straight shaft trimmers too.

 

[huskydave]

It sounds like you recieved a lot of missinformation about your purchase and that lady on the phone is probably at a call center making minimum wage and knows very little about husky products. I know I have had to deal with many corperate phone help lines and they are getting terrible I swear there must be 1000 call centers in pakistan and the broken english makes it even worse. I would think the light grass blade would work but I have snapped the springs with just the regular trimmer head on the light trimmers. 15 dollars later it is fixed. I like the lightweight trimmers myself I find you have more control in the tight spots and can use one hand if you have to.

 

[Pilsnaman]

So first you get bad info from the dealer, then you get even worse info from the online rep (and no you should never use a blade on a curved shaft, only straight). While neither should happen I am almost more appalled by the dealer not knowing what's going on. If he is selling them he should also know what features are available and not available. I am not sure what you can do to rectify this situation though.

 

[ciscoguy01]

Dealers

I gotta tell ya, from my experience with local dealers in this area, I've yet to find a decent one around here. Not only do they all suck, I wouldn't give a local dealer in my area a nickel if it fell out of my a55. My opinion of the newer husky's is very poor, just my opinion though. I do like the older husky's, they were a much better built saw before Elux bought them. Course Stihl's are now being built in China, that makes me very very sad and I don't think I'll be buying any of them either. I do, however, drive 2 hours from me to my Dolmar dealer because they are the ONLY dealer I've found that really wants to help the customer and won't just sell me crap that I don't need and has always been straight with me about stuff... I hadn't had the little husky I bought a week, wanted to upgrade to a better model and the dealer here wouldn't do a dang thing for me, hence my previous statement... It's sad that companies sometimes forget who keeps them in business.

 

[Lakeside53]

No Stihl for the USA market is made in China... The plant has yet to produce it's first unit for the Chinese domestic market..

 

[ciscoguy01]

China

No Stihl for the USA market is made in China... The plant has yet to produce it's first unit for the Chinese domestic market..

So does the Stihl stuff made there only get sold there??? When I called Stihl about it, the dude down at their corp here, he asked me for my serial number for my 44, he then explained to me the portion of the code that determines where the saw is actually mfd... I didn't know they didn't ship those over here. That's good news man. Not that I really care, some of the older generation won't buy anything from over seas... Thanks dude...