Makita Customer Service

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Not exactly a tool discussion, but I wanted to share an experience I had with Makita the other day. If this thread needs to be moved, I'll ask the admins for some help.
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I bought a Makita RW01Z ratchet from Makita USA, bare tool, no batteries, since lithium batteries cannot be shipped through APO. I bought a charger with the tool though.

I have an 18V charger and 2 5.0Ah batteries for all my Makita 18V LXT tools, but this was the first time I bought something from their 12V CXT line. I buy the batteries from the local Makita dealer, and in case you're wondering why I didn't buy the tool from them, it wasn't available.

The dealer's stores are all closed, and the last time I went to one, there was a guy in there, who completely ignored me knocking on the glass door, even though he saw me. I wasn't being aggressive or anything, just a gentle knock to ask if they were opening soon. He gestured at me to leave. I was annoyed, but hey, whatever.

Next, I tried calling the dealer, but you couldn't get past the machine, and ended up contacting Makita through their website. The other day, I got a call from a sales manager at the local dealer, apologizing, and said they were closed to the public, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He asked what exactly I needed, and I provided him with the part number for the 12V 4.0Ah battery. He said he'd call me back in half an hour.

A little over an hour went by, and I got a call back to say they are happy to deliver my battery. Then he went on to say they were giving me a Makita CL106FDWM cordless cleaner to make up for the hassle. Now I ended up with 2 12V 4.0Ah batteries and 2 12V chargers, plus a cordless cleaner.

Although a cordless vacuum wasn't exactly on my list of "tools", it certainly was a kind gesture and I ended up asking myself why I hadn't bought one before. This little thing's great and saves a lot of time! Couple of weeks ago, I had a bag of kitty litter spill in the trunk of the Grand Marquis, and I spent quite a bit of time trying to clean it up with my Kärcher industrial vacuum cleaner, but it doesn't really do well over 100°F. The Makita cleaned up everything that was left, and I was able to clean up 3 other vehicles on a single charge, which lasts about 40 minutes.

All being said and done, I was happy with them delivering just the battery. But their token of appreciation did go a long way and I'm glad brand loyalty means something to them, when they could've just said "Sorry, we're closed to the public due to COVID-19".
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I wish Milwaukee would take a lesson in CS from them and Hilti! Milwaukee has the worst CS I have ever experienced in my life, I cant remember any that were worse.
CS said I was trying to cheat out of a new battery because the battery their rep from HD sent them was no longer under warranty according to the date code.
This is the only tool and battery I owned from them and I had the original receipt which the HD rep copied and sent along with the battery. The best part is they didn't even return the defective battery so I could bring the whole tool with box to HD for exchange.

I thought a new 5A Makita battery had a problem, I called CS, they sent me to a local store to test it. Since the "star" system was incorporated it will not charge if the battery is over a certain % or temp, it was fine. If it was defective they would have exchanged it right there.
 
That is because I think Makita owns it's own company or more less Makita is the parent company and can do what they want. I will buy Makita now that I know they at least kind of give a smit about the customer.
 
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Good on them, customer service is hard to find these days. It's cool to see also as I just bought a Makita impact wrench so shows me the company cares about their products and their customers.
 
That's great. I like their 18v version of that vac so much that I own three of them. That was nice of them.
 
I'm fully convinced that Makita is the best tool brand going. Very high precision that no other main stream brand can even come close to in precision. I just wish they would get going with new products. Milwaukee is running circles around them in new innovative products.
 
Makita is a great company. Everyone I know that works or has worked there loved it. I live not too far from their plant in Buford, Georgia. Milwaukee would have a lot more customers if they would move production from China. I'll never buy any of their products. Only Makita and DeWalt.
 
The Milwaukee brand name is owned by TTI a Chinese based company and made in China. Using an old and well respected brand name gives their tools some legitimacy, would anyone really rave about TTI's latest battery powered tool sold under the name TTI?
Their tools are not bad, in fact some are quite innovative and decent quality, their CS is poor beyond words, for someone who uses the tools at anything beyond home owner level that is a game changer.
 
Just recently purchased my latest makita XWT08Z impact wrench. Wow it's amazing and my new favorite tool. Bought it from toolnut.com at a nice deal and also came with a free 5ah battery. They have some nice deals right now on makita.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
That's great. I like their 18v version of that vac so much that I own three of them. That was nice of them.


Really?? I've never picked this vacuum up being I figured it would be like every other vacuum I've owned that is similar in that Design just totally sucked. So this makita 18v has good suction??
 
Originally Posted by R1jake
Just recently purchased my latest makita XWT08Z impact wrench. Wow it's amazing and my new favorite tool. Bought it from toolnut.com at a nice deal and also came with a free 5ah battery. They have some nice deals right now on makita.


That is a great deal but I have to pass on that one, not throwing a wet towel on the fire but it (as are all of these 8lb foot long without socket tools) is really more for industrial or large truck use than regular automotive use other than lug and axle nuts. I most other areas I think you will find it too big to work with.
If you can make good use of it, it is an awesome tool.
 
Originally Posted by Mainia
That is because I think Makita owns it's own company or more less Makita is the parent company and can do what they want. I will buy Makita now that I know they at least kind of give a smit about the customer.


That was one of the primary reasons I started buying their products to begin with; they are their own brand and not just a "brand name" made by another corporation. The durability of their batteries was also a deciding factor.

A lot of folks I know, who use these tools to make their money, spoke highly of Makita batteries. I did my research into it, but you also tend to value other people's experiences to some extent, especially folks who use these tools every single day for hours at a time. You take word of mouth for what it's worth, but if it was coming from some home DIYer, I guess I'd take it more so with a pinch of salt. I was told charge levels don't drastically drop, and they don't wear out as fast, compared to some other brands with constant charging/discharging cycles over time.

I used my XW11Z to do some suspension and drivetrain work, removing and reinstalling control arms, shocks, sway bars and CV axles. When I was done, the battery (18V 5.0Ah) still had "100%" charge (4 bars) according to the charge indicator. The battery was then stored for over a month before it was pulled out again to replace front wheel bearings, as well as a brake job. At that point. the charge indicator appeared to be in the same range (4 bars). Decided not the charge it the night before, and by the time I was done, it dropped to 75% (3 bars). It did take a fair but of abuse, pulling off the 32 mm nuts on the bearings that were locked into place for 21 years. After putting the wheels on, it was at 2 bars (50%). Not a very good indicator by any means, given it's used on and off, but certainly decent enough for me.

For some reason, it's a "thing" here; when a Makita dealer, or an authorized reseller, sells you a battery, they put it on a charger like tool that shows the number of times the battery has been charged, as well as other information on charge levels. I thought it was pretty neat, although they pretty much use it as a marketing tool to "show" customers they're getting a brand new battery, which is what one would definitely expect.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Originally Posted by R1jake
Just recently purchased my latest makita XWT08Z impact wrench. Wow it's amazing and my new favorite tool. Bought it from toolnut.com at a nice deal and also came with a free 5ah battery. They have some nice deals right now on makita.


That is a great deal but I have to pass on that one, not throwing a wet towel on the fire but it (as are all of these 8lb foot long without socket tools) is really more for industrial or large truck use than regular automotive use other than lug and axle nuts. I most other areas I think you will find it too big to work with.
If you can make good use of it, it is an awesome tool.


I totally understand and yes it is a big tool, I wanted it for those well known super hard to get loose Crank bolts that you also have the issue of the crank wanting to turn in ya when your trying to bust it loose. I've found a couple that I just wished I had it. Plus everytime I have to remove a couple wheels I've found myself doing it with a 4 way so I don't have to drag out the compressor and hose just to use my pneumatic impact. Just had to have it. Lol
I'm still interested in hearing more about the performance of the makita 18v car style vacuum mentioned above a few post. I've always passed on it thinking it would have terrible performance like every other vacuum I've tried In that form factor.
 
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The Milwaukee brand name is owned by TTI a Chinese based company and made in China. Using an old and well respected brand name gives their tools some legitimacy, would anyone really rave about TTI's latest battery powered tool sold under the name TTI?
Their tools are not bad, in fact some are quite innovative and decent quality, their CS is poor beyond words, for someone who uses the tools at anything beyond home owner level that is a game changer.
Wait, the corded Sawzall is no longer USA made? o_O

BTW, after reading this thread, it's Dewalt or Makita.
 
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