VERY Unhappy with Rupes Customer Service. Has anyone experienced this before?

[schwieg]

Hello everyone, back in December I purchased a brand new rupes mark 2 Bigfoot lhr21 polisher. Little back story, I've owned and used an original Bigfoot rupes for a few years and have done multiple corrections with one.

In january, I did my first complete 2 stage correction using my new rupes polisher. After about 3/4's of the way through, I noticed that the polisher was getting hot. Abnormally hot. Not only was the machine hot to the touch near the head, but it was transferring heat through the center ring. I was worried maybe the lake country CCS pads I was using was causing the issue so I switched over to the rupes yellow pads. Was still having the same issue only a few passes later. Put the machine down and finished with my Porter cable. To say the least I was not impressed and I knew that there was something wrong with the machine.

I contacted the company I had purchased the machine through and explained my problem to them. They told me that I was applying to much pressure to the pads and the machine was generating to much heat. They suggested I try some long throw pads and that would fix my issue. Again, I've used plenty of rupes machines and I know that minimal pressure is needed. I figured I'd try anyways so I bought some lake country HD orbital pads.

A month later and I had another big correction. Tried the rupes. Same issue. Ok something is wrong. Pull the machine apart and there are heat scoring marks on the inside of the machine on the metal pieces that drive the machine. It sounds like a semi truck when I turn it on and it's clearly not the pads.

The company I bought the machine through has now told me to send it to a third party company that deals with rupes repairs. Now this third party company has apparently tried contacting someone named Jason from Rupes since May 1st. I myself have tried emailing rupes without a single response from anyone.

I run a very small mobile detailing business and I rely on the polisher and my main source of income. I spent a lot of money on a machine that was likely defective out of the box and doesn't work. So now I'm stuck with a polisher in limbo, a middle man and 2 companies that seemingly don't want to help. Has anyone had this issue with getting a hold of rupes for repairs or warranty work? I loved the machine but I'm beginning to dislike the company.

 

[Rsurfer]

Hello everyone, back in December I purchased a brand new rupes mark 2 Bigfoot lhr21 polisher. Little back story, I've owned and used an original Bigfoot rupes for a few years and have done multiple corrections with one.

In january, I did my first complete 2 stage correction using my new rupes polisher. After about 3/4's of the way through, I noticed that the polisher was getting hot. Abnormally hot. Not only was the machine hot to the touch near the head, but it was transferring heat through the center ring. I was worried maybe the lake country CCS pads I was using was causing the issue so I switched over to the rupes yellow pads. Was still having the same issue only a few passes later. Put the machine down and finished with my Porter cable. To say the least I was not impressed and I knew that there was something wrong with the machine.

I contacted the company I had purchased the machine through and explained my problem to them. They told me that I was applying to much pressure to the pads and the machine was generating to much heat. They suggested I try some long throw pads and that would fix my issue. Again, I've used plenty of rupes machines and I know that minimal pressure is needed. I figured I'd try anyways so I bought some lake country HD orbital pads.

A month later and I had another big correction. Tried the rupes. Same issue. Ok something is wrong. Pull the machine apart and there are heat scoring marks on the inside of the machine on the metal pieces that drive the machine. It sounds like a semi truck when I turn it on and it's clearly not the pads.

The company I bought the machine through has now told me to send it to a third party company that deals with rupes repairs. Now this third party company has apparently tried contacting someone named Jason from Rupes since May 1st. I myself have tried emailing rupes without a single response from anyone.

I run a very small mobile detailing business and I rely on the polisher and my main source of income. I spent a lot of money on a machine that was likely defective out of the box and doesn't work. So now I'm stuck with a polisher in limbo, a middle man and 2 companies that seemingly don't want to help. Has anyone had this issue with getting a hold of rupes for repairs or warranty work? I loved the machine but I'm beginning to dislike the company.

You should have bought your Rupes from AG.
Dylan is on the forum a lot and will probably address your problem.

 

[VISITOR]

VERY Unhappy with Rupes Customer Service. Has anyone experienced this before?

yes (don't really want to get into it), and i don't support a company who has lack luster/non-existent customer service which IMO is just as important as the product(s) themselves. buy a G15/21 (Griot's Garage CS is top notch and hassle free) next time and know that you will be taken care of if anything were to happen later down the road...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I contacted the company I had purchased the machine through.

Does the company you purchased your machine through have a public discussion like Autogeek offers for customer support?

If they do, did you make this same post on their forum?


:dunno:

 

[Dylan@RUPES]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment - sounds like you may be going down the wrong path though and if you could please let me know what distributor you purchased your tool through I'd appreciate it, b/c it sounds like they've given you incorrect information.

RUPES acquired Cyclo Toolmakers in March or 2015 and established RUPES USA, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of RUPES SpA that handles all customer service, fulfillment, sales, marketing, repairs, and even now manufacturing here in the USA. We have an entire office full of people available to assist with various things and most importantly REPAIRS AND WARRANTY ISSUES right here in Longmont, Colorado. If your distributor directed you to a 3rd party they sent you to the wrong contacts - we handle our repairs in house of all RUPES tools and have done so since the acquisition.

As far as who you've attempted to contact - at this time the only Jason in our organization is Jason Rose, who is in no way involved with warranty and repair questions, he is the International Director of Training. It would be highly unlikely he would get involved in something like this and honestly he is on the road so often (just returned from over 2 weeks training customers in Asia) that it would very much not be on his radar. Our customer service team (which I am responsible for overseeing) is here Monday thru Friday from 8am - 5pm MST and available via phone at (970)535-0100 or via email [email protected]. We have 3 people (not including myself) dedicated to taking calls and servicing customers so if you need anything at all that would be the best place to start. If the tool does indeed have a defect, is in its first year of ownership, and hasn't been mistreated/modified we can repair it under warranty FOC.

Also, I check this forum almost daily as does Todd Helme - either of us could have been contacted via AGO to help you/point you in the right direction. Again, sincerely sorry your are having a difficult time, but seems you may have been talking to the wrong people. Lets get you fixed up and back on the road to polishing correctly.

 

[Dylan@RUPES]

yes (don't really want to get into it), and i don't support a company who has lack luster/non-existent customer service which IMO is just as important as the product(s) themselves. buy a G15/21 (Griot's Garage CS is top notch and hassle free) next time and know that you will be taken care of if anything were to happen later down the road...

You keep chiming in with these kinds of comments - however when I asked you to contact me in private to elaborate you declined. Would still love to know exactly how our 'non-existent' customer service disappointed you and if this happened when the only contacts for the company were in Italy or if it was something that happened since we've had operations here in the US (including a dedicated staff just for customer service). Seems unfair to make blanket accusations of this nature without giving me the info or the chance to address the concern.

 

[Optntdr13]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment - sounds like you may be going down the wrong path though and if you could please let me know what distributor you purchased your tool through I'd appreciate it, b/c it sounds like they've given you incorrect information.

RUPES acquired Cyclo Toolmakers in March or 2015 and established RUPES USA, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of RUPES SpA that handles all customer service, fulfillment, sales, marketing, repairs, and even now manufacturing here in the USA. We have an entire office full of people available to assist with various things and most importantly REPAIRS AND WARRANTY ISSUES right here in Longmont, Colorado. If your distributor directed you to a 3rd party they sent you to the wrong contacts - we handle our repairs in house of all RUPES tools and have done so since the acquisition.

As far as who you've attempted to contact - at this time the only Jason in our organization is Jason Rose, who is in no way involved with warranty and repair questions, he is the International Director of Training. It would be highly unlikely he would get involved in something like this and honestly he is on the road so often (just returned from over 2 weeks training customers in Asia) that it would very much not be on his radar. Our customer service team (which I am responsible for overseeing) is here Monday thru Friday from 8am - 5pm MST and available via phone at (970)535-0100 or via email [email protected]. We have 3 people (not including myself) dedicated to taking calls and servicing customers so if you need anything at all that would be the best place to start. If the tool does indeed have a defect, is in its first year of ownership, and hasn't been mistreated/modified we can repair it under warranty FOC.

Also, I check this forum almost daily as does Todd Helme - either of us could have been contacted via AGO to help you/point you in the right direction. Again, sincerely sorry your are having a difficult time, but seems you may have been talking to the wrong people. Lets get you fixed up and back on the road to polishing correctly.

I am am owner/CEO of a fairly large business and I just had to say this is an extremely impressive and professional response.

Regards,

Daryan Lenz, CEO, CFP
Integrity Financial

 

[VISITOR]

You keep chiming in with these kinds of comments - however when I asked you to contact me in private to elaborate you declined. Would still love to know exactly how our 'non-existent' customer service disappointed you and if this happened when the only contacts for the company were in Italy or if it was something that happened since we've had operations here in the US (including a dedicated staff just for customer service). Seems unfair to make blanket accusations of this nature without giving me the info or the chance to address the concern.

i did contact you through PM but you were busy and i don't have the time to keep calling when you're available when there is nothing that can be done about it now. rupes as a whole has left a nasty taste in my mouth and it really sucks because i wanted to own your tools and be happy with them...

 

[Dylan@RUPES]

i did contact you through PM but you were busy and i don't have the time to keep calling when you're available when there is nothing that can be done about it now. rupes as a whole has left a nasty taste in my mouth and it really sucks because i wanted to own your tools and be happy with them...

Thats unfortunate, but if you recall you didn't make any attempt to call - when I gave you my availability you stated there wasn't a reason to discuss it. Just based on the posts you continue to make its clear you still have some unresolved issue with us that I'd like to address if you'd give me the chance. For the record our PM's are copied below with my info and the message in which you declined to contact me.

My office line is 970-535-0100 x 322, but I'm not there for the remainder of the day, working on a project.
I should be in the office tomorrow from around 9am to 1pm MST before I head out to meet with an account.

You can also email me if its easy - [email protected]

Later in the week my schedule clears up and I'll have more time to chat. If you miss me leave a message and a time thats best to get back to you.

dylan,
after some thought there's no reason to even discuss it, it wouldn't change anything and this was even before you started working for them. take care...

 

[VISITOR]

Thats unfortunate, but if you recall you didn't make any attempt to call - when I gave you my availability you stated there wasn't a reason to discuss it. Just based on the posts you continue to make its clear you still have some unresolved issue with us that I'd like to address if you'd give me the chance. For the record our PM's are copied below with my info and the message in which you declined to contact me.

tried calling you (x2) no answer (like previously). i've moved on, i'll still give my feedback/experience if someone asks for it. just being honest...

 

[schwieg]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment - sounds like you may be going down the wrong path though and if you could please let me know what distributor you purchased your tool through I'd appreciate it, b/c it sounds like they've given you incorrect information.

RUPES acquired Cyclo Toolmakers in March or 2015 and established RUPES USA, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of RUPES SpA that handles all customer service, fulfillment, sales, marketing, repairs, and even now manufacturing here in the USA. We have an entire office full of people available to assist with various things and most importantly REPAIRS AND WARRANTY ISSUES right here in Longmont, Colorado. If your distributor directed you to a 3rd party they sent you to the wrong contacts - we handle our repairs in house of all RUPES tools and have done so since the acquisition.

As far as who you've attempted to contact - at this time the only Jason in our organization is Jason Rose, who is in no way involved with warranty and repair questions, he is the International Director of Training. It would be highly unlikely he would get involved in something like this and honestly he is on the road so often (just returned from over 2 weeks training customers in Asia) that it would very much not be on his radar. Our customer service team (which I am responsible for overseeing) is here Monday thru Friday from 8am - 5pm MST and available via phone at (970)535-0100 or via email [email protected]. We have 3 people (not including myself) dedicated to taking calls and servicing customers so if you need anything at all that would be the best place to start. If the tool does indeed have a defect, is in its first year of ownership, and hasn't been mistreated/modified we can repair it under warranty FOC.

Also, I check this forum almost daily as does Todd Helme - either of us could have been contacted via AGO to help you/point you in the right direction. Again, sincerely sorry your are having a difficult time, but seems you may have been talking to the wrong people. Lets get you fixed up and back on the road to polishing correctly.

Thank you for your reply. I'm going to answer a few of the questions asked in this thread.

I purchased the machine through Auto Obsessed in Edmonton. I live in a small town in alberta, Canada so I'm limited in who I can purchase my products throug, keeping cost and shipping in mind. I have spoke to the owner of auto obsessed as well and he too basically told to me to deal with warranty. Plenty of help he was for sure.

He explained that I call a company called 'Power tool Klinic' in calgary Alberta and they deal with rupes warranty work. I had it sent there a few weeks ago and after calling today, the manager of the store had told me that he has not heard back from the rupes rep. By his words, he told me his name was Jason and that he had tried contacting him on may 26th most recently. So this is where I currently stand.

I'm genuinely not upset at anyone in particular, but without my polisher I can not do the jobs that I intend to. And with no hhelp from the people I bought it from and no contact with anyone from Rupes, this was my last resort.

 

[swanicyouth]

Kinda sux OP.

But just to be fair, I dropped my old Rupes polisher (as in MY FAULT) and cracked the plastic Bigfoot stamped piece.

Nick from AGO (where I bought the machine) sent me a new piece for free and some other freebies to boot.

So, while I dunno how they do it in Canada, I know if you buy your machine from AGO they will back you up and help you out.

Would you be able to post pics of the heat scoring marks on the machine?

 

[Dylan@RUPES]

Thank you for your reply. I'm going to answer a few of the questions asked in this thread.

I purchased the machine through Auto Obsessed in Edmonton. I live in a small town in alberta, Canada so I'm limited in who I can purchase my products throug, keeping cost and shipping in mind. I have spoke to the owner of auto obsessed as well and he too basically told to me to deal with warranty. Plenty of help he was for sure.

He explained that I call a company called 'Power tool Klinic' in calgary Alberta and they deal with rupes warranty work. I had it sent there a few weeks ago and after calling today, the manager of the store had told me that he has not heard back from the rupes rep. By his words, he told me his name was Jason and that he had tried contacting him on may 26th most recently. So this is where I currently stand.

I'm genuinely not upset at anyone in particular, but without my polisher I can not do the jobs that I intend to. And with no hhelp from the people I bought it from and no contact with anyone from Rupes, this was my last resort.

We handle repairs for all of north America here in Colorado - the product sold in Canada even ships from our facilities here. Get in touch with us via the email I provided earlier and we can take care of it. Again Jason Rose is in no way involved with anything other than training internationally so your distributor/repair shop was incorrect in involving or trying to connect with him for this matter. Sorry you were provided the incorrect information - I've reached out to Auto Obsesses to clarify the process with them and prevent confusion in the future.

Rather than re-hashing what hasn't happened, lets work on getting your tool repaired. You have the appropriate information now.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Lets get you fixed up and back on the road to polishing correctly.

Thanks for chiming in Dylan.

Top notch pro-active customer service.


:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Thank you for your reply. I'm going to answer a few of the questions asked in this thread.

I purchased the machine through Auto Obsessed in Edmonton. I live in a small town in alberta, Canada so I'm limited in who I can purchase my products through, keeping cost and shipping in mind.

Thanks for the answer schwieg.

I feel your paint. I've been answering questions from our Canadian forum members online for years now and I'm pretty familiar with how the cost of everything you purchase from the United States cost more due to how the Canadian government is set up.

And with no help from the people I bought it from and no contact with anyone from Rupes, this was my last resort.

Well looks like posting to this forum got you fast action. That's the power of a good forum. And Dylan and Todd, both from RUPES are very pro-active on our forum providing help for customers of their products no matter where they made their purchase.


After you get your polisher repaired I hope to see your future posts sharing your detailing projects.

 

[schwieg]

We handle repairs for all of north America here in Colorado - the product sold in Canada even ships from our facilities here. Get in touch with us via the email I provided earlier and we can take care of it. Again Jason Rose is in no way involved with anything other than training internationally so your distributor/repair shop was incorrect in involving or trying to connect with him for this matter. Sorry you were provided the incorrect information - I've reached out to Auto Obsesses to clarify the process with them and prevent confusion in the future.

Rather than re-hashing what hasn't happened, lets work on getting your tool repaired. You have the appropriate information now.

Great, I've sent the email and I look forward to having this resolved. Thanks for your help.

 

[JeffM]

Wait a min, what? Your polishers are manufactured in the USA?

That seals the deal!

 

[Dylan@RUPES]

Wait a min, what? Your polishers are manufactured in the USA?

That seals the deal!

It hasn't been fully announced because we are still getting all the various aspects of our manufacturing here online, but as of last month all ES tools (15 and 21) for the US market are assembled in our Longmont Colorado facility and we are working towards having the entire family of tools manufactured here in the future. Very cool that RUPES is making such a large investment in the US market rather than going lower quality with manufacturing in China or something to that effect. This gives us full factory level capabilities here in the US.

 

[custmsprty]

Thanks for the answer schwieg.

I feel your paint. I've been answering questions from our Canadian forum members online for years now and I'm pretty familiar with how the cost of everything you purchase from the United States cost more due to how the Canadian government is set up.





Well looks like posting to this forum got you fast action. That's the power of a good forum. And Dylan and Todd, both from RUPES are very pro-active on our forum providing help for customers of their products no matter where they made their purchase.


After you get your polisher repaired I hope to see your future posts sharing your detailing projects.

That's why I have three Rupes Polishers.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

It hasn't been fully announced because we are still getting all the various aspects of our manufacturing here online, but as of last month all ES tools (15 and 21) for the US market are assembled in our Longmont Colorado facility and we are working towards having the entire family of tools manufactured here in the future. Very cool that RUPES is making such a large investment in the US market rather than going lower quality with manufacturing in China or something to that effect. This gives us full factory level capabilities here in the US.

Wow, that's astonishing. You're saying that you are assembling here from parts made in Italy, and that the expansion will continue to other models? Or that at some point you will actually be making the detail parts in your facility as well?