Incredibly poor customer service.
I bought (June '26) an electric Craftsman lawn mower CMW220P2 V20 20in Brushles Cordless though the actual item is not significant. It arrived by way of. Amazon.ca. It turned out instead of having the two holders needed to hold the levers joining the two parts of the nandle, there were two incompatable hexagonal wing nuts. I phoned Craftsman. I was told Amazon. could replace the machine, or the holders.. Amazon of course did not have the holders but would replace the mower but Craftsman as the manufacturer would be able to supply me with the holders. Craftsman now said yes they could contact me with a service representative who would sell me the holders. have to pay. Pay? But I've already paid for them (in the price of the machine)! Missing parts are not covered by the warranty. Could I speak to someone who could make a decision? I can put you in touch with the parts department to get the name of a dealer.. But then it was shut down time. Those two calls with Craftsman took place June 18 and 19. I concluded I did not want to have a machine from a company that deals with its customers in such a way and decided to return the mower for a refund. Amazon was a total contrast and was completely accommodating. My brief experience of the machine in action: Earlier, having put the machine together, not then realising the levers weren't held securely in the handle structure, I ventured to try the mower out. I started cutting the lawn on the second to lowest setting. It worked find for about three minutes then stalled. I raised it a notch, stalled after a minute. I raised it again, same thing. It was at the second to highest notch when it stalled again and I was not able to get the machine to function any further. Grass was not blocking the blade. At the same time, I saw that the handle was not stable and one of the levers had fallen out of its socket. The batteries seemed exhausted after only 7-10 minutes -- perhaps, they were overheated. That is a problem I have never had with 25 years of battery lawn movers -- with another brand that I would have stuck with, if it still made a 20'' push model. I did feel, however, that had the machine been properly held together and despite the battery problem, the machine being light and relatively quiet would have suited me well. But such customer service, never. This review is less about the product than the incredibly poor customer service: the two operators were semi-incomprehensible, not having been instructed to articulate carefully given that other voices were audible on the same line, and seem to be deliberately obstructive (telling me Amazon would replace the missing piece and withholding that the parts department could supply them and not contacting a person better informed.. That the warranty should even be involved at that point is ridiculous. I am sure that any one with any authority -- even without -- would have taken steps for the missing parts to be sent off immediately. Their omission was a failure in the production line and entirely Craftsman's responsibility. The failure to rectify the error is contrary to their professed policy as surely it would be to any other worthy manufacturer's. Even now, I can't believe that Craftsman would knowingly allowed such a happening: all a waste of several people's time and of the expense incurred by the two-way shipment -- all for nothing....
By William T.