AeroClassics

BlueEnamel et al some interesting thoughts put forth here and some that are.....well.....thoughts. I agree with 1oldsarge, this is a hand plane, it is not a kingdom issue. Goodness sakes folks go back to your workshops and make something!

I still believe that LN comments were inflammatory and I am very annoyed that WC has chosen to remain silent about this. But that is their right regardless of how I feel

There seems to be a great deal of huff and puffing about LN tools being locked up. There is a good reason. Woodworkers STEAL! Not all obviously but some. When I started in the spring PT at WC I really believed we had a class of customer that shrinkage wouldn't be a problem (perhaps a hang over of the 60's with my rose colored glasses) anyway was I in for a shock. Trust me, if it isn't nailed down it will disappear. I have been pushing to put MORE things behind glass! A case in point. On a very busy Saturday, I unlocked the case to show a LN plane to one of our regular customers. We chatted for a minute and I was called away to help another customer. I told him to go try the plane out (oops, I forgot people here say WC doesn't allow that........BS)He was in sight of the manager and the register the whole time. The manager was busy checking folks out. The manager is sure he saw the customer put the plane back in the case. Later in the day I asked if he had bought it because it was missing from the case. Nope, it wasn't bought. It had mysteriously disappeared.While this is one incident, it should point out to most of you, that there is a reason the LN products are locked up. We keep all the router bits locked up. If we didn't I suspect the shrinkage would be high. Pretty easy to drop a router bit in a pocket or handbag. This is not a general indictment of woodworkers or WC customers. It is just some empirical evidence to offer some logic against the wave of emotional nonsense being bandied about. Oh, yes the Stanley SW planes are out and so are the WoodRiver and Grosz. Personally I believe they do not get targeted because the perceived value is less than a LN. Although I wish like hell they would steal the Grosz planes. I will not sell one as it violates my personal code of ethics. When customers ask I generally tell them, IMO, WoodRiver is good Stanley SW is better and the LN is the best, of what is carried in the store. I also ensure that any customer I am working with tries out ANY plane before buying.

I also wonder how many of the posters here are business owners? More specifically RETAIL business owners? If you were you would be pretty sad at some of the ridiculous comments directed at WC here and in other forums. Trust me I am not getting wealthy working there, I am there because my fellow employees are all excellent woodworkers, from whom I have learned a lot, and our customers who have to be, for the most part, some of the best people I have come into contact with. I have learned quite a lot from them. So that's why I am there. But I am not sure I would own a store. The margins on many items, especially high priced items, is so small that at times it is almost not worth having them in stock. How many of you would like to have say $20K in saws and other power tools sitting on the floor for possibly 6 months at a time? Lot of cash tied up in inventory. Money that isn't making you money. Margins on power tools are pretty slim. Maybe 10% if you are lucky. As for Fein, Festool and SawStop, forget it. The stores have no control over pricing. Pricing and profit margins are dictated by the manufacturer. Weird, isn't it? But if the things YOU want to see are not in the store, you get mad, fuss on web forums and swear you will never go to WC again. That is your right and I will defend that right to the end. But, perhaps, a little contemplation should be done before you blast a retailer who is there for YOU! If you are not happy let your local store manager know. Maybe they can make a change. Overall, walk a mile in the owner or managers shoes before you put pen to paper so to speak.

Doug

Wow! Where to start. First, without a statement from WC, people should be a bit more thoughtful with their comments. Until there is an *official* statement from WC we are only hearing from one party.

And for a moment let's look at the second reason given for the decision by LN to part company with WC. To me, if this what they base decisions on, then I wonder a bit about their business acumen and their ethics. That was a foolish statement as far as I am concerned and actually reflects rather poorly on LN. If they are concerned about the knowledge of the salespeople, then maybe LN should do something about it. If they can afford to buzz around the country holding "events" they they certainly should be able to make time to help ensure their products are being properly represented. The companies I have worked for (telecomm equipment manufacturers) certainly did not expect a distributor to sell a switch without training. Why should this be any different?

What I have been reading sounds more like WC bashing then anything else. Apparently, in this discussion we have our very own Deep Throat. Maybe DT really *does* have the inside dope on what happened, but I have trouble believing that really contributed to such a large business decision. I would have to check, but I know many items that WC carries are OV (other vendor), meaning the items comes directly from the manufacturer. Perhaps LN ships directly to the stores, perhaps not.

I also believe the introduction of the Woodriver line of planes had much to with anything. They are nice, but they are not LN quality. IMHO, I rank Woodriver as good, Stanley SW as better and LN as best of what is available in my local store. I do believe that LN was working with WC to create a new line of planes for WC. Maybe this became an issue, who knows. I don't. All I can do is speculate along with everyone else.

What I can speak to, from first hand knowledge is how I feel about this and what the general feeling around my local store is. I am saddened by this turn of events. I question the wisdom, of both parties, of this course of action. It does seem, sometimes, that WC is moving away from carrying tools that would be of interest to those who work with hand tools rather than power tools. For example, WC, does not carry any mortising chisels. Good bench chisels yes, but no mortising chisels or parring chisels for that matter. I don't know why, perhaps they did not sell well. Most hobbyist woodworkers find LN too expensive for something they would only occasionally use. I wish I had solid numbers but I would feel pretty confident that the number of woodworkers in the US, both hobbyist and professional, who use hand tools on a regular basis is fairly small. Even given the resurgence of interest in working with hand tools.

I know in my local store they sell a fair number of LN products. I also know that the buyers generally already know what they want. Yes, there are opportunities to up sell from a Woodriver to LN, but not many. Show a buyer a decent plane for $100 - $175 and they may be interested. Try to up sell them to a $300 plus hand plane and the chances are you will lose the sale altogether. For many folks budgets just won't allow for that kind of investment.

Also remember that all 88 WC stores are franchised. I do not think there are any corporate stores any more. Yet, like most franchises they are tied, very tightly, to the mother ship. Some have suggested that the owners have latitude in what products they carry outside of what comes from WC itself. While I have never read the franchise agreement, I am guessing they may have less latitude than some think. McDonald's franchise owners have VERY little latitude in what they are allowed to do. As far as I know WC is the largest and oldest woodworking company around. So why would LN lose that kind of presence in the marketplace? I believe that demand for product from WC is closer to the truth than any of the other crap I have seen bandied about. LN may be very happy doing what they are doing. He is an independent business man and I respect that. Not many left. Did he make a smart decision, I don't know, only time will tell.

I have seen lots of comments about good service and bad service at WC stores. (Thank you for those who said nice things about the Addison, Texas store). I can tell you that WC takes customer service *very* seriously and I am sure that people have lost jobs over complaints.

For the record I am a long time WC customer and since March of 2009, a part time WC employee. I can tell you that I take customer service very seriously and so do the rest of the guys at our store. Everyone of us is a woodworker. Some are now or have been professional cabinet makers or furniture makers. However, none of us knows everything. If I don't know, I will tell you I don't and then I will do my dead level best to get you the answer. Some may wonder why I would do this for what they pay me. Before being laid off in October '08, I made in a day what they pay me for 40 hours. So its not the money. I do it because it's fun. I have had a chance to meet great woodworkers whom I have learned a lot from, many of those are our customers, and I have had many opportunities to pass along what knowledge I have to others. So if you are not happy with your local WC store tell someone, other than a woodworking forum. Whining here won't change anything. Tell your local store manager, tell the franchise owner, tell WC corporate, just tell somebody! If you are not happy with the selection or types of products in your local store tell someone. I have a feeling that most franchise owners would like to get feedback on the products they carry or don't carry in their stores. I know I would if I was an owner.

Doug