On Park Tools and “Limited Lifetime Warranties”

[weisan]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Why?

I spray my $5000 bikes with water

My $8000 bike prefers dry cleaning and manicure.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by johnnylarue

I hear ya. Being able to take for granted that the people buying your products actually know how to use them must be an enormous relief.

It's got nothing to do with assumptions about their competency -- it's that they would never complain about problems in year ten, that could have been avoided with simple maintenance.

I think you're way off base on this one.

[parris]

Companies refine and change what they sell all the time. Sometimes it's to fix an issue, other times it's to save money, and sometimes it's just a refinement.

You've had the work stand for 10 or so years if I read parts of your thread correctly. You got the stand wet and then left it for several months. It could be there was an issue with the material the stand was built from. It's also possible that something that you washed off the bicycle was corrosive and caused the issue.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by weisan

My $8000 bike prefers dry cleaning and manicure.

Get it done I say!

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by johnnylarue

For the record, they ran out of replacement parts. Why? Because this happened to a bazillion other people who bought this stand. They sold us a flawed product and honoured their “lifetime warranty” while supplies lasted.

Did they tell you that or is this a supposition? If they went on the record somewhere saying they are OOS because of warranty claims for your exact problem, I can't see a scenario where they wouldn't have offered you a new stand instead of the unavailable part, or a credit or something.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by chicagorider

I think Part Tools could have been nicer about it but at the same time, I think they didn't need to be. So I guess it's up to their company values when it comes to these things...




The silicone is to prevent rust right (rather than to get things unstuck)? I've been a little concerned when I was washing my bike as it was on my Feedback stand. I wipe it (and the bike!) down afterwards but I'm aware that I can't get all the moisture out...

I have the seat post mount style stand and I wipe it off and spray it with silicone otherwise it's a PITA to get it open sometimes. Friction and all...

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by johnnylarue

Very sensible. But cleaning a bike with water on a repair stand is a very common practice. And the fact that Park redesigned their stands after dealing with this recurring problem for a number of years means they implicitly accepted part of the blame.

I rode steel bikes in the rain for 30 years and never once considered that I should remove the stem and headset to dry and re-grease the head tube. Just saying...

I'm with you on this point.

[unterhausen]

If you are using silicone spray around your bike and you decide to get it repainted, tell the painter.

[johnnylarue]

Originally Posted by chicagorider

I think Part Tools could have been nicer about it but at the same time, I think they didn't need to be. So I guess it's up to their company values when it comes to these things...

Yup. At the end of the day, entirely their prerogative. Obviously I’m not going to be buying another PT stand now, given that they’ve offended my inner Karen, but their tools are mostly great and I’m not about to get on my high horse about this. It’s trivial stuff. I just thought they’d try to make me feel a bit more “cared for” given their stature. Life goes on...

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

If you are using silicone spray around your bike and you decide to get it repainted, tell the painter.

Just the work stand though I think Bike Lust polish might have silicone in it.

[johnnylarue]

Originally Posted by batman1425

Did they tell you that or is this a supposition? If they went on the record somewhere saying they are OOS because of warranty claims for your exact problem, I can't see a scenario where they wouldn't have offered you a new stand instead of the unavailable part, or a credit or something.

It’s supposition, based on:

- a number of posts from other owners on other forums
- the reply I got detailing what caused the seizure of the post was boilerplate
- continued availability of other replacement parts for the stand
- significantly altered design and materials for the PRS-22

...but still, it’s just supposition.

For the record, the discussion went (point form):

“My stand is stuck. Can you help?”

“Sorry, warranty doesn’t cover neglect.”

“Okay, but here’s a link to two instances where people had these parts replaced under warranty.”

“Ah bummer, we don’t have those parts anymore.”

[johnnylarue]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

It's got nothing to do with assumptions about their competency -- it's that they would never complain about problems in year ten, that could have been avoided with simple maintenance.

I think you're way off base on this one.

Totally hear your point. And as to mine, rest assured that I never would have dreamed of contacting Park about this issue if not for their vaunted LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY. Being an idiot consumer and mediocre mechanic, I simply assumed that meant something that it didn’t.

[kppolich]

PB Blaster top and bottom, flip it over and give it time. Remove and grease and get another 20 years out of it.

Park tool has been around for a while and like other brands, they can't be expected to hold replacement parts for everything they make for all of eternity.

I had quite the opposite experience with them 2 years ago with a torque wrench that I abused. They replaced the sheered part, wrote me a nice note, and covered next day shipping both ways.

[johnnylarue]

Originally Posted by kppolich

PB Blaster top and bottom, flip it over and give it time. Remove and grease and get another 20 years out of it.

Park tool has been around for a while and like other brands, they can't be expected to hold replacement parts for everything they make for all of eternity.

I had quite the opposite experience with them 2 years ago with a torque wrench that I abused. They replaced the sheered part, wrote me a nice note, and covered next day shipping both ways.

Thanks for posting this—it’s reassuring (and important) to see the other side of the coin. The fellow who wrote that note is the same person I corresponded with today, incidentally.

Will definitely do my damnedest to get this stand operational again.

[ariw]

I had a Park bearing puller that was a few years old break, filled out the web form, snapped a few pics, and submitted. Had an email a day or two later with tracking info on the replacement. It does seem like the design changed, but the process was simple. From a customer service perspective, they should have helped you solve it or offered a coupon. Either of those things a easy ways to keep a customer.

My experience in the bike industry is that asking nicely usually gets you help, even if you don’t get a brand new replacement.

Ari